Pair of former Flames star defencemen both out of Leafs playoff mix

Father Time appears to come for everyone in pro sports — even a pair of Toronto Maple Leafs defencemen.

While all eyes were curious about the status of William Nylander at today’s morning skate (spoiler, it’s still up in the air), two names remained on the outside looking in when it came to Toronto’s defensive group.

According to Hockey News’ David Alter, it appears both TJ Brodie and Mark Giordano are out again for Game 2 for the first-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins, just as they were for Game 1, which Toronto lost 5-1.

For two players who have both received votes for the Norris Trophy as the best defenceman in the NHL — and in Giordano’s case, winning the award in 2018-19 — it’s got to be a sobering feeling.

As hockey fans know, the history between these two goes back to the 2010-11 season, when Brodie made his NHL debut with the Calgary Flames. He spent the first nine years of his NHL career there before eventually signing with the Leafs in 2020.

Giordano, meanwhile, played 15 seasons in Calgary from 2005 through 2021 before being selected by the Seattle Kraken as their first-ever captain in the NHL Expansion Draft. The two were often paired on the Flames’ top unit throughout their career together.

For Brodie, age 33, and Giordano, age 40, it seems like they’ve been picked over in terms of younger players for the quick and physical matchup against the Bruins.

Brodie skated in 78 games for Toronto this season, averaging 21:43 a night while putting up one goal and 25 assists. Giordano, meanwhile, played 46 games this year, averaging 16:37 of ice time while putting up three goals and six assists.

Per Alter, here’s how Toronto’s lines shaped up:

• Tyler Bertuzzi-Auston Matthews-Max Domi
• Matthew Knies-John Tavares-Mitch Marner
• Nick Robertson-Holmberg-Calle Jarnkrok
• Connor Dewar-David Kampf-Ryan Reaves
• Extra: William Nylander, Noah Gregor

And here’s how their defensive pairings looked, with Brodie and Giordano making up the team’s fourth unit:

• Morgan Rielly- Ilya Lyubushkin
• Simon Benoit-Jake McCabe
• Joel Edmundson-Timothy Liljegren
• Mark Giordano-TJ Brodie
• Cade Webber- Conor Timmins

Leafs 2024 first-round playoff schedule

• Game 2: Monday, April 22, Toronto at Boston, 7 pm ET
• Game 3: Wednesday, April 24, Boston at Toronto, 7 pm ET
• Game 4: Saturday, April 27, Boston at Toronto, 8 pm ET
• Game 5: Tuesday, April 30, Toronto at Boston, TBD*
• Game 6: Thursday, May 2, Boston at Toronto, TBD*
• Game 7: Saturday, May 4, Toronto at Boston, TBD*
  *if necessary

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