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Finding a home for T.J. Brodie

July 13, 2019, 11:43 AM ET [46 Comments]
Todd Cordell
Calgary Flames Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
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T.J. Brodie's tenure with the Calgary Flames is almost certainly coming to an end. It's just a matter of when.

While his contract still has one year remaining, it's possible – perhaps even likely – he doesn't last that long. The rumored deal to the Toronto Maple Leafs, which was nixed by Nazem Kadri, only lends credence to that.

GM Brad Treliving isn't going to force Brodie out the door, of course. He is a solid player and, regardless of what kind of depth the Flames have on defense, they're not throwing him away for the sake of doing it – especially not when the goal is to contend for a Stanley Cup.

So where might Brodie end up if he is dealt this summer?

I initially outlined Toronto, Florida, and the New York Rangers as fits. A deal with Toronto was all but done prior to them eventually landing Tyson Barrie. Florida signed Anton Stralman in free agency, and the Rangers traded for Jacob Trouba and Adam Fox. It's fair to assume the ship has sailed on all three destinations.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at some other potential landing spots.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning lost a top-4 right-side defender in Anton Stralman, another depth option in Dan Girardi, and didn't really replace them (unless you count Luke Schenn on a one-year, $700K contract).

Mikhail Sergachev seems like an obvious candidate to step into the top-4 but he averaged fewer than 18 minutes per game last season and played a very sheltered role. They may not yet want him riding alongside Victor Hedman or Ryan McDonagh and taking on stiff competition. If that's the case, or the Bolts simply want insurance, Brodie could be of interest. Though he's known more for offense than defense, he has a pretty good, long, track record of handling himself nicely playing on the matchup pairing with Mark Giordano.

The nice chunk of cap space the Lightning do have is accounted for (hello, Brayden Point) so they'd have to move out a sizeable ticket to make it work. Luckily, they have six forwards pulling in $4.45M or more, including names like Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, and Alex Killorn – all of whom have been mentioned in trade rumors over the last year or so. The Flames would likely have to add something – those guys have term, while Brodie needs a new deal next year – but the two sides seem like a decent match.

Montreal Canadiens

Heading into the off-season, arguably their biggest need was a quality left-handed defender. I'm not sure signing Ben Chiarot really changed much. I mean, they're currently expected to ice Chiarot, Brett Kulak, and Mike Rielly, with Karl Alzner likely to be bought out or sent to the minors. Claude Julien is really good at getting a lot out of a little but that left-side is gross for a team with playoff aspirations. Montreal has a million middle-6 forwards. Perhaps a deal could center around Brodie and one of them, with another asset potentially heading Calgary's way depending on the player.

Detroit Red Wings

This only makes sense if the Red Wings feel confident they can keep Brodie long-term, which won't be cheap. It is worth noting, however, the only defenders under contract beyond next season are Danny DeKeyser (expires after 2021-22) and Patrik Nemeth (expires after 2020-21). They will certainly have the financial flexibility to make it work if Brodie's willing to stay. They'll want to know that ahead of time. If Brodie will sign long-term, and a deal does transpire, perhaps a gritty player with scoring pop like Tyler Bertuzzi (21 goals in 73 games last season) would be of interest to Calgary.

New York Islanders

The Islanders are looking for more offense, While adding firepower up front – which they tried and failed to do in free agency – is perhaps the ideal way to address that issue, getting more puck movers on the back end is another way to go about it. It's not hard to argue the Islanders, who had just one 30+ point getter on defense last season, could use another one. Brodie has produced 30+ points in six consecutive seasons and, when on his game, is one of the game's better defenders at rushing the puck through the neutral zone and creating some offense. The only issue here is the Islanders aren't overflowing with talented top-9 forwards, and the Flames would want/need one back.

Winnipeg Jets

The state of their defense isn't too rosy after trading Jacob Trouba and losing Tyler Myers in free agency.

After the underrated Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg's top left-handed defender is...Nathan Beaulieu?

Right defense is clearly better but still not great. Dustin Byfuglien is really good but he turns 35 this season. It'd be nice to have some quality behind him, and the Jets don't have much. Though I think Sami Niku has a lot of potential, he might not be ready for big minutes. Neal Pionk certainly isn't – he got *crushed* while playing them for the Rangers last season.

You could argue the Jets need help on both sides of the defense, and Brodie's versatility would allow Paul Maurice to plug whichever hole he's most concerned about at the time.

The Jets have no shortage of quality, young forwards – on the NHL roster, or in the system – so they could be a fit.

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