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.
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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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