TJ Brodie appreciation thread

[Firebot]

Gulutzan cost us the use of an elite defenceman for 2 years with his Eakins like coaching.

People wanted to trade him for peanuts, believing he regressed as a player rather than blame the atrocious misuse under GG.

Not just Brodie regressed poorly, so did Giordano, and Hamonic. Giordano was still good, but he wasn't forced to change how he played aside from cutting his offence in half. Hamonic looks like the player we traded a first rounder and 2 2nd picks for without regret again.

Just so happy to see a GG-free Brodie tearing it up.

[Boreal]

I remember after the first game of Gulatzan’s tenure... why did he break up Gio & Brodie?

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by nobles_point

I remember after the first game of Gulatzan’s tenure... why did he break up Gio & Brodie?

He "spread out the wealth" with Gio, Brodie, Hamilton each on their own pairing.

Which theoretically might be smart....if real life was EA sports.

[shadowlord]

You know the really stupid thing about GG? GG stubbornly refused to move Brodie back to his preferred right side all season long. But then once Brodie was knocked out for the rest of the season with a concussion, GG had to switch up the pairs and put defensemen on their non-shooting sides -- I think it was Stone (right shot) put on the left with Andersson (also right shot).

[VilleN]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

He "spread out the wealth" with Gio, Brodie, Hamilton each on their own pairing.



Which theoretically might be smart....if real life was EA sports.

GIo and Hamilton were on the same pairing. It was about handedness. The truly amazing thing is that Gulutzan refused to try Brodie on his off side, even though he had proven success there.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by VilleN

GIo and Hamilton were on the same pairing. It was about handedness. The truly amazing thing is that Gulutzan refused to try Brodie on his off side, even though he had proven success there.

Talking about specifically game 1 of the dark GG era.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I love Brodie. Still the most offensively dynamic defencemen on the Flames.



I do think that playing on the left hurt him, but I really believe it was the systems that really hurt his game. With a system that fits him better (and most of the defencemen on the team, if not all), it is no surprise that he is looking great again and positively impacting games more and more regularly again.


He is a treat to watch again. I was really cringing at the thought that the Flames may end up trading him away. So glad when it was Hamilton and not him.

[Enoch Root]

You can see Brodie's confidence growing with every game. Over the last handful, he has arguably been as good as he was pre GG. It's great to see. He and Giordano are a legit top pairing on a contending team.

It's like we got Lindholm, Hanifin AND Brodie in the trade!

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

You can see Brodie's confidence growing with every game. Over the last handful, he has arguably been as good as he was pre GG. It's great to see. He and Giordano are a legit top pairing on a contending team.

It's like we got Lindholm, Hanifin AND Brodie in the trade!

We also got Hamonic, who plays extremely well with Hanifin. With Brodie, not so much.

[stone hands]

Originally Posted by Coach

His fiance was diagnosed with MS in October 2015.

i dont ever want to presume something about a players personal life, because we really have no idea what goes on behind closed doors, however.......

brodie's play utterly fell of a cliff around the time this was made public. i am very very happy for him that he's been able to find a way to get back to where he was like when he looked like a norris caliber defenseman. whatever the reason for the drop off, i think everyone - player, club, fans - can all be over the moon that brodie is back to the quality of play we came to expect from him

[Resolute 14]

Mark Giordano appreciation thread. I was ready to give up on Brodie earlier this year, but just having Gio there has allowed him to become so comfortable again, and he's returning to the strong play of three years ago.

[locsofblu]

I have to admit he's really settled down in the last few weeks. I think whats happened is he simplified his game. Less is indeed more with TJ.

[Vinny01]

I am very glad that the Brodano pairing picked up where they left off. Hanifin-Hamonic is an extremely nice fit as well so it is safe to say our blue line is much improved from last year

I do think Brodie will be trade bait next summer. He will be entering the last year of his deal and is due for a raise to 5.5-6.5M per for 5-6 years. With Hanifin signed long term, Valimaki, Andersson, Kylington I can easily see Brodie being the odd man out. Gio is not going anywhere. Hamonic brings a needed element and wants to be in Western Canada so I think he is re-signed.

At the draft trade Brodie for a 1st to help stockpile the cupboards and free up $4.65M for Tkachuk’s extension and number 1 goalie. Definitely keep him for this season though.

[minnow]

He had a couple of years that seemed to be full of great turmoil, the MS, a marriage, a child, all while GG is messing with two years of his prime.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Mark Giordano appreciation thread. I was ready to give up on Brodie earlier this year, but just having Gio there has allowed him to become so comfortable again, and he's returning to the strong play of three years ago.

Come on now, can you give Brodie himself credit or just Gio ?

Nobody will deny Gio is amazing. So let’s acknowledge how well Brodie plays with Gio in the Brodie thread

[GaiJin]

Brodie seems to be skating back at speed now and with more confidence. The only problem is on the breakout, he's a one trick pony and most teams have him scouted out as to how he exits the zone, he needs to mix it up a bit so he doesn't get picked off in the neutral zone so much.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by Hackey

Glad to see both Gio and Brodie excelling. The team needs that. And even better to see Hamonic really stepping up and playing great with Hanifin. And can't forget the rookies who are also playing great.

Yup, I haven't felt this good about our defense since maybe ever, and that's also a statement about our coaching.

While Brodie immediately looked better with Gio, he also had some pretty rough games and looked quite sloppy at times. While a new system and new partner play big roles here, it seems like some mental stuff has also been fixed during the season.

Hamonic is another player who has taken
a clear step forward recently, Hanifin seems to be progressing, and when you add how comfortable our rookie D pairing looks, and Gio in full beast mode, that's all of our defense playing more or less to their potential at once, and getting better.

That doesn't happen by accident, there has to be some good coaching going on right now. Huska likely deserves some credit (he's the defense guy, right?), and Peters obviously.

[Movechkin]

I love that Brodie is back! Sure some may say he's a benefactor of playing with Gio, but I think they both benefit from playing with each other. They compliment each other and have chemistry with each other. It's no surprise Gio is back to Norris level Gio and Brodie is back to awesome Brodie at the same time.

[Hot_Flatus]

Brodie has definitely turned his game around with Gio this year, but I still do not like some of the very poor turn overs he serves up nearly every game coming out of the defensive zone. Hopefully he can continue to shore this aspect of his game up as he settles into his old role. His success is clearly tied to playing with Gio, who makes everyone around him better but you can't complain too much if it's working and the team is winning.

[troutman]

Brodie is now 6th in the NHL in +/-

Only one point out of second, and three away from first.