Confirmed Signing with Link: [TOR] T.J. Brodie signs with the Maple Leafs (4 years, $5M AAV)

[Coaches Coroner]

Looks like we’ll have more “Are the Leafs a cup favourite?” threads to look forward to.

nah, there will be far more threads hat qualifiy for suicide watch from Leaf fans imo (as a Leaf fan)

 

[ToDavid]

Tanev > Brodie. He seems like the perfect fit.

Three years ago maybe.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Tanev > Brodie. He seems like the perfect fit.

I can see why someone who isn't a fan of the Leafs would prefer that, but nobody who actually wants the Leafs to be good would agree

 

[Paul4587]

Actually a half decent signing for Toronto. Although their D is still awfully soft.

 

[LEAFSANDBILLSFAN]

I agree for the most part.

I hear a lot of Leafs fans hate Edmonton and Vancouver.... maybe Winnipeg next... but Calgary you don't seem to hear as much about... and after living there... I can say most fans in calgary in a hockey conversation are very reasonable which was surprising out west. They don't like the Leafs necessarily but they can talk without the bias. I appreciated it.

Hatred is often reciprocated. I guess i can somewhat see Vancouver vs. Toronto rivalry as it has a similaral LA vs. New York vibe. west Coast vs. East Coast.

 

[LFCTML]

Tanev > Brodie. He seems like the perfect fit.

You wanted Chris ****ing Tanev over Brodie?? I'm not even a huge Brodie fan, but how high are you right now?

 

[AuraSphere]

Bruh look through this thread a little closer lots of leaf fans are talking about Pietrangelo.

I wasn't.. The thread is about brodie

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

If Rielly and Brodie show some solid chemistry, we are looking at an amazing top 4.

Muzzin/Holl pairing numbers since Keefe was hired and they were assigned the shutdown role:

5v5
TOI/GP: 14:46
QoC: Shudown pairing
Offensive Zone Start%: 35.46%
CF%: 55.01
xGF%: 58.42

Those numbers are simply incredible.

Stop saying Holl is a bad player.

Muzzin carries Holl, without Muzzin Holl is bad, but he works with Muzzin

 

[Reinhart]

5mil for 4 years

I like this deal as a leaf fan

Couldnt see how leafs would fit Pietrangelo without trading Marner now matter what Toronto media here where pushing

I like what i hear about TJ Brodie from Flames, good defensive dman who can chip on offensively and plays the right side

Ok, here is some info on Brodie to clarify things (not just your post I quoted, but some stuff I have noticed on other posts as well).

Yes, Brodie is a LHD, but he prefers playing the right side. No, he doesn't suck on the left side, and he has proven that a few times with partners not named Hamonic.

You won't find Brodie to be a traditional offensive defencemen by definition. What he does so well is defend very well - just take a look at Brodie's +/- in the playoff series against Colorado last season, and compare that to Hamonic. Also take note that Brodie is always out against the other team's best players. He was the ONLY defencemen that seemed to impede MacKinnon that series - perhaps the only player period. He will have a bit of a harder time against power-forwards as he isn't very physical - but he is capable of defending against them as well.

Now, offensively, Brodie is 'gifted' at that, but not in the way that someone like Barrie is (or was supposed to be). He doesn't have a booming slapper. He isn't going to beat goalies from distance (though he definitely has done this before too - just not a strength of his). What he is absolutely fantastic at is getting possession of the puck, and quickly moving it up tape-to-tape, or if he is under pressure, he is EXCELLENT on his edges and can beat forecheck pressure routinely, and then he will either carry the puck up himself, or find a really good outlet pass. His backhand passes are glorious.

He CAN QB the PP, but again, his shot while it isn't 'terrible', isn't a strength. He is good on the PP simply because he has the vision and the hands to be a playmaker. Just like some centres are 'scoring centres' and some are 'playmaking centres', Brodie is quite a bit like a 'playmaking defencemen'.

Will he make mistakes? Yes, he does, and he does sometimes suffer from confidence issues. However, he is usually steady as a rock from one game to the next. I rank him as the 2nd best overall defencemen in this off-season to hit UFA. Krug is obviously better offensively, and while he isn't terrible in his own end, Brodie is just really strong. He isn't Pietrangelo of course, but he is a very good 2-way defencemen that you can pair either with a strong offensive defencemen, or a strong defensive defencemen. Brodie is able to adjust well to both (he has played with Giordano - and together they were often the best pairing in the league in a few different seasons, and he was excellent with Michael Stone - defensive guy, and excellent with Deryk Engelland - defensive guy).

I think the Leafs hit a home-run on him, and still got a damn good contract with it. I expected a million more and 2 more years tacked-on. You will (usually) love Brodie I think. Really depends on what type of system the Leafs will play, but he really excels at moving the puck quick. Fantastic transition guy. IIRC, last season he was a top 5 transition defencemen in the NHL (or something like that, beating out some elite names making twice as him). He just isn't an offensive-defencemen by the traditional definition in having a bomb from the point.

edit: Oh yeah, I forgot to mention - he is great on 3on3 OT. Like really great.

 

[Burnie97]

Hatred is often reciprocated. I guess i can somewhat see Vancouver vs. Toronto rivalry as it has a similaral LA vs. New York vibe. west Coast vs. East Coast.

That's fair.... I just think ppl could think more rationally sometimes and not hate a team for some of the reasons they think they should.

Don't get me wrong.. love the Leafs... but I think we both know between fan bases it goes too far sometimes.

 

[LeafChief]

Seeing a lot of Flames fans sad to see him go. That gives me comfort. Seems we finally got a good one for Rielly to play with.

Flames made some big moves today too. They should be much improved with Markstrom.

 

[34]

You wanted Chris ****ing Tanev over Brodie?? I'm not even a huge Brodie fan, but how high are you right now?

Yeah, I never been a fan of Tanev. He is so slow and always hurt.

 

[Merrrlin]

Tanev > Brodie. He seems like the perfect fit.

lol just goes to show you can cheer for a good team but not know much about the game

 

[tmurfin]

Going to really miss Brodie. Very good two way player with extremely high highs but also very low lows, he’s 100% better in his own end than Barrie though so that bodes well for TO, not exactly “hard to play against” but very good positionally and has great skating to bail himself out when he makes bad pinches (he will from time to time). At the end of the day, I hate to say it , the Leafs got better today for sure.

 

[axlrose87]

Tanev > Brodie. He seems like the perfect fit.

Tanev is solid when he is playing but he misses a lot of time. His body has taken a real beating over the years. Gotta think his new contact will end on IR

 

[LEAFSANDBILLSFAN]

That's fair.... I just think ppl could think more rationally sometimes and not hate a team for some of the reasons they think they should.

Don't get me wrong.. love the Leafs... but I think we both know between fan bases it goes too far sometimes.

Agreed. As for this signing if Brodie can do for Reilly what he has done for Giordano, we will have hit a grand slam. To me our biggest need was a solid partner for Reilly who didn't completely destroy our cap and this hopefully is it.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

I hate the Leafs with such passion but this is an amazing deal for them. Enormous upgrade over whoever else they had prior for such a reasonable cost.

Muzzin-Brodie gonna be excellent for them to put out there to defend late leads and such. And then Rielly-Brodie even strength. It isn't great, but it's an improvement.

 

[Hitemwith4]

Ok, here is some info on Brodie to clarify things (not just your post I quoted, but some stuff I have noticed on other posts as well).

Yes, Brodie is a LHD, but he prefers playing the right side. No, he doesn't suck on the left side, and he has proven that a few times with partners not named Hamonic.

You won't find Brodie to be a traditional offensive defencemen by definition. What he does so well is defend very well - just take a look at Brodie's +/- in the playoff series against Colorado last season, and compare that to Hamonic. Also take note that Brodie is always out against the other team's best players. He was the ONLY defencemen that seemed to impede MacKinnon that series - perhaps the only player period. He will have a bit of a harder time against power-forwards as he isn't very physical - but he is capable of defending against them as well.

Now, offensively, Brodie is 'gifted' at that, but not in the way that someone like Barrie is (or was supposed to be). He doesn't have a booming slapper. He isn't going to beat goalies from distance (though he definitely has done this before too - just not a strength of his). What he is absolutely fantastic at is getting possession of the puck, and quickly moving it up tape-to-tape, or if he is under pressure, he is EXCELLENT on his edges and can beat forecheck pressure routinely, and then he will either carry the puck up himself, or find a really good outlet pass. His backhand passes are glorious.

He CAN QB the PP, but again, his shot while it isn't 'terrible', isn't a strength. He is good on the PP simply because he has the vision and the hands to be a playmaker. Just like some centres are 'scoring centres' and some are 'playmaking centres', Brodie is quite a bit like a 'playmaking defencemen'.

Will he make mistakes? Yes, he does, and he does sometimes suffer from confidence issues. However, he is usually steady as a rock from one game to the next. I rank him as the 2nd best overall defencemen in this off-season to hit UFA. Krug is obviously better offensively, and while he isn't terrible in his own end, Brodie is just really strong. He isn't Pietrangelo of course, but he is a very good 2-way defencemen that you can pair either with a strong offensive defencemen, or a strong defensive defencemen. Brodie is able to adjust well to both (he has played with Giordano - and together they were often the best pairing in the league in a few different seasons, and he was excellent with Michael Stone - defensive guy, and excellent with Deryk Engelland - defensive guy).

I think the Leafs hit a home-run on him, and still got a damn good contract with it. I expected a million more and 2 more years tacked-on. You will (usually) love Brodie I think. Really depends on what type of system the Leafs will play, but he really excels at moving the puck quick. Fantastic transition guy. IIRC, last season he was a top 5 transition defencemen in the NHL (or something like that, beating out some elite names making twice as him). He just isn't an offensive-defencemen by the traditional definition in having a bomb from the point.

edit: Oh yeah, I forgot to mention - he is great on 3on3 OT. Like really great.

Thank you taking the time for some insight

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

You wanted Chris ****ing Tanev over Brodie?? I'm not even a huge Brodie fan, but how high are you right now?

For Rielly specifically, Tanev is likely much better complement. For Toronto, Brodie might be better in general.

 

[Ledge And Dairy]

Not sure what to think about this one. I always thought of Brodie as a second pair guy but the reaction here seems to suggest he could play with Reilly. Maybe I just haven’t seen him enough. Flames fans what are the chances that we are in for another Barrie type letdown?

Barrie was a pure OFD he is very poor in his own end. Brodie plays a rover style, as in in 1 shift he could be battling for the puck behind his own net then cycle below the opponents net to backchecking with his tremendous speed to prevent a 2 on 1. He will literally be everywhere doing every little thing. He will pair really well with Rielly due to his speed and hands. He also has a fantastic backhand (one of the best in the league) so playi g on the right side as a lefty will be beneficial for him. He was lowkey a major factor in Giordano's Norris run last year.
Only concern is like Gardiner he is known for having "hiccups." However this year he really cleaned up his game and they rarely occurred. IMO outside of Pietrangelo he was probably the best partner for Rielly on the market and could actually make him a Norris caliber defenseman.

Edit* the reason Brodiehas these "hiccups" is because his playstyle is very high risk/high reward. There will be moments where you go "Brodie! Noo." But most of the time that wont be the case, he is very good at doing all the subtle things right.

 

[SotasicA]

I wanted Brodie in Chicago, so I hate this signing. I think it's bad and stupid. And worst of all it might even make the Leafs better.

 

[The List Of Jericho]

First pairing defenseman for a third line winger and a 7/8 Dman. How could they possibly turn down such a generous offer?

Weegar is a first pair defender that Florida wants to deal...interesting

 

[kabidjan18]

Weegar is a first pair defender that Florida wants to deal...interesting

Actually they've strongly denied the unfounded rumors...

 

[Mobiandi]

Not sure what to think about this one. I always thought of Brodie as a second pair guy but the reaction here seems to suggest he could play with Reilly. Maybe I just haven’t seen him enough. Flames fans what are the chances that we are in for another Barrie type letdown?

Low. But it also depends on how your media reacts. They love raising Leafs Dmen and goalies up just so they can knock them down from big heights

 

[The List Of Jericho]

There's an immense misunderstanding of what a 5/6 Dman is. A 5/6 Dman is just a defenseman you can put out on the ice and reliably expect them to not give up goals. That is a 5/6 defenseman. Any offense they might provide is just a bonus.

I would prefer each the rental defensemen that Tampa wisely selected, guys like Luke Schenn, Jan Rutta, Zach Bogosian, over Dermott. Forget more excellent, luxury 5/6 Dmen like Zach Whitecloud, Andrej Sekera, Nick Leddy, etc. The 5/6 defensemen of teams who won playoff rounds.

Dermott is only a 5/6 guy on a team that has no intention of keeping the puck out of the back of their nets. That was Toronto last year. Maybe some teams are champing at the bit to have that. I seriously doubt Florida is.

Just a horrendous take...Luke Schenn was nearly out of the league last year