NEWARK, N.J. — Martin Brodeur is going to remain the face of the New Jersey Devils.

The 40-year-old goaltender who has led the team to three Stanley Cups, signed a two-year, $9 million contract Monday to stay with the only NHL club he’s ever known.

“At the end of the day, this is what I wanted all along,” Brodeur said in a conference call. “Circumstances happen sometimes in life that I can’t control, and I can’t say it won’t happen again, but I am happy, and two years seems appropriate for me maybe to leave the game at that time. But I am not 100 percent sure. Again, we’ll how I feel and how well I am able to play.”

The key to the new deal was the Devils’ eventual willingness to give him the extra year, Brodeur said. Adding the length of the contract was more important than the money because of the potential of a lockout this upcoming season. Two years provides stability and the assurance that he will have somewhere to play.

Brodeur would not identify the teams that contacted him, though Chicago and Toronto expressed interest. When asked if he gave the Devils a discount, he noted there were offers from other teams that were much different than the one he signed.

Hours after word of Brodeur’s deal leaked, the Devils also announced that backup goaltender Johan Hedberg, 39, also signed a two-year deal worth $1.4 million per season. Both deals feature no-trade clauses.

“We’ll definitely bring stability to the back end,” said Brodeur, the NHL’s all-time winningest goaltender. “We’ve done that for the last year and a half, two years. It’s nice to be able to count on somebody to be able to play well and that helped me to be fresh on the back end of the season. It’s a nice setup.”