Brodeur to make start with trade report swirling

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur will get the start Tuesday night against Detroit at the Prudential Center and it could be his last for the only team he's ever known.

The New York Daily News has cited an unidentified source in a report that says the Minnesota Wild and Devils have agreed to a trade at Wednesday's deadline. All it apparently needs is Brodeur's approval.

Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello, though, was quoted by a New Jersey publication as saying the report was inaccurate.

"People are out of their minds spreading rumors," Lamoriello was quoted as saying by NJ.com on Tuesday. "It's unbelievable to even hear these types of things."

Brodeur, who has a no-trade clause, has played in 1,249 regular-season games with the Devils, posting a 683-391-152 mark with an NHL-record 124 shutouts. The 21-year veteran has a .912 save percentage with a 2.24 goals-against average and has backstopped the Devils to a trio of Stanley Cup titles.

However, the future Hall of Fame netminder has been relegated to backup duty behind Cory Schneider, who was acquired last summer from Vancouver and has wrestled the No. 1 job away from Brodeur.

The 41-year-old Brodeur has appeared in 29 games this season and owns a record of 14-11-4 with a 2.47 GAA and .900 save percentage. He split time with Schneider for most of the first half of the season, but has played just once since being pulled from the 7-3 loss to the New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium on Jan. 26.

That outing was just this past Saturday, a 6-1 road win over the New York Islanders.

A four-time Vezina Trophy winner as the league's top goaltender, Brodeur also has a 113-91 postseason record with 24 shutouts, a .919 save percentage and 2.02 GAA.

The Devils selected the Montreal native with the 20th overall pick of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft and he made his debut with the team during the 1991-92 season, becoming the club's primary goaltender the following year.

Brodeur won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie in 1993-94 and helped the Devils to the conference finals that spring. He won the first of his three Stanley Cup titles in the spring of 1995 and added championships in 2000 and 2003.

The Devils also reached the Cup Finals in 2001 and again just two years ago in a surprising run that ended with a six-game loss to the Los Angeles Kings.