The Toronto Maple Leafs' defenseman T.J. Brodie will be healthy scratched for the first game of the series against the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe announced it on Friday:
"T.J. Brodie appears to be the odd man out on D.
Rielly - Lyubushkin
Benoit - McCabe
Edmundson - Liljegren"
Conor Timmins and Cade Webber were also extras at the Leafs' practice and should miss the first game against the Bruins.
With all the injuries the Leafs' blue line had this season, now that most players are healthy, the team finds itself with more defensemen than they need. With Timmins, Giordano, Webber and Brodie sidelined, that's 10 NHL defensemen available for Keefe to use in the playoffs.
Despite his vast experience in the NHL, with 908 regular season games and 55 playoff games, his inconsistency during the season has forced Keefe to scratch him, causing mixed reactions:
"Brodie is an intelligent player. Even though he's fallen off pretty hard, he's still better than Lyubushkin, Edmondson and Benoit.
Dressing all three of those guys is extremely stupid and will come back to haunt the Leafs. If you scratch T.J., Timmins should be the one to play."
"No, it won't. Brodie needs to watch game 1 from the sidelines and he will come back in game 2 or 3 with more intensity and a cleaner game. He is important to the team but this is necessary."
"Lybushkin over Brodie is a crime"
"Are you serious? Brodie has done nothing of late. He bring zero jam. He couldn't check his jacket in at the Hilton. There is a reason why they traded for Lybushkin."
Do you think Sheldon Keefe is making a mistake by scratching T.J. Brodie?
Source: The Hockey Writers -
Brodie Doesn't Make Cut for Maple Leafs First Playoff Game
DO YOU THINK SHELDON KEEFE IS MAKING A MISTAKE BY SCRATCHING T.J. BRODIE FOR GAME ONE AGAINST THE BOSTON BRUINS? APRIL 20 89 ANSWERS |
| YES | 40 | 44.9 % |
| NO | 49 | 55.1 % |
| LIST OF POLLS |
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