The Blackhawks made struggling defenseman T.J. Brodie a healthy scratch Friday against the Lightning in a move that feels potentially significant.

It’s not the first time Brodie has sat out this season. It’s actually the fifth, since he was also scratched on Nov. 2, 3 and 6 by ex-coach Luke Richardson and on Jan. 13 by current interim coach Anders Sorensen.

Because of Ethan Del Mastro’s call-up to take Brodie’s place, however, this particular benching — which Hawks fans celebrated on social media — might finally represent a shift away from the 34-year-old former Maple Leaf and toward a youth takeover of the Hawks’ defensive corps.

That would be a smart decision. The Hawks shouldn’t feel obligated to get Brodie back in the lineup just for the sake of it, unless another defenseman goes down injured or needs his own refresh. And in that case, it would probably be wiser to simply call up Wyatt Kaiser again.

Four of the Hawks’ six dressed defensemen Friday were 23 or younger — and four of the six were 6-4 or taller, too. That should stay the case for a while. There’s no reason why Seth Jones and Alec Martinez can’t be the only veteran anchors.

It’s not like Brodie’s experience has added value. In the first year of a two-year contract carrying a $3.75 million salary-cap hit that has aged terribly since July, he has enjoyed plenty of opportunities to find a rhythm. Yet aside from some short-lived improvement in late November, he has failed to take advantage of those opportunities. He’s not oblivious to that fact, either.

“It’s definitely hard to get confident,” Brodie said this week. “It has been a roller coaster with my game specifically. I play good and then struggle another night.”

Monday marked the latest of several disastrous Brodie performances. He proved completely unable to handle the Hurricanes’ aggressive forechecking pressure. The Hawks were outshot 20-3 and outscored 2-1 during his five-on-five ice time, and they’ve now been cumulatively outscored 36-17 with him this season.

He has struggled to maintain defensive coverage, keep tight gaps, clear pucks out of the crease and win battles along the boards, but those weaknesses have only been half as glaring as his propensity to turn the puck over in the defensive zone.

Those turnovers have typically stemmed from errant or ill-advised passes to teammates that opponents have picked off. Assistant coach Kevin Dean noted earlier this season that backhanded passes were especially causing him trouble. But on a few occasions Monday, Brodie didn’t even get a pass off before getting stripped of the puck.

“[I’m] trying to play more instinctively instead of almost overthinking out there,” Brodie said. “[When you] start trying to think of where you’re supposed to be on the ice, you stop reading the actual play, and you hesitate.”

Sorensen said the Hawks “expect more out of him, and I think he does of himself, too.” Variations of “expect better” have become Sorensen’s go-to phrases when he’s ticked at a player but doesn’t want to publicly disparage him.

Brodie will inevitably play again at some point this season. The Hawks will need to make a decision this summer, however, and they should decide to buy out his second year. General manager Kyle Davidson elected not to buy out Nikita Zaitsev in a similar situation two years ago, but times have changed.

Unfortunately, a Brodie buyout wouldn’t yield much financial relief. The Hawks would incur a $3.23 million cap charge next season and a $258,000 charge the following season.

But the Hawks likely won’t be tight against the cap, so they won’t be hamstrung by that dead weight. And it would be malpractice — from both a competitive and a prospect-development standpoint — to not free up the roster spot he currently occupies.