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Erik Gudbranson

Trade Candidate: Erik Gudbranson

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With the trade deadline approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that have a good chance to be dealt by February 26th.

The Vancouver Canucks have been a fun story this year, thanks to the emergence of Brock Boeser as a legitimate star in his rookie season. Brand new head coach Travis Green had the team off to a good start before an injury to Bo Horvat seemed to suck all the energy out of his group, who now sit 14th in the Western Conference and in danger of falling completely out of the playoff race. Erik Gudbranson is scheduled to hit free agency as one of the youngest players on the market, meaning the Canucks have a big decision to make in the next few weeks on whether his time is up in Vancouver.

Erik GudbransonContract

Gudbranson is on a one-year, $3.5MM contract. He will be a UFA in July, and holds no trade protection.

2017-18

After missing 52 games last season due to wrist surgery, Gudbranson has returned this year to a diminished role. His minutes have been limited, trailing newcomers Michael Del Zotto and Derrick Pouliot in terms of ice time, and has lost his role as one of the teams few key penalty killers.

He was one of the last players in the league to record a point this season, not getting on the scoresheet until December 19th. Lately, he’s been taken out of the lineup thanks to back spasms, not playing since the middle of January.

Still, his rough and tumble game has been well-liked by some in the organization, with GM Jim Benning coming out recently saying that he plays a different—but still necessary—style of game than many of the Canucks other defensemen. The Canucks are still trying to get Gudbranson under contract going forward, meaning despite his offensive struggles he’s clearly not on thin ice with the organization.

Season Stats

32 GP, 1 goals, 2 assists, 3 points, -2 rating, 31 PIM, 29 shots, 17:44 ATOI, 43.0 CF%

Potential Suitors

The market for Gudbranson is difficult to gauge, because it relies heavily on personal opinions about his play style and value to an organization. In almost every front office in the league there will be an analytics department telling the team not to acquire him, but deadline acquisitions are often more about depth and physicality to prepare for the playoffs.

Toronto is often listed as the most likely destination for the defenseman, mostly due to their perceived lack of depth at the position. The team might be changing that notion with the impressive debuts of some young players, and they still have right-handed Roman Polak to fill a similar role.

One interesting possibility, though it most likely won’t come at the trade deadline, is a return to the Florida Panthers. It’s clear that GM Dale Tallon wasn’t pleased with the team trading Gudbranson to Vancouver while he wasn’t in charge, and even tried to get him back in a deal that was eventually blocked by Jason Demers’ no-trade clause. Though it might take free agency to get him back, the Panthers likely remain one of his biggest fans.

Likelihood Of A Trade

Despite wanting to keep him in Vancouver, the two sides reportedly haven’t begun conversations on an extension yet. Benning has admitted that if a deal can’t be reached by the deadline, he’ll have to seriously consider selling him to the highest bidder, making this a simple time crunch that seems destined for a resolution through trade.

Where Gudbranson ends up is still anyone’s guess, but signing him long-term in Vancouver seems like a mistake as the team continues their rebuild. Even for a modest return, a team as far out of the playoffs as the Canucks will seriously consider moving him to collect another asset, just like the ones they gathered from moving Jannik Hansen and Alex Burrows last year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Canucks Prefer To Re-Sign Erik Gudbranson

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The Vancouver Canucks were in a strange situation this past summer when it came to extending restricted free agent defenseman Erik Gudbranson. After trading away Jared McCann and a pair of draft picks to the Florida Panthers to acquire Gudbranson the off-season prior, the big rearguard was held to just 30 games in 2016-17 due to injury. Still unsure of what kind of player Gudbranson could be in Vancouver but cognizant of what it took to get him, the Canucks gave the 2010 #3 overall pick an identical contract to the one inherited from Florida: one year and $3.5MM. Fast-forward to today, and the situation is still unclear for the Canucks. Gudbranson will now be an unrestricted free agent this off-season and the struggling squad faces pressure to get what they can for him by the trade deadline. However, even in another limited season – having missed 17 games due to injury and suspension – Gudbranson has shown his capable defensive game and, at 26, still has room to grow. So what do they do?

Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre has an idea. MacIntyre spoke to GM Jim Benning, who made it clear that they would like to extend Gudbranson if possible. “I know he’s had some ups and downs, but until he got hurt he was playing well for us. As long as a player can play in today’s game, you’re always going to need a defencemen who can play physical, especially in our division. There’s always going to be room for a guy like that”, Benning stated, summing up the value that Gudbranson brings.

However, an extension is not done yet and the clock is ticking toward the February 26th NHL Trade Deadline. If a deal cannot be struck, the rebuilding Canucks have no choice but to trade Gudbranson and hope that they get a good return for him. Gudbranson’s agent, Mark Guy, said as much in talking to Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal, ackowledging that the season will likely either end with an extension or with a trade. Benning knows that his job may be on the line and needs to get whatever he can for Vancouver’s impending UFA’s. A trade also wouldn’t rule out the team simply bringing Gudbranson back in free agency too, perhaps adding to the intrigue of shipping him out in the next month. Benning may prefer to re-sign Gudbranson, but it still seems like all signs point to a trade.

Western Notes: Sedins, Doughty, Golden Knights, Hyka

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Recent comments from Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin suggest the twin brothers are hoping for another year in Vancouver. Already 37 and trending downwards in their career, the struggling Canucks were considered to be sellers at the trade deadline. However, the Sedin twins return also might throw a wrench into general manager Jim Benning’s deadline plans.

While the team has several key trade chips to move, including veteran scorer Thomas Vanek and defenseman Erik Gudbranson, Benning might be more likely to retain or extend them to surround the Sedin twins with veteran players, according to J.D. Burke of The Athletic (subscription required). The scribe begins by pointing out that the Sedin’s decision will have major implications to the salary cap and the look of the team. The cost to retain both soon-to-be 38-year-old forwards will be about $10MM, estimates Burke, who adds the team would have to make a decision whether to keep Vanek with the team.

If the Sedin’s stay, will Benning look for assets that might benefit the veteran Sedins, rather than focus on the team’s need to rebuild. Benning has often preferred to acquire players, rather than trade for picks. The team has a lot of prospects coming through the system already, but not trading their assets at the deadline could hurt the future of the team down the road as well. No one is saying the Sedin twins shouldn’t come back. They have been with the franchise since they started their careers and should be welcomed, but not at the expense of the team’s future.

  • Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty spoke to the media today at the all-star’s media day. According to Los Angeles’ Times writer Helene Elliott, Doughty said that money and term aren’t the only factor in the way he will approach free agency in 2018-19. “I don’t know if a lot of people think our future looks bright but I think our future does as the L.A. Kings organization,” Doughty said. “We’ve got some young guys that aren’t with us yet that will make a difference in a couple years. We still have that core group of guys. I think we’re trending in the right direction and getting back to hopefully where we were a few years back.”
  • Yahoo Sports’ Ryan Lambert writes that while the praise that goes towards Vegas Golden Knights general manager George McPhee is well earned, he believes that Vegas’ unbelievable success should fall on the shoulder of all the other teams’ general managers. The scribe writes that if other general managers had done a better job managing their own rosters, the Golden Knights wouldn’t have been able to get better quality players and picks in order to pad their roster in the initial first year. The expansion draft should net expansion team with back-end forwards and defensemen and No. 2 goalies. However, Florida Panther general manager Dave Talon just handed two top-six forwards to Vegas to get rid of the contract of Reilly Smith, while they opted to move on from Jonathan Marchessault because they didn’t believe he could repeat his 30-goal season from last year. The same can be said for the Minnesota Wild, who gave Vegas forward Alex Tuch and Erik Haula in exchange for draft considerations. There were so many draft considerations from plenty of other teams such as the New York Islanders, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning. Had general managers made better decisions, perhaps the Golden Knights wouldn’t be the top team in the West. Lambert also adds that the team still has 10 draft picks that will fall in the first two rounds over the next three years. Doesn’t look like Vegas is going anywhere.
  • Still with the Golden Knights, SinBinVegas tweets that prospect Tomas Hyka, who was scheduled to play in the AHL All-Star game on Jan. 29, has been replaced with T.J. Tynan as Hyka is now listed as “unavailable for the game.” Vegas plays its first game after the all-star break on Jan. 30, suggesting Hyka might get called up instead. The 24-year-old wing, who signed out of the Czech. Republic, has 12 goals and 31 points in 32 games with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.

Poll: Who Is The Most Valuable Trade Chip Available?

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The NHL trade deadline is now just over a month away. On February 26th, teams from around the league will definitively lay forth their plan for the rest of the season. Sellers, will send expiring or aging assets off to contenders while trying to build for the future while buyers will happily snatch up players and give them a taste of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

So, who is the most valuable asset out there?

There is obviously a lot of debate over who really is on the market, so if we’re to answer the question above we’ll have to choose from some sort of list. Luckily Frank Seravalli of TSN maintains such a list on his Trade Bait board, a ranking of the top assets based on skill and availability. Right now that list is headed by Evander Kane, as it seems nearly guaranteed that he’ll be moved to a contender before next month’s deadline. After all, the Sabres haven’t even approached him about a potential contract extension.

It also includes some players who haven’t heard there names in the news much, but seem like logical assets that might be available for the right price. Below we’ve listed the top-10 options from TSN’s board, but feel free to add an option in the comments. If you feel as though Erik Karlsson or John Tavares are truly on the market, vote for the “other” option and make sure you explain why. You can also leave a comment if you don’t think one of the players listed is actually available.

Who is the most valuable asset on the trade market?
Max Pacioretty (MTL) 29.89% (338 votes)
Evander Kane (BUF) 23.43% (265 votes)
James Neal (VGK) 12.56% (142 votes)
Mike Hoffman (OTT) 12.20% (138 votes)
Mike Green (DET) 7.34% (83 votes)
Other (leave in comments) 5.13% (58 votes)
Alex Galchenyuk (MTL) 5.04% (57 votes)
Patrick Maroon (EDM) 1.77% (20 votes)
Thomas Vanek (VAN) 1.68% (19 votes)
Erik Gudbranson (VAN) 0.80% (9 votes)
Zack Smith (OTT) 0.18% (2 votes)
Total Votes: 1,131

[Mobile users click here to vote!]

Canucks Activate Bo Horvat; Place Erik Gudbranson On IR

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It’s been a rough stretch for the Vancouver Canucks since early December as the team has lost 14 games in that span. Injuries have been one of the key factors that have dropped a once promising team earlier this season near the bottom of the Pacific Division. However, the Canucks got some good news today, as TSN’s Jeff Patterson reports that center Bo Horvat will be activated off of injured reserve today and is expected to play in tonight’s game against the Winnipeg Jets.

To make room for him on the roster, Vancouver placed defenseman Erik Gudbranson on injured reserve with back spasms. He missed Saturday’s game with the injury. The 26-year-old blueliner has played in just 32 games this season with injuries and is rumored to be one of the Canucks top trade chips as the trade deadline nears.

Horvat was shut down for six weeks after suffering a broken foot/ankle injury on Dec. 5. He was medically cleared to travel with the team on Thursday, so the activation is not a surprise. Horvat was on pace for another solid season when he went down. In 28 games with Vancouver, the 22-year-old 2013 first-round pick had 10 goals and 10 assists. His return couldn’t have come at a better time as Vancouver is struggling on offense. They currently rank 26th in the league in scoring, averaging 2.63 goals per game.

2018 Midseason UFA Power Rankings: Best Of The Rest

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With the halfway point of the season now behind us and the trade deadline fast approaching, it’s time to take a preliminary look at the UFA Class of 2018. We ranked the top 20 pending unrestricted free agents based on votes from writers Gavin Lee, Brian La Rose, Nate Brown, Zach Leach and Holger Stolzenberg. You can find numbers 1-10 right here, and 11-20 here.

Today, we’ll look at those names that just missed the cut but will still be interesting options this summer. All of these players were included on at least one ballot, but did not accumulate enough points to crack the top 20.

Michael Grabner, F, New York Rangers — Included on three of five ballots, Grabner is a useful player that nevertheless doesn’t grab many headlines. Despite scoring 20 goals already this season and having a career-high of 34, there aren’t many teams who would slot Grabner into their top-six without hesitation. That’s because he’s best used as a straight speed threat and penalty killer, who counter-punches extremely well but has trouble creating opportunities for his linemates. In fact, Grabner has just 86 assists in 519 career games and has only once registered more helpers than goals in a full season. There’s no doubt he’ll be gobbled up quickly in free agency, but it’s hard to claim he’s one of the absolute top options.

Ian Cole, D, Pittsburgh Penguins — Included on two ballots, Cole is an interesting free agent case that may be clouded by his relationship with his coach this season. Despite being one of Pittsburgh’s more reliable defenders over the past few years, he’s clashed with head coach Mike Sullivan and spent time in the press box as a healthy scratch this season. Whether that plays a role in determining how much he can get on the open market is still to be seen, but there is certainly value in a two-time Stanley Cup defenseman that will be just 29 when he hits free agency.

Henrik Sedin, C, Vancouver Canucks — Amazingly, Sedin was included on just one ballot and was left out of the top 20 despite his twin brother Daniel making it in. He’ll be going wherever Daniel ends up, and you have to wonder whether it will be Vancouver or nothing. Today, agent J.P. Barry told Rick Dhaliwal of NEWS 1130 that he’ll have discussions with the Canucks on the future of the twins before the trade deadline, but there’s a real chance the club will decide to go in a different direction.

Lars Eller, C, Washington Capitals — Included on just one ballot, Eller is an example of how valuable centers are in the NHL. Though he’s never scored more than 30 points in a single season, his consistent effort at both ends of the rink will surely land him a multi-year contract around the league. Whether the Capitals are able to keep him around might be dependent on what happens with John Carlson, as the team doesn’t have a lot of money to give out on July 1st. If he’s able to convince people that he’s closer to Nick Bonino than Jay Beagle and not the other way around, he might be able to land himself a nice chunk of money for the next few years.

Erik Gudbranson, D, Vancouver Canucks — The fact that Gudbranson, the third-overall pick form 2010 was included on just one ballot shows how far he’s fallen. The rough defenseman doesn’t give you any offensive upside, but still could be sought after for his youth and physical play. He’s still logging lots of time in Vancouver, and has a really impressive pedigree to ride into at least one contract. What he does with it will determine his future in the league.

Luca Sbisa, D, Vegas Golden Knights — If Sbisa had been healthy all year and part of the Golden Knights run he may have been ranked higher, but his time on injured reserve has hurt his upside going into the summer. If he comes back and proves that he can still use his skating ability to help the team in the playoffs, teams will certainly add him as a depth defender with upside.

Leo Komarov, F, Toronto Maple Leafs — Komarov is still one of Mike Babcock’s favorites in Toronto, but the media and fans alike have started wondering why exactly that is. Though he’s physical, works hard and is one of the best penalty killers in the league, Komarov’s offensive game has fallen off a cliff with just 11 point on the season despite playing regularly with Patrick Marleau and Nazem Kadri. If those numbers don’t improve, he may find it hard to secure anything but fourth-line minutes (and money) on his next team, especially as he heads into free agency at 31.

Western Notes: Tanev, Anisimov, Boedker

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The Vancouver Canucks may be ready to ship off several players such as Thomas Vanek and Erik Gudbranson, but one player whose name doesn’t come up as often is defenseman Chris Tanev. Of course, in the past Vancouver has been reluctant to trade their top defenseman, who is a club leader and one of the longest-tenured players in Vancouver.

However, The Athletic’s Mike Halford (subscription required) writes that this is the perfect time for the team to move the 28-year-old Tanev. While there are some solid defensemen likely to be available at the deadline, most are pending unrestricted free agents like Detroit’s Mike Green or Pittsburgh’s Ian Cole or are locked into long-term deals such as Ottawa’s Dion Phaneuf ($7MM AAV through 2021). The Canucks might get quite a return for someone like Tanev, who is locked up at a reasonable price at 4.45MM for another two years after this one. Tanev, who is known for making everyone better around him, could likely slide into more than half of any playoff team’s top four, making him quite valuable.

“He would get great value. There would be large demand for Chris Tanev and his services around the NHL, that’s for sure,” TSN’s Mike Johnson said in the article. “He’s a first-rounder [in return]. From a good team that’s going to pick 28th or 29th, at the bottom of the first round? I think so. Or maybe not the best prospect, but the third or fourth best prospect in an organization.”

  • Tracey Myers of NHL.com tweets that Chicago Blackhawks center Artem Anisimov, who has missed the last eight games with an upper-body injury attempted to practice today, but coach Joel Quenneville said he was “just OK” and might miss even more time. The 29-year-old Anisimov has 13 goals for Chicago this year.
  • The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz writes (subscription required) that the San Jose Sharks are hoping to get more production from winger Mikkel Boedker after he was a healthy scratch in the team’s last game before their bye-week started. The veteran who signed with the team two offseasons ago, is struggling even more in his second year with the team. He had 10 goals and 26 points last year and so far has only three goals and six assists. “We need some production out of him,” head coach Peter DeBoer said. “That’s the bottom line. If he’s not producing points, he’s got to at least be producing chances to score. When he’s not, he can’t help us.”

Vancouver Canucks Will Look To The Future As Deadline Nears

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A month ago, one might have been able to understand a Vancouver Canucks team that wasn’t planning on selling at the deadline. After all, the club was 14-10-4 and playing like a potential playoff contender. It was unexpected, but with new head coach Travis Green bringing the best out of a rag-tag lineup and young players like Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser leading the way offensively it didn’t seem so far out of the question.

Bo HorvatThen disaster struck. The team would announce that Horvat would be out long-term with a broken foot, and a few days later Sven Baertschi would break his jaw when a puck struck his face. Since Horvat’s injury the team is 2-9-1, and quickly dropping out of any playoff talk. They now sit second-last in the Western Conference, only ahead of the lowly Arizona Coyotes, seven points out of a wildcard spot. Even with a healthy lineup that would be tough to overcome, and the Canucks are far from healthy.

Today, at a press conference to discuss the state of the franchise (audio from Sportsnet 650), team president Trevor Linden spoke about the upcoming trade deadline and how his team would approach it:

I think when you talk deadline, plans going forward a lot can happen. There’s a lot of hockey left between now and then. As always, we constantly talk as a group about where we’re at and where we need to be. We understand that our eye is focused on the future, and we’re excited about some of the young players who’ve taken steps here…

…if there’s an opportunity to make this team better we’re going to do that, but it will be with our eyes focused firmly on the future. 

When pressed on the idea of moving a defenseman in particular, Linden said that they aren’t in a rush to trade away anyone, but that it could change at any moment. The Canucks don’t have a single defenseman signed past the 2019-20 season, and could use several of them as potential trade bait at the deadline. Erik Gudbranson, a pending unrestricted free agent, isn’t the biggest name on the market but is likely to either re-sign with the team or be dealt at some point.

It seemed as though this was the plan all along when the Canucks signed the trio of Thomas Vanek, Michael Del Zotto and Sam Gagner in the offseason. All three were low-risk, high-reward players who could turn into excellent assets for the organization if they returned to their top form. Vanek currently sits second on the team in scoring, while Del Zotto has logged more than 21 minutes a night all season.

Like last season, when the team traded away Jannik Hansen and Alex Burrows for a pair of interesting prospects, the Canucks are one of the most likely teams to sell over the next few months. With interesting assets on the blueline, and a prospect cupboard that’s starting to fill up, a rebuild seems well on its way in Vancouver.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Extensions, Senators, Coyotes

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As CapFriendly points out on Twitter, as of January 1st teams can sign extensions with players on one-year deals. While this immediately brings to mind some of the unrestricted free agents signed in the offseason that are having a strong impact on their team, it could have more of an impact with restricted free agents that settled on a short bridge deal.

One player in such a situation is Erik Gudbranson, who signed just a one-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks in the summer. That deal would bring him to unrestricted free agency this summer, and Rick Dhaliwal of NEWS 1130 caught up with Gudbranson’s agent Mark Guy. No discussions have been had between the two sides yet, but Guy expects they will come together soon to discuss a possible extension. That comes in the midst of trade rumors surrounding Gudbranson as a possible rental option for clubs looking to add some toughness to their defensive unit. The 25-year old brings just a $3.5MM cap hit on the season and has just two points this year.

  • The Ottawa Senators continue to struggle, and will try a surprising coaching change to try and right the ship. Head coach Guy Boucher told TSN 1200 radio that assistant coaches Marc Crawford and Martin Raymond have swapped duties and now coach the powerplay and penalty kill respectively, a change that is almost never done in-season. Ottawa ranks near the bottom of the league in both categories, and improvement is necessary if they have any chance of climbing out of the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. They currently sit ahead of just Buffalo in the East, and have a -30 goal differential.
  • The Arizona Coyotes will remain at Gila River Arena for another year according to Craig Morgan of AZSports. The team had a chance to opt out of their lease before the end of 2017, but as expected did not exercise the clause. Their lease will renew for another season, though their long-term arena plans are still unclear.

Snapshots: Tavares, Vegas, Gudbranson

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The New York Islanders announced their plan for a brand new arena at the Belmont Park location today, and front and center at the ceremony was none other than John Tavares. The team captain spoke very highly of the decision, something he’s supported since the beginning.

For us as players and our fan base to have somewhere you know it’s written in stone that we’re going to have a home built for the Islanders on Long Island is pretty special.

The Islanders are called the Islanders for a reason. This is really where the team belongs.

Still, Tavares isn’t willing to announce that he’s re-signing with the team now that it has a long-term future ahead of it. In speaking with Arthur Staple of Newsday at the event, he calmly said that while a positive outcome, it’s not “going to change or ultimately make my decision.”

  • The Vegas Golden Knights are in an extremely interesting position as they continue their inaugural season, and one that GM George McPhee likely didn’t expect when he selected a team heavy on pending free agents. Though they’re one of the top teams in the league, they might still have to decide whether the long-term future of the club is more important as they head towards the trade deadline, something Gary Lawless of NHL.com discussed in an informal Q&A on Twitter. Lawless explained that though they obviously have assets that could be valuable at the deadline, he doesn’t expect management to break up the core while they’re experiencing so much success, instead pointing at the cap space that Vegas possesses as potential bait. That’s something we’ve discussed about at length in the past, and an obvious avenue for the Golden Knights to add to the future while maintaining the present.
  • In Elliotte Friedman’s latest 31 Thoughts column for Sportsnet, he speaks about several players who might need a fresh start as we head toward the trade deadline. One of those, Erik Gudbranson, has been rumored available in the past and Friedman believes that he’ll price himself out of the Vancouver Canucks market when he hits free agency after this season. Though Gudbranson certainly doesn’t make the impact that some hoped he would when he went third-overall to the Florida Panthers, he can still be a helpful player for a team with defensive depth issues. The fact that he only makes $3.5MM will make him an affordable piece at the deadline, if a team believes they can get good shutdown minutes from him down the stretch and into the playoffs.

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