Drafting the Current Toronto Maple Leafs Roster In Their Prime

Ninth Overall Pick – T.J. Brodie

The Ninth overall pick is Toronto’s third defenseman to be drafted, T.J. Brodie. Much like Muzzin, Brodie’s selection is not at all indicative of where he went in the NHL Entry Draft. In 2008, the Calgary Flames selected Brodie in the fourth round, 114th overall. Another one of the Maple Leafs’ current blueliners was drafted extremely high that year. Zach Bogosian went third overall to the Atlanta Thrashers.

Prior to this season, Brodie has only played professionally for the Flames. Now in his 11th NHL season, the six-foot-one player from Chatham, Ontario spent 10 years in Calgary. The Leafs brought the 30-year-old over by signing him to a four-year deal worth $20 million, meaning his contract carries an annual average value of $5 million.

Brodie was also a member of the disappointing 2013 Men’s Team Canada that went to the IIHF World Championships. Wayne Simmonds was also part of this group that was eliminated in the quarterfinals by the eventual tournament winner, Sweden.

In the NHL, Brodie has had very good possession metrics. In this career, he has a Corsi rating of 50.8, which is 1.6-percent higher relative to his teams. This is even more impressive if compared to the top defenseman drafted in the same year as Brodie. Doughty was the second overall pick. His career Corsi has him 1.5-percent above his team and Bogosian, who was the third pick, has a career mark relative to his team that’s 1.0-percent below his teams. Brodie’s best season was the 2013-14 campaign. His Corsi rating was 8.1-percent greater than his team that year.

When it comes to offensive output, Brodie’s best season was two years later. In 70 games, he recorded 45 points on 6 goals and 39 assists. For a player that averages 22:30 of ice time in his career, he has a total of 279 points in 681 games.