15 Free-Agent Goalies Who Could Succeed Martin Brodeur in NJ Devils Net in 2012
It's been said that nothing is inevitable in life except death and taxes, and although he's seemingly been in the Garden State forever, so too will the career of Martin Brodeur with the New Jersey Devils end one day, sooner rather than later.
A fixture in New Jersey since 1993-94, and now in the final year of his current contract, Brodeur is definitely in the twilight of his NHL tenure. He could still choose to re-sign with the Devils after the 2011-12 campaign. He could also retire, be sidelined by another possible NHL work stoppage or even go to another NHL team to finish out his Hall of Fame career.
Current Devils teammate Johan Hedberg has filled in admirably since last season for Brodeur; but at age 38, the Swedish puckstopper is not a long-term solution in net at the Prudential Center in Newark. If the Devils aren't willing to commit to someone already in their system like Jeff Frazee or Keith Kinkaid, who will be Brodeur's heir apparent in the Devils' red and black when he finally hangs up his goalie skates for good?
Here's a look at 15 potential Brodeur successors, in ascending order, amongst the 2012 NHL free-agent crop.
Al Montoya
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The former All-America selection for Michigan, who won 86 games in three winters with the Wolverines, had to bide his time in the minors after turning pro in 2005 until he got his NHL break late in the 2009-10 season with Phoenix.
The 6'2" Illinois native went 3-1-0 in a five-game audition with the Coyotes before joining the Islanders last season, where he finished 9-5-5 with a 2.39 goals against average and one shutout after Rick DiPietro was sidelined (again) by injuries.
At just 26 years old, Montoya, an unrestricted free agent, may be looking to get off the Island next year, with DiPietro still having almost a decade left on his 15-year contract and longtime NHL netminder Evgeni Nabokov also on the Islanders roster.
Not working in Montoya's favor, though, is having just 26 NHL career starts on his résumé through Nov. 9.
Scott Clemmensen
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Would a third tour of duty in the Garden State prove to be the charm for Clemmensen? The Iowa native, who led Boston College to the 2001 NCAA Championship, proved that he was more than serviceable back in 2008-09 when he won a career-high 25 games for the Devils with a 2.39 GAA, .917 save percentage and two shutouts. He also helped New Jersey make the playoffs that season while Brodeur was on the shelf with a long-term biceps injury.
The Devils seem to like bringing back some of their former players, which hasn't always worked out for them recently. Working against the 6'3" Clemmensen, who has spent most of his NHL career as a backup with the Devils, Leafs and Panthers, is that he's now 34 years old. He is also coming off knee surgery and hasn't played an NHL game yet this year.
Curtis Sanford
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Sanford, 32, is a very long shot to succeed Brodeur in New Jersey, although he does have 109 games of NHL experience with St. Louis, Vancouver and now Columbus.
He has spent most of the last few seasons in the American Hockey League, and hasn't played in at least 30 games in a single NHL campaign since 2006-07 with the Blues. His best NHL season came in 2005-06, when he finished 13-13-5 with three shutouts in 34 outings with St. Louis.
The 5'10" Sanford went 7-8-0 with a 2.59 GAA and a .906 save percent in 19 games with the Canucks in 2008-09, his most recent NHL action prior to this year. He will be an unrestricted free agent in 2012.
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Carey Price
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Price, a restricted free agent next year with a cap hit of $2.75 million, will almost undoubtedly re-sign with the Canadiens, as he's the undisputed No. 1 netminder with the Habs.
However, if he wants to exit the all-encompassing hockey fishbowl that is Montreal, for whatever reason, few NHL cities could be more non-descript or less overwhelming day-to-day than Newark.
Tuukka Rask
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Rask, 24, a restricted free agent next year, was the No. 1 netminder in Boston a couple of years ago until Tim Thomas went on a tear last season and led the Bruins to their first Stanley Cup in almost four decades.
The 6'2" Finn may be content to just wait his turn until Thomas retires in the next few years. However, should Thomas prove to be an ageless wonder along the lines of Dominik Hasek or Dwayne Roloson, Rask could look to bolt Beantown, although that's not likely to happen in 2012.
Ray Emery
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Emery, 29, who backstopped Ottawa to the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals, is now with Chicago and had gone 94-53-16 prior to this season with a 2.67 GAA, .908 save percentage and 11 shutouts. He helped Anaheim to the playoffs last year after spending most of last season in the AHL, and was also a Masterton Memorial Trophy finalist.
A former CHL Goaltender of the Year with Sault Ste. Marie, he suited up for just 29 outings with the Flyers in 2009-10 due to injury and illness after spending the previous season in Russia. He definitely has experience as an NHL starter, and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2012.
He has never played more than 58 games in an NHL regular season, but that's still less than a typical Brodeur campaign. The 6'2" Emery, who seems to have been better behaved in his recent NHL stops, has proven to be a volatile personality in the past, though, and traditionally has had images of professional boxers painted on his mask.
A return to that approach might not sit very well with the traditionally-staid Devils management, led by long-time GM Lou Lamoriello. It could make for some fun times, though, if Sean Avery's still with the Rangers next year and decides to crash Emery's crease at the Prudential Center.
Antero Niittymaki
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Niittymaki will be an unrestricted free agent next year, and at 31 years old, has 234 games of NHL wear-and-tear in a seven-year career with Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and San Jose. He's fashioned a 96-85-31 record in that span with a 2.95 GAA and .902 save percentage with five shutouts, including a 12-7-3 mark with the Sharks last season.
He may be looking for greener pastures in 2012 instead of continuing to share net time in San Jose with fellow Finn Antti Niemi and up-and-comer Thomas Greiss. The warning light for the Devils, and potentially other teams, comes from the fact that Niittymaki underwent groin surgery in September, and was expected to be out for at least 12 weeks. He's still on the shelf awaiting his return from injured reserve.
Jonas Gustavsson
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If Cornell graduate Ben Scrivens will be allowed to develop in net this year with the Maple Leafs, who went with James Reimer down the stretch last season en route to just missing the playoffs, will it make Gustavvson the odd man out in Toronto?
He's still just 27 and will be an unrestricted free agent next year. The Swedish product has size at 6'3", but had just 65 games of NHL experience entering the 2011-12 campaign.
Two years ago, Gustavvson went 16-15-9 in a career-high 42 outings with the Leafs, including 39 starts, with a 2.87 GAA and a .902 save percentage. He posted 19 saves in a 5-3 win at New Jersey on Nov. 2, outdueling Brodeur (who was returning from a shoulder injury).
Gustavvson had gone 4-4-0 in his first eight appearances this season (3.78 GAA, .878), as the Leafs cooled off somewhat from their hot season start.
Alex Auld
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Auld is in his second tour of duty with the Senators and has more than 200 NHL starts with Ottawa, Vancouver, Florida, Boston, Phoenix, Dallas, Montreal and the New York Rangers, with a career record hovering just above .500.
He played in a career-high 67 games with the Canucks in 2005-06 and posted a 33-26-6 record with a 2.94 GAA and .902 save percentage that season. His next biggest workload came in 2008-09 with the Senators, where he went 16-18-7 in 43 games.
Auld played in just 16 games with the Habs last year behind Carey Price, who will also be a free agent next year, but probably won't be looking to leave the No. 1 seat in Montreal. Auld himself will be just 31 years old when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next year, and has enough experience as a starter at the NHL level to at least warrant a look from New Jersey.
Dan Ellis
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Ellis, 31, was a mainstay in Nashville from 2007 to 2010, going 49-42-8 in 110 outings with 10 shutouts in his first three years in the NHL. Entering this season, the six-foot Saskatchewan native had gone 71-52-15 in 155 games with a 2.68 GAA and .908 save percentage for the Predators, Lightning and Ducks.
The former Nebraska-Omaha netminder will be an unrestricted free agent in 2012 and could be looking to get out of Anaheim, where Jonas Hiller is pretty much entrenched as the Ducks No. 1 goalkeeper.
Josh Harding
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Harding was off to a very hot start with the Minnesota Wild with a 4-0-1 mark in his first five games this fall, with an eye-popping 1.18 GAA and .965 save percentage after missing all of last season because of preseason knee injuries. He played in just 44 games in all the previous two seasons combined, and was 28-39-8 with four shutouts and a 2.66 GAA in 83 career NHL games entering this year.
His injury history obviously raises a red flag, but Harding's just 27 years old, has Brodeur-like height at 6'2" and wouldn't cost the Devils any players to get him since he will be an unrestricted free agent next year.
Ty Conklin
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The Alaska native is no spring chicken at age 35, but Conklin has over 200 games of NHL experience and could at least buy the Devils a few more years, at worst, to groom someone younger.
The former University of New Hampshire star enjoyed his best NHL season in 2008-09, when he went 25-11-2 with six shutouts in 40 games with the Red Wings, including a 2.51 GAA and .909 save percent, plus a win in the 2009 Winter Classic at Chicago's Wrigley Field.
The well-traveled six-foot netminder has also posted 17 total shutouts in an eight-year NHL tenure with Detroit, Edmonton, Buffalo, Columbus, Pittsburgh and St. Louis, and is less than 10 wins away from 100 victories in his career.
Being the backup in Detroit this year to Jimmy Howard, Conklin shouldn't be too overworked when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next year.
Brent Johnson
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The 6'3" Johnson has played in 23 games in each of the last two NHL campaigns with the Penguins, and has nearly 300 games of NHL experience with Pittsburgh, Washington, Phoenix and St. Louis, including 14 career shutouts.
Johnson's most substantive body of work came in 2001-02, when he went 34-20-4 with a 2.18 GAA and .902 save percentage for the Blues, although he hasn't played in at least 30 NHL games since 2006-07 with the Capitals. He did post 35 wins in 54 starts in all with the Caps and Pens over the past three seasons, but will be 35 years old when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next year.
The former Owen Sound Plater could still be worth a look for New Jersey, especially since Marc-Andre Fleury won't be leaving the crease in Steeltown any time soon.
Brian Elliott
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Elliott, who backstopped Wisconsin to the 2006 NCAA title, is now with his third NHL club in less than two years as a member of the Blues. He broke into the league full-time with Ottawa in 2008-09, where he finished 16-8-3 in 31 appearances with a 2.77 GAA and .902 save percentage.
He followed that up with a 29-18-4 campaign with the Senators the following season, including a career-high five shutouts in 55 games. He appeared in a personal-best 44 games for the Sens last season, recording just 13 wins before he was dealt to Colorado late last spring, where he won just twice in 12 games as the struggling Avalanche missed the playoffs.
Now with St Louis, where he won five of his first seven decisions this fall, the 6'2" Elliott would no doubt like to be a solid No. 1 goalie again, which won't happen while he's sharing the Blues' net with Jaroslav Halak. The 26-year-old will also be an unrestricted free agent next spring, and wouldn't cost the Devils a thing except money. He currently counts $600,000 against St. Louis' cap.
Cory Schneider
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Schneider is just 25 years old and came of age last year when he went 16-4-2 with a 2.23 GAA and .929 save percentage in 25 games to help the Canucks win the Jennings Trophy.
The former Boston College All-American selection and first-round NHL draft choice then filled in solidly in his home state of Massachusetts in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals when starter Roberto Luongo faltered in Boston.
Luongo, though, is the No. 1 netminder in Vancouver for the foreseeable future, and it remains to be seen if the Canucks want to retain (and pay) the 6'2" Schneider to primarily be a backup goaltender. He currently earns $900,000 a season and will undoubtedly be looking for a raise (and probably a No. 1 position) in 2012. He only had 33 career NHL starts through Nov. 9, but that will definitely increase as this season continues.
If the Canucks don't re-sign Schneider, there are a number of teams that should come calling for his services, including the Devils, but as a restricted free agent, what will the Canucks want for him in return? And will the Devils pony up substantial funds, with some of their their own key players (especially Zach Parise) entering free agency next year?
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