Sheldon Keefe's post-game comment about T.J. Brodie has many wondering if he's headed for another scratch
The Toronto Maple Leafs strung together a couple of huge lopsided victories against the Washington Capitals and Edmonton Oilers this past week before ultimately dropping 2 points against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday in what was a very close game with some poor puck luck.
The common denominator in the wins was that declining veteran T.J. Brodie was healthy scratched and watching from the press box. Brodie finally drew back into the lineup last night for the Leafs after Sheldon Keefe tried to "reset" his struggling defenseman, and unfortunately for Brodie, just 1:06 into the game, he coughed up the puck in his own zone, which led to Joseph Woll fishing it out of his own net.
Brodie was a -1 on the night and skated just over 17 minutes of ice time in the loss, often looking out of place and uninspired. After the game, you could tell that the media was trying to incite a reaction from Keefe regarding Brodie's play in his first game back, but the Leafs' bench boss just didn't bite. When asked about Brodie's play following the loss, Keefe's response was very short.
Brodie did have a golden opportunity to score in the contest, but opted, instead, to pass the puck, which gave Canes netminder and ex-Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen some extra time to get set. Obviously, Brodie has never been known for his offensive prowess, so it was not out of character to see him pass on a scoring attempt, but nevertheless, decisions like that are costly in tight games.
The Leafs play host to the New Jersey Devils tomorrow night, so there's really no time to dwell on last night's loss. The question many have is will Brodie remain in the lineup, or will he be back in the press box after another uninspired effort?
| POLL | ||
MARS 25 | 326 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe's post-game comment about T.J. Brodie has many wondering if he's headed for another scratch Has T.J. Brodie done enough this season to warrant keeping him in the lineup? | ||
| Yes | 71 | 21.8 % |
| No | 255 | 78.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
