With absolutely nothing happening in the hockey world right now, and for the foreseeable future, I’ve decided to take the plunge and write player profiles for each member of the Calgary Flames.
As was the case when I did them last summer, we’ll be looking at the season they just put together and expectations moving forward.
To date I’ve looked at Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, and Mikael Backlund. Today I’m going with T.J. Brodie.
Counting stats: 64 games played, 19 points (four goals, 15 assists), 20:27 average time on ice
5v5 underlyings: .82 points/60, +3.19 CF% Rel, +4.20 GF% Rel, +2.56 xGF% Rel, 101.1 PDO
2019-20 review: Brodie didn’t have his best offensive season – very few Flames did – but I thought he quietly put together a really strong year. He wasn’t flashy; he was just steady. Outlets were mostly good, transition defense was good, and positive things happened when he was on the ice.
Only Mark Giordano finished with a higher Corsi For% and goal differential. The differences were miniscule as well.
Considering all Brodie dealt with – his scary medical episode in practice, a coaching change, and his partner (Giordano) suffering a somewhat sizable injury – I don’t think much more could have been expected of him.
He set himself up nicely heading into UFA negotiations, be it with Calgary or another team.
Fun fact(s): The Flames generated 2.40 expected goals/60 with Brodie on the ice, the highest total of his career.
2020-21 outlook: There was a time I thought Travis Hamonic was more likely to stick around. I’m not sure I feel that way anymore. Hamonic has looked cooked at times over the last couple of years and I just don’t see him being a priority. I don’t know that GM Brad Treliving will be able to get something done but I think he’ll at least touch base with Brodie’s camp and see if there is a compromise to be made.
Should Brodie re-sign in Calgary, I’d expect the top-4 to look like this:
Giordano - Brodie Hanifin (Valimaki if Hanifin is traded for F help) - Andersson
If another team makes a big financial commitment to Brodie in free agency they’re obviously doing so with the intention of giving him big minutes. Either way, Brodie is getting top-3 usage next season. And I think he’s still good for it.
numbers via naturalstattrick.com and hockey-reference.com Recent posts: