[Signing] Brodie signs with the Leafs (4yrs, $5m AAV)

[Erick Estrada]

Brodie came off his best season in some time last year but it was only a few years ago that his play was causing fans to pull their hair out and many of us wanted him moved. I would have been fine keeping brodie if they could have worked something out but there's no guarantee he doesn't revert back to his old ways of making a lot of awful turnovers. It's not a guarantee he fits in well in Toronto because he really only played well with Gio and for a short stint with Engelland.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Well, no. If they don’t get Markstrom it is obviously an outright disaster. We agree on that

What I was saying was that you have to be able to lay out the construct for 2 deals and be able to work them simultaneously. Lots of adults have jobs where they need to close multiple contracts for quarter end, for example

It is inexcusable to put everything else on hold to focus on one deal, especially during day 1 of UFA. That is how Steinberg reported it

Perhaps Conroy could have been able to stay engaged with Brodie’s camp, with known parameters within which they can work

I view this as a partial failure. He tossed out Brodie and that stinks

I interpreted the tweet differently. I saw it as that they knew that Markstrom would be the biggest cap hit and most important acquisition. And whether or not they got him would define how they apply the remaining cap.
For instance, perhaps if they failed to get Markstrom, they would have circled back to Vegas and Fleury (at a higher cap hit). They needed that most important domino to fall first, before considering other high cap signings.

Clearly they were able to juggle multiple balls as other signings did happen on the same day.

[Flashpoint]

Meh. We tried to trade him, and he knew it. Why sign with an org when you already know you and your wife and child would be on the block from then on?

Good player in the right role. Hope Tor doesn’t roast him when he brainfarts.

[Johnny Makarov]

Holy crap. You guys are talking like we lost Gary Suter or Phil Housley, when we lost... you know TJ Brodie.

Skating is out of this world. Defense is above average.

He played as our top PP unit as a pointman for over 1.5 seasons and he has 9 and 4 goals to show for it. Take our idiotic PP coach with you to the Leafs.

Terrible pinches, lack of finish and not physical enough to move a Gaudreau from out in front of the net. Anderson on PP1 and Tanev on our PK will make us forget Brodie sooner than later.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Flashpoint

Meh. We tried to trade him, and he knew it. Why sign with an org when you already know you and your wife and child would be on the block from then on?

Good player in the right role. Hope Tor doesn’t roast him when he brainfarts.

I'm not upset at him moving but he presumably wouldn't have been on the block going forward. First, he was on the block because he was a pending UFA and that wouldn't be the case any more. Second, he probably would have been able to negotiate a NTC (maybe even a a NMC to the expansion draft).

[IamNotKenKing]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I'm not upset at him moving but he presumably wouldn't have been on the block going forward. First, he was on the block because he was a pending UFA and that wouldn't be the case any more. Second, he probably would have been able to negotiate a NTC (maybe even a a NMC to the expansion draft).

The potential of a NMC seems like a deterrent to me.

[Manhattanboy]

When I think of Brodie's offensive prowess I think of 3 on 3 OT where he shines.

No 3 on 3 in the playoffs.

Mind you I guess you could say the same thing about JG....

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

When I think of Brodie's offence I think of 3 on 3 OT where he shines.

No 3 on 3 in the playoffs.

TJ Brodie has 15pts in 30 career playoff games, while being +1 on a team that usually loses most playoff games.

[TheScorpion]

TJ has picked a baffling number to wear in Toronto, unless it has some sort of personal significance:

https://twitter.com/user/status/1316012224914190339

Off the top of my head I genuinely cannot think of anyone who has worn the number 78 in the NHL. Maybe one of the Kostitsyns?

[Manhattanboy]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

TJ Brodie has 15pts in 30 career playoff games, while being +1 on a team that usually loses most playoff games.

Oh.... yikes.

[the_only_turek_fan]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

TJ has picked a baffling number to wear in Toronto, unless it has some sort of personal significance:

https://twitter.com/user/status/1316012224914190339

Off the top of my head I genuinely cannot think of anyone who has worn the number 78 in the NHL. Maybe one of the Kostitsyns?

16 Players

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare Philadelphia Flyers (15, 16, 17)
Beau Bennett St. Louis Blues (18)
Daniel Brickley Los Angeles Kings (18, 19)
Filip Chlapik Ottawa Senators (18, 19, 20)
Pavol Demitra Ottawa Senators (94, 95, 96)
Benn Ferriero San Jose Sharks (10, 11, 12)
Byron Froese Tampa Bay Lightning (17)
Evgeny Grachev St. Louis Blues (12)
Eric Landry Montreal Canadiens (01, 02)
Tyler Lewington Washington Capitals (19, 20)
Kole Lind Vancouver Canucks (20)
Steven Lorentz Carolina Hurricanes (20)
Maxim Mamin Florida Panthers (18, 19)
Marc Pouliot Edmonton Oilers (07, 08, 09, 10)
Corey Tropp Buffalo Sabres (12, 14)
Mike York Columbus Blue Jackets (09)

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by IamNotKenKing

The potential of a NMC seems like a deterrent to me.

I agree - I was just responding to the notion Brodie was afraid Calgary would put him on the block again. If they re-signed him, that wouldn't have been an issue IMO.

I just think he wanted to go to Toronto.

[BigBrodieFan]

No personal significance. He was 79 in Saginaw, he wanted to keep 7 but of course, 7 was Tim Horton, so he chose 78. No one in the Leaf's franchise has ever worn the number so he thought it was different.

Thought it was sweet that he wanted to keep 7 in there.

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by New Era

Kylington is in the same boat. Except Kylington is the better skater and better offensive tools. Kylington’s problem has been finding him a veteran shadow. With Brodie gone, maybe he finds one in Giordano.

Things could certainly change between now and the start of the season, but I think the plan was to pair Andersson with Gio.

I would move Oliver to the right side with Valimaki. Need to have very good skating ability to play your off side as D, and he has that in spades.

[TheScorpion]

Originally Posted by BigBrodieFan

No personal significance. He was 79 in Saginaw, he wanted to keep 7 but of course, 7 was Tim Horton, so he chose 78. No one in the Leaf's franchise has ever worn the number so he thought it was different.

Thought it was sweet that he wanted to keep 7 in there.

That's as good a reason as I need.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Flashpoint

Meh. We tried to trade him, and he knew it. Why sign with an org when you already know you and your wife and child would be on the block from then on?

Good player in the right role. Hope Tor doesn’t roast him when he brainfarts.

Tried to trade him to Toronto and he ends up signing there as a free agent.

It's possible that he wanted to go there and it was discussed between him and management at some point.

As for Toronto roasting him, I think it will depend on who his defense partner is. Brodie had great chemistry with Giordano, but didn't seem to build up much when playing with other partners. He is a talented enough player that he can keep up and compliment great players, but I don't see him as the type of defenseman that can anchor a pairing if he is the better of the two.

[Mattman]

Other than Pavol Demitra is TJ Brodie the next best player to ever wear 78?

[Blaster86]

Originally Posted by Mattman

Pavol Demitra

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

16 Players

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare Philadelphia Flyers (15, 16, 17)
Beau Bennett St. Louis Blues (18)
Daniel Brickley Los Angeles Kings (18, 19)
Filip Chlapik Ottawa Senators (18, 19, 20)
Pavol Demitra Ottawa Senators (94, 95, 96)
Benn Ferriero San Jose Sharks (10, 11, 12)
Byron Froese Tampa Bay Lightning (17)
Evgeny Grachev St. Louis Blues (12)
Eric Landry Montreal Canadiens (01, 02)
Tyler Lewington Washington Capitals (19, 20)
Kole Lind Vancouver Canucks (20)
Steven Lorentz Carolina Hurricanes (20)
Maxim Mamin Florida Panthers (18, 19)
Marc Pouliot Edmonton Oilers (07, 08, 09, 10)
Corey Tropp Buffalo Sabres (12, 14)
Mike York Columbus Blue Jackets (09)

and he's now the best #78 in NHL history.
edit: missed Demitra in there. seems like so long ago, I forgot how good he was.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

Brodie wanted a NMC and got it from Toronto

Unless you think exposing one of our young Dman in Hanifin(23) Andersson(23) or Valimaki(22) to Seattle to protect a 30 year old a good move.....then Treliving didn't blow anything.

People somehow forget Brodie was a whipping boy for 2 years and was terrible at times, giving him a NMC would have been epic mismanagement for this team with the expansion draft coming up.

Valimaki is not eligible for the expansion draft. Unless Kylington busted out, then no, the Flames wouldn't have to worry about protecting a young defencemen over Brodie.


The choice would come down to Giordano vs Brodie if that was your sticking point.


I agree with Deluxe Moustache that the Flames SHOULD have been able to hold contract talks with more than one camp at a time. You have to move swiftly. It isn't like Brodie is some schlub that you don't care about. He is one of the league's best defencemen on the transition, is solid defensively, has solid and proven chemistry with the existing players and a number of other pluses. He makes the Flames play a faster game when he is on the ice not just because of his own skating, but by the ability he has at moving the puck. He was (and is) a very valuable player. Not holding concurrent talks with his camp - if true - is a massive fail for a team to make on a day like that. Also, he is one of Calgary's consistent playoff performers every single year that Calgary was in the playoffs. Losing him does hurt this team.


I disagree, however, on the effect Markstrom is going to have on the team. Talbot's second half was significantly better (and thus why he ended up being the starter for the playoffs. However, he also seemed rather 'lucky' - lots of posts, and who can forget Radulov's consistent ability to miss wide-open nets? I think Markstrom will make the Flames a better team, and the Flames should be a better team overall next season.


With that being said, I still see it as a significant drop from Brodie down to Tanev (an even bigger drop-off when you factor-in Tanev's inability to remain healthy) and also a drop-off in the talent level of the 4th line (especially two very good PK'ers). Hopefully Treliving can find a replacement or two for those positions, or at least get Robinson to become an effective PK'er (not out of the realm of possibility given his skating ability and his reach).


Overall, I think the Flames improved, but this would have been a better team had they managed to resign Brodie over signing Tanev, IMO.