By night, the Leafs signed Brodie, who grew up in Western Ontario and played his junior hockey in Saginaw, Mich., and in Barrie, where he happened to play more than half a season with Pietrangelo.
By day, the Leafs wound up with Wayne Simmonds of Scarborough, the former Toronto Aces star, the former East Ender, and Junior Canadien, the late-bloomer, who has had an excellent NHL career to date. They signed Simmonds just after noon, when it became legal to sign anyone, and Dubas was both smart and fortunate that the Buffalo Sabres gave him permission to talk to Simmons before free agency officially began.
Brodie fills a giant need as a right-side defenceman even though he doesn’t shoot right. Last season, they had Cody Ceci and Tyson Barrie playing the right side on defence. In fairness, they were cringe-worthy only on nights ending in ‘Y’. You don’t win much in the NHL when Ceci and Barrie are on your first two defensive pairs. And in fairness, the Leafs didn’t win all that much this past interrupted season.
Dubas said this the other day: The Leafs had to get harder to play against. Simmonds brings that third-line, fourth-line kind of toughness and presence that the Leafs didn’t have against Columbus. And they needed a right-side defenceman, maybe two, to take the spots left behind by Barrie and Ceci. There, they needed an upgrade.
And Brodie is indeed an upgrade in that area. He is a puck-mover of some quality, known for his smarts and his calmness and his ability to allow his partners to do what they do best. He’s not necessarily physical or terrific in the offensive zone, but his first-pass ability distinguishes him. He’s never been a star, but he’s played better than 20 minutes a game for five different head coaches in Calgary.
Source: – Toronto Sun
