Blackhawks Set to Buy Out Defenseman TJ Brodie
According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Blackhawks have put Brodie on unconditional waivers to make a buyout possible. If he isn’t claimed, they will be allowed to do this on Sunday and buy out the last year of his contract.
Contract Details and Cap Impact of TJ Brodie Buyout
The Blackhawks are expected to sign defenseman T.J. Brodie when their initial window opens later this week, stated Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. His $2.45 million signing bonus, which is unaffected by a buyout, represented the great majority of his $3.225 million total compensation for the upcoming season.
In addition to being an unrestricted free agent, he will only experience a decrease in his base pay from $775K to $517K, which will be distributed over two years. Brodie will only pay a $258K penalty in 2026–2027 before leaving the Hawks’ books, but he will still count $3.23MM against the limit for Chicago in 2025–2026, saving $517K on his initial $3.75MM cap hit.
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Decline in Play and Roster Depth Pushes T.J. Brodie Out
The 35-year-old T.J. Brodie signed a two-year, $7.5MM contract with Chicago through free agency last summer. Given his lengthy history of performance as a top-four two-way option for the Flames and Maple Leafs, the $3.75MM budget hit was a reasonable expense, but a multi-year commitment raised some questions.
TJ Brodie was getting older, and after a lacklustre 2023–24 season in Toronto, the team had a little problem letting him go. However, there were concerns about how his weakening speed would hold up on a much weaker Blackhawks blue line.
Brodie’s Decline Became Clear in the 2024–25 Season
Since TJ Brodie had his worst NHL season in 2024–25, the deal’s concerns came true. He only scored 2-8–10 in 54 games, and after a steep slide with the Leafs the previous season, his defensive contributions further deteriorated.
Chicago originally signed him to provide help for their young defensemen, but in March, he was cut entirely from the starting lineup. He was a healthy scratch for the last 22 games of the season and didn’t make a single appearance for the team after the trade deadline. The left-shot T.J. Brodie had spent the majority of the season in the exact location on his offside where he has been the majority of his career, even after the team traded top righty Seth Jones to the Panthers.
The Blackhawks currently have two NHL veterans, Alex Vlasic and Connor Murphy, who several top prospects will join to complete their top six defensemen, which includes Nolan Allan, Kevin Korchinski, Artyom Levshunov, and Sam Rinzel, as they begin the offseason. Since Rinzel, Murphy, and Levshunov are all righties, the Hawks have a three/three split in terms of handedness.
Wyatt Kaiser and Louis Crevier, two possible roster players who are pending RFAs in need of new contracts, are also excluded. TJ Brodie just doesn’t have a place on the roster for the upcoming season, at least not one that will require a lot of playing time. Instead of burdening him with an expensive contract that would probably land him in the minors, they will let him pursue other chances on a fresh, less expensive agreement.