The Toronto Maple Leafs blueline continues to take a beating as defenseman TJ Brodie was placed on IR Januray 10th with an injury to his ribs.
No timeline has been provided for his return, but once placed on IR, a player is expected to be out at least seven days, which would therefore exclude Brodie from this week’s action. The reliable blueliner will be missed as the Toronto Maple Leafs have a busy schedule coming up, starting with a back-to-back tonight against Nashville, followed by a rematch against Detroit tomorrow, before meeting the league leading Boston Bruins on Saturday.
Brodie joins fellow Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin in the infirmary, who himself has been out of the lineup virtually the entire season after suffering a cervical spine injury on October 17th, 2022, and is speculated to miss the remainder of the season, if not forced into retirement due to the severity of his injury.
Morgan Rielly only recently returned from a 15 game absence.
With Brodie out, Conor Timmins has been playing for the Leafs and has done a fantastic job, recording his first ever NHL goal against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, giving the young defenseman 10 points in 12 games played since joining the team.
An eleven year veteran of the NHL, TJ Brodie has been sidelined in the past with injuries of various degrees, with perhaps his most serious occurring towards the end of 2018 when he suffered a concussion that ended his season.
Toronto Maple Leafs: TJ Brodie Injury History
Upper Body Injury – 2012
In March 2012, during his rookie year with the Calgary Flames, Brodie missed several games with an undisclosed upper body injury that ended his season. (All information from Rotowire).
Hand – 2015
In September 2015, Brodie suffered a broken bone in his hand and missed several weeks as a result, returning to the lineup October 28th, 2015 in a game against the Ottawa Senators.
Upper Body Injury – 2016
In March 2016, Brodie suffered another undisclosed upper body injury in a game against the Nashville Predators, missing a few games before returning to action March 18th, 2016.
Concussion – 2018
On March 18th, 2018 in a game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Brodie suffered arguably the most severe injury of his career when he sustained a concussion that sidelined him for the remainder of that season.
Undisclosed – 2019
On November 14th, 2019, Brodie missed several games after a scary incident that witnessed him collapsing on the ice in practice.
Fortunately it was nothing too major and Brodie was able to return to action two weeks later after being removed from IR on November 25th, 2019.
Covid-19 – 2021
Brodie was placed into Covid-19 protocol on December 18th, 2021, and after the mandatory ten day quarantine was cleared to play on December 28th, 2021.
Oblique – 2022
On November 12th, 2022 it was disclosed Brodie had sustained an oblique injury that required him to miss almost a month of action before returning to the ice on December 8th, 2022.
Rib – 2023
Brodie missed the game against Philadelphia on Sunday with what was later revealed to be an injury to his ribs, and was placed on IR yesterday. Brodie is expected to miss at least the next three games as a result. Rib injuries are quite painful and the timeline for recovery can be long in some cases depending on the exact nature of the injury.
Brodie was injured January 7th against the Detroit Red Wings. It turned out to be a rib injury. Brodie returned January 29th against the Washington Capitals, after missing seven games.
Conclusion
A fan favourite and the Toronto Maple Leafs most reliable defenseman in his own zone, TJ Brodie will be missed by the team.
In the meantime, fans can expect to get an extended look at newcomer Conor Timmins, who has played remarkably well since joining the team.