Toronto Maple Leafs president meets Martin Brodeur
By Cory Buck
The Toronto Maple Leafs had one stable year of goaltending last season so obviously that all must change. However such a task is to be done, it will start with a simple chat. Leafs fans are hoping one chat in particular will have nothing to do with whichever goaltender the team brings in to replace restricted free agent James Reimer and supplement Jonathan Bernier. That chat? One between Leafs president Tim Leiweke and Hall-of-Famer-to-be Martin Brodeur.
That tweet of course set off a chain reaction of Leafs fan slapping their faces and bemoaning the possibilities on Twitter. So basically they reacted as they must when Leafs management does anything at all. And who can blame them? While the Leafs still struggle to do basic things like score goals or maintain possession, management remains maddeningly fixed on their goaltending and third line center situations at the cost of basically everything else.
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If the Leafs spend one dime on Martin Brodeur, expect an uproar from Toronto’s tortured faithful. Jonathan Bernier was a lone bright spot for this team and while backup James Reimer struggled at times, he’d still be a better option than 42-year old Brodeur, who has a .901 save percentage in 68 combined starts in the last two seasons. Reimer meanwhile sports about a .917 in that same span.
It’s just a conversation and it could very well mean nothing more, but Martin Brodeur is a free agent this year and he’ll be looking for someone to bite on the idea that he has something left in the tank. You’ll have to forgive Leafs fans if they’re not entirely confident that upper management will see through that ruse.