Brodie Is Too Old And Costs Too Much
Photo Credit: Quinton Soloviev, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
TJ Brodie Should Be Traded Soon
It's time for the Toronto Maple Leafs to move on from old man Brodie and his $5M cap hit.
The 32 year old defenseman for the Toronto Maple Leafs has been out since January 7th with injury, the second time this year he's been hurt.
After fans laid witness to the Jake Muzzin saga unfold over the last two years, it's clear the team shouldn't be saddling themselves to another past his prime, injury prone, defenseman.
Brodie takes up a large portion of the team's cap space and there are ten free agents to re-sign this summer.
I don't expect the Toronto Maple Leafs to be able to move on from Brodie before then, nor should they, as they will need as many bodies they can afford heading down the stretch into the playoffs.
Only in the case of a clear upgrade would it be in the Leafs best interest to trade Brodie before the trade deadline this year.
After that though and the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager, Kyle Dubas, should be doing everything he can to unload the no-longer needed defenseman.
TJ Brodie Is Replaceable
Brodie is an effective defensive defenseman that has spent the majority of his time in Toronto paired alongside Morgan Rielly.
With the emergence of Timothy Liljegren capable of filling the 1RHD position it appears the Toronto Maple Leafs no longer have a need for Brodie and should be looking to unload him this summer.
Brodie isn't even in the list of top 50 NHL defensemen.
Considering he plays on the Leafs top pair when fully healthy it's concerning for fans to see him ranked so low.
That's more of an indictment against the Leafs than Brodie though.
Even aside from injuries, there are other clear warning signs it's time to move on.
Brodie Is In Decline
Since his career year in 2015/2016, Brodie's ATOI has consistently decreased from over 25 minutes a night to just over 21 minutes a game today.
Brodie's IPP, which is a measure of how many goals a player contributes to while on the ice, has dropped from 47.54 to 23.53 in the same time span.
For reference the average defenseman has an IPP of about 30.
His points totals have steadily declined from 45 points in 70 games in the 2014/2015 season to 28 points in 82 games last year.
It's Time For The Leafs And Brodie To Part Ways
For $5M the Toronto Maple Leafs have a 32 year old defenseman in decline that is looking more and more suited for a bottom four role.
If the Leafs can somehow trade Brodie before the deadline they should do it.
There's a better chance pigs might fly though.
More realistically the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager, Kyle Dubas, or whoever his replacement will be, should look at unloading Brodie in the offseason when his M-NTC kicks in.
Goodbye Brodie.
It was fun while it lasted. But all good things come to an end.
That includes TJ Brodie's time in Toronto.