Resolve

It’s time to see what this team is really made of.

Since assuming the full-time starting job for the Devils, Martin Brodeur has never played less than his 67 games in 1996-97. It’s fairly safe to say that since he usurped Chris Terreri as #1 goalie in 1994-95, he has unquestionably been the backbone of the New Jersey Devils. Never before in his career has Brodeur had an injury that will keep him out of commission for as long as his elbow surgery will require. Around 3-4 months on the shelf will ensure Brodeur a 100% recovery, but what’s a team to do without their franchise player?

While the unabashedly Devils-hating hockey media would kill to see New Jersey miss the playoffs for the first time since 1996, that will revolve not around backup goalie Kevin Weekes, but on the team in front of him.

It takes a special player to be a Devil; the job requires a level of character and discipline that most clubs could not ask of their players. And yet, despite the discipline, despite the character, recent history has shown an aura of laziness around Devils camp. Sure you have to work hard for your breaks, be strong on both sides of the puck, be responsible defensively…but if all else fails, chances are #30 will bail you out. This security blanket has come back to bite the team before, as there has been many a game where the team has relied too heavily on Marty and not enough on themselves.

But that is all about to change. The greatest player in franchise history is now out for half a season, and while Kevin Weekes has shown he is ready to take the reins, the question remains how the team will play in front of him.

Will the Devils roam the ice like lost puppies when they find themselves in a pinch and the old standby can’t help them, or will they take some responsibility for once and realize that they should have been the ones winning games all along, rallying in Brodeur’s absence?

That will be the deciding factor in whether this already injury-plagued season can be salvaged, or if we’ll be counting down the days to October.