Fantasy Impact: The St. Louis Blues have signed goaltender Martin Brodeur to an incentive laden one-year deal.
The Blues get: A veteran goaltender to help bridge the gap while Brian Elliott is out. The Blues will presumably return to their usual 60-40 rotation in goal with Jake Allen claiming the larger portion of the starts.
Fantasy Players Impacted: This signing hints that Elliott's injury is fairly serious and that he may not be back for a while. Perhaps not until the New Year.
Allen will remain the interim #1 goalie but he has made every start since Elliott went down. That will change with Brodeur around. If you read Blues coach Ken Hitchcock's quotes, he has every intent of giving Brodeur serious playing time:
Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said if Brodeur is signed, he will play on the upcoming road trip.
“That’s very realistic,” Hitchcock said. “If he’s here, he’s going to play. We’ll figure out what game it is and games they are. But if he’s here, he’s going to play. He’s not going to back up.
There is plenty of room for interpretation there but the take away seems to be that Brodeur will get a chance to play regardless of how Allen does. That doesn't mean that he is being handed the starting job out of the gate though.
Brodeur is in line to get some wins but in leagues that count a broader number of stats like goals-against average and save percentage, he'll be less valuable.
Brodeur is also just a Band-Aid solution. His contract is for just $700,000 meaning it wouldn't hurt the Blues to waive him at any point. Brodeur's deal does have some real incentives attached though so if he makes it to February or March the Blues would have to pony up more cash. If anything that gives the Blues incentive to cut him ASAP. That means you are unlikely to see Allen get demoted once Elliott returns and Elliott's job isn't at risk once he gets healthy.
The player hurt most here is probably Jordan Binnington who will be sent back to the AHL. He was always a long shot to gain fantasy relevance this season but when Elliott went down he found himself one injury or slump away from a chance. Brodeur's arrival puts him back to third in line.
Fantasy Players this helps, in order:
Fantasy Players this hurts, in order:
Jordan Binnington
Brian Elliott (because it suggests his injury is fairly serious)
Related Posts
UPCOMING GAMES
Starting Goalies
Top Skater Views
| Players | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| SAM RINZEL |
 CHI | |
| STEFAN NOESEN |
 N.J | |
| NOAH DOBSON |
 MTL | |
| KIRILL MARCHENKO |
 CBJ | |
| MORGAN GEEKIE |
 BOS
| |
Top Goalie Profile Views
PIT
DET
L.A
ANA
COL
LINE COMBOS
| Frequency |
 PHI Players
| |
|---|---|---|
| 25.6 | MATVEI MICHKOV TRAVIS KONECNY SEAN COUTURIER | |
| 20.4 | TYSON FOERSTER NOAH CATES BOBBY BRINK | |
| 19.6 | OWEN TIPPETT RYAN POEHLING DEVIN KAPLAN | |
DobberHockey Podcasts
Keeping Karlsson: Green Boys of 2024-25
Elan and Brian set their sights on NHL players who saved their best for last in 2024-25 — and wonder whether their projections should look more like their slow start, or hot finish.
Fantasy Hockey Life: Stefan Rosner on the New York Islanders
Stefan Rosner is here to report on the New York Islanders. Jesse and Victor interview Stefan Rosner about returning pros Bo Horvat, Anders Lee, Mathew Barzal, Simon Holmstrom, JG Pageau, Maxim Tsyplakov, Calum Ritchie, Noah Dobson, Ryan Pulock, Alexander Romanov, Scott Perunovich, and Ilya Sorokin. In Cat’s Instincts, Cat Silverman of InGoal mag breaks down […]
Fantasy Hockey Life: Draftastic 3 – Q&A on the NHL Draft
Jesse asks Victor the questions you wanted answers to from the NHL Draft!
Keeping Karlsson: UFA Szzzn
Elan and Brian work their hardest to make the most of the NHL’s 2025 UFA signings and player movement, searching for the guys who may be the most likely to exceed expectations in new homes and situations.
Fantasy Hockey Life: Draftastic 2 – Q&A on the NHL Draft
Victor and Jesse are back in studio as Victor reports on his time at the NHL Draft and his outlook on fantasy rookie drafts. We discuss Michael Misa, Matthew Schaefer, Cole McKinney, Mason West, Milton Gastrin and Jacob Ihs-Wozniak with player audio. Victor also answers patron questions on which players you’ll want to target for […]