Brodeur signs with the Blues

Martin Brodeur is back in the NHL.  After waiting for a shot to get back on the ice, his persistent hold out finally paid off and the 42 year old Brodeur signed a one year $700,000 deal with the St. Louis Blues.
His first start could come as early as Wednesday (Dec 3rd) when the Blues face off against the Blackhawks in the first of back to back games. The Blues will then play the Predators on Thursday and then play Saturday vs. the Islanders.

Brodeur, a 3 time Cup champion, boasts a record of 688-394-105-71 over his 21 seasons in the NHL and still holds the top spot for shut outs with 124.

His play over the last couple seasons, where people thought he would retire, has slipped a little bit.  Which is why the New Jersey Devils gave the number one spot to young and rising star goalie Cory Schneider and allowed Brodeur to move on. 
When I say his numbers slipped, I don't mean drastically.  He went from a .908 SV% to a .901 SV%, and his final two seasons with the Devils his GAA went from 2.41 in 2011/12 to a 2.22 in 12/13 and to a 2.51 in 13/14.  So you see his numbers are still quite good for a goalie who has seen his share of games in the NHL and who was playing in his late 30's and early 40's.

With all these numbers and stats that Brodeur carts around with him, the St. Louis Blues signed a very decent back-up/starting goalie for a decent price.  Knowing that Brian Elliot is out week-to-week with a lower body injury, signing Brodeur was the best option out there.  Their current back-up, Jordan Binnington, has yet to see any time on the ice during an NHL game. So Brodeur, who has played almost 5 times more minutes in the NHL than Jake Allen and Brian Elliot combined, is the perfect option to turn to.
I wouldn't expect him to unseat Jake Allen as the starter in St. Louis, but I would think he may allow Allen to have a few more rests as the games are ticked off the schedule. 

All in all this is a very good signing for the Blues who were in a bit of trouble in their crease.  I would think now there isn't any rush to get Elliot back.  They can let him heal up properly and fully before bringing him back.
The only thing now is to see if Martin Brodeur has any rust on him.  I expect he may have a little. But he isn't a stranger to the NHL so he knows what to expect. 
I for one am looking forward to seeing how Brodeur does for the Blues over the next little while, and seeing how he can help this team out.
Let me know what you think.

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