Shawn Matthias Up.. Mike Brodeur an All-Star..

Matthias was called up again. Fourth time in a week. He should be playing tonight against Toronto.

Other than that, the news is good on Mike Brodeur. While no contract has been reached, the most recent entry in Kevin Oklobzija's blog is promising.

I spoke with his agent, Craig Oster, this morning before heading to the rink and he sounded quite confident that a deal can be done. Money is not an issue, Oster said, and Brodeur isn’t even asking for an NHL contract for this season.

Oster said they are content to accept an AHL deal for the remainder of the season, then see what the future holds.

“From Mike’s perspective, his sole objective has been opportunity and he has been given that in Rochester,” Oster said. “At the end of the year, if he continues to do well, there’s no reason he’d want to go anywhere else.

“Sure, he’d like to have security (of an NHL contract) this year, but this allows him the ultimate in flexibility.”

The Panthers depth chart in goal isn’t deep when it comes to NHL talent. Brodeur can gauge his competition and knows he can be prominent in the Panthers’ future if he continues to play well.

“You can look at the depth charts of a lot of NHL teams and there may not be a lot of teams that present opportunity,” Oster said. “He has really enjoyed his time in Rochester, likes the guys there and thinks the team is headed in the right direction.”

The other tidbit about Mike Brodeur: He's playing in the AHL All-Star game this season because, yes, he really has been that good. Brodeur will be one of the two backup goaltenders for the Canadian AHL All-Star Team.

The full roster is here.