Professional
Selected by the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the sixth round, 152nd overall, of the 2013 NHL entry draft, Brown later signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the team on April 10, 2015. In his first professional season, Brown split the 2015–16 season, between the Panthers' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Portland Pirates, and the Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL. [5] He appeared in ten games with the Pirates, registering one assist and played in 54 games with the Monarchs, totaling 12 points, and appearing in their first-round playoff series. [6]
In his first full campaign in the AHL, Brown spent the 2016–17 season with the Panthers' new affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. [7] In the Thunderbirds' inaugural season, he notched a career best three goals and 13 points from the blueline in 72 games. He followed that up the next season with one goal and ten points in 66 games with Springfield. [8] As an impending restricted free agent, Brown agreed to a two-year, two-way contract extension to remain within the Panthers organization on May 31, 2018. [8] In the 2018–19 season, Brown returned to the Thunderbirds for his third year with the club. After adding three goals in 19 games, Brown received his first call-up to the NHL by the Panthers on January 18, 2019. [9] Recalled due to an injury to fellow defenceman, MacKenzie Weegar, and with the Panthers needing a physical presence, Brown made his NHL debut in a 3–1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, on January 19. [10] He registered his first NHL goal and point in a 6–1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on March 10. [11] He finished the season having appeared in 37 games with the Panthers, registering the one goal and two points and 22 games with Springfield, scoring three goals. [6]
In his first full season with the Panthers in 2019–20, Brown appeared in 56 games, posting three goals and eight points, [6] before the NHL suspended the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 12, 2020. [12] He made his NHL playoff debut in the pandemic-delayed 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs in the Panthers series versus the New York Islanders. He was inserted into the lineup for Game 3 of the best-of-five series on August 5, which the Panthers won 3–2. [13] He appeared in two games, going scoreless, as the Islanders eliminated the Panthers in the next game. [6] [14]
In need of a new contract Brown was traded in the following off-season by the Panthers to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a 2020 fourth-round draft pick on October 2, 2020. [15] As a restricted free agent, Brown signed a two-year, $2.4 million contract with the Senators on October 5. [16] During the pandemic-delayed 2020–21 season, Brown made his Senators debut in the team's opening night 5–3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 15, 2021. [17] He notched his first point for the Senators assisting on Colin White's first period goal in a 4–2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. [18] He finished the season making 26 appearances for the Senators, registering just the one assist. [6] In the 2021–22 season, he was placed in COVID-19 protocol on November 10, and returned to the lineup on November 20. [19] On November 26, Brown suffered an upper-body injury that kept him out of the lineup until January 13, 2022. [20] Brown played 46 games with Ottawa, recording six assists. [21]
On March 21, 2022, Brown was traded by the Senators, along with a 2022 conditional seventh-round selection, to the Boston Bruins in exchange for forward Zachary Senyshyn and a 2022 fifth-round draft pick. [21] He made his Bruins debut on March 31 in a 8–1 win over the New Jersey Devils. [22] He finished the 2021–22 season with a combined six points in 52 games played with the Senators and Bruins. [23]
On July 13, 2022, having left the Bruins as an unrestricted free agent, Brown was signed to a two-year, $2.55 million contract with the Arizona Coyotes. [23] In his first season with the Coyotes, Brown was a mainstay on their blueline. In his second season with the Coyotes, Brown was in and out of the lineup, as the team's defensive depth improved. This pushed Brown down the depth chart into the seventh defenceman position and often led to him being scratched. [24] He appeared in only 51 games with the Coyotes in the 2023–24 season, scoring three goals and ten points. [25]
Brown became an unrestricted free agent again at the end of his Coyotes contract. On July 1, 2024, he signed a three-year, $3 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers. [25] One of the final cuts at Oilers training camp, Brown was placed on waivers and after going unclaimed, was assigned to Edmonton's AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, for the 2024–25 season. [26] He was recalled by Edmonton on November 17 after defenceman Darnell Nurse suffered an injury and made his Oilers debut on November 18 against the Montreal Canadiens. [27] [28] He played in two games before being returned to Bakersfield on November 20. [29] He was recalled again on November 21 along with Drake Caggiula. [28]
