2. T.J. Brodie
Now, we’re getting into “go all-in” territory. The Devils have a major need on the defense, and T.J. Brodie hurt his value this season with a weird turn of events. The Flames had a rough season, but Brodie had his own major health problems. He fought what was determined to be a fainting spell that ended a scary incident in practice, but it doesn’t seem like a long-term problem.
Brodie is a left-handed defenseman with spectacular advanced stats. He’s an offensive-minded defenseman that gets out of trouble with spectacular skating ability. He may be 30 years old, but he’s exactly the kind of player that would fit with Subban on the first line.
At the beginning of this article, we talked about fit. The number one fit the Devils need is someone who can play big minutes on the left side of the defense who compliments the game of Subban. It doesn’t look like Subban is going anywhere, and it probably doesn’t make sense to move him at his lowest-possible value. So, the Devils need to find a player that can unlock the old Subban.
Brodie would be a valuable player even at a big contract. He’s making over $4 million this season, so he’s going to want a decent raise. Paying Brodie $5.5 million isn’t out of the question. Coming into the season, Brodie was a $7 million defenseman. A couple of weird things that hurt his value and probably don’t have a long-term effect would only benefit the Devils.