Martin Brodeur named assistant general manager of St. Louis Blues

Martin Brodeur has been named the Blues assistant general manager, further cementing him as a local team legend.

Well, not really, but it gives Brodeur a chance to transition into hockey management, where he doesn’t have much of a background, outside of a few months this year with St. Louis. His deal is for three years, the team announced.

Brodeur, 43, returned to the NHL this season for seven games with the Blues after the Devils opted to not re-sign the future Hall of Fame netminder.

Via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

"I really enjoyed it, but we had a conversation that I'd like to do more," Brodeur told the Post-Dispatch recently, prior to accepting the new position. "I want to learn as much as possible. I think it was a great opportunity for me to be around the team advising. But now after doing that for six months, I'd like to do a little more." 

Why not go back to the Devils, where Brodeur became the winningest goaltender of all-time and a three-time Stanley Cup champion? With new general manager Ray Shero in charge, that probably turned into a non-option. This made the most logical sense for Brodeur.

His retirement ceremony in St. Louis had to be one of the stranger end-of-career moments in recent memory. Almost like Ray Bourque’s jersey retirement with the Avalanche after playing in Colorado for two years.

How much will Blues general manager Doug Armstrong lean on Brodeur – he of the no management experience? This has the feeling of sort of a placeholder spot so Brodeur can learn more about the business and then take charge of some team when he’s ready.

That model has worked in the past with others. Brodeur clearly already has the hockey management body, per Sean Avery. Now we’ll see if he has the hockey management mind.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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