Leafs fans seem to have no idea what they’re talking about WRT Braun, but what else is new?
Here’s the scoop: Braun didn’t have a great year last season, but neither did Vlasic. Why? Because they literally played by far the most difficult defensive minutes in the whole damn NHL. I’m talking extreme defensive zone starts, I’m talking being hard-matched to Connor McDavid 20 minutes a game while playing behind the Sharks’ friggin’ 4th line (thanks DeBoer!). No other players in the league played minutes like Vlasic and Braun. It’s not a shock that they didn’t knock it out of the park.
If you’re trying to acquiring Braun with the intention of burying him in the defensive zone with your fourth line against Crosby and Ovechkin, he’s probably not the player you’re looking for. If you’re looking for a player who can play middle pairing minutes with a solid #3D (say, Jake Gardiner) against upper-second tier competition and behind a Matthews, Tavares, or Kadri, and succeed in those minutes, Braun is your guy.
He’s neither as good as he was three years ago, when he was just as instrumental as Vlasic in completely and thoroughly shutting down every team’s top threat en route to a SCF appearance, nor is he as bad as he was last season, when he was set up to fail.
If we didn’t have Karlsson (holy shit it’s real), then neither we nor Doug Wilson would entertain moving him for parts. As it is, we’re open to offers that aren’t complete garbage. We might have been trading with Dorion to get Karlsson, but you’re dealing with Doug Wilson to get Braun. He doesn’t lose player trades.