SUNRISE, Fla. — Martin Brodeur was living the life that would make most people jealous. Relaxing in his Florida home in early spring, perhaps just off the golf course, the Devils goaltender settled in to watch some Stanley Cup playoff hockey.

And he was miserable.

“Last year we were out of it way before the season ended and I never thought I was going to miss it. I thought, ‘All right, finally I get a break and a rest.’ Then I started watching the playoffs a little bit and I got that feeling,” Brodeur recalled.

“It was probably the second round. I was in Florida, so I’d watch at night. You kind of miss it. You see the guys after they score a goal, and the fans. The whole playoff atmosphere. It’s something I missed big time last year.”

He’s in Florida again this spring, but this time Brodeur will be behind the mask and pads when the Devils open the playoffs tonight at the BankAtlantic Center against the Panthers.

Less than a month from his 40th birthday on May 6, he is right where he wants to be.

“I don’t know what the future will bring me. I want to play more, but a lot of circumstances could happen that I won’t,” he said. “So I’m looking forward to this.”

The odds are Brodeur will be back with the Devils next season. He certainly played well enough to merit a new contract, going 31-21-4 with a 2.41 goals-against average.

But, as Brodeur was reminded a month ago, life has its unpredictable twists. On Feb. 7, just before he was set to face the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, he received a text from his brother, Denis Jr.

“Dad has a tumor on his brain,” it read, informing the goalie of the results from a CT scan their father, Denis, underwent the previous day.

Brodeur shut out the Rangers, 1-0. But he feared his 81-year-old father might not even see these playoffs.

“It hits you that it could happen,” Brodeur said, leaving the rest unspoken. “That’s life.”

Denis Brodeur underwent nine hours of surgery Feb. 17 in which the cancerous tumor was removed. He is doing so well that Martin does not approach these playoffs as winning this year for his dad.

“I think there was a moment when I learned the news when maybe that crossed my mind,” he admitted. “We didn’t know what the outcome would be. But everything went well and my dad is doing real well. He looks better now than he did before he went in (for the surgery).

“We’re just really happy with what is going on with him. With the situation he’s in right now, I don’t feel this could be the last time. His progress has been so great.”

UNCERTAINTY AHEAD

There are, however, potential motivating factors for Brodeur in these playoffs beyond the obvious.

His playing future is not settled.

“I’m not 100 percent sure about next year because I don’t have a contract and I’m not negotiating or anything,” Brodeur said. “We’ll see what the future brings after these playoffs. But this season definitely answered a lot of questions in the way I’m able to perform and my willingness to do it every day. That was one of the things that was worrying me a little bit.

“You need to want to come to the rink. You need to want to travel. I’ve been doing it for a long time and I really regained that desire this season. That’s why I didn’t want to lean one way or the other for the longest time. Just because I wanted to see if I was up for the grind.”

He’d like to see Zach Parise re-sign with the Devils and wonders, like everyone, if what the Devils do in the playoffs will have an impact on the captain’s decision.

“I’ve never been a free agent. I will be,” Brodeur said with a laugh. “But one team will win and four teams will have a good run. After that, everything is average. You’re talking about four teams out of 30, so it’s hard to say to an organization, ‘If I don’t feel we can win it or get close, I’m not staying.’ Players would move all the time.

“You just have to be comfortable with the team, the friendships and the chemistry you have. We’re starting to build something really good with (Ilya Kovalchuk). You go somewhere else, that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. So there are a lot of good things for him (Parise) here. But, at the end of the day, he’ll have his fate in his own hands and he’ll decide what he wants. Personally, I think it’s a really good fit for him here, but he’s going to make the decision.”

Parise declined to comment on how much of an impact these playoffs will have on his decision.

Although Brodeur claims he does not agonize over lost opportunities, there won't be a lot more chances for a fourth Stanley Cup.

“These are things you can’t over-think too much, because a lot goes into winning. It’s not just having a good team. It’s having the right situation, having the breaks when you need them,” Brodeur said.

“I think we’re fortunate to have won three Stanley Cups. I know everybody is greedy about these things because everybody thinks we should win all the time. But there are 29 other teams looking to get it done and that makes it a tough journey.”

NO REGRETS

Certainly he must have regrets about 2001, when the Devils were one victory from back-to-back Cups but lost Game 6 at home and Game 7 in Colorado.

“If we had never won one, it would bother me still,” Brodeur said. “The fact that we were able to get another one was important. Winning back-to-back is rare.

“You could look back at years we should’ve won. But maybe years we won we shouldn’t have, like coming back from 3-1 against the Flyers (in 2000). So you can’t look into it too deeply.”

Patrik Elias said of 2001: “Of course there are regrets, but I don’t know if regret is the right word. Disappointment, yes. We played a pretty good team. The series was played out pretty well for us. We just didn’t finish it.

“(Avalanche goalie Patrick) Roy was standing on his head in Game 6. We had 15 shots in the first period and it was 1-0. That kind of discouraged us. It was unbelievable. He obviously gave them the opportunity to win that game and gave them a Game 7. Marty played great for us. Roy was the difference in that game. But just that game.”

Is there a good reason why the Devils should have faith in Brodeur at this stage?

“Because he’s proven over and over again that he’s a big-gamer,” Parise said. “You can’t replace those four Stanley Cup Final experiences. I think it definitely gets into opponents’ heads when you have a guy like that in the net. All those things add up.”

Defenseman Bryce Salvador said of Brodeur: “He’s the best goalie in history. He makes any team better just from a confidence standpoint. From my experience, when you have a goalie that can win you games, it makes your game easier. You’re not always worrying, ‘Do I have to slide and block this shot? Do I have to try not to let this shot go through?’ You’re just playing your game and you’re not worried about what the goalie is going to do or not do.

“That’s what Marty brings you. A wealth of experience, a winning history and a confidence back there that he’s seen everything. Nothing is going to rattle him.”

What rattles him is not being in the playoffs.

Rich Chere: rchere@starledger.com; twitter.com/Ledger_NJDevils