Martin Brodeur retiring to take job with St. Louis Blues

Martin Brodeur will retire to take a front office job with the St. Louis Blues.

Martin Brodeur is finally ready to hang ’em up.

After taking a leave of absence to ponder his future, Brodeur is ready to announce his retirement and take up an executive post with the Blues according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston.

Brodeur will end his storied career as the NHL’s alltime leader in multiple categories, including victories (691) and shutouts (125). A three-time Stanley Cup winner with the Devils (1995, 2000, ’03), he also won four Vezina trophies and backstopped Canada to Olympic gold in ’02.

Brodeur’s career first appeared to be at an end when he remained unsigned at the start of the 2014–15 season, but an injury to starter Brian Elliott convinced St. Louis to bring him on board in November. The 42-year-old made seven appearances for the Blues, going 3-3-0 with a .899 save percentage and a 2.87 goals-against average.

• SI VAULT: Martin Brodeur, the goalie who doesn't flinch (by Michael Farber, 3/16/09)

With Elliott’s return to full health, Brodeur’s retirement wasn’t unexpected. The real surprise was the announcement that he would join St. Louis’s front office, rather than New Jersey’s. Brodeur had expressed an interest in joining the Devils’ management, but it appears that there may be some lingering ill will over how his tenure with the team came to an end.

That has to come as a surprise to New Jersey GM Lou Lamoriello, who gave a standing offer to Brodeur.

“He knows that he will be a Devil for the rest of his life,” Lamoriello said in September. “He’s said it publicly and we’ve talked about it. What Marty has done, the type of personality he is and what his experience has been, it’s really a no-brainer. He’s a Devil.”

Or not.

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No doubt this won’t go over well with New Jersey’s fans, who hated seeing the greatest player in franchise history wear another team’s sweater even for a few games and now have to come to terms with this snub.

But Brodeur’s always been his own man. And he earned the right to end one career, and start another, on his own terms.

He is expected to make both decisions official at a press conference on Thursday.