![\"T.J.](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/7879566\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/4500x3000+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F15%2F91%2F83bb1c2443fc858ce2af0279e41f%2Fbrodie-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Blackhawks made struggling defenseman T.J. Brodie a healthy scratch Friday against the Lightning in a move that feels potentially significant.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not the first time Brodie has sat out this season. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Because of Ethan Del Mastro\u2019s call-up to take Brodie\u2019s place, however, this particular benching \u2014 which Hawks fans celebrated on social media \u2014 might finally represent a shift away from the 34-year-old former Maple Leaf and toward a youth takeover of the Hawks\u2019 defensive corps.<\/p>\n
That would be a smart decision. The Hawks shouldn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
Four of the Hawks\u2019 six dressed defensemen Friday were 23 or younger \u2014 and four of the six were 6-4 or taller, too. That should stay the case for a while. There\u2019s no reason why Seth Jones and Alec Martinez can\u2019t be the only veteran anchors.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not like Brodie\u2019s 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\u2019s not oblivious to that fact, either.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely hard to get confident,\u201d Brodie said this week. \u201cIt has been a roller coaster with my game specifically. I play good and then struggle another night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Monday marked the latest of several disastrous Brodie performances. He proved completely unable to handle the Hurricanes\u2019 aggressive forechecking pressure. The Hawks were outshot 20-3 and outscored 2-1 during his five-on-five ice time, and they\u2019ve now been cumulatively outscored 36-17 with him this season.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t even get a pass off before getting stripped of the puck.<\/p>\n
“[I\u2019m] trying to play more instinctively instead of almost overthinking out there,\u201d Brodie said. “[When you] start trying to think of where you\u2019re supposed to be on the ice, you stop reading the actual play, and you hesitate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sorensen said the Hawks \u201cexpect more out of him, and I think he does of himself, too.\u201d Variations of \u201cexpect better\u201d have become Sorensen\u2019s go-to phrases when he\u2019s ticked at a player but doesn\u2019t want to publicly disparage him.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, a Brodie buyout wouldn\u2019t yield much financial relief. The Hawks would incur a $3.23 million cap charge next season and a $258,000 charge the following season.<\/p>\n
But the Hawks likely won\u2019t be tight against the cap, so they won\u2019t be hamstrung by that dead weight. And it would be malpractice \u2014 from both a competitive and a prospect-development standpoint \u2014 to not free up the roster spot he currently occupies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Brodie was made a healthy scratch Friday. It’s a move that hopefully represents a shift away from the struggling 34-year-old and toward a youth takeover of the Hawks’ defensive corps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11733,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks"],"yoast_head":"\n