Stefan Matteau No Longer on the Armada

 The New Jersey Devils' first round pick in 2012 got up and quit- no, he was released by manage- wait, we really have no idea what happened. The bottom line is Stefan Matteau is no longer a member of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada amid their QMJHL Semifinal series with Baie-Comeau.

 Stephane Leroux of RDS has been all over the abrupt conclusion of Matteau's career with the Armada, originally reporting that Matteau had quit the team and refused to take the team bus back to Boisbriand with his (ex)teammates after the team's Game 2 loss to the Drakkar. As the news spread, Armada management was swift to put forth an official statement regarding the matter, saying that the Devs prospects had been "released" by the team due to behavior considered "unacceptable to our organization."

 Now this story has become the classic he-said she-said. The good ol', "No, she didn't break up with me, I broke up with her!" The proverbial, "You can't fire me! I QUIT!" We may never actually know who quit on who or who released who, but what we do know is that Matteau was not too happy with being benched in Game 2 after taking a reckless slashing penalty. After that came the end of his season.

The End of an Era?

 Approaching July 1st, the first day of free agency in the National Hockey League, everybody knew there would be some exciting storylines. Stars Zach Parise and Ryan Suter may find a new home, Justin Schultz' highly anticipated decision as to where he'll start his NHL career, who will bite on Islanders' emerging playamaker P.A. Parenteau, just to name a few. But nobody could have anticipated the end of an era for one of the most legendary players in hockey history.
 A few months ago, the possibility of Martin Brodeur playing his final year(s) in the NHL for someone other than the New Jersey Devils would have sounded perposterous. But due to limited talks with Devils GM Lou Lamoriello and lingering ownership issues, it may become a bizarre reality soon. Yesterday, Brodeur hired one of the best agents in the game, Pat Brisson, and TSN's hockey insider Darren Dreger reported Marty's interest in exploring the free agent market. There is no guarantee that Marty will opt out of the Garden State, but the fact that he is even considering donning a sweater other than the red and black sent shock waves throughout the hockey world and the twitterverse. The fact of the matter is, though, despite Marty's legendary status, he isn't exactly a perfect fit with all 30 teams in the NHL. In fact, there are very few possible clubs who can make a respectable proposal to Brodeur and have the move make sense...