NHL Free Agents 2012: Martin Brodeur Reportedly Signs Deal to Stay with Devils

The legend of Martin Brodeur is going to continue to grow, at least for two more seasons.

According to Renaud P. Lavoie of RDS, the New Jersey Devils goaltender has signed a two-year, $9 million deal to remain with the team.

"

Martin Brodeur is staying with the Devils. 2 years / 9 millions. Great news for the Devils fans and that franchise.

— Renaud P Lavoie (@RenLavoieRDS) July 2, 2012"

While it’s not shocking that the franchise elected to bring back a keeper who carried them to a Stanley Cup Final appearance, it’s quite an incredible feat for a man who just turned 40 to get a two-year deal in the NHL.

This signing is going to bring stability to the Devils roster. It finally stops rumblings that Brodeur would finish his career with another team, a notion that seemed unfathomable to fans of the organization.

Brodeur was on the open market for a total of one day and drew a lot of interest from teams like the Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Montreal-born goaltender has played his entire career with the New Jersey Devils, becoming their first-round draft pick back in 1990, making his professional debut during the 1991 season and becoming a regular starter by 1993-94.

Brodeur owns numerous records in the NHL, including most regular-season wins (656), most playoff shutouts (24) and most total minutes played by a goaltender (1,191). The gap between the Devils keeper and the competition will only grow over these next two seasons—especially considering Brodeur is still on top of his game.

He navigated his team through the postseason and had the franchise on the cusp of their first Stanley Cup victory since 2003. They ran into a tough Los Angeles Kings team that was scorching hot and were not able to mount a comeback after losing the first three games of the series.

Regardless, the Devils will try to keep much of the same roster in hopes to repeat as Eastern Conference champions in 2013 and perhaps push through and win a Stanley Cup.

That feat would be unimaginable without Brodeur between the pipes in N.J.