St. Louis Blues give Martin Brodeur leave of absence to ponder future

Goaltender Martin Brodeur might have reached the end of his Hall of Fame career.

The St. Louis Blues, who had signed the 42-year-old goalie as insurance when they were hit by injuries, announced Wednesday they have given him a one-week leave of absence to think about his plans.

“Brodeur will rejoin the club in one week and his future will be addressed at that time,” the statement said, adding that neither Brodeur nor the club would comment before then.

Brodeur, a three-time Stanley Cup winner and four-time Vezina trophy winner who is the NHL’s career leader in games played (1,266), wins (691), shutouts (125) signed with the Blues in November after 21 seasons with the New Jersey Devils. He’s 3-3-0 with a 2.87 goals-against average and .899 save percentage in seven appearances.

He last played Jan. 2, when he gave up four goals to the Ducks on 33 shots in a 4-3 Anaheim victory. With starter Brian Elliott recovered from an injury and backup Jake Allen also fit and in need of playing time, Brodeur simply didn’t fit into the Blues’ plans anymore.

He had said recently he wasn’t keen on the idea of moving again via a trade to prolong his career. And one potential possibility closed Wednesday when the Minnesota Wild, in desperate need of goaltending help, instead chose to acquire Devan Dubnyk from Arizona for a third-round draft pick.

If he decides to retire, he can rest assured that his next major assignment will be to deliver his Hall of Fame speech.

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