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.
make it permanent