T.J. Brodie’s decade-long tenure with the Calgary Flames is over and he will pull on sweater for the first time in his NHL career in 2020-21.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed the defenseman to a four-year contract worth $5 million annually.
Brodie Swapping Red for Blue
Brodie, 30 years old and originally selected by the Flames 114th overall at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, has spent his entire 10-year NHL career in Calgary. He logged 48 goals and 218 assists for 266 points in 634 games and an average ice time of 22:35.
A mobile d-man and a swift puck-mover, Brodie mainly skated alongside captain Mark Giordano on the Flames’ top pairing. He was ninth all-time in games played for the franchise.
Dubas Finally Gets His Man
The veteran Brodie will join an up-tempo team, high-octane team and a blue line that already features Jake Muzzin and Morgan Rielly.
Brodie is left-handed, but can play the right side without problem. Since Muzzin and Rielly are both left-handers, it’s safe to assume Brodie will play with one of them in 2020-21.
Leafs GM Kyle Dubas targeted Brodie last summer and Brodie was part of the proposed trade that would have sent Nazem Kadri to the Flames. That deal fell apart when Kadri refused to waive his no-trade clause.
Dubas ended up dealing Kadri to the Colorado Avalanche along Calle Rosen and a 2020 third-round pick in exchange for Tyson Barrie, Alex Kerfoot, and a 2020 sixth-round pick. That deal worked out well for the Avalanche but not so well for the Leafs.
Related: Toronto Maple Leafs: Revisiting the Nazem Kadri Trade
Better late than never, so they say. Brodie will be a fixture on the Leafs top-four for the next four seasons as the squad in Ontario’s capital will — once again — look for a way to advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2003-04.
Earlier in the day, the Leafs signed Wayne Simmonds to a one-year contract.