That was also after a horrid finish to a horrid season. Teams in the Flames' current position don't sell pending UFAs who play key roles. They try to load up on them.
What are you talking about?
1) Brodie is a player who has had success as a PKer, PP, and ES throughout his career. He leads the team in 27+ minute playoff games. He has played all his playoff games on the side of the ice he is not natural at and still has excellent playoff numbers. He is a top pairing two way defenseman who has played a part in every single great season Giordano has had. Your definition of versatile seems hopelessly limited to "not physical", which is highly outdated. Brodie is also a player with some of the best edgework and backhand puck skills in the NHL, things that don't just grow on trees. He may not be Chris Pronger but he is sure as #### a lot more vversatile han you seem to think. But lemme guess, because he couldn't carry the likes of Dennis Wideman two years ago, got saddled with possession Black Hole Mike Stone after that (and still got him an inflated AF contract), and had zero chemistry with offensive black hole Tracis Hamonic, he's just a mediocre player being boosted by Giordano.
Repeat after me - the Flames have asked Brodie to play with an assortment of ovefmatched players, they've asked him to play two different sides of the ice, they've asked him to play top PP (to top 10 results), top competition (to some of the best 5v5 goal differentials in the NHL), and despite some stumbles stood by him - but he is not versatile. What?
2) 4.25M next year for our #2 Dman is not cost controlled? Are you just being dense? #2Dmen make 6.5+ million easily. We are paying our #4 Dman more than our #2 Dman. Our #7 Dman makes 75% of what our #2 Dman makes. If you mean that he lacks term - do you not see the sheery idiocy in a GM acquiring a trade deadline rental at the expense of one whole year of term of a core player - a core player he believed in when the whole world had turned on him after the Gulutzan Debacle?
3) The Flames have a lot of depth of top pairing caliber, excellent skating, right side, 40 pt defensemen? What? Name one not named TJ Brodie.
Hanifin is a LD and had yet to play any RD or Top Pair in his career. He's also been mediocre at best in a middle pairing role on his actual preferred side - he's produced offensively but his play away from the puck has not been good enough for Hamonic to cover entirely.
Hamonic is an offensive black hole and his more average skating would also be exposed with tougher minutes and more minutes which would become a necessity without Brodie. While he was somewhat successful years ago on the Islanders, the league has only gotten faster while he has not. We've also got loftier goals than just winning a playoff series, so the heights of that Islanders team should not be our pinnacle.
Kylington is a LD, and has yet to play any top 4 in his career. His offensive game is also very naturally that of a LD due to his shooting instincts and general use of his forehand.
Valimaki is a LD and can't skate nearly on Brodie's elite level. He has also yet to play any top 4 or RD in his NHL career.
Andersson's skating relative to the modern game is what Dennis Wideman's was to the 2015 game. He's a possession black hole because his feet cannot keep up as a third pair Dman and you want to throw him against the Crosbys of the world with an aging Giordano?
I swear.