Quote:
Originally Posted by Huntingwhale
The day his 'decline' started was the day GG decided that left/right pairing absolutely had to be a thing. Brodie played RD his entire NHL career prior to that. When he got the full time gig with the Flames, Hartley lamented how Brodie had no idea how could he could be. During the early years of the rebuild, he was getting better and better every game.
I don't doubt his wife's diagnosis had an effect on him. But IMO the day his troubles started was the day he got shifted over to the left side simply because that's how he shot. Having Wideman as his partner didn't help of course.
I'm a patient guy and don't really get into the fire GG debate. But the one thing that drives me nuts about the coach is this LD/RD thing he has going on. Brodie on the RD was a top 20 D. A legit top pairing player. Brodie on the LD is a shell of his former self. He makes boneheaded plays that he simply never used to do. How many giveaways does he make a game now? He RARELY used to make those mistakes. Now it's a daily thing. Players aren't supposed to get worse in their primes years. Sadly, that is happening to Brodie.
Yes he has gotten better since Wideman left, there's no denying that. But no one can argue he's close to where he was previously. Even though Gio and Hamilton was a top pairing last season, I would still argue that Brodano was even better then them.
I hated how they got broken up, and I hate the LD/RD thing. Chemistry will always, 100% of the time triumph over having players play a position simply because of how they hold their stick.
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I think Brodie's decline after the move to what the vats majority of coaches see as the the proper side (I've linked a Babcock video on this before) was more about who he used to play with. Brodie used to make boneheaded plays with Gio too, but Gio is great defensively and had a better knack for covering up.
I just can't see how being on one side or the other causes the issues I'm seeing. Especially after this amount of time.