Sportsnet: Four Flames D among the best at executing breakouts

[1qqaaz]

If Brodie is worth 7.5 million AAV, then he should bring back something valuable in trade.

[DeluxeMoustache]

So we like Brodie again? Hooray!

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by jayswin

$7.5mil AAV is not elite UFA money, it's for decent players now, like Brodie. Elite UFA's , especially defenseman are in the $9.5-$11 range now. 7.5 is not even close to "top dollars".

That’s true enough I guess. But what I’m saying is that Brodie may not be able to cash in on his past good play. But I am not even sure that he can command $7.5 because teams are going to be squeezed by RFAs. Middle pairing D, which is where you’d put Brodie in most trades, will get about what he’s getting now.

[Jeff Lebowski]

From afar it seemed Brodie’s “poor play” was from letting mistakes really get to him. It was mental and you could see it in body language. When confident he plays great but he might’ve in the past let things snowball.

The physical skills are there - he’s an amazing skater. That’s the difference between good and star players. Being mentally strong and having short memories. Confidence is huge. So being on your best side and having that trust and chemistry feeds into it.

Brodie can get to a high level of play few can get to.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

That’s true enough I guess. But what I’m saying is that Brodie may not be able to cash in on his past good play. But I am not even sure that he can command $7.5 because teams are going to be squeezed by RFAs. Middle pairing D, which is where you’d put Brodie in most trades, will get about what he’s getting now.

Yep it’s looking like it will be all young guys soon: RFAs and ELCs

[ForeverFlameFan]

That's our top 4 D right there.

I think we keep Andersson on the 3rd pairing to ensure that we have one of these defenders on each pairing. That's what made our D so lethal last year.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Crown Royal

Your opinions on Hamonic are among the worst I have ever come across. I think I will just stop wasting my time engaging in this with you.

GranteedEV has a huge blind spot when it comes to physical defensive defenseman. He can’t seem to understand what they contribute and he doesn’t value it. As a result he’s massively underrated all of Engelland, Stone and Hamonic in their time on the Flames.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

GranteedEV has a huge blind spot when it comes to physical defensive defenseman. He can’t seem to understand what they contribute and he doesn’t value it. As a result he’s massively underrated all of Engelland, Stone and Hamonic in their time on the Flames.

Is he one of those pure analytics guys?

[Strange Brew]

Massively underrating Stone is just really hard to do.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

Massively underrating Stone is just really hard to do.

People seem to like him based on what they think a guy his size should be, not what he is. He’s not a particularly physical player IMO, not like Gio, Hamonic, Engelland, Reg, Sarich or other stay at home types we’ve had. And I think his positional defence is average at best.

[TheScorpion]

Stone used to be far more physical than he is now. It's probably because of the big knee injury he suffered with the Coyotes in 2016-17. He's mellowed significantly, which isn't necessarily what you want to see from a stay-at-home defenseman.

[Mike F]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

He looks good alongside one of the best players in the game....we all know how he functioned alongside Hamonic or anyone else for that matter. It still doesn't excuse the horrendous blunders at any point, but it also doesn't make him boat anchor.

You mean when he's been asked to play on what is his offside?

GG Couldn't look past the fact that he is a left-handed defenceman, and put him with Hamonic with Brodie on left defence. And yes, he struggled more than he had with Giordano. A non-idiot would have recognized that a lot sooner and made the change back.

However, when he has been playing on the right side, he's basically always excelled as far as I can remember.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Mike F

You mean when he's been asked to play on what is his offside?

GG Couldn't look past the fact that he is a left-handed defenceman, and put him with Hamonic with Brodie on left defence. And yes, he struggled more than he had with Giordano. A non-idiot would have recognized that a lot sooner and made the change back.

However, when he has been playing on the right side, he's basically always excelled as far as I can remember.

He played left side with Engelland and people thought he did pretty well.

[868904]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

He played left side with Engelland and people thought he did pretty well.

From what I recall, I thought the Brodie - Stone pairing was pretty good too. It’s not Brodie - Gio good but that’s gotta be one of the best third pairings in the league.

Maybe someone can show the advanced stats for that pairing and see how they fared in that regard.

[Calgary4LIfe]

If you listened to Brodie's interview on Garbage bag day after Gulutzan's last season, a reporter asked him about his thoughts on the season and his performance. Brodie didn't say a word about left-right side, nor did he mention partners. What he did talk about (IIRC, and I am of course paraphrasing on a conversation that is 1.5 years old now) was that he performed better in a system that allowed for him to do more with the puck.


Maybe the Brodie-Hamonic pairing sucked, but we aren't sure why really - we just know it sucked. Could it be that it was a combination of a new system that didn't play to the strengths of Brodie, coupled with having not only a new defence partner, but also a partner that also had a tough time adjusting to a new team and new systems?



Brodie is less resilient than Giordano in terms of confidence. Gio is better able to shake off a bad play on his part. But hey, that's partly why he won the Norris. Brodie just needs to play with confidence, and when mistakes and breakdowns happen - even stuff that is completely in the realm of pure 'bad luck' (bad bounce of a puck, etc), his confidence falters a bit and he seems to get a bit rattled. When he is on this game, he can control the game from the backend I find, and the Flames seem to look like a much faster and more dangerous team.



When Brodie is on his game, he is THE player I want to have the puck on a zone exit in an attempt to create offence. He is also really reliable defensively as well 99% of the time. I thought he was the best defensive defencemen put out against MacKinnon in the playoffs, for instance, while Hanifin-Hamonic seemed to just get shredded out there. His one-on-one defence on MacKinnon was really good (for the most part), and he regularly and consistently kept MacKinnon from powering to the net, and kept up with MacKinnon when he tried to go wide, and forced him around the net often.


I think people are too hard on Brodie and fixate on what he isn't doing right. Yes, he does make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes end up in the back of the net. However, he does a heck of a lot more good out there and (IMO) is one of the key drivers of this team's offence, while being usually reliable defensively.


People will vehemently disagree with me, but I look at him as a core player on this team. I am hoping that Hanifin and Kylington are able to learn from Brodie (though Hanifin's breakouts are indeed really good already). I really hope that there is a way that the Flames are able to retain him beyond this season. Will be tough to do with the cap, but that's what I am hoping for.