Analyst shockingly suggests that the Leafs should buy out one of their best defensemen

On yesterday's Daily FaceOff Rundown, reporter Jason Gregor suggested another Leaf that could be bought out. Gregor suggested buying out defenseman T.J. Brodie, simply because his buyout would count as $0 towards the Leafs' cap this season. It would cost the Leafs $2.5M on next season's cap when the cap is projected to take a massive jump towards $90M.

The suggestion to buy out one of the Leafs' most stable defensemen is ridiculous because, as Gregor said, they would have to replace him with a defenseman that costs just as much, if not more given the lack of UFA defenders available this year. Brodie ranked 4th in expected goals against per 60 minutes this past season and 12th in expected goals for percentage. Not only that, but he ranked 5th in high danger scoring chances against and 14th in high danger goals against per 60 minutes.

Defensively, Brodie was the Leafs' best defenseman all season while playing with pretty much every other blueliner the Leafs had. Is he the fleetest of foot? Absolutely not, but defensively, he has good positioning, an excellent stick and can make a good first pass to get out of the zone. There is no reason for the Leafs to even think about buying out Brodie and with Brad Treliving as GM it is highly unlikely to happen.

If the Leafs do decide to part ways with Brodie this summer, which is, in my opinion, very unlikely, they'd do so via trade - not buyout.