TJ Brodie’s time with the Chicago Blackhawks will soon end, as the team placed the defenseman on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a buyout on Saturday. After NHL teams have 24 hours to claim him off waivers, Brodie will become a UFA. Brodie is set to be the first player bought out this off-season since the buyout window opened on Friday [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/seven-nhl-buyout-candidates-will-the-leafs-buy-out-reaves-contract]. The 35-year-old would have entered the final season of his two-year contract at $3.75 million annually. The Blackhawks will pay about $3.23 million to Brodie for the upcoming season and $258,333 for the following season, according to PuckPedia [https://puckpedia.com/player/tj-brodie/buyout?c=9100]. With this buyout, the team saves $516,677 in 2025-26. Brodie played one season for the Blackhawks after signing with them last off-season. The blueliner played 54 games for Chicago before becoming a regular healthy scratch in the final stretch of the season. He put up two goals and eight assists for 10 points on the year while recording the lowest plus-minus rating of his career at minus-18. Brodie also hit a new low in average ice time. The season before he joined the Blackhawks, he averaged 21:43 of ice time with the Toronto Maple Leafs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs], typically slotting in on the top two pairings on defense. This past season with Chicago, he averaged 15:38 of ice time, nearly six minutes less. TJ Brodie (Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/28f04dcc-b68b-47d6-a352-9763370fae87.jpeg] TJ Brodie (Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images) His last appearance for the Hawks was on March 1 against the Anaheim Ducks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks]. He took just 12 shifts and 10:25 of ice time, while recording an assist. Brodie has played parts of 15 seasons in his career, with 962 regular-season appearances to his name. He has a total of 58 goals and 300 helpers for 358 career points. In addition, he’s featured in 56 playoff contests, recording five goals and 22 points across those eight campaigns. Earlier on Saturday, the Blackhawks acquired left winger Andre Burakovsky from the Seattle Kraken [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/seattle-kraken] in exchange for center Joe Veleno. The team has a projected $22,495,357 in cap space with 21 of 23 roster spots filled, according to PuckPedia [https://puckpedia.com/team/chicago-blackhawks]. They have four pending RFAs, including Arvid Soderblom in net and Philipp Kurashev on offense. More to come. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
