Brodeur settling into new role with Devils

BERN, Switzerland --Martin Brodeur said traveling with the New Jersey Devils for the 2018 NHL Global Series has provided a welcome break from preparing his speech for his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto on Nov. 12.

"I have about 600 words written already," he said. "I want to keep it tight. I'm going to try and speak English and French and am trying to make it nice. I don't want to be too long or too short. My wife has been helping me, so it's been good."
Brodeur was named Devils executive vice president of business development on Aug. 29 and has been attending practices as New Jersey prepares for its final preseason game against SC Bern at PostFinance Arena on Monday (1:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, MSG+), and their regular-season opener against the Edmonton Oilers at Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Oct. 6 (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, MSG+).
Brodeur, who spent the past four seasons with the St. Louis Blues, including the past three as assistant general manager, played 21 NHL seasons as a goaltender with the Devils and is the NHL all-time leader in wins (691), shutouts (125), and games played among goalies (1,266). He played the final seven games of his NHL career with the Blues during the 2014-15 season before retiring Jan. 29, 2015.
Brodeur discussed his new role with the Devils and the state of hockey in an interview with NHL.com.
On his new business position with the Devils
"Right now, I'm mostly learning the responsibilities of everyone in the organization. I'm going one by one with the head of every department. It could be the sponsorship side, the season ticket side, the arena people, what they go through and their needs. I'm sitting on every meeting, not just associated with the Devils, but mostly the whole organization in order to get to know the ownership and investors. It's a lot of listening, but it's been fun. I've been shadowing (Devils president) Hugh Weber during this Europe trip."
On having the Devils involved in the 2018 NHL Global Series
"I never really thought something like this would happen when I played the game. I spent a lot of time with Hockey Canada last year, spent a lot of time in Europe, so I know what hockey means to the fans here. The NHL is not an easy sport to watch in Europe, but the people know the players and teams. People came up to me (at Zurich Airport) and knew me as a player from the Devils. I think it's great for the Devils to put themselves on the map a lot more, especially in Sweden. Switzerland is a smaller market, but you still see the interest and it didn't take long to sell out the game (against Bern). I know [Devils forward Nico Hischier] probably had a lot to do with that, but today the NHL sees the potential of growing the game in different parts of the world."
On the Devils turning to youth, and how important that is in the NHL today
"You can fight it all you want, but it's how the game is going. These kids are ready to be a part of the NHL at a young age today. They're like machines to me. I don't know how fun the game is for them, but it's impressive to watch the skills they have and how fast they play. The NHL is at a great spot right now. It's entertaining and on the upswing, and that goes with the youth and what they bring to the game. Trust me, I'll always vouch for the veterans because you need them to be successful, but these young guys can skate, can bang, and make plays. Back then, those players were playing three minutes a game, but you don't see that anymore. If you did, you'd be in trouble because your top line is going to get so tired."

On if goaltending has changed since his retirement in 2015
"The biggest difference to me is if your top guy gets hurt, that backup can play now. Back then, you were in trouble if the starter was hurt. That said, the average goalies are better, but the top goalies are still more recognizable and will win you Stanley Cup titles, like Marc-Andre Fleury and Braden Holtby. All the backups are similar to me, they are mostly 6-foot-3 or 6-4, and they do the butterfly."
On being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November
"The Hall induction just puts everything in perspective with what I've accomplished. It gives me an opportunity to look back to when I was a kid to the people who helped me from growing up in Montreal, moving to New Jersey, to going through the Winter Olympics, World Cup and World Championship with Team Canada. When you play you don't really think about these things, but on my new job and with less traveling, I can really reflect on what I've accomplished. So it's been a great few months to sit back and think about what the Hall of Fame really means."