Erik Gudbranson was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and with the Vancouver Canucks nearly 20 points out of a playoff with 23 games remaining in the season, the defenceman was thought to be a possible candidate to be dealt prior to the Feb. 26 trade deadline.
Any thoughts of a Gudbranson trade were squashed Tuesday when the team signed him to a three-year, $12-million contract extension.
“My No. 1 option was Vancouver. I didn’t want to go to free agency,” the 26-year-old told Sportsnet 650 after the team made the official announcement. “Very happy with the deal.”
The third-overall pick of the Florida Panthers from 2010, acquired by the Canucks in 2016 in a deal that sent Jared McCann and draft picks to the Florida Panthers, Gudbranson has two goals, two assists, 33 penalty minutes and a minus-4 rating in 41 games this season while averaging 17:56 of ice time.
Canucks head coach Travis Green thinks it’s a good signing, but knows there is room for Gudbranson to improve.
The Canucks now have $19.25 million in cap space committed to five players on their blue line for 2018-19, and that doesn’t take into account pending restricted free agents Troy Stecher, Philip Holm and Derrick Pouliot.
“Erik is an important part of our team and provides a physical element to our blue line,” Canucks general manager Jim Benning stated in a press release. “His leadership qualities help us as we continue to integrate younger players in our lineup. He is a quality person, a great teammate, outstanding in the community and we are excited to have him as part of our team moving forward.”
Playing with a physical edge and having strong leadership qualities are valuable assets for any player to have, although Gudbranson’s less-than-stellar possession numbers and the fact he is not fleet of foot could be worrisome traits in today’s fast-paced NHL.
His 43.5 even strength Corsi For percentage is worst among Canucks defencemen and he has more than four times as many giveaways as he does takeaways.
When you look around the league and see that players like Nashville’s Roman Josi, Anaheim’s Cam Fowler and L.A.’s Jake Muzzin have identical $4-million cap hits, your first thought might be that Gudbranson doesn’t warrant his new salary, which takes effect starting in the 2018-19 season.
Those three players, however, each signed their deals at least four years ago and markets change quickly. So, with that in mind, here’s a look at some of Gudbranson’s closest cap comparables …
— Michael Del Zotto, two years, $6 million, $3-million cap hit
— Carl Gunnarsson, three years, $8.7 million, $2.9-million cap hit
— Michael Stone, three years, $10.5 million, $3.5-million cap hit
— Braydon Coburn, three years, $11.1 million, $3.7-million cap hit
— Dmitry Kulikov, three years, $13 million, $4.333-million cap hit
— Mark Fayne, four years, $14.5 million, $3.625-million cap hit
— Kris Russell, four years, $16 million, $4-million cap hit
— Brendan Smith, four years, $17.4 million, $4.35-million cap hit
— Justin Braun, five years, $19 million, $3.8-million cap hit
— Marco Scandella, five years, $20 million, $4-million cap hit
— Jake Gardiner, five years, $20.25 million, $4.05-million cap hit
— Karl Alzner, five years, $23.125 million, $4.625-million cap hit
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