Confirmed Signing with Link: [CGY] Erik Gudbranson signs with the Flames (1 year, $1.95M)

[tantalum]

By almost any measure, he's not very good.

Intangibles are his best asset, a stand up guy who will protect his teammates and provide gritty leadership. Otherwise he's very borderline as an NHL dman.

The intangibles keep getting him jobs, but the lack of talent prevents him from being kept around very long

Except his intangibles are fake. He likes to talk a big game off the ice but rarely backs his words up on the ice. At least that was the case in Vancouver.

No idea how he’s still in the NHL and really no idea how he’s making more than league minimum.

 

[Larry Hanson]

I really don't get the point of this.

 

[krutovsdonut]

as a canuck fan i am wondering if treliving is perhaps unaware that ben hutton is also available?

 

[VanillaCoke]

Calgary either rebounds in a weak division or implodes

 

[DingDongCharlie]

Well with adding Gudbranson to Lucic and Zadorov one thing is clear. Teams won’t be pushing the Flames around.

I hope Holland sends out game film of Kassian in a Canucks jersey to Treliving. He’s the missing piece for them.

Lucic - Richardson - Kassian

Zadorov - Gudbranson

Cloutier

 

[VanJack]

I get taking a flyer on Gudbranson for a one year deal at somewhere around the league minimum. But $1.95m? Is that a misprint?

Dramatic overpayment for a guy who's now on his 7th NHL team, and hasn't even hit 30 yet. His agent gets the good housekeeping seal of approval for negotiating this deal.

 

[krutovsdonut]

it is going to be fun watching cassie, loui and kelly try to pump this guy's tires.

 

[QcFlames12]

This is horrible.

 

[deleted user]

Blah. Flames toil in inadequacy again.

 

[kerrabria]

how freaken slow can the Flames make their D...

Is Gudbranson slow now?
I remember him having a lot of problems, but mobility was not one of them.
Big, hulking defenseman who handles the puck like a grenade and just isn't that reliable on defense, but his skating was fine somebody his size.

 

[soothsayer]

Well with adding Gudbranson to Lucic and Zadorov one thing is clear. Teams won’t be pushing the Flames around.

I hope Holland sends out game film of Kassian in a Canucks jersey to Treliving. He’s the missing piece for them.

Lucic - Richardson - Kassian

Zadorov - Gudbranson

Cloutier

That's true. But why push aside lumps of crap when you could just walk around them?

 

[DueDiligence]

Good signing . A tad expensive but steady play with size. He was decent in Pittsburgh.

And he was bad in Ottawa. Questionable signing.

 

[kerrabria]

Incredible how many chances this guy gets.

Meh...he's huge and physical and right-handed. If your team is small and/or soft, I can see why GMs would go after him. (But Caglary is neither, so I don't understand this). You could do worse on your bottom pair.

This also makes me think that Gudbranson always chases the money. He must know that guys like him can always get 50% more than they're worth in UFA.

 

[Wingsfan 4 life]

Was Sutter GM for the day or something? What am I missing?

$1.95M????

 

[wonton15]

Is Gudbranson slow now?
I remember him having a lot of problems, but mobility was not one of them.
Big, hulking defenseman who handles the puck like a grenade and just isn't that reliable on defense, but his skating was fine somebody his size.

Can you consider skating to be fine when you get walked like a traffic cone on a nightly basis? Genuine question..

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Oh wow, I guess he was holding out for some good $$$.

I thought from his Nashville tour after the trade deadline, it was really clear he was a valid NHL bottom-pair D. Whatever flak he has gotten over the years due to not living up to his draft spot or salary, ok, I get that, but he definitely looked like a solid 3rd-pair physical D to me. We didn't play him EVERY night, and we experimented a bit with where he'd best fit in the lineup. I wouldn't say he was necessarily better than, say, Matt Benning who we were paying $1M.

So I thought, hey, this guy SHOULD have gotten a contract somewhere. And it seemed a little weird that maybe he'd be down to a PTO. But I never really imagined anybody would still pay $1.95M for him. He's a legitimate NHL player, though, whatever the naysayers who are stuck on his draft history or past higher salaries will say.

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

Gudbranson must be the nicest guy in the world to not only keep getting signed but being paid a decent price along with it.

It certainly isn't his hockey skills they're impressed by.

 

[pomx]

He’s pretty much going to be the goon and throw fists to stand up for lil bebe jonny

 

[Double Dion]

He’s pretty much going to be the goon and throw fists to stand up for lil bebe jonny

Yes that was a huge need for a team with Lucic, Ritchie and Zadorov.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

absolute plug but perfect for Sutter Hockey, as an Oiler fan you love to see it

 

[WhatTheDuck]

Except his intangibles are fake. He likes to talk a big game off the ice but rarely backs his words up on the ice. At least that was the case in Vancouver.

No idea how he’s still in the NHL and really no idea how he’s making more than league minimum.

I can't really speak to his time in Vancouver but I don't think that's a fair description of Gudbranson today. He's consistently physical, stands up for himself and his teammates.

By intangibles I wasn't just speaking about toughness though, he's also known for being great in the room, in the community etc. A solid pro and a leader who just happens to be a marginal player.

 

[krutovsdonut]

He's a legitimate NHL player, though, whatever the naysayers who are stuck on his draft history or past higher salaries will say.

his biggest improvement seems to be humility. on the canucks he was trying to lead his pairing and generally be a top 4 big deal with disastrous results. he seems better playing bottom six minutes against lesser opposition and staying within himself. i think he can even play more minutes with a strong partner that is anticipating and covering his dzone mistakes.

i feel for the guy. on the canucks he just could not process the game fast enough and constantly ended up caught or beaten in noman's land and hanging his d partner out with him. "find eric" on goal replays was a sobering exercise.

 

[Avsboy]

2 million is a lot for him

 

[Langdon Alger]

pretty sure half the team hates him, but okay.

But the opposing teams love him.

 

[Langdon Alger]

Gudbranson must be the nicest guy in the world to not only keep getting signed but being paid a decent price along with it.

It certainly isn't his hockey skills they're impressed by.

High character guy. Great in the room. Not so great on the ice.