Chicago Blackhawks sign T.J. Brodie to two-year contract with $3.75 million AAV

The Chicago Blackhawks have signed defenseman T.J. Brodie to two-year contract with a $3.75 million cap hit, according to Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli.

Brodie was an unrestricted free agent after the conclusion of his four-year contract with a $5 million cap hit that he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. With this new contract, the Blackhawks lock him up until he’s 36 years old at 4.26% of the 2024-25 salary cap.

There are currently no details regarding any no-move/no-trade clauses or signing bonuses with this contract.

Brodie sees a $1.25 million decrease in his per year salary, and will have the 97th-highest cap hit among defensemen next season. He shares a cap hit with two other defensemen who signed deals today in Matt Dumba and Alexandre Carrier.

Brodie had a bit of a down year in his final season with the Leafs, seeing his usually reliable defensive game take a step back to the point that he was out of the lineup for most of the playoffs, finishing the year with 1 goal and 24 assists for 25 points in 78 games.

Brodie did manage to get into one game for the Leafs in the playoffs, getting no points in Game 4 of their seven-game series loss to the Bruins in the first round.

Brodie was a 4th-round pick of the Calgary Flames in the 2008 NHL Draft, and after making his NHL debut in the 2010-11 season, he spent parts of 10 seasons in Calgary. He then went to free agency, where he signed his previous deal with the Leafs.

Brodie is one of eight signings that the Blackhawks have made on the first day of free agency, highlighted by Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, Alec Martinez, Laurent Brossoit, Patrick Maroon and Craig Smith. They have just under $4 million in projected salary cap space after the signing, with only two restricted free agents in their system left to sign.