Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe
I would be surprised if Treliving deals Brodie. Also, I think that people forget how good Brodie was WITHOUT Giordano for a very long stretch playing with Engelland, and playing on his off-side. He played so well, that had it not been for the Ferland freight train, Brodie would most likely have been singled out as the best player for the Flames in those two rounds.
Brodie is fine on the left side. What he wasn't fine with was playing Gulutzan's system. How do I know? Listen to his interview during garbage bag day last season. He himself stated that he prefers to handle the puck more and attack more, rather than sitting back. That is where the strength of his game is, and that is how he actually defends exceptionally well to boot. Right now, Brodie is the 'defensive presence' on that pairing with Giordano, as Giordano is jumping up into the play a heck of a lot more. He is doing well defending, and he is consistently making really good choices out there in all three zones. That's not Giordano whispering in his ear. The two compliment each other nicely, but it is selling Brodie incredibly short that it is only because of Giordano, or only because of playing on his preferred side, as the rationale of why he is good again this year. It has a whole lot more to do with the system than people are giving him credit for.
ALL the defencemen look better this year. Giordano looks better. Hamonic looks better. Brodie looks better. Andersson looks better. Stone hasn't got any meaningful games in, so we can't judge him. I think that Peters' system change has a heck of a lot more to do with the Flames' success than people are giving Peters credit for, actually. Some people are tired of reading deprecating remarks about Gulutzan, but yes, he was THAT bad.
I used this metaphor a lot last season (probably the season before as well). The Flames have racehorses for defencemen, and Gulutzan tried to use them more like plough horses. It would have been great if the team had 6 Regehr-types that don't move the puck that well, but essentially all their defencemen move the puck nicely, including Hamonic (who is probably the weakest link on the team in that capacity out of the starting 6/7, if you include Kylington and Valimaki).
I had a bet with my buddy that Giordano would get 60+ points this season, with Brodie getting around 45 or so, and they would both be high plus players. I was a bit off with Brodie's numbers, but I was right in the overall sentiment - this team's biggest strength still lies in the fact that they can transition incredibly quickly. Teams know this and always have to be more careful when playing Calgary, and this does allow for less cheating by teams on offence. You have to respect Calgary's ability to transition lightning-quick. That's how the Flames score so many empty-netters this year as compared to last year, for instance. Teams HAVE to cheat at that point, and Calgary is so good at just breaking out quickly and accurately. Brodie is a huge piece of that - he is good on the PP (his passing/ability to create offence is really good, even if he doesn't possess a blistering shot from the point). He is good on the PK. He is good at 5v5. He is unquestionably Calgary's 2nd best defencemen in OT. That's versatility. Granteed is absolutely right in that category.
Flames took a gamble on trading Hamilton last season. Rumoured to having been wanting to move on might have been the biggest factor, but teams started calling Calgary and they got an offer they felt they couldn't refuse. A 1st for Brodie is not an offer they can't refuse. I really believe that because Treliving was here and saw firsthand for himself how good Giordano and Brodie played with one another, it helped offset the risk of moving a top-pairing defencemen.
Andersson is a great young guy - much better than I thought he would be. However, his foot speed is something that top lines will try to exploit at times. I don't think he is ready to move up. Hamonic doesn't move the puck well enough in my opinion to just seamlessly replace Brodie. The only area where Hamonic is better than Brodie is right in front of the net in moving out bodies - otherwise, Brodie is just as good if not better defensively. You can't move out Brodie unless you are sure you have a replacement that can come in and do his job without too much of a hiccup. Flames don't have that.
Giordano is also getting older. Hanifin has been MUCH better than advertised defensively, but he is not rock-solid like Giordano is. However, Flames have 3 shots at the can on that left side - Hanifin, Valimaki and Kylington - all really good, smart, great skating, 2-way defencemen. Even then I don't think Giordano gets traded given his role.
I think it is more likely Hamonic gets dealt, or Kylington. That 2nd pairing has been rock-steady though, and I would hate to break it up. I would hate to get rid of any of Valimaki, Kylington or Andersson. I do think in the off-season that it will happen, but I would be shocked if it was Brodie. There is nobody on that right side that is capable of replacing Brodie.
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