Johan Hedberg Could Relieve Martin Brodeur of Some Games
Posted by freezethepuck on July 2, 2010
Yesterday the New Jersey Devils signed a veteran goaltender. Johan Hedberg became the latest goaltender to play behind Martin Brodeur. Goaltenders never seem to stay long as Brodeur’s backup, though Yann Danis did express desire to remain as the backup.
As usual with the Devils, Hedberg signed for one-year, but received a no-trade clause in his contract. The contract, worth $1.1 million, seems a bit excessive for a goaltender to back-up Brodeur, but Tom Gulitti reported Lou Lamoriello saying the plan remains for Brodeur to play less games (though they say that every year), and with Hedberg the Devils have a bit more experience in net than they did with Danis.
Hedberg played in nine seasons previously, posting a 123-114-14 (ties)-15 (SO) in 293 games. His overall goals-against-average is 2.93 and his save percentage is .900.
Brodeur could likely rest more with Hedberg playing more, but will the Devils really rest Brodeur? It always seems that the Devils try to rest Brodeur more and more each year, but it never works out.
For now though, the Hedberg contract seems a bit of a head-scratcher. Nevertheless, the Devils signed a backup goaltender while still trying to hunt down Ilya Kovalchuk.
