Brodeur to retire, will join Blues' front office

[January 28, 2015]  (Reuters) - Future Hall of Fame goalie Martin Brodeur, the National Hockey League's all-time leader in wins and shutouts, will announce his retirement on Thursday, the St. Louis Blues said on Tuesday.

The 42-year-old Canadian, who signed with St. Louis last month after spending the first 21 years of his NHL career with the New Jersey Devils, will remain with the organization in a management role, the team said in a statement.

Brodeur will formally announce his retirement from the NHL at a news conference at 10:30 a.m. CST (1630 GMT) on Thursday.

Brodeur, who was selected in the first round of the 1990 NHL Draft, led New Jersey to three Stanley Cup championships and retires as the league leader in wins (691) and shutouts (125).

The four-time Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL's top goalie also won Olympic gold medals with Canada in 2002 and 2010.

After a difficult 2010-11 campaign that had some suggesting Brodeur had reached the end of the line, he returned the next season and turned back the clock with a vintage display that left the Devils two wins shy of a fourth Stanley Cup title.

Brodeur split time in goal with Cory Schneider last season before leaving the Devils as a free agent in the offseason.

He went unsigned for the first months of this NHL season before inking a one-year contract with St. Louis in December after a knee injury to goalie Brian Elliott left them short.

"A lot of people thought I wasn't going to make the NHL, so I'm living this dream ... It's hard to let it go sometimes," he said before his first game with the Blues.

Brodeur went 3-3 with a 2.87 goals-against average for St. Louis. In his final game, Brodeur made 16 saves in a 3-0 shutout against Colorado last month before taking a leave of absence two weeks ago to ponder his future.

Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello told NJ Advance Media he was confident Brodeur would rejoin his organization in the front office at some point.

"He could have come here if he wanted," said Lamoriello, who added that Brodeur felt loyal to the Blues for signing him for this season. "He'll be back with the Devils."

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Larry Fine and Justin Palmer)

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