from Nicholas J. Cotsonika of Yahoo,

From the outside, it might be hard to understand. Why does Martin Brodeur keep talking about playing elsewhere? He has spent his entire career with the New Jersey Devils. He has made millions of dollars. He has won 684 games – more than any other goaltender in NHL history – and three Stanley Cups. Why not go out with grace? What more does he need?

But Brodeur isn’t afraid of hanging on too long. He’s afraid of not hanging on long enough. He isn’t worried he will regret leaving the Devils. He’s worried he will regret leaving the game. In the end, he said, he doesn’t want to sit there and say to himself, “I should have done something.”

“That’s what I’m scared of the most – not living to the fullest in the NHL,” Brodeur said. “If they let you play, you might as well play.”

Brodeur is 41 and at the end of his contract. He is unhappy backing up Cory Schneider, a 27-year-old the Devils acquired from the Vancouver Canucks last year for the ninth overall pick in the draft. All season, he has talked about being open to a trade if he could play more, if he had a chance to win the Cup and if it helped the Devils.

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