Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur will have surgery Thursday morning to repair a torn distal biceps tendon in his left elbow and will miss three to four months, Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello said this morning.

Lamoriello said Brodeur is expected to make a full recovery and should make it back in time for the end of the regular season.

— Tom Gulitti, Fire & Ice

It's hard to imagine a more devastating injury for any team in the league than for the Devils to lose Brodeur.

Three months will take him until early February; four will mean he's out until March. Either way, Kevin Weekes is going to be the team's go-go goalie, and he has hardly played the past four seasons. Postlockout, Weekes has played just 3,044 minutes, the equivalent of about 50 games, and he hasn't been a starter since 2003-04 with Carolina.

For the first time in 15 years, Brodeur won't be New Jersey's starter, and that's an interesting situation indeed.

One would think Lou Lamoriello will now pursue another goaltender, but the Devils can only really free up Brodeur's salary until he comes back, and that might create a trick situation three or four months from now. New Jersey has about $2-million to work with under the cap and could foreseeably fit someone like Dwayne Roloson in with some minor manoeuvring.

They're saying on the radio here in Toronto that last night's 2-0 loss to Buffalo was just the ninth game Brodeur has missed due to injury in his career. Obviously that number's about to make a jump.

Lamoriello's said he doesn't feel the need to trade for another goaltender, although consider that just a vote of confidence for Weekes: "Injuries are part of the game," Lamoriello said. "There's no question Martin Brodeur is an integral part of our team. This is where other people have opportunities. Other people have to step up, but you don't approach it any other way. I still feel strongly about our team."

Fire & Ice will be following this all day.