The 2023 trading period may be more surprising than many people anticipate.
At least that’s what Martin Brodeur said in an interview with Jean-Charles Lajoie on Wednesday.
“There are a lot of big players who may change addresses. For the prices, I don’t think they will be as high as people think. It is certain that there are teams which will want to make certain changes for the last end, but teams like Carolina, Toronto or Boston are really comfortable. They won’t have much to do. They also don’t have a lot of room to make transactions.”
The executive vice-president of hockey operations for the New Jersey Devils, however, does not believe that the transaction that sent Bo Horvat to the Islanders can be used as a barometer.
“It’s hard to say. Each team has a different situation with the salary cap. Lou always makes transactions well ahead of time. That’s what he does. It’s not that he wants to set the price, but he has his organization and he can run it any way he wants. It’s no surprise to see him make this change so soon. I don’t think it’s going to make a big difference. Each team has an idea in their mind where they want to go.
Regarding his training, the legendary goaltender confirms that the Devils will not put all their eggs in one basket this season, even if they find themselves in an excellent position in the standings.
“We are a year ahead of where we thought we were. Can we fight once morest Boston, Toronto or Tampa? That, we don’t know. In a game, maybe, but in a series of seven games, it might be a little bit more difficult. For us, we like our development and we try to see how good we will be in the next two, three or four years. You really have to be careful with the direction you want to take. Of course we want to improve, but we want players who can grow in success and learn to win.
Brodeur admits, however, that he would like to see the Devils follow a very specific model, when they find themselves well within their window of opportunity.
“When you have a team that has a chance to make the playoffs and can go far in the playoffs, you have to make the right decisions. There is a price to pay for that. I always come back to Tampa. They have participated in the final three times and they have won twice. They paid top dollar for it. Again this year, they are able to be competitive.
Watch the interview in the video above.
