Traded Erik Brännström - D - Part III

[ottawah]

Hockey trade. Chabby out, for less expensive younger D...create cap space. Sign Pinto. Yay!

But with whom?

75% of the league is massively cap space strapped. Heck 1/3 of the league is only compliant due to LTIR.

I noticed that in the late summer, teams were so pushed at and above the cap in a manner I've never seen before. There always was some level of spread and lots of teams that could make trades. Trades this year will largely have to be a dollar in dollar out deal. Only 6 teams could take of Joseph, with Buffalo being the only likely playoff team.

This early in the season, this many teams entirely strapped, so few able to make deals. Its a massive buyers market. Even Chabot is not an easy move at all. And it will be a massive downgrade .....

 

[DrEasy]

My main issue with moving Brann is the effect on Kleven. Kleven isn't ready for a full time role in Ottawa and I don't want to throw him in before he's ready. Some guys can recover from accelerated development...and some can't. We have a very thin prospect stable right now and we really can't afford to screw up with the handful of legit kids we have left. If we want to have a good contention window, we need a steady pipeline and cheap contracts that come with it.

Brann is what he is at this point. He's a decent 3rd pairing who doesn't hurt the team in a top 4 role. That does have value. Especially in a tight cap with little replacements and having two guys in Chabot and Chych who do have significant injury histories.

It doesn't necessarily have to be Kleven taking his place (yet) though. We already have 3 LHD in Chabot, Chychrun and Sanderson, so if Brannstrom is dealt we can have them play on a separate pairing each, and so you can call up JBD, who is a bit more seasoned than Kleven, to play on the right side. But it's not ideal having Hamonic then play on a second pairing either...

Either way I agree, dealing Brannstrom creates a big hole, especially if an injury occurs to our current top 4.

 

[aragorn]

After they just signed him to an extension? This would be a terrible look.
It's clear as day that Kubalik needs to go, and Debrincat's replacement is Tarasenko
Dorion's trade to bring in Debrincat ended up being a loss, no need to make that hole bigger now

How do you make the hole bigger losing a 3rd pairing little D & Joseph who is an average player at best, they have tried to move both players & there are still no takers without adding something significant. Clearing other GMs don't see these two players as anything but what they are. Moving either or both would be better given it would give the Sens much more cap relief & we would be replacing them on the roster with better players which makes the team better, not worse. They are not trading Kubalik he had 45 pts last yr way more than Joseph or Tarasenko although I'm not sure he returns next yr.

Norris should return soon & Pinto when he signs replacing both Chartier & Joseph in the lineup improving the team with better players. Brannstrom is playing okay but it's clear he is still getting out muscled & will be targeted even more in the playoffs. We don't hate Brannstrom, but he & Joseph are the obvious weak link guys that need to be replaced on this roster, they even talked about it again on the broadcast today, do they hate him too? I think most teams view him the same way too small & not skilled enough for his size in today's NHL & they view Joseph the same way very fast but not much else. Kelly IMO is more valuable than Joseph too in that he draws a lot of penalties & we have two good PP units & Kelly hits, drops the mitts, blocks shots, is much cheaper & is pretty good on the PK. IMO Joseph & Brannstrom are the two weakest players on the team & the easiest to replace unfortunately they are also the hardest guys to move because of that.

 

[Wallet Inspector]

Nobody WANTS Brannstrom gone but we don't have many options to create cap space.

And trading Kubalik worries me because if Norris misses a lot of time our forward depth will be shot.

 

[Xspyrit]

Nobody WANTS Brannstrom gone but we don't have many options to create cap space.

And trading Kubalik worries me because if Norris misses a lot of time our forward depth will be shot.

We don't need Kubalik that much. I'm not even sure why he's still here and why Pinto is not signed. He should not have been in the Senators camp.

Tkachuk, Stutzle, Giroux, Norris, Batherson and Tarasenko are all 1st liners if healthy

Greig, Pinto are young but will become good. Joseph is underrated because of his down year, good 3rd liner. His speed and shot is on display early

Smejkal has shown some nice things in preseason, Jarventie is still very young but has shown he is a legit Top-6 prospect and could probably help out in a Top-9 role as a call up... And even beyond that, we have much better depth than last season (Chartier, Highmore, etc)

 

[HSF]

Kubalik is a 45point player playing with Dylan Larkin

Unless he is playing with Stuztle he is not getting anywhere near that here

He should be dealt

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

Nobody WANTS Brannstrom gone but we don't have many options to create cap space.

And trading Kubalik worries me because if Norris misses a lot of time our forward depth will be shot.

I kind of want him gone.

 

[Xspyrit]

Kubalik is a 45point player playing with Dylan Larkin

Unless he is playing with Stuztle he is not getting anywhere near that here

He should be dealt

Yes and 17 of his 45 pts were on the PP


Stutzle - Tkachuk - Batherson - Norris - Giroux - Tarasenko (6 Forwards) + Chychrun - Sanderson - Chabot (3 D-men)

Who gets the last PP spot? Pinto? Greig? Brannstrom? Kubalik?

I kind of want him gone.

That would be irresponsible right now... We really don't have the depth we thought behind him and Kleven is not as ready as people thought, which was my warning last season

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Bringing up height out of nowhere then suggesting short dudes have a complex, ironic.

Only short guys like brannstrom.

 

[Loach]

Chabot and Brannstrom are the same player...except one is taller and makes 8m.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Branny Struggled last night, first period especially.

 

[HoweHullOrr]

Nobody WANTS Brannstrom gone but we don't have many options to create cap space.

And trading Kubalik worries me because if Norris misses a lot of time our forward depth will be shot.

It's six of one, half a dozen of another. If Brannstrom were to go, depth on D is impacted as well. Most of the rest of our D below Brannstrom are pretty green. They might be able to handle a #6 role if we're lucky, but doubt they could move up like Brannstrom did before when a top 4 D got injured.

I'm not opposed to moving Brannstrom btw. I see that is one of the most logical options. Its just that we are going to lose depth in some part of our lineup no matter who is moved (amongst the options that are being discussed).

 

[Bileur]

Nobody WANTS Brannstrom gone but we don't have many options to create cap space.

And trading Kubalik worries me because if Norris misses a lot of time our forward depth will be shot.

Lol. There’s at least one poster on here who has proposed ~50+ Brannstrom trades in 2023.

There are definitely people who want him gone.

 

[OD99]

Branny Struggled last night, first period especially.

He did, but he got better as the game wore on.

I thought all the D weren't prepared for the Flyers forecheck and we mishandled the puck a lot.

 

[BoardsofCanada]

I say this not 100% seriously, but the guy we should trade is Zub.

I have never been as enamored with him as this board is. He was directly responsible for that 2nd Flyers goal yesterday. He doesn't move the puck as cleanly as the others nor does he move as gracefully.

I know it would leave a hole. Brann would have to move up into the top 4 and we'd call up a guy like Guenette or Mantinpalo. Not sure how big a hole this would cause.

But we could probably get a 3rd for him and solve our Cap problem.

 

[OD99]

Massive hole. If we trade him now, we would be worse off.

 

[Dionysus]

Only way I can see it not hurting the team defensively is trading Branny, and immediately bringing in an NHL Dman on league minimum salary.

I say this not 100% seriously, but the guy we should trade is Zub.

I have never been as enamored with him as this board is. He was directly responsible for that 2nd Flyers goal yesterday. He doesn't move the puck as cleanly as the others nor does he move as gracefully.

I know it would leave a hole. Brann would have to move up into the top 4 and we'd call up a guy like Guenette or Mantinpalo. Not sure how big a hole this would cause.

But we could probably get a 3rd for him and solve our Cap problem.

Would have 4 left d in the top 4. Not ideal.

 

[aragorn]

Only way I can see it not hurting the team defensively is trading Branny, and immediately bringing in an NHL Dman on league minimum salary.



Would have 4 left d in the top 4. Not ideal.

Zub is a right shot D but yea, still leaves 3 left shots. I'm not sure why Chicago would do this, but a Joseph & Brannstrom plus pick for Tinordi who is a UFA would free up enough space to also sign Pinto. They would want the Det 1st & I would ask for Chicago's 3rd in return. Yes, it's too much to pay, but its one way out of this while getting a border line cheap LD defenceman back with some size & toughness on the backend for this yr. What's important here is getting Pinto back & if we look at this as trading Brannstrom, Joseph & a 1st for Pinto, Tinordi & a 3rd, would you do it?

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

Massive hole. If we trade him now, we would be worse off.

Doesn’t he average like 15 mins a night on the bottom pair? How is that a massive hole?

Or were you referring to Zub?

 

[OD99]

Doesn’t he average like 15 mins a night on the bottom pair? How is that a massive hole?

Or were you referring to Zub?

I was referring to Zub.

But, if the question is about EB I would say it makes us worse because he is good in those 15 minutes.

Because his replacement, who wont be as good as Branny, is most likely a RD which means we have multiple pairs of D playing their off side.

How he transitions the puck is the most important part to me.

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

I was referring to Zub.

But, if the question is about EB I would say it makes us worse because he is good in those 15 minutes.

Because his replacement, who wont be as good as Branny, is most likely a RD which means we have multiple pairs of D playing their off side.

How he transitions the puck is the most important part to me.

Ya. It makes us worse but if it allows us to fit Pinto in I’d be for it.

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

I suspect that there is no market for Brannstrom outside of the Senators including a sweetener.

There would have been a market for him at the draft or earlier in the off-season. Although, the return would have been minimal. Nobody has cap space. Garrioch flubbed the script a bit when he talked about the Senators needing Brannstrom, but also waxed-poetic about how he might even clear waivers.

The way the Senators defense is built, they could go with 5 defenseman if needed and not miss a beat. That is why it is hard to believe that plugging in any of their tweeners to the #6 spot to play a few minutes a night at even-strength is an issue. They would miss Brannstrom on the PK, but they can make those minutes up by giving Chychrun more PK time. Chychrun basically is not being used on the PK right now, which is ideal, but I think he can handle going from 21 minutes a game to 23.

The primary issue with moving out Brannstrom is depth in regard to injuries, but that's always going to be an issue with the defense.

I think the issue is more that they don't want to lose another 2nd or 3rd round pick by having to attach one to Brannstrom to get someone to take him. I doubt there is a market for either Brannstrom or Kubalik without a sweetener. Nobody has cap. For the teams that do have both cap and real money to spend to back it up, giving up any of that cap comes with a massive opportunity cost. If a team gives up 2M or 2.5M now and take Brannstrom or Kubalik for future considerations, they lose out on multiple draft picks at the deadline where they could be a third party to facilitate transactions. Or, they lose out on a 2nd round pick to be a dumping ground for a bad contract like Chicago was last year for Zaitsev.

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

Think about this rationally.

The Senators have the strongest top 4 that they might have ever had. They have 4 defenseman capable of playing a combined 50/60 minutes, and almost the entire game at even-strength.

They have a huge void down the middle. Even with Norris back, it still isn't a sure thing how Norris will play.

Brannstrom is 24 years old. He may not even be qualified next year due to arbitration rights. He has no future in Ottawa because of how the defense is structured, which prevents him being used to his greatest strength as a specialist to QB one of the PP units. He should have a long career in the NHL as a PP specialist, but he is undersized and has not shown any positive progress forward, to the point that the Senators went out and traded for another top 4 LHD last year to pretty much bury Brannstrom.

Another GM calls them up and says send Brannstrom my way for a late pick or FC and it will completely solve your Pinto problem and help your team more than it hurts them.

Dorion is going to say, no man those 6 even-strength minutes against 4th liners are too important for us to get back one of our Cs. WE ARE FINE WITH ROURKE CHARTIER. He then hangs up the phone dramatically. (Smashes his iPhone down, forgetting, it's not a land line).

How logical is that?

Nobody wants Brannstrom. His cap hit is too high. Sens are backed into a corner. They have bled picks the last few years. They don't want to give up another pick to move Brannstrom or Kubalik. Isn't that more likely?

 

[GCK]

Waive Kubalik or Brannstrom and if they aren’t claimed waive the other. Don’t trade a sweetener until you have to do it.

 

[Mark Stones Spleen]

Think about this rationally.

The Senators have the strongest top 4 that they might have ever had. They have 4 defenseman capable of playing a combined 50/60 minutes, and almost the entire game at even-strength.

They have a huge void down the middle. Even with Norris back, it still isn't a sure thing how Norris will play.

Brannstrom is 24 years old. He may not even be qualified next year due to arbitration rights. He has no future in Ottawa because of how the defense is structured, which prevents him being used to his greatest strength as a specialist to QB one of the PP units. He should have a long career in the NHL as a PP specialist, but he is undersized and has not shown any positive progress forward, to the point that the Senators went out and traded for another top 4 LHD last year to pretty much bury Brannstrom.

Another GM calls them up and says send Brannstrom my way for a late pick or FC and it will completely solve your Pinto problem and help your team more than it hurts them.

Dorion is going to say, no man those 6 even-strength minutes against 4th liners are too important for us to get back one of our Cs. WE ARE FINE WITH ROURKE CHARTIER. He then hangs up the phone dramatically. (Smashes his iPhone down, forgetting, it's not a land line).

How logical is that?

Nobody wants Brannstrom. His cap hit is too high. Sens are backed into a corner. They have bled picks the last few years. They don't want to give up another pick to move Brannstrom or Kubalik. Isn't that more likely?

First of all, Chabot's minutes need a reduction, he's needed it for a few years.

We also finally have a bottom pair dman (Brann) that can play top 4 minutes, which is huge. Chych and TC are also guys who have regularly spent enough time on the IR, so having a 6 min dman take one of their spots isn't useful at all.

Branny actually played more minutes on the PK than Chabot, Chych, and Zub. As much as we needed a top for like we have, our 5 and 6 being actually decent makes a huge difference.