NEWARK — Lou Lamoriello was in the front row Tuesday night for the retirement ceremony of the No. 30 jersey worn by the former Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur. Brodeur thought that was fitting because Lamoriello not only drafted him in 1990, but assigned him the number.
Lamoriello decided to give No. 30 to Brodeur because, as the team’s general manager for 28 years, he made pretty much every decision for the team. As Brodeur remembered, he was thankful for an N.H.L. jersey with any number on it.
“If he wouldn’t be here, there’d be something missing,” Brodeur said as he sat in a lounge at Prudential Center before the ceremony, which preceded the Devils’ game against the Edmonton Oilers.