Tribute T.J. Brodie Appreciation

Mr Knies Guy

Registered User
Jul 5, 2008
10,979
1,406
He was McDavid and Draisaitl's daddy all series. Completely neutered them offensively and made many brilliant, stand out defensive plays. He's truly something special.
Not gonna lie, I was worried he’d be Barrie 2.0 without the offence but wow, happy to eat crow, he’s an exceptional defender and I honestly cannot remember one bad play or egregious giveaway. He’s almost never out of position, never a bad pinch, and that facedown slide with the stick swinging behind is unbelievably effective.

this guy is super cerebral, just oozes hockey IQ
 

Menzinger

Kessel4LadyByng
Apr 24, 2014
41,167
32,818
St. Paul, MN
Imo the initial tepid responses from some to Brodie are a sign that Eastern based hockey fans don't spend enough time watching Western teams.

Conversely i see some truly bizarre opinions from fans of Western teams of players on Eastern ones too.
 
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Mr Knies Guy

Registered User
Jul 5, 2008
10,979
1,406
Imo the initial tepid responses from some to Brodie are a sign that Eastern based hickey fans don't spend enough time watching Western teams.

Conversely i see some truly bizarre opinions from fans of Western teams of players on Eastern ones too.
It’s hard enough for me to stay up for a 10p Leaf game, you want me to stay up for a 10pm Crapmonton game??? Shiiiiiieeeett, not happening sir
 

The Hanging Jowl

Registered User
Apr 2, 2017
10,418
11,627
It's hard to believe we have this guy locked up for 4 years. All the talk over the last several years about how we can get our hands on a guy like Slavin or Hamilton, Pesce, etc., and it almost feels like this guy just fell in our lap. Having him, Muzzin and Holl locked in for 3+ years and all playing fantastic gives me a peaceful, easy feeling. Dubas did this right.
 

newfy

Registered User
Jul 28, 2010
14,771
8,326
Imo the initial tepid responses from some to Brodie are a sign that Eastern based hockey fans don't spend enough time watching Western teams.

Conversely i see some truly bizarre opinions from fans of Western teams of players on Eastern ones too.

I was saying this at the time of the signing. The comparisons to Gardiner were bad. Brodie spent years playing on one of the best pairings in the league against top competition and a few giveaways on the highlight reel had people calling him Gardiner lol. He got invited to team Canada camp for a reason
 
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Cap'n Flavour

Registered User
Mar 8, 2004
4,947
1,628
Flavour Country
Wonder if Brodie’s game can be a road map for what Travis Dermott can become?

2 years ago that was an optimistic projection. Now? Forget it.

Funnily enough, Brodie's possession stats aren't that great but he seems to limit quality scoring chances against even with tough matchups. Meanwhile, Dermott's underwater with easy minutes and just looks like a waste of space.
 
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Twine Tickler

Registered User
Apr 5, 2010
3,415
5,134
Vancouver
This guy has gotten better with each passing game. Exactly what we needed TBH. he is so defensively sound. Great signing. My buddy and I were talking about his impact so far being eerily similar to Dan Hamhuis when he signed in VAN during their cup run. 1 addition that essentially solidified our D-corps, and has allowed everyone on our D-Corps to play the role they should have been playing all along. Love what he brings to the table
 

Leafs87

Mr. Steal Your Job
Aug 10, 2010
14,743
4,831
Toronto
He’s been our best defender by far.
First time I’d say moving Rielly for assets makes sense, since we can’t really afford his increase during a flat cap.
 

TheProspector

Registered User
Oct 18, 2007
5,339
1,697
Orlando
Brodie and the emergence of Holl just fixed this team's multi-decadal problem with D without us even realising it.

Leafs have never had problems scoring (even when they were bad), but we're the 7th best team in GAA. And that's on terrible goaltending. 6th lowest shots against per game.

This is it, guys. This is the team. With Jack in net, of course.
 
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Primary Assist

The taste of honey is worse than none at all
Jul 7, 2010
5,960
5,848
He's like if Tomas Kaberle traded his offensive instincts for defensive instincts (though Kabs was still a very good defenseman). Very unassuming, average size, not physical, but just so positionally sound and he always has his head up with an active stick.

He has great chemistry with Rielly too, since Brodie loves breaking up odd man rushes and Rielly loves allowing them to happen
 

Bluelines

Python FTW!
Nov 17, 2013
12,349
4,559
The guy has an amazing stick, how many times has he been one on one in a high danger spot and just poked the puck away like no big deal... the guy is fundamentally our best defender in 40 years..
 
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Martin Skoula

Registered User
Oct 18, 2017
11,735
16,522
There was a moment where I noticed he played a 2 on 1 not perfectly last game against the Jets. Then it hit me that we're almost at the deadline and that's the first time I've noticed him play a 2 on 1 anything but picture perfect while having to cover for Rielly's awful pinches. He's so consistent that the occasional slightly bad play will stick out like a sore thumb.
 

Atomos2

Registered User
Jun 28, 2012
16,507
2,747
Toronto, Ontario
He's like if Tomas Kaberle traded his offensive instincts for defensive instincts (though Kabs was still a very good defenseman). Very unassuming, average size, not physical, but just so positionally sound and he always has his head up with an active stick.

He has great chemistry with Rielly too, since Brodie loves breaking up odd man rushes and Rielly loves allowing them to happen

QFT

:laugh:
 
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zeke

The Dube Abides
Mar 14, 2005
66,937
36,957
There was a moment where I noticed he played a 2 on 1 not perfectly last game against the Jets. Then it hit me that we're almost at the deadline and that's the first time I've noticed him play a 2 on 1 anything but picture perfect while having to cover for Rielly's awful pinches.

Funny when Brodie had an awful pinch last game rielly got the blame.
 

Stephen

Moderator
Feb 28, 2002
78,716
53,252
Funny when Brodie had an awful pinch last game rielly got the blame.

Brodie had a really rough game in the early going vs Winnipeg on Friday night. There were a couple of WTF plays like when he missed a pass at the point and he lazily reached for it but kept rolling back before it became a Rielly problem, then he did a lazy reverse to Rielly who was battling Schiefele on the other side of the rink. Good thing these breakdowns are not very common.
 
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