The New Jersey Devils might have stolen the show in the last NHL Draft.
In an interview with Jean-Charles Lajoie on Friday, Martin Brodeur confirmed that his team had really considered trading the second overall pick.
Watch the full interview in the video above.
“We came pretty close to trading him. I would say we were seven on a scale of one to ten. We had conversations with different teams. It was important for us to have at least one pick in the top 10 of this draft. Soon, we will be able to compromise certain draft picks, but we are not there yet.
The Quebecer is however at peace with the decision of his organization not to have moved since the Devils had the chance to select Simon Nemec with this choice.
“We are impressed! Due to the fact that he was in Europe, we hadn’t seen a lot of him. Our scouts liked him a lot and that’s why we drafted him second overall. Coming to training camp, it took him a week to get used to the size of the rink and the speed of the game. It’s incredible to see him going, for an 18-year-old kid. He still has the puck and, defensively, he holds his own.
Brodeur also believes the Devils’ rebuilding is over and the team must now make the playoffs.
“Our young people are no longer young and our owners allowed us to spend money on signing free agents. Players like Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt are no longer in their first year. It’s time to aim for the playoffs. We hope that this year this will be the case. Scoring goals shouldn’t be a problem for us. We added leadership and a player who can play on both sides of the ice in Ondrej Palat.
The legendary goaltender can’t wait for the regular season to begin and can’t take this endless training camp any longer.
“It’s long, especially the last week. All players are already arriving in good condition. The last week is the hardest to wait. These are long practices and our coaches have to keep the players attentive. Me, I would be for keeping the training camp much shorter. Put that at two weeks and you can play between three and five preseason games.
