Jimmy Firecracker
Backcheck, Forecheck, Paycheque.
He was McDavid and Draisaitl's daddy all series. Completely neutered them offensively and made many brilliant, stand out defensive plays. He's truly something special.
Tribute T.J. Brodie Appreciation
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Great addition and a great fit alongside Rielly. Finally have two reliable top 4 pairings, and its carried down to allow our 3rd pairing to excel.
Key piece on our defense that we were missing for so long. Perfect fit. Love the way he plays
Didn’t want him in the Kadri trade, but loathed Barrie even before he arrived....
Didn’t want Brodie when he signed as a UFA, and groaned when it was announced that we signed him.
Eating some serious crow for a while now. He’s been a great addition. Along with Bogo being a rock and Holl exceeding all manner of expectations this far, our RHD is beyond reproach at the moment, all with Liljegren waiting in the wings.....
Didn’t want Brodie when he signed as a UFA, and groaned when it was announced that we signed him.
Eating some serious crow for a while now. He’s been a great addition. Along with Bogo being a rock and Holl exceeding all manner of expectations this far, our RHD is beyond reproach at the moment, all with Liljegren waiting in the wings.....
Stephen
Moderator
- Feb 28, 2002
- 83,063
- 61,968
I think they finally found a replacement for Sylvain Lefebvre.
This guy is such a machine. I regret ever saying I didn’t want him.
He’s exactly what we needed.
He’s exactly what we needed.
The Man with a Plan
Registered User
Put him in as asst coach of the marlies and let him imprint his style in our defensive pipeline.
I had no idea we were getting a D this good..
Teeder Keon
Defeat does not rest lightly on their shoulders
Mobiandi
Registered User
- Jan 17, 2015
- 21,815
- 18,652
Reading this thread is bittersweet because I knew he'd greatly exceed everyone's bizarrely low expectations of him but it was always going to come at the cost of our fortunes as a team.
Glad he finally has the chance for a good playoff run in his prime and hopefully his success here is a nail in the coffin for our management and pro scouting team.
Glad he finally has the chance for a good playoff run in his prime and hopefully his success here is a nail in the coffin for our management and pro scouting team.
stickty111
Registered User
- Jan 23, 2017
- 27,260
- 34,233
Exactly the d man we were missing. Good skater with good defensive fundamentals. He alone has saved many goals against from Rielly mistakes.
LeafalCrusader
Registered User
Remember that thread a week ago demanding Lehtonen replace him in the top 4 lol.
Such a great signing. Brodie's been so steady out there.
Such a great signing. Brodie's been so steady out there.
leafsfan5
Registered User
- Jun 14, 2014
- 15,201
- 26,804
I used to love watching Nicklas Lidstrom for his ability to play 2 on 1s. It was like everytime the opposing team had a break and Lidstrom was the one person back you’d say “well since he’s defending that’s not going to be a dangerous chance ”. And it almost never was.
TJ Brodie makes me say that. His ability to be a stabilizing presence and allow Rielly to utilize his offensive ability has been one of the biggest reasons for our success. This was a fantastic signing
TJ Brodie makes me say that. His ability to be a stabilizing presence and allow Rielly to utilize his offensive ability has been one of the biggest reasons for our success. This was a fantastic signing
Alamo Leafer
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Mickey Marner
Registered User
He's been a total revelation, far better than I expected. I can't recall a Leafs defenseman that was better at playing two-on-ones. I like defensemen to stay on their feet but that move where he slides and swings he stick behind him is just so damn effective. It would be nice not to have him defend so many though.
From Seigel in the Athletic:
"Giordano said Brodie “really defends a lot better than people give him credit for.”
“He’s not a guy who’s gonna step up and crush a guy in the open ice,” the Flames captain said, “But his stick’s unbelievable. He has an unbelievable stick.”
“It’s the No. 1 tool, really, of playing defence is to have a good stick,” Keefe said. “The timing of it, the deception of it and hiding it, and then striking when the time is right. There are the angles that you play with your blade. There’s so many things that go into it that you talk about some of the elite offensive players and they have so many instinctual pieces to their game that are very difficult to teach. A player like T.J. Brodie’s got that happening defensively with how he uses his stick.
“It is a fundamental tool, but very few defencemen can do it to the level that he can to break up plays.”
We're seeing exactly what Gio and Keefe are talking about. His pairing with Rielly is only going to get better. One specific area of improvement: Rielly has had the habit of leaning towards center ice before he pivots to the boards when a forward is bearing down on him. On reflection I believe this was because he knew his partner's skating was suspect and that he believed he needed to cover more ice to make up for his partner's deficiency. I've seen less of that as Rielly has become accustomed to Brodie's abilities, as a result the pushing forward wide outside has become less of a concern as Rielly is better able to concern himself with just his area of responsibility. They're becoming a better duo because of Brodie's skills, something Rielly has never enjoyed before. I think there's more to come.
"Giordano said Brodie “really defends a lot better than people give him credit for.”
“He’s not a guy who’s gonna step up and crush a guy in the open ice,” the Flames captain said, “But his stick’s unbelievable. He has an unbelievable stick.”
“It’s the No. 1 tool, really, of playing defence is to have a good stick,” Keefe said. “The timing of it, the deception of it and hiding it, and then striking when the time is right. There are the angles that you play with your blade. There’s so many things that go into it that you talk about some of the elite offensive players and they have so many instinctual pieces to their game that are very difficult to teach. A player like T.J. Brodie’s got that happening defensively with how he uses his stick.
“It is a fundamental tool, but very few defencemen can do it to the level that he can to break up plays.”
We're seeing exactly what Gio and Keefe are talking about. His pairing with Rielly is only going to get better. One specific area of improvement: Rielly has had the habit of leaning towards center ice before he pivots to the boards when a forward is bearing down on him. On reflection I believe this was because he knew his partner's skating was suspect and that he believed he needed to cover more ice to make up for his partner's deficiency. I've seen less of that as Rielly has become accustomed to Brodie's abilities, as a result the pushing forward wide outside has become less of a concern as Rielly is better able to concern himself with just his area of responsibility. They're becoming a better duo because of Brodie's skills, something Rielly has never enjoyed before. I think there's more to come.
Last night was TJ's best game in a leaf uniform by a mile. He almost single handedly kept the 3+ goal lead on several occasions. Which is massive, because who knows what comes of the game had the gap been shrunk to 2 at some point. Instead we blew the top off of EDM. The play he made of Draisatl on the 2 on 1 was a bit fluky, but he put his stick in the position to make the play, he got lucky that Drai didn't put a little baby sauce on it. But those are exactly the "fluky" results you end up getting when you make the right plays on the puck. TJ was the best player on the ice for the entire 60 minutes. Not sure we could say that about any partner to Rielly over the last couple years.
Anthrax442
Registered User
zeke
The Dube Abides
- Mar 14, 2005
- 66,937
- 36,957
I was pretty meh on this signing, and was worried about the Gio effect....but I'm already convinced now that Gio benefited at least as much from the Brodie effect.
He's fantastic.
And dare I say it he's a better fit than Pietro, given that Pietro's PP skills are redundant here.
He's fantastic.
And dare I say it he's a better fit than Pietro, given that Pietro's PP skills are redundant here.
The Man with a Plan
Registered User
Yup Bogo doesnt always end up on the scoresheet but his outlet passes are a thing of beauty. That and his "not in my house" attitide that is affecting everyone's swagger. Dubas is a genius
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Wasn't a huge fan after the first couple of games he played here, but he's really settled in and looks great. Hopefully he gets his first goal as a Leaf soon.
Yeah but it was a vet getting his game back, but we all had same thoughts, TJ is best stick checking defender I have ever seen ... he cleans up for Rielly every game although Rielly has been more responsible recently ... what a super signing for team ... our defense is now legit top 10 in league ... Bogo also is a perfect fit too ... plays more physical but we needed that element too ... Bogo's pass on i think 2nd goal was Orr like OMG i could not believe it ... he is much much better than I thought on outlet passess ... now i know why Tampa played him like a horse in playoffs
Jimmy Firecracker
Backcheck, Forecheck, Paycheque.
I was so bullish on wanting Petro and worried about Brodie’s age and the Gio effect as well. I also listened too much to what are now obviously a bunch of clueless mooks around these boards who clearly don’t know any better. Only Flames fans said “you’ll love Brodie” and they’re damn right.
Anthrax442
Registered User
we had enough offensive d me who cost us games because they couldnt defend. i'll take the non scoresheet guy who shuts out the opposition
