Confirmed with Link: CBJ sign Erik Gudbranson (D) 4 years 4 million AAV

[Cowumbus]

I just know I can't remember when the last time I saw someone in a CBJ uniform actually stick up for another teammate on the ice. Andrew Peeke turned into the team tough guy for f*ck's sake. That shouldn't be his job. We had zero physical presence on the ice and other team came in here knowing they could push them around.

I just don’t think fighting is valued at 16 million.

 

[CBJx614]

I just don’t think fighting is valued at 16 million.

The market says otherwise.

 

[stevo61]

I just don’t think fighting is valued at 16 million.

Its gonna be one of those things where it takes a year to see how bad it actually is. The Rangers overpaid a stupid amount for toughness but they won games so noone talks about trading a 1st liner for grit anymore

 

[punk_o_holic]

My wish came true 12 year later. I wanted him in the draft lol.

Welcome to Columbus!

 

[Cowumbus]

The market says otherwise.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

You literally don't know that. And you could apply that logic to every contract. Why not pay your 14th forward $2.5M? It's only $2.5M, and further only a $1.5M overpay anyway when a 14th forward is around $1M in market value. You might think I'm trying to be a smartass, I'm not. Every amount you overpay any player on the roster (whether he's your backup goalie, mid-pair D or top-line center) takes away from that amount you can use on others. It all adds up.

You also don't know if a team like Toronto, for example, had an extra $2-3M in cap space this year, if they could have made an additional move that would have changed it from "getting it done and remaining competitive" to "getting it done and winning the Tampa series, the eastern conference and the Stanley Cup".

But of course you can't predict the future can you?

I firmly believe you can't get hung up on what "might" happen becuase there is no guarantee that it will or it won't.

You plan for what you "think" might happen in the future while working to meet the needs you know about today and then if things change you work to address them.

Toronto could make moves today to fix their issues. Its nobody's fault but their own they are too dumb to realize you can't wrap 40 million up in 4 forwards and then nickel and dime defense and goaltending but they continue to keep doing the same thing every year.

Tampa knew they had a physicality issue after the CBJ spent them. They went out and immediately addressed them, won 2 consecutive cups and played in 3 consecutive cup finals. They've had cap issues every year and found ways to figure it out. The cap has never been a hinderance to them getting the job done. We can complain about the Kucherov LTIR thing all day but they were creative and played by the rules given to them.

Adaptability is crucial in an ever changing environment like this. If Jarmo were just throw his hands up and say "Well F*ck. I really wanted to trade for this guy but that extra million I'm paying this D guy is preventing me from doing anything." then I would say he has no business running an NHL team and the CBJ have much bigger issues.

 

[thebus88]

You can get that with guys that can actually play hockey (or more specifically guys that can play hockey at an appropriate value as I think Gudbranson would've been a decent addition for a year or two at $2-3M max). We've had that in the past with guys like Dubinsky, Foligno, Anderson and Calvert, as just some examples.

Jody Shelley, Jared Boll, Mathieu Olivier or Erik Gudbranson (as a 30-year-old making 4x4) in 2022 NHL is asinine roster/cap management.

Other than Foligno being a very unique combo of a good player and great fighter, these comparisons are ridiculous. Foligno, while being a good/great fighter, lacked the level of pure size/violence/intensity needed at times.

Shelley was an “enforcer”. The “need” for guys like that existed back then. Both Boll and Gudbranson, while having the size/fighting ability to be considered “enforcers”, could/can also play a regular shift, fill a role, and help a team win games.

Do you seriously believe the “enforcer” era is still alive ?

As long as they still allow body checking and fighting, yes.

 

[DarkandStormy]

I don’t see what’s incorrect about this, to be honest.

"When you get to UFA you pay for intangibles" is incoherent. A bit of cover for "yeah, we overpaid the guy, but he's got those intangibles!"

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

I just don’t think fighting is valued at 16 million.

I'm ot valuing fighting. I'm valuing a physical presence that was needed on this team to push people around. Maybe its too much but I don't see whatever goes into Gubranson's wallet right now at this moment preventing this team from doing anything else to get better.

 

[Cowumbus]

I'm ot valuing fighting. I'm valuing a physical presence that was needed on this team to push people around. Maybe its too much but I don't see whatever goes into Gubranson's wallet right now at this moment preventing this team from doing anything else to get better.

You can get that for much cheaper than 16 million.

Calgary got him for a 7th round pick..

 

[thebus88]

Do you actually believe Gudbranson is going to be effective?

He's here to intimidate and fight people for taking liberties on young guys.

Check back say mid December when everyone will be clamoring for him to be healthy scratched.

Do you actually believe Gavrikov and Peeke have been “effective” at their roles??

I’m now even more convinced people around here either don’t care about or can’t pay attention closely to defensive play.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

You can get that for much cheaper than 16 million.

Calgary got him for a 7th round pick..

And my response to that is that I don’t manage the team budget and I don’t care what anyone gets paid as long as the team gets better.

 

[LJ7]

If he plays like last season then this is a fine deal. We'll see though. Could be ugly if he falls off.

 

[KJ Dangler]

Need someone that can play physical in front of the net, clear the crease , and that will keep opponents from taking liberties on players like KJ , Chinakov . He’s still a pretty good skater , very responsible defensively . Who cares if it’s a slight overpay , worse case your looking at a small buyout for a year or 2. In the meantime the roster will be littered with a lot of first year players , and players on their elc . The cap won’t remotely be an issue for us for quote a while . Nyquist being moved at or before the deadline clears salary , as does a few trades that are likely coming to weed out our forwards .

One thing is clear .. we are looking at a top 5 pick next year … Metro is beyond stacked

 

[Cowumbus]

And my response to that is that I don’t manage the team budget and I don’t care what anyone gets paid as long as the team gets better.

Being better now is not making us better for the future.

 

[CBJx614]

Being better now is not making us better for the future.

So we should throw young kids to the wolves? Being better now allows our youth to develop properly and not get rushed into the league

 

[Long Live Lyle]

But of course you can't predict the future can you?

I firmly believe you can't get hung up on what "might" happen becuase there is no guarantee that it will or it won't.

You plan for what you "think" might happen in the future while working to meet the needs you know about today and then if things change you work to address them.

Toronto could make moves today to fix their issues. Its nobody's fault but their own they are too dumb to realize you can't wrap 40 million up in 4 forwards and then nickel and dime defense and goaltending but they continue to keep doing the same thing every year.

Tampa knew they had a physicality issue after the CBJ spent them. They went out and immediately addressed them, won 2 consecutive cups and played in 3 consecutive cup finals. They've had cap issues every year and found ways to figure it out. The cap has never been a hinderance to them getting the job done. We can complain about the Kucherov LTIR thing all day but they were creative and played by the rules given to them.

Adaptability is crucial in an ever changing environment like this. If Jarmo were just throw his hands up and say "Well F*ck. I really wanted to trade for this guy but that extra million I'm paying this D guy is preventing me from doing anything." then I would say he has no business running an NHL team and the CBJ have much bigger issues.

I think all of that is fair. I think where the rubber meets the road here is actually in your final paragraph which was "that extra million". It's about only an extra million if he plays at the Calgary level. But that was one season. If he plays how he did for basically his entire career until last year, it's an overpay by $3M+. I think overpaying a single player by $3M theoretically could be the difference between making a move you'd like to make and not being able to. When it's a $1M gap, you can more easily get creative. The higher that gap gets, the tougher it is. Not necessarily impossible, but tougher.

And the other thing is it's not just the money/term, but how good he is. If you pay a guy $7M in free agency to be your 2C and he's only at a 3C level, okay, it's not great that you've overpaid him by $3M, but at least he can still provide valuable minutes for you. It's not as easy to tolerate it if it's overpaying $3M for a guy that's a borderline NHLer and is/should be a healthy scratch most nights.

If we get the Calgary version of Gudbranson, even if it's still a slight overpay, it's more palatable, because he can provide decent minutes. If we're paying Gudbranson to be the near-replacement player he's been for basically his entire career, not only is it an overpay that potentially could cost us the ability to make a future move, he could also literally be a liability on the ice. I'm hopeful he'll be Calgary-level for most/all of the contract, but I'm skeptical.

And I think that's also where a lot of my frustration lies; it seems an overreaction by us based on a few games against Minnesota for a player who really most of his career has honestly been a really bad hockey player. But we'll see, perhaps he turned a corner this past year. He would not be the first defenseman for the light to come on even as late as late-20s / early-30s.

 

[Johansen2Foligno]

More like Erik Badbranson m I rite?

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Being better now is not making us better for the future.

I didn’t say great. I said better. And you don’t know any better than I do about what is better for the future.

IMO, better is not letting a bunch of high skilled players get tossed around with no threat of retribution.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

I think all of that is fair. I think where the rubber meets the road here is actually in your final paragraph which was "that extra million". It's about only an extra million if he plays at the Calgary level. But that was one season. If he plays how he did for basically his entire career until last year, it's an overpay by $3M+. I think overpaying a single player by $3M theoretically could be the difference between making a move you'd like to make and not being able to. When it's a $1M gap, you can more easily get creative. The higher that gap gets, the tougher it is. Not necessarily impossible, but tougher.

And the other thing is it's not just the money/term, but how good he is. If you pay a guy $7M in free agency to be your 2C and he's only at a 3C level, okay, it's not great that you've overpaid him by $3M, but at least he can still provide valuable minutes for you. It's not as easy to tolerate it if it's overpaying $3M for a guy that's a borderline NHLer and is/should be a healthy scratch most nights.

If we get the Calgary version of Gudbranson, even if it's still a slight overpay, it's more palatable, because he can provide decent minutes. If we're paying Gudbranson to be the near-replacement player he's been for basically his entire career, not only is it an overpay that potentially could cost us the ability to make a future move, he could also literally be a liability on the ice. I'm hopeful he'll be Calgary-level for most/all of the contract, but I'm skeptical.

And I think that's also where a lot of my frustration lies; it seems an overreaction by us based on a few games against Minnesota for a player who really most of his career has honestly been a really bad hockey player. But we'll see, perhaps he turned a corner this past year. He would not be the first defenseman for the light to come on even as late as late-20s / early-30s.

Perhaps he has a bad reputation but I trust there was something determined for him to be acceptable here. I also think Minnesota games were the obvious choices but this team got pushed around all season. Regardless of his personal performance, will his physical nature help clear space to make others better? Hopefully. I think that is more of what they are banking on. We were a defensive train wreck last year. I don’t know that it can get much worse.

 

[Cowumbus]

So we should throw young kids to the wolves? Being better now allows our youth to develop properly and not get rushed into the league

They were fine last year.

 

[CBJx614]

They were fine last year.

Really? Cause our defensive metrics say otherwise.

 

[MoeBartoli]

TNS had Gudbranson rated as the 44th top available UFA, one spot behind Sonny Milano.

 

[Cowumbus]

Really? Cause our defensive metrics say otherwise.

If you think Gudbranson is going to help out “metrics” you’re in for a ride awakening.

 

[3074326]

Really? Cause our defensive metrics say otherwise.

Gudbranson generally has some of the worst defensive metrics in the league. This deal is only even decent if he plays at his career best for four years, which are his 30-34 years. And even then… it’s just decent, at best. It feels like $16 mill for fighting ability.

I was extremely disappointed to see this deal. Looks like it could quickly turn into an unmovable contract that was given based on one season of play. Gudbranson is 30. We know who he is. This is ABSURD. Why is this contract handed out and Laine not signed? Laine at like $15 mill would be better than this.