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T.J. Brodie

Blackhawks Sign T.J. Brodie To Two-Year Contract

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The Blackhawks have signed veteran defenseman T.J. Brodie to a two-year, $7.5MM contract, per a team announcement. It carries a $3.75MM cap hit in 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Brodie, 34, is coming off a four-year deal with the Maple Leafs that largely saw him serve as one of the better defensive d-men in the league – until he wasn’t. After three years of bonafide top-pairing play, Brodie trailed off in 2023-24, seeing his possession metrics dip and his speed decrease to the point where he was a frequent healthy scratch in the postseason, falling behind multiple trade deadline pickups on the Toronto depth chart.

Numbers still show he’s an effective NHL defender, though, one that should benefit a Chicago defense that didn’t play much defense last year (outside of rookie standout Alex Vlasic). He’s consistently controlled the majority of cumulative quality chances at even strength dating back to his Calgary days in the 2010s, and he averaged at least 21 minutes per game during his four years in Toronto. He should do the same in Chicago, teaming up with Vlasic, Seth Jones, Alec Martinez, and Kevin Korchinski to form a half-decent top-five group on the back end.

Maple Leafs Notes: Samsonov, Giordano, Brodie

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David Alter of The Hockey News writes that Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov is looking for stability on his next contract after working under a one-year deal for the last few seasons. The 27-year-old is an unrestricted free agent this summer and will be seeking a multi-year commitment on his next deal. Whether or not he will command more than one year remains to be seen as his body of work was unsteady in 2023-24. While he did rebound towards the end of this season from a poor start, he’s just a few months removed from passing through waivers unclaimed.

Samsonov didn’t have a great year despite what his record will tell you. He posted a 23-7-8 record but his save percentage was just .890 and his goals-against average ballooned almost a full point to 3.13.

The goaltending market is weak this summer and this will work in Samsonov’s favor, making it unlikely that he will return to Toronto, particularly after the Maple Leafs were unwilling to commit multiple years to Samsonov last summer after he had a strong first year with the team.

In other Maple Leafs notes:

  • Pending free agent defenseman Mark Giordano is keeping his cards close to his chest when it comes to his future plans (according to Joshua Kloke of The Athletic). The oldest active player in the NHL last season wouldn’t fully comment on Kloke’s questions about whether he plans to retire or keep playing, instead, he simply stated, “It’s a pretty great lifestyle.” Giordano became the eighth defenseman for Toronto and was a healthy scratch for a big portion of the season, dressing in just 46 games and not seeing the ice in the playoffs. Luke Fox of Sportsnet writes that he believes Giordano will announce his retirement this summer, but that remains speculation at this point.
  • Sportsnet’s Luke Fox doesn’t believe that the Maple Leafs will try to retain defenseman T.J. Brodie as he approaches unrestricted free agency. Brodie started the season near the top of Toronto’s depth chart but slid down the list as the season wore on and became a healthy scratch towards the end of the year. General manager Brad Treliving reportedly didn’t engage in extension talks with Brodie and seems primed to let him walk into free agency for a second time after he let Brodie go while he was the GM of the Calgary Flames. At 33, Brodie is not the defender he once was, but he could still be an effective player in the right situation as a bottom-pairing defenseman. Brodie had a goal and 25 assists in 78 games last season while averaging almost 22 minutes a game. His even-strength analytics fell off considerably, particularly his high-danger chances against. Brodie spent roughly 40% of his shifts against opponents’ top lines and struggled in those minutes but could still fair very well against mid-tier opponents or the bottom of opposing teams’ lineups.

Maple Leafs Notes: Nylander, McMann, Liljegren, Grebyonkin

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Ahead of a pivotal Game 4 matchup between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Maple Leafs are reportedly taking a major step towards a healthy roster. Earlier today, Chris Johnston of TSN reported that Toronto is preparing for William Nylander to play in Game 4.

Despite playing in all 82 games of the regular season, the Maple Leafs have been without their second-highest scorer for all of the playoffs at this point, dropping Game 1 and Game 3 against the Bruins. Being one of the major off-the-ice stories during this year’s postseason run, Nylander’s presence should give Toronto a better chance to even up the series tonight.

Throughout their first-round series against the Bruins, five of the Maple Leafs’ six total goals have come from the team’s top two forward units, with the bottom two failing to generate much offense outside of Game 1. In practice, Nylander has been skating on the team’s third line with Calle Jarnkrok and Pontus Holmberg, which should give Toronto a more complete offense in tonight’s contest.

Other Maple Leafs notes:

  • Unlike Nylander, one player not ready to return to Toronto’s lineup is forward Bobby McMann, who has been battling a lower-body injury since the Maple Leafs’ game against the Detroit Red Wings on April 13th. Earlier today, Luke Fox of Sportsnet reported that McMann had not been ruled out for the first-round series against the Bruins, but his timeline is still up in the air given that he has not attempted to skate since the injury.
  • One lineup change that will take place for Game 4 is the swap of Timothy Liljegren for T.J. Brodie. The pairing of Joel Edmundson and Liljegren has not been very effective against the team’s Atlantic Division rival through the first three games, and Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun suggested earlier today that this is due in large part to Liljegren not being 100% healthy.
  • Outside of the Maple Leafs’ postseason run, the team received some positive news today on the prospect front, as forward Nikita Grebyonkin has mutually agreed to terminate his contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, paving the way for him to sign an NHL contract with Toronto (X Link). Taken with the 135th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft, Grebyonkin concluded the 2023-24 KHL season on a high note after scoring 19 goals and 41 points in 67 games. While only managing to score three goals and six points in 26 playoff games, Grebyonkin helped his team capture the Gagarin Cup on April 24th, sweeping Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the Finals.

Maple Leafs Notes: Nylander, Lyubushkin, Brodie, Matthews

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Star winger William Nylander has finally received some positive momentum in his return from injury, with head coach Sheldon Keefe telling The Athletic’s Luke Fox that Nylander will be a game-time decision ahead of Game Four (Twitter link). He has missed the first three games of the series with a migraine issue, though his exact diagnosis hasn’t been confirmed. When asked about it earlier, Nylander said, “Look, that’s just personal so I’m not going to get into that … but anything else you guys want to discuss [I’ll comment on].”

There’s no arguing that Toronto is simply better with Nylander in the lineup. The 27-year-old forward just wrapped up his second consecutive season with 40 goals and set a career-high 98 points along the way. He’s now missing his first games of the season, after playing in all 82 regular-season games for the second year in a row. Migraines have plagued Nylander for years now, even pushing him to switch to a tinted visor ahead of last season. He’s now overcoming those challenges once again and could be poised to make a big impact in a series that Toronto is trailing 2-1.

Other notes from Toronto:

  • Defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin welcomed the birth of his first daughter, and third child, on Friday morning. He traveled home to be with his wife during the process, missing Toronto’s Friday morning skate. Despite that, Keefe says he’ll still be an option in Saturday’s Game Three, shares the Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan (Twitter link). Lyubushkin has so far appeared in all three games this series, recording one assist, one penalty, and one shot on net. He’s a part of a rotation of Leafs defensemen vying for a lineup spot, competing with Joel Edmundson, Simon Benoit, and Conor Timmins.
  • Speaking of that competition, veteran T.J. Brodie is expected to step into the lineup over Timothy Liljegren, per Fox (Twitter link). Liljegren has yet to record a point through three playoff games, with his only stat change coming in the form of a -2. That’s despite averaging over 19 minutes of ice time through the start of the series. He’ll be replaced by Brodie, who’s managed 55 games of postseason experience over his 14-year NHL career. This includes 11 games with Toronto last season, with Brodie managing three assists, a -3, and 12 penalty minutes.
  • Superstar Auston Matthews also missed the team’s Friday skate with an illness that NHL insider Chris Johnston says he played through on Wednesday (Twitter link). Per Johnston, Keefe dubbed Matthews’ absence as a maintenance day, and didn’t make it seem like the historic goal-scorer was at risk of missing time. Toronto will certainly hope that’s the case, as Matthews is currently tied for the team-lead in playoff scoring with three points in as many games. His scoring has been matched by linemate Max Domi.

Toronto Maple Leafs Make T.J. Brodie A Healthy Scratch

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Hoping to send a message to his veteran defenseman, the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Sheldon Keefe, has decided to make T.J. Brodie a healthy scratch tonight according to David Alter of The Hockey News. Taking Brodie’s spot in the lineup will be defenseman Conor Timmins, who has not played a game for the Maple Leafs since January 24th.

It will mark the first time throughout his tenure in Toronto that Brodie finds himself a healthy scratch in the lineup. Although he is now a four-year veteran of the organization, Brodie’s play this year has left a lot to be desired, leading to this tough decision made by Keefe.

Sharing his reasoning behind the move, Keefe was quoted as saying, “Brods knows he hasn’t been at his best this season here, for most of the season, yet he’s taken on a lot for us …. hardest match-ups every single night & it’s been a lot. A chance for us to give him a night off“.

Playing in his first fully healthy year since the 2021-22 NHL season, Brodie has done much of the same for the Maple Leafs this season. In 66 games played, Brodie has averaged nearly 22 minutes of ice time per night, tallying 18 assists, and blocking a total of 139 shots.

Although his surface-level production is on par, Brodie has seen many of his defensive sub-metrics slip dramatically this season. His CorsiFor% and On-Ice Save Percentage In All Situations have slipped down to career lows of 43.8% and 89.6%, respectively. Furthermore, Brodie has seen his Expected +/- fall to 6.2 on the year, which would mark his lowest total since his last season with the Calgary Flames in 2019-20.

Nevertheless, Keefe’s quote holds in that Brodie has received some tough matchups this season, and the team may be looking to iron out his load management in time for the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. With the blue line being one of the major question marks on this Toronto team leading into the postseason, they will need Brodie to find his game in the hopes of leveling out the Maple Leafs’ defensive core.

Auston Matthews, T.J. Brodie Sit Out Saturday With Illness

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5:45 PM: The Toronto Maple Leafs have confirmed that Matthews and T.J. Brodie will both miss Saturday’s game with illness.

5:35 PM: Auston Matthews may be forced out of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Saturday night matchup with illness, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. The Leafs will kick off against the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7 P.M. ET – one of six games starting at that time. Matthews will be sitting out of his first game of the season if he misses Saturday night.

It’s an untimely absence for Matthews, who, with a pair of goals tonight, could have become the second-fastest Maple Leafs player to reach 25 goals in the modern era. He would have achieved the feat in 28 games, one shy of the 27 games it took Wendel Clark in 1993-94. Matthews will have another shot at the feat on Tuesday when Toronto returns home to face the New York Rangers.

Matthews is having another successful season in the NHL, although he doesn’t currently carry his usual title as the Leafs leading scorer. That instead belongs to William Nylander, who’s managed 38 points in 27 games this season. Matthews has only put up 35 points, although his NHL-leading 23 goals leads the team by a margin of nine. The 26-year-old Matthews is on a 70-goal pace through mid-December, looking to top the career-high of 60 goals that he recorded in 2021-22.

Brodie, also absent from Saturday’s matchup, is also missing his first game of the season. He has managed six points in his 27 appearances with the Leafs this season, averaging just over 22 minutes of ice time each night.

Examining Toronto’s Further Cap-Cutting Options

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While today’s news that the Maple Leafs would be placing goaltender Matt Murray on LTIR to start the season helps to alleviate Toronto’s salary cap situation, they still have some work to do.  Using CapFriendly’s numbers, they still sit a little more than $2MM above the Upper Limit of the salary cap (even with Jake Muzzin being LTIR-bound himself) which means they have some paring down to do.

The recent arbitration award to Ilya Samsonov has opened up a second buyout window that they can utilize within the next 48 hours.  However, there are specific rules in place as to who can be bought out in this second window.  The player must make at least $4MM and have been on the roster last season.  Most of the other Toronto players that meet the criteria (and there aren’t many) have a zero percent chance of being bought out.

One possible exception is defenseman T.J. Brodie.  While they certainly wouldn’t want to part with the 33-year-old, the back-loaded structure of his contract would actually see the Maple Leafs clear the full $5MM AAV off the books for next season, clearing that gap and actually giving them some flexibility to add.  On the flip side, it would add $2.5MM onto the books for 2024-25 which certainly isn’t ideal with Auston Matthews and William Nylander needing pricey new deals next summer.  Speculatively, if they were open to parting with Brodie, a trade with 50% retention would free up $2.5MM in cap room and could yield a positive-value return, even in a market that doesn’t have a lot of financial wiggle room.

Assuming that’s not a route Toronto wants to take, let’s move on to some of the smaller cost-cutting options, sticking with the defense first.  Conor Timmins has a two-year deal that begins next season, one that carries a $1.1MM AAV.  While it’s generally viewed as bad form to trade a player that soon after signing an extension, Treliving wasn’t the one that gave him that deal.  Even if a trade option isn’t available, the contract can be fully buried in the minors without a lingering cap charge.  That might be their best option, actually, allowing them to keep Timmins in the organization a little longer and if another LTIR-eligible injury arises, he could then be brought up.

However, if head coach Sheldon Keefe wants to hold onto Timmins in the NHL, then Timothy Liljegren could become a cost-cutting candidate.  Signed for a reasonable $1.4MM next season, the 24-year-old has shown enough that they could get a solid return for his services although it would take another perceived part of their long-term plans out of the system, joining Rasmus Sandin who was moved at the deadline last season.

If Toronto parts with Brodie, it becomes much less likely that they’ll do something with Timmins or Liljegren as they’ll need them in the lineup on a regular basis.

Up front, there are presently 14 forwards on their projected roster.  They only need 12 so some savings can come from here.  Nicholas Robertson is coming off another shoulder injury and is waiver-exempt so his $797K is an easy one to pare down.

The other one isn’t as easy.  Sam Lafferty ($1.15MM) could be a luxury they could no longer afford and his contract could be fully buried in the minors if he was to clear waivers.  With the year he had, there could be a taker in training camp but with several capable role players still unsigned, his trade value right now would be limited.  Dylan Gambrell ($750K) is someone who might pass through unclaimed but he’d yield the fewest cap savings.  Pontus Holmberg ($800K) and Matthew Knies ($925K) are waiver-exempt and would save a bit more money than Gambrell but in a perfect world, they’re both in the opening lineup.

The other possible cap casualty could be winger Calle Jarnkrok.  At $2.1MM, his cap hit is hardly above market value but it might be a value that they can’t afford anymore while moving him outright would get them back into compliance.  However, the trade market for him might not be the best right now with other bottom-six players available in free agency and not necessarily needing the three years that Jarnkrok has left on his deal.

As you can see, there are certainly multiple paths that the Maple Leafs can take to get compliant.  But one way or the other, they will need to either part with some serviceable veterans or carry a minimum-sized roster to get there.  Treliving has added some pieces this summer including veterans John Klingberg, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Max Domi but some subtraction should now be coming.

East Notes: Sharangovich, Red Wings, Brodie

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The trade market this season should be unusually hot, with most teams needing to make lateral money-in, money-out moves if they want to improve their teams (as well as a middling free-agent class). One player on the block is New Jersey Devils forward and pending RFA Yegor Sharangovich, somewhat of a cap casualty after a disappointing 2022-23 campaign. Today, New Jersey Hockey Now’s James Nichols named the Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks, Seattle Kraken, and Washington Capitals as reasonable trade destinations for the Belarusian forward.

The 25-year-old saw his production dip to 13 goals and 30 points this year after scoring 24 goals and 46 points in 2021-22 and is coming off a two-year, $2MM per season deal. He’s still in a position to earn a small raise on that cap hit, and all the above destinations should provide more opportunity (and, therefore, breakout potential) for Sharangovich to provide good value on his next contract. It shouldn’t cost too much to pry his services away from the Garden State, either.

More out of the Eastern Conference today:

  • Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman told reporters today he doesn’t envision moving either of Detroit’s first-round picks in this year’s draft (ninth and 17th overall). Yzerman did infer he’d be willing to trade one or more of his three second-round picks, which could easily see themselves on the move with Detroit looking to make a run at the postseason in 2024. This may be some sobering news to Ottawa Senators fans, considering Detroit is gaining steam as a top trade destination for winger Alex DeBrincat. If it does turn out that way, they may have to settle for a 2024 first-round selection or multiple later-round picks.
  • There were some spotty rumors popping up over the past few days about a potential buyout for the Toronto Maple Leafs – namely, defenseman T.J. Brodie. The Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan relayed a report from a source today, though, that said there’s “no truth” Toronto and new general manager Brad Treliving are considering anything of the sort. Brodie, under contract at $5MM through next season, has been the team’s most consistent defensive specialist over the life of his deal but seemed a step out of place at times during the team’s playoff run this season.

Atlantic Notes: Savage, Brodie, Mandolese, McMann

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According to Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News, Red Wings’ prospect Redmond Savage is transferring to Michigan State University. Drafted 114th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft, Savage will take his talents closer to where he will eventually be playing.

Throughout his 67 regular season games played for Miami University (Ohio), Savage was able to put up 13 goals and 17 assists over his 2-year span. More famously, on the world stage, Savage was included on the roster of the United States World Junior team, playing in both tournaments this year and last. Throughout his 12 tournament games, Savage scored nine points for the United States team.

Since joining the Big Ten Conference before the 2013-14 NCAA season, the Spartans have only managed to earn a winning season one time in 2015. However, for the first time under new head coach Adam Nightingale, the Spartans won their quarterfinal matchup against Notre Dame but eventually lost to the University of Minnesota in this year’s Big Ten tournament.

Other notes:

  • From Mark Masters of TSN, after sitting out of yesterday’s game against the New York Islanders, head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Sheldon Keefe, says that defenseman T.J. Brodie will be back in the lineup tomorrow against the Florida Panthers. After handily losing to the Islanders on Tuesday, Brodie should be a welcomed return to the Maple Leafs against a surging Panthers team. Although his point production is down this season, Brodie has still been keen on his defensive aspects of the game, including being one of the better shot blockers in the league.
  • After netminder Dylan Ferguson became ill before yesterday’s game against the Boston Bruins, the Ottawa Senators re-called Kevin Mandolese from their AHL affiliate Belleville Senators. Today, the Senators announced that they have returned Mandolese back to Belleville. With the Senators dealing with injuries between the pipes, Mandolese has started in three games this year, going 2-1-0 with a .916 SV% and a 3.29 GAA.
  • Furthermore, on the Maple Leafs, David Alter of Sports Illustrated passes on a message from Keefe, announcing that forward Bobby McMann has re-aggravated a knee injury and will not play tomorrow night against the Panthers. McMann has been recalled a couple of times this year on an emergency loan, getting into ten games with the Maple Leafs, and producing one assist overall. Playing for the Maple Leafs AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies, McMann has been an incredibly valuable forward, playing in 30 games, and scoring 21 goals over that span.

Atlantic Notes: Brodie, Luff, Richard

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David Alter of Sports Illustrated reports that per head coach Sheldon Keefe, Toronto Maple Leafs’ defenseman T.J. Brodie will not be in the lineup tonight. Keefe confirms that Brodie has been fine for the most part, but remains a little banged up as the Maple Leafs continue their final stretch toward the playoffs. During a flurry of trade deadline activity, the Maple Leafs have added Conor Timmins, Erik Gustafsson, Luke Schenn, and Jake McCabe, while only moving defenseman Rasmus Sandin off their roster.

Keefe did not specifically use the word “maintenance”, but with nine defensemen on the active roster ready to fill in, this is exactly what it seems like for Brodie tonight. Having been placed on the injured reserve twice already this year, Brodie is having a down year for his standards. Playing in only 47 games so far this season, Brodie has two goals and nine assists for the Maple Leafs. Although his point scoring is down, Brodie has still been racking up the blocked shots and serving valuable minutes on Toronto’s penalty kill.

Other notes:

  • The Detroit Red Wings announced that they have recalled forward Matt Luff from their AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins. Playing in his first season in the Red Wings’ organization, Luff actually missed over two months of play from an injury at the beginning of the season. Playing in only seven games for Detroit, the forward has scored one goal this year. In the minor leagues, Luff has been a very productive forward for the Griffins, scoring 25 points in 28 games.
  • Being recalled on emergency loan on March 9th, the Montreal Canadiens have sent forward Anthony Richard back to their AHL affiliate Laval Rocket. Playing in 13 games this season for the Canadiens, Richard has scored three goals and two assists. Unlike his production in the NHL, Richard has been one of the best players in Laval this season, if not one of the best players in the minor leagues altogether. In 49 games played for Laval, the forward has scored 24 goals and 31 assists.

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