New Jersey brought six goaltenders to camp this year, but unlike on forward and defense there are no roster spots to be won for the parent club. Everyone knows who the big two are, and we’ll get to them in a moment.  Keith Kinkaid (UDFA) and Scott Wedgewood (’10 third-rounder) are the likely goalies for Albany this year, and Kinkaid – who played the third period in last night’s preseason opener – even had a cup of coffee with the Devils last year.  Kinkaid got the slight majority of the starts in the AHL over the last two years and will likely do so again, while Wedgewood (the best puck-handling goalie in the organization, apart from the master) will play more games in the A this season after four years in the OHL and one in the ECHL, though he did get a five-game looksee with Albany last spring.  Maxime Clermont (’10 sixth-rounder) is probably ticketed for the ECHL again after spending the last two years there, while Anthony Brodeur will begin playing for Gatineau of the QMJHL after getting the thrill of a lifetime being drafted by his father in the seventh round this summer – in his home building, no less – and skating alongside him in camp these last several days.

Now we get to what is alternately the smallest and the biggest question mark on the team – Martin Brodeur and Cory Schneider.  It hardly needs to be said what Marty’s meant to the NHL in general or the Devils specifically over the last twenty-one years, but just like two years ago this is the last year on Brodeur’s contract with an uncertain future ahead of the 41-year old.  That said, he’s still here and how coach Pete DeBoer manages the playing time of the old legend and the shiny new acquisition may determine how the Devils’ season goes.  Proving that sometimes things do indeed come full circle, Schneider represents the first serious challenge to Marty’s claim as the #1 goaltender since a then-rookie Brodeur beat out longtime vet Chris Terreri in 1994.

Despite the hundred different ways the media will ask the question during camp, DeBoer likely won’t give an answer to how he plans to split up the playing time between the old legend and the up-and-comer.  Pretty much all we know is that with twenty-two back-to-backs, each goaltender would seem to be guaranteed that number of starts presuming health, with the other thirty-eight games TBD.  While Schneider hasn’t been a starting goaltender in an 82-game season before – his numbers, level of play in Vancouver and demeanor all suggest he can handle that role.   Ironically, Schneider got his Devils tenure off to a perfect start last night with two shutout periods against former coach Alain Vigneault and his Rangers.  For his part, Vigneault was extremely complimentary of his former goaltender and the Devils’ acquisition of him.   In another odd twist, the Devils’ acquisition of Schnieder spelled the end of backup goalie Johan Hedberg‘s tenure here, but now Hedberg is in New York on a PTO trying to win the backup job from Martin Biron.

There are surely many moving parts at work here when ultimately determining who gets playing time.  Obviously who’s playing well will factor in, but it’ll be hard to sit either goalie for too long.  For one, Lou Lamoriello didn’t give up a top ten pick to have someone (Schneider) sit who the GM himself has called a ‘top five’ goalie. Finding out how Schneider handles the weight of being the man is somewhat imperative given the fact you eventually want to sign him to a long-term extension this offseason.  Having him sit the majority of games this year with perhaps Brodeur coming back for another season if he plays well might derail the transition other than speed it up.  And just going by the numbers last year, Schneider vastly outplayed Marty – at least in terms of save percentage (.927 to .902).

And yet I still cringe thinking about that because this is Marty Brodeur after all…you don’t want to shove him out the door and have the same kind of public blowup that happened in Brett Favre’s final days in Green Bay.  You just don’t want to shove him out the door period, after all he’s done for the team and the money he left on the table in the prime of his career. Although to be fair Marty’s a little less diva-ish than Favre anyway so it likely wouldn’t come to that.  Plus if he plays well, given all he’s done for the franchise he’s earned the right to have the net until he loses it on merit – and certainly Marty isn’t publicly backing down from the challenge.  Especially since the 2012 playoff run where Marty was two games away from winning a Conn Smythe was not that long ago.  If say, Schneider starts 47 games on the season and Marty plays 35 but their level of play is similar, it’d take a lot of intestinal fortitude to not start Brodeur in the first playoff game (presuming we make it).  If Marty doesn’t play well?  That’s where it has the potential get really tricky, although like the great Mariano Rivera you get the sense Marty’s not going to overstay his welcome.

One thing that can’t be denied is with Brodeur’s history and Schneider’s relative success in Vancouver, the Devils have one of the most experienced and accomplished goaltending tandems in the universe.  And both have the reputation for being cool and level-headed enough to handle the questions and uncertainty ahead in the next days, weeks and months.  It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out on the ice.