When you think of the New Jersey Devils, it’s hard to not immediately have a picture of Martin Brodeur pop into your head. Considered one of the greatest goalies to ever play the sport, the winningest goaltender in NHL history with 691 careers regular season wins officially returned to New Jersey on Wednesday.

Being the former face of the Devils franchise, Brodeur rejoins the club as the executive vice-president of business development.

After leaving the Devils at the tail-end of his career to join the St. Louis Blues for seven games from December 4, 2014, to January 2, 2015, Brodeur officially packed it in and moved upstairs into a management role. Hired first as a special assistant to GM Doug Armstrong, Brodeur quickly leapfrogged up the ladder as his apprentice and landed a role as the team’s assistant GM on May 22 after inking a three-year contract extension. 

Speaking with MSG Network, Brodeur outlined why he felt the time was right to return back to the Devils organization after honing his craft away, and if you’re a parent of a young child that’s involved in sports, then you’ll understand why the 46-year-old is leaving Missouri.

“I always thought I would come back and do something here in New Jersey.”

“Last year was a good year – a big learning curve as far as what I did in St. Louis. It was just a lot of work and travelling. Personally, I wanted to take a little step back and don’t work as much to make sure I could enjoy Max, my little guy who’s 8-years-old. He’s getting involved in baseball, hockey and a lot of different stuff.

“I was missing a lot it last year, so when my contract was done, this is where I kind of called and asked if there’s anything we could arrange.”

When you’ve had the illustrious career that Brodeur had, including three Stanley Cups, four Vezina Trophies, and two Olympic gold medals for parts of 23 seasons in professional hockey, then you can certainly understand why Brodeur wants to spend time with his family. No longer dealing with the day-to-day tasks of reaching out to rival GMs, negotiating contracts, and overseeing the farm system, the Montreal product hopes to flourish in the business side of the game rather than being involved in the everyday managerial handlings.

“It feels fantastic to be back home here in New Jersey,” Brodeur told to The Associated Press. “This unique opportunity will allow me to build on existing relationships in the business community and take on a new challenge in my career. I’ve been able to work in all facets of the game of hockey and have had a growing interest in the business surrounding the game.”

(h/t MSG Networks and AP)