SAN JOSE, Calif. — The first 10 games of defenseman T.J. Brodie’s Blackhawks tenure have not gone swimmingly.
The Hawks were sloppy and disorganized defensively during most of Brodie’s shifts in their win Monday against the Avalanche. Coach Luke Richardson’s efforts to shelter him in a third-pairing role don’t seem to be helping much, either, especially on the road when Richardson doesn’t have the last change.
Brodie did orchestrate some clean defensive-zone breakouts Monday, reflecting something that has always been a strength of his game: his puck-moving ability and vision. His coverage in front of the net was decent, too, reflecting an improvement since the beginning of the season in that regard.
But he struggled mightily in puck battles, forcing his rookie partner, Nolan Allan, to do most of the work in terms of winning back possession. The Avalanche nearly tied the game early in the third period after Miles Wood got the best of Brodie in a battle, and they nearly tied it again with five minutes left when Brodie kept failing to get a handle on the puck.
“Moving the puck quickly out of your ‘D’-zone is the way the game is played now. When you don’t or it hops over your stick, everybody seems to get in a little bit of trouble,” Richardson said. “It happened a couple times to ‘Brods.’
“But he’s always made really good, quick plays that are subtle [so] you don’t really notice them. Sometimes if it doesn’t go well, then you obviously notice if a guy has been out there too long and [gets] overpowered by a bigger guy in the corner.”
Richardson praised Brodie for not panicking after his mistakes and instead retreating toward the crease and re-establishing his positioning. That’s the benefit of experience, and allows Brodie to prevent things from snowballing better than, say, Kevin Korchinski did last season. But expectations for Brodie are also higher than they were for Korchinski.
When Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson signed him in July to a two-year contract with a $3.75 million salary-cap hit, he gambled that Brodie’s out-of-the-blue problems last season on the Maple Leafs were an anomaly within a stellar career rather than an indication that the 34-year-old defenseman was declining with age.
It seems increasingly likely that age is a factor, though. That would be more palatable if he was on a one-year rather than two-year deal, but he is not.
Out of 186 defensemen league-wide, Brodie’s 43.0% scoring-chance ratio during five-on-five play ranks 149th, his 45.5% expected-goals ratio ranks 123rd and his 20.0% actual goals ratio — a fancy way of quantifying the fact the Hawks have been outscored 8-2 during his ice time — is tied for 181st.
Things have gotten even worse lately. His expected-goals ratio has been below 42% in each of the last four games, including 26.1% against the Predators and 28.2% against the Stars. And that’s in spite of the fact he has averaged just 14:11 of ice time in those four games, down from 16:31 in the first six.
It’s still early in the season — and even earlier in Brodie’s contract — and it’s possible he could right the ship. He had been honest about his difficulties adjusting to the Hawks’ zone-based defensive scheme, which contrasts starkly with the Leafs’ man-on-man scheme, but he said Wednesday he now feels more comfortable with it.
“I’m trying not to be over-aggressive and get caught going too high or behind the net,” Brodie said. “[I’m] just using my hockey sense.”
With fellow veteran defenseman Alec Martinez ruled out for at least three more games due to his groin injury, though, the Hawks need Brodie to right the ship as quickly as possible.
