Flames sign T.J. Brodie to five-year extension

The Calgary Flames on Monday continued the trend around the NHL of keeping exceptional young talent in-house by signing T.J. Brodie to a five-year extension.

The deal is worth $23.25 million and pays $3.9 million the first year and $4,837,500 the last four years for a cap hit of $4.65 million.

Teams have been more proactive about ensuring that good, young players enjoy their prime seasons with their respective clubs, while also buying out their first years of unrestricted free agency, and Brodie is no different. He would have been a restricted free agent the next two offseasons.

"I said early on that this was hopefully a quiet little secret — that only we knew how good T.J. was, but his side was paying attention, too," Flames GM Brad Treliving told the Calgary Sun. "This guy is a really good player and there's still upside here. I think he's only scratching the surface."

The 24-year-old defenseman, a fourth-round pick from the 2008 draft, broke out offensively last season with 31 points, though he has been a solid player for nearly four years now. He has begun the year with three goals and four assists in seven games.

The Flames have been among the worst teams the past two seasons, and Brodie's contributions as a possession driver and two-way blueliner have gone overlooked as a result, especially without the flashy offensive numbers.

According to Puckalytics, over the past three years, Brodie's Corsi for percentage relative to his team (4.8) ranks him sixth in the NHL among defensemen, for those who have played at least 1,500 minutes. Corsi is a proxy for puck possession, and this means that the Flames have been appreciably worse at controlling the puck when Brodie is on the bench.

He and Mark Giordano have developed into a top-tier first defensive pairing, bright spots for a franchise that continues to struggle. Giordano is signed for one more season.

"It's definitely exciting. I'm happy to be here and be here in the future," Brodie told the Sun. "To get it out of the way now, it gives me a chance to just relax and not have to think about it."