Brodeur to remain in New Jersey

Newark, NJ – Martin Brodeur will remain a New Jersey Devil.

After testing the free agent market for the first time, albeit briefly, Brodeur signed a new contract on Monday.

Terms were not disclosed, but Brodeur confirmed Monday in a conference call that it was a two-year deal. RDS in Montreal and the Newark Star-Ledger each reported it to be worth $9 million.

The Devils also signed Brodeur's backup, Johan Hedberg, to an undisclosed deal on Monday.

Brodeur hired an agent last week after handling his own contract negotiations for the past 15 years and fielded a few offers from other teams when free agency began Sunday.

"The process was pretty simple," said Brodeur about his first foray into free agency. "We talked to the Devils all along. The line of communication was always open. We had conversations with other teams through my agent that kind of made this process a lot easier for me. We did entertain some offers, but in the end the Devils were able to come through with an extra year."

The 40-year-old veteran helped New Jersey to the Stanley Cup Finals this spring, coming up short of a fourth championship in a six-game loss to the Los Angeles Kings. He posted a record of 31-21-4 with a 2.41 goals against average and three shutouts in 59 games during the regular season.

Before the playoffs, there was speculation that Brodeur might call it a career after the season. However, New Jersey's deep playoff run appeared to energize the 19-year veteran. As the postseason wound down, Brodeur began talking about playing at least one more season and always stated his desire to remain with the only team he's ever known.

"This is what I wanted all along," Brodeur added. "Two years seems appropriate for me to maybe be able to leave the game at that time, but we'll see how I feel and how well I'm able to play."

Brodeur was selected by the Devils with the 20th overall pick of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft and made his debut during the 1991-92 campaign. He was the Calder Trophy winner as the league's top rookie for 1993-94, helping the Devils to the Eastern Conference finals.

Three Stanley Cup titles over the next nine seasons followed. He won his first of four Vezina Trophies as the league's top goaltender in his last Stanley Cup-winning season of 2002-03.

In 1,191 career games Brodeur, has a record of 656-371-141 with an NHL record 119 shutouts and a 2.23 GAA. He also owns league marks for wins and minutes played by a goaltender.

Hedberg appeared in 27 games for the Devils last season with a mark of 17-7-2, four shutouts and a 2.23 GAA. In 354 games over 10 seasons with Pittsburgh, Vancouver, Dallas, Atlanta and New Jersey, the 39-year-old native of Sweden has a record of 155-133-33 with a 21 shutouts and 2.83 GAA.