Traded Erik Brännström - D - Part III

[Sens of Anarchy]

It's kind of weird watching Boston win the president's trophy with both Clifton (5'11 190) and Grzelcyk (5'10 176) playing 17-18 mins a night, with less PK time or PP time than Brannstrom, but we can't find room for Brannstrom 5'10 185) because size is an issue.

I guess Boston pushed Grzelcyk out when they acquired Orlev, but as of right now, Brannstrom is still in our top 6, there is no reason to be moving on from him until that's no longer the case.

I think the debate is more about the playoffs than the regular season. In the Sens case I think they can focus on other areas in the more immediate futute

 

[Micklebot]

I think the debate is more about the playoffs than the regular season. In the Sens case I think they can focus on other areas in the more immediate futute

Well there's talk Grzelcyk will be back in over Clifton tonight, and playing with McAvoy no less, so these guys have a role in the playoffs too.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Well there's talk Grzelcyk will be back in over Clifton tonight, and playing with McAvoy no less, so these guys have a role in the playoffs too.

For sure they can .. size is a factor not the only one and not the most important one imo .. re an individual player; one undersized D in the mix should not tilt the applecart. And I'm pretty sure we've seen diminutive D play more physical than many taller ones.

Krug was always a good player for Boston as well.

 

[Ice-Tray]

I think with Bran, as a bottom pairing guy you’re always first up to be replaced if a better option comes along.

Its a good problem for the team to have, and I think that if Bran has another level to get to he’ll have to find it with another team eventually, just a matter of space really.

 

[JD1]

EK didn't play like Method did & he gives him all kinds of props, Mackar gets all kinds of props too for being a great D who doesn't play like Method. Brannstrom is on the 3rd pairing for a reason & as long as the top 4 don't get hurt will stay there. He isn't getting PP time because Chabot, Sanderson & Chychrun will get that time along with their six forwards who lead the team in scoring. Brannstrom is yet to show the offence to be on the top 4 & is still an injury replacement player.

I think it is going to come down to what the team values & think it needs on that 3rd pairing. Kleven brings an element of size & grit that the team need on the backend with Holden likely leaving & Hamonic winding down. It's an element that DJ values & that the team is being built around. Whether Kleven is NHL ready though is another question, but he sure looked comfortable in the few games we watched. JBD is likely also going to be on the team given his waiver ineligibility although I think as a 6th/7th D.

It won't surprise me if Brannstrom is still on the team next season & starts in Ottawa & Kleven in Belleville, but I also won't be surprised if he isn't & Kleven starts in his place. I think it could go either way depending on what happens this summer, I guess we'll see.

Offence. What's the gap between Chabot and Brannstrom? 21 ev points compared to 17. It's not huge. It's not 7M huge.

All the attributes that you like...size, physicality, nastiness.... That's not Chabot.

Get rid of Chabot. Get a 5-6 AAV RD with his money. You're still running Brannstrom as a 3rd with Chychrun and Sanderson ahead of him and you've got leftover AAV to allocate elsewhere, while having a stronger RD side.

Can't see it happening though....and this board will freak on the return from chabot

 

[Micklebot]

Offence. What's the gap between Chabot and Brannstrom? 21 ev points compared to 17. It's not huge. It's not 7M huge.

All the attributes that you like...size, physicality, nastiness.... That's not Chabot.

Get rid of Chabot. Get a 5-6 AAV RD with his money. You're still running Brannstrom as a 3rd with Chychrun and Sanderson ahead of him and you've got leftover AAV to allocate elsewhere, while having a stronger RD side.

Can't see it happening though....and this board will freak on the return from chabot

Chabot is an interesting player,

What's the difference between Chabot today, and the Chabot that scored 38 ES pts in 70 games back in 2019? Alot of the underlying numbers are actually better this year, but 5v5 scoring for the team as a whole struggled.

 

[JD1]

Chabot is an interesting player,

What's the difference between Chabot today, and the Chabot that scored 38 ES pts in 70 games back in 2019? Alot of the underlying numbers are actually better this year, but 5v5 scoring for the team as a whole struggled.

Wouldn't that same struggle apply to Brannstrom?

 

[Golden_Jet]

Wouldn't that same struggle apply to Brannstrom?

Ya Branny has always struggled to get points, even strength or PP

 

[bicboi64]

Offence. What's the gap between Chabot and Brannstrom? 21 ev points compared to 17. It's not huge. It's not 7M huge.

All the attributes that you like...size, physicality, nastiness.... That's not Chabot.

Get rid of Chabot. Get a 5-6 AAV RD with his money. You're still running Brannstrom as a 3rd with Chychrun and Sanderson ahead of him and you've got leftover AAV to allocate elsewhere, while having a stronger RD side.

I'd be open to that, but would prefer seeing Chabot under a better coach than DJ (even if it gets harder to trade Chabot due to his salary being higher than his cap)

 

[Micklebot]

Wouldn't that same struggle apply to Brannstrom?

Idk, is deployment the difference? Was role the difference? Do you think Hamonic would have put up ~38 ES pts (or at least significantly more than he did) in Chabot's spot that year since he scored the same as Brannstrom this year?

I think DJs system is a factor, and it would affect Brannstrom as well, but Chabot's skill set is certainly ahead of Brannstrom's imo.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Chabot is a much better player than Branstrom, which isn’t really a knock on Branny.

Chabot’s skating is glorious, and his offensive instincts and activation is the best on the team, and a league wide asset.

He had a down season filled apparently with injuries, but even still is better than Branstrom at his best stretch.

Not really comparable players. Branstrom is a bottom pairing guy who can fill in for guys who go down in the top four admirably. Maybe he can take another step and turn his transition game into offensive production which would be huge for him, and the team.

If he can be a fixture on a third pair that gives teams matchup issues by creating offence that would be great, because he needs to bring something more to own his spot.

 

[JD1]

Idk, is deployment the difference? Was role the difference? Do you think Hamonic would have put up ~38 ES pts (or at least significantly more than he did) in Chabot's spot that year since he scored the same as Brannstrom this year?

I think DJs system is a factor, and it would affect Brannstrom as well, but Chabot's skill set is certainly ahead of Brannstrom's imo.

For sure his skill set is ahead of Brannstrom, so is his paycheque

The question for me is where is Chabot relative to Sanderson and Chychrun. I think many believe Sanderson will be our #1. So does Chychrun land ahead of Chabot? And if he does, where does that leave Chabot with the 8M paycheque?

 

[aragorn]

Offence. What's the gap between Chabot and Brannstrom? 21 ev points compared to 17. It's not huge. It's not 7M huge.

All the attributes that you like...size, physicality, nastiness.... That's not Chabot.

Get rid of Chabot. Get a 5-6 AAV RD with his money. You're still running Brannstrom as a 3rd with Chychrun and Sanderson ahead of him and you've got leftover AAV to allocate elsewhere, while having a stronger RD side.

Can't see it happening though....and this board will freak on the return from chabot

I don't see it at all, Chabot IMO is way better than Brannstrom will ever be, he had 41 pts in a down season & was hurt a lot while Brann had 18 pts in his best showing to date & was still out scored by Hamonic a defensive D. Chabot is better at everything especially skating.

I would never trade Chabot just to elevate Brann, they have the best top 4 they have had in quite some time & they should keep it. I would use Brann as a bargaining chip although I'm not sure how much value he has around the league & IMO it's mostly only on here. I think Chabot is our #1D followed closely by Sanderson & then Chychrun & Zub exactly how they are paid.

 

[Ice-Tray]

For sure his skill set is ahead of Brannstrom, so is his paycheque

The question for me is where is Chabot relative to Sanderson and Chychrun. I think many believe Sanderson will be our #1. So does Chychrun land ahead of Chabot? And if he does, where does that leave Chabot with the 8M paycheque?

I don’t think Chych will be better than Chabot. I also don’t think Sandy will ever be as dynamic as Chabot. I think we have a really sweet mix in the top 4 where everyone has an area that they are best at, and overlap each other in all other areas.

The bottom pair is where we need to shore up in elements lacking in the top 4, and to me that’s grit and physical play. I’m not going to lie, I would mind seeing what a Kleven Hammy pair would look like.

 

[bicboi64]

For sure his skill set is ahead of Brannstrom, so is his paycheque

The question for me is where is Chabot relative to Sanderson and Chychrun. I think many believe Sanderson will be our #1. So does Chychrun land ahead of Chabot? And if he does, where does that leave Chabot with the 8M paycheque?

Pretty much this. We have very envious LD depth. When any of Chabot, Chychrun or Sanderson are your best 3LD, that's some riches. I think Chychrun's ability to play RD helps balance things out, but in the event that Chabot cant resume form, some tough decisions might need to be made.

 

[JD1]

Chabot
Sanderson
Chychrun
Brannstrom
Kleven

Looks like a pretty strong left side.

We're entering into an era of cap management. It'll be interesting to see how it works out.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Chabot
Sanderson
Chychrun
Brannstrom
Kleven

Looks like a pretty strong left side.

We're entering into an era of cap management. It'll be interesting to see how it works out.

From the sounds of it they want Chych to play with Chabot and Zub with Sanderson. that’s the top 4.

We have Bran right now on the left side and an opening on the right. Hammy may be that guy to start the season but we’ll see, maybe hammy prices himself out, or is fine being 7 to start and JBD starts at 6.

 

[Butchy Dakkar]

It’s funny to hear comments about how EB *might* be too small for the playoffs.

I’m OK with him helping us get TO the playoffs.

I thought it was playing great the back half of the year

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

I think he can manage in a limited role in the playoffs. He's also an excellent 3rd pairing guy who can spend time on the PP and briefly fill in on the second pairing without missing a beat.

But in the playoffs, it's also about matchups. He could easily handle a team like Florida that doesn't seem to want to engage much physically. But he'd have a harder time with a Boston.

The key with him sticking around is not overpaying. A big part of his potential value is being a guy with a reasonable cap hit that allows a team to keep the core together and have cap space. If you can get the job done and are moderately priced, that is valuable in the cap league.

 

[Adrianopolous]

Small defenceman will not help you in the playoffs

 

[Tuna99]

Small defenceman will not help you in the playoffs

Brandon Montour’s season is the wet dream of those of us who been defending Erik Brannstrom:

Brandon Montour Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

Statistics of Brandon Montour, a hockey player from Brantford, ONT born Apr 11 1994 who was active from 2010 to 2025.

www.hockeydb.com

 

[Golden_Jet]

Brandon Montour’s season is the wet dream of those of us who been defending Erik Brannstrom:

Brandon Montour Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

Statistics of Brandon Montour, a hockey player from Brantford, ONT born Apr 11 1994 who was active from 2010 to 2025.

www.hockeydb.com

Except Montour is 6 foot, not 5’9”

 

[Tuna99]

Except Montour is 6 foot, not 5’9”

If Brannstrom is shrinking we should be concerned. He should probably go see a doctor

 

[Golden_Jet]

If Brannstrom is shrinking we should be concerned. He should probably go see a doctor

If he’s not growing we should be concerned.
Not shrinking, he’s much shorter than Montour. Some sites have 5’10”, haha
When standing beside DBC they look the same or Branny an inch taller max.

 

[Tuna99]

If he’s not growing we should be concerned.
Not shrinking, he’s much shorter than Montour. Some sites have 5’10”, haha
When standing beside DBC they look the same or Branny an inch taller max.

You’re known to argue over what a real inch is so I’ll leave that to you. But the stats Montour put up, going from a 20-25 point Dman to a point a game Dman and being the difference in a game 6 - that’s what I can see a Branny doing