Q: How many wins do you think Martin Brodeur will end up with when he retires?
— P.W. from Milwaukee
A: Now that Brodeur has broken the 500-win plateau, P.W., I suspect he’s good  for at least another 100 wins, and that would easily bring him the record for most career wins by an NHL backstop — surpassing’s Patrick Roy’s mark of 551.

Brodeur, 35, has four more seasons on his contract after 2007-‘08, the deal to conclude just a few weeks shy of his 40^th birthday.  At this rate, provided the Devils pick up their game a little, he should break Roy’s record toward the end of next season. His reason’s to keep playing:  his deal in New Jersey will pay him $5.2 million annually through April 2012.

Remember, goalies tend to play well into their 30s and sometimes into their 40s.  Roy finished at age 37, in part because he had four Cups and was simply of the mind to call it quits.  But Jacques Plante was 44 when he played his last NHL game with the Bruins, and Terry Sawchuk left the game at age 40.   Glenn Hall played his last game with the Blues in the spring of ‘71, some six months shy of his 40^th birthday.  Hall, by the way, was the Blues goalie who watched Bobby Orr’s goal goal by him, clinching the ‘70 Cup for the Bruins.

Now, since you’ve asked me to predict a number of career wins for Brodeur ... I’ll go with 617.  It’s only by coincident that it happens to be the Boston area code.

Q: Is it too early to worry about my Sabres being in last place in the Northeast?  I knew they’d struggle a bit after losing Briere and Drury, but not this much.
— John Cage from Springfield, Ill.
A: Sorry to say, John, my pre-season forecast had the Sabres not making the playoffs this season, and these first couple of months have only served to convince me of that even more.

Obviously, I don’t need to remind you how much Briere and Drury meant to Lindy Ruff’s offense. They combined for 164 points.  Trim that much offense off of any team in the league — even the high-scoring Senators — and I suspect they’d be challenged to be anything other than also-rans in today’s game. 

The best option, when losing that kind of punch, is for a club to resort to trapping defenses and relying almost entirely on great goaltending (much like the Sabres did in their days with Dominik Hasek in their net).  I don’t see Ruff going that route, in part  because, as good as he is, Ryan Miller is no Hasek.

On top of the losses up front, the Sabres also had to match Edmonton’s $7 milion-a-year offer sheet to Tomas Vanek.  A talented kid, Vanek, who scored 43 goals last season, but he’ll now see all the top checkers the other side can throw his way, and he’ll have the pressure of that big contract with him for all his days in Buffalo.  I suspect it won’t be a quick recovery for the Western New Yorkers.

Q: Is Ilya Bryzgalov’s addition good enough to get the Coyotes into the playoffs? —    Ralph from Henderson, Nev.
A: Bryzgalov, obtained on waviers from the Ducks, was a great pickup for the Desert Dogs.  Witness: his shutout over the Kings in his Phoenix debut.

However, can the 27-year-old Russian land them one of the eight playoff seeds in the West this year?  Absolutely not.

Assuming they’ve stopped the bleeding in net with Bryzgalof, who still has to prove he is a No. 1, the Coyotes still don’t have enough offensive punch to be a playoff contender. The good news is, GM Don Maloney and head coach Wayne Gretzky decided this season to immerse some talented young kids up front, including the likes of Martin Hanzal, Peter Mueller and Dan Carcillo.

Overall, the addition of a good goalie helps the Coyotes immensely, but they still have an immense amount of work remaining, to upgrade the forward and defensive corps.

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