The Maple Leafs defenceman will sit again on Saturday night, watching as his teammates play host to the Edmonton Oilers some 72 hours after the 33-year-old veteran was a healthy scratch versus the Washington Capitals.
Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe acknowledged after practice on Friday that it’s mental reset, more than anything else, for Brodie.
“Brodes is a better player than he has played,” Keefe said. “And he has also played better hockey than the perception might be. He’s a guy that has taken on the hardest minutes and hardest matchups of anybody on our team and when you’re still finding ways to be on the positive side (plus-14), you’re doing lots of good things.
“(But) we and he acknowledged that he could be better and we need him at his best. If we have to take a step back in order for that to be the case, that’s what we’ll do. That’s where we’re at right now.”
Despite his inconsistencies, Brodie has averaged 21 minutes 51 seconds a game. Only Morgan Rielly (23:51) has played more on average for Toronto in 2023-24.
The Leafs need Brodie to find a way to improve once he returns because the lack of upper-echelon D-men in the Toronto corps calls for it. There’s a lot of depth, but not necessarily someone who can take Brodie’s minutes and be consistently impactful. Had there been, Brodie wouldn’t be getting the ice time, and the difficult matchups, as much as he has.
The Leafs play in Carolina against the Hurricanes on Sunday, but there was no indication Brodie would be in the lineup as Toronto finishes a tough back-to-back set this weekend.
“I’d just like him to clear his head,” Keefe said. “That’s a big part of it. He has had a tough go right from the beginning of training camp (not long after his father passed away early in September) all the way through.
About The Author
Leave a Reply