St. Louis Blues Officially Sign Martin Brodeur

Arguably the greatest goaltender in NHL history is now a member of the St. Louis Blues. 42-year-old Martin Brodeur officially signed a one-year contract with the Blues on Tuesday morning, following a four-day trial period as the team attempted to gauge if the legendary goalie, who has not played since the end of the 2013-14 season, was a viable option to fill in for starter Brian Elliott as he recovers from a lower-body injury that is projected to sideline him for about a month.

Brodeur will make a pro-rated $700,000 base salary, plus $10,000 for every point he earns. Even though at his advanced age, Brodeur is not the same goalie who had both the endurance to start as many as 78 games in a season and the skill to set the all-time records for wins and shutouts, he’ll be a viable option to take some of the load off of rookie Jake Allen. Coupled with that, the Blues are getting him very cheap for the level of skill he’s displayed throughout his career. Brodeur’s base salary is higher than only three other players on the roster: Joakim Lindstrom, Chris Porter, and Chris Butler.

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Coach Ken Hitchcock referred to Brodeur’s signing as a short-term fix on Tuesday, and there seems to be a mutual understanding among both parties that he won’t be with the team for too long. If Brodeur plays well, the Blues may be able to move him to another team in a trade, but there’s certainly the option for him to retire or accept an unconditional placement on waivers as well. While that isn’t exactly the ideal solution if the Blues suffer another goalie injury this year, it gives the Blues more time to develop 21-year-old Jordan Binnington, who currently has just 10 AHL games under his belt, in the minors.

Brodeur will wear number 30 and is expected to make his Blues debut either on Thursday against the Nashville Predators or on Saturday against the New York Islanders.