Traded Erik Brännström - D - Part III

HSF

Registered User
Sep 3, 2008
26,368
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My guess he’ll be packaged up with another player/pick for something that fits better.
Partly for his benefit too. He could probably use a fresh start somewhere else and our organization usually likes to accommodate players like that when possible.
Yes our organization loves trading young players who are playing well and developing
 

JD1

Registered User
Sep 12, 2005
16,203
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I'm really curious on the Brannstrom situation for next year. There's a lot of guys in both camps

Brannstrom is 22. He played 53 games. 19:46 a night. Had a broken hand and missed a lot. Chabot goes down for an extended stretch, Brannstrom plays PP1 and the PP and the team's record is good while Chabot is out.

Guys have posited that he needs a fresh start. That there is no role for him next year and so on.

I think DJ's confidence in him has grown as the year has gone on. At one point DJ was publicly talking about Brannstrom needing to learn to box out and at this stage he's talking about Brannstrom not getting enough credit for his PK work.

He's 22. He's going to get stronger and he's going to develop further.

I just don't see the case that he ends up sidelined next year nor do I see trading him for futures or needing to package him up with a quality asset to get a quality asset back. At 22 with a season under his belt at almost 20 minutes a night and a demonstrated ability to run a PP1, he's an asset that is growing in value.

Last night a puck was dumped in his corner. He goes in, ducks under a check, grabs the puck, weaves between two guys and skates it across our Blueline. Not many guys in this league could do that. And his confidence is growing to do that.
 

Tuna99

Registered User
Sep 26, 2009
15,522
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I'm really curious on the Brannstrom situation for next year. There's a lot of guys in both camps

Brannstrom is 22. He played 53 games. 19:46 a night. Had a broken hand and missed a lot. Chabot goes down for an extended stretch, Brannstrom plays PP1 and the PP and the team's record is good while Chabot is out.

Guys have posited that he needs a fresh start. That there is no role for him next year and so on.

I think DJ's confidence in him has grown as the year has gone on. At one point DJ was publicly talking about Brannstrom needing to learn to box out and at this stage he's talking about Brannstrom not getting enough credit for his PK work.

He's 22. He's going to get stronger and he's going to develop further.

I just don't see the case that he ends up sidelined next year nor do I see trading him for futures or needing to package him up with a quality asset to get a quality asset back. At 22 with a season under his belt at almost 20 minutes a night and a demonstrated ability to run a PP1, he's an asset that is growing in value.

Last night a puck was dumped in his corner. He goes in, ducks under a check, grabs the puck, weaves between two guys and skates it across our Blueline. Not many guys in this league could do that. And his confidence is growing to do that.

one thing I think Brannsteom is a victim of is fans remembering NHL defensive from 5 years ago when it wasnt so easy to skate with the puck and score. Offensive in the NHL is way up and within this new environment he gets measured versus what we think a Dman should look like in 2015.

the defensive zone of most NHL teams is chaos and when it happens to Brann we all fall back on the old lingo of “to small, not enough hockey sense” etc.

he’s not going to be a start but he is an NHL dman
 

Micklebot

Moderator
Apr 27, 2010
55,972
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I'm really curious on the Brannstrom situation for next year. There's a lot of guys in both camps

Brannstrom is 22. He played 53 games. 19:46 a night. Had a broken hand and missed a lot. Chabot goes down for an extended stretch, Brannstrom plays PP1 and the PP and the team's record is good while Chabot is out.

Guys have posited that he needs a fresh start. That there is no role for him next year and so on.

I think DJ's confidence in him has grown as the year has gone on. At one point DJ was publicly talking about Brannstrom needing to learn to box out and at this stage he's talking about Brannstrom not getting enough credit for his PK work.

He's 22. He's going to get stronger and he's going to develop further.

I just don't see the case that he ends up sidelined next year nor do I see trading him for futures or needing to package him up with a quality asset to get a quality asset back. At 22 with a season under his belt at almost 20 minutes a night and a demonstrated ability to run a PP1, he's an asset that is growing in value.

Last night a puck was dumped in his corner. He goes in, ducks under a check, grabs the puck, weaves between two guys and skates it across our Blueline. Not many guys in this league could do that. And his confidence is growing to do that.

I think Chabot's injury could not have come at a better time for him, prior to that I think he was looking like a guy we might throw in a deal. He wasn't as reliable defensively and didn't seem to be in a consistent groove.

Getting a bunch of games as our top offensive d seems to have really helped his confidence. He's playing well in a top 4 role and is still young. He's RFA and him not reaching his potential earlier might actually be a bit of a good thing for us, if we can get him on a cheap bridge deal we could have a really good left side with Chabot, Sanderson and Brannstrom at a bargain price for the next few years.

If he's playing the way he can it allows us to shelter Sanderson a bit so that he can gain confidence quicker, I'm a huge believer in Sanderson, but he tends to focus on the defensive side of the game until he's settled in and then opens up offensively.

Long term I think we still end up moving on from him but he'll bring back more in a trade if he established himself first.
 
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JD1

Registered User
Sep 12, 2005
16,203
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I think Chabot's injury could have come at a better time for him, prior to that I think he was looking like a guy we might throw in a deal. He wasn't as reliable defensively and didn't seem to be in a consistent groove.

Getting a bunch of games as our top offensive d seems to have really helped his confidence. He's playing well in a top 4 role and is still young. He's RFA and him not reaching his potential earlier might actually be a bit of a good thing for us, if we can get him on a cheap bridge deal we could have a really good left side with Chabot, Sanderson and Brannstrom at a bargain price for the next few years.

If he's playing the way he can it allows us to shelter Sanderson a bit so that he can gain confidence quicker, I'm a huge believer in Sanderson, but he tends to focus on the defensive side of the game until he's settled in and then opens up offensively.

Long term I think we still end up moving on from him but he'll bring back more in a trade if he established himself first.
You missed the "not" but I got you
 
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bicboi64

Registered User
Aug 13, 2020
5,191
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Brampton
He should've been on opening night roster and DJ only just having more confidence in him is a DJ issue. I hope we sign Brannstrom to a bridge deal and keep him. We have a young puck moving Dman who is developing just fine and can be a part of the top 4. Unless we're getting a sure fire need, no point in moving him.
 

OD99

Registered User
Oct 13, 2012
5,100
4,299
If you need help reading this year's stats, shoot me a line. I would be happy to help you out.
Sure and at the same time I will give you writing lessons so you can make sure what you have rattling around in your head is what is expressed when you write.

Either way, another solid take! Keep 'em coming!
 
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OD99

Registered User
Oct 13, 2012
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one thing I think Brannsteom is a victim of is fans remembering NHL defensive from 5 years ago when it wasnt so easy to skate with the puck and score. Offensive in the NHL is way up and within this new environment he gets measured versus what we think a Dman should look like in 2015.

the defensive zone of most NHL teams is chaos and when it happens to Brann we all fall back on the old lingo of “to small, not enough hockey sense” etc.

he’s not going to be a start but he is an NHL dman
This is the main thing for me.

Why trade a guy that is clearly a good depth player for us and who is put in the #1D role (and does fine) when Chabot goes down? It makes no sense.

If we dont get good value back but he is valuable to us what is the point? Let home come back next year as an improved player and if we end up not having long term plans for him then at least keep developing and showcasing him so when we do move him we get something substantial.
 

Agent Zuuuub

Registered User
Jan 2, 2015
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We gonna talk about how its usually Brann closing out 1 goal leads in the final minute and doing a good job? Or his solid PK play?

Brann-Zub pairing is probably the best 2nd pair we've had in 10 years. They clearly have chemistry and visibly enjoy playing with each other. Two high IQ players who appreciate and bring out the others strengths. They are only going to get better too.

But he doesn't "fit" anywhere? Cmon.
 

aragorn

Do The Right Thing
Aug 8, 2004
29,206
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There is room in our best lineup for Lassi and Brann.

Chabot Lassi
Brann Zub
Sanderson Hamonic

I’m bullish on Lassi and I think he can play with Chabot at some point next year. If he doesn’t flip him down but I don’t think we want a rookie integrating a rookie.

Either way, Chabot will play with a few RD’s.
Let's look at this from a contract point of view & how many one way contracts they will carry on defence & who is still eligible to go to Belleville. Let's start with Sanderson who I believe is the only one who is waiver exempt & could go to Belleville, I doubt it, but anything is possible. If Brannstrom out plays him at camp it's a possibility that Sanderson could get sent down for a time but we can only wait to see how that transpires. I think it could come down to one or the other & most believe it will be Sanderson who stays. There is no reason to bring up Chabot or Zub they will have a D spot no matter what.

Next MDZ, my guess is that he could get bought out or moved since they don't seem to like him much in Ottawa for whatever reason, he's still under contract & could be back, but chances are he is gone this summer. Mete should be gone too. Holden & Hamonic are both interesting, they re-signed Holden because he helped them defensively & they traded for Hamonic & said they have wanted him for a while. Both shore up the defensive part of the game & we all know that is an area of weakness with this team, what do they do with both by the TDL will be interesting? Zaitsev has another two yrs on his contract & is another situation where the fans want him out, but is there a market for him? DJ defends him all the time & at times he does play some solid games defensively. Getting rid of him would open up a spot, but will they move him?

I'm just not sure there is room on the roster except as a depth D for Brann & I doubt he wants to stay in that situation & could ask to be traded himself. After playing as a regular for half a season I doubt he will want to go back to Belleville or be a healthy scratch when he could play elsewhere, hopefully his value has gone up. After next season Kleven is coming & will be competition for a LD spot & by then Thomson & probably JBD will need one too. It's going to be very interesting how this all plays out on defence & what happens with Holden, Hamonic, Zaitsev, MDZ & Brannstrom over the summer & going into next yr.
 
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aragorn

Do The Right Thing
Aug 8, 2004
29,206
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Hamonic has more goals as an Ottawa Senator than him (1 goal)
This yr, but Brann had 2 goals last yr, so technically Brann leads by one goal over both their careers as Senators. Hamonic did have 3 goals with Van this yr & 3 goals with Van last yr so in the two yrs he leads in goals. Of course, he is 9 yrs older too. :naughty:
 
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OD99

Registered User
Oct 13, 2012
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I am having a tough time rationalizing the comments about Brann as not even sticking around as a depth D because of Hamonic or MDZ or whoever.

A team doesn't have their 7th D play the most minutes or run the #1PP.

Even with Chabot back he has had the 2nd most minutes by a D a few times.

While I am not beholden to Advanced stats either the eye test tells me he is playing well and keeping the puck out of our end for the most part and the analytics show the same.

I can only assume the standard bias on size is the main reason keep shuffling him down the lineup. As of this very moment he is out #2 LD and while I expect Sanderson to come in and look like a top 4D it would be extremely foolish to not keep Brann.

He is behind only Chabot at the moment and the fact he may be able to play RD also makes him more valuable.
 

DylanSensFan

BEESHIP: NBH
Aug 3, 2010
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Calgary
If I'm comparing Brannstrom to someone like Chris Wideman, then I'm taking Brannstrom all day, every day. Wideman is really only good at one thing, and he isn't even really good at that. Brannstrom has proven he can play in all situations and help our team. He will only get better. I hope that he plays in our top 6-D next year. We need to off some really bad contracts like D-Z in the next few months.
 

Burrowsaurus

Registered User
Mar 20, 2013
43,355
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If I'm comparing Brannstrom to someone like Chris Wideman, then I'm taking Brannstrom all day, every day. Wideman is really only good at one thing, and he isn't even really good at that. Brannstrom has proven he can play in all situations and help our team. He will only get better. I hope that he plays in our top 6-D next year. We need to off some really bad contracts like D-Z in the next few months.
You cannot take wideman and play him big minutes while your best d man is out and still look competent defensively. Even pre injury.

We’ve seen brannstrom can lock shit down.
 

L'Aveuglette

つ ◕_◕ ༽つ
Jan 8, 2007
48,142
20,246
Montreal
We gonna talk about how its usually Brann closing out 1 goal leads in the final minute and doing a good job? Or his solid PK play?

Brann-Zub pairing is probably the best 2nd pair we've had in 10 years. They clearly have chemistry and visibly enjoy playing with each other. Two high IQ players who appreciate and bring out the others strengths. They are only going to get better too.

But he doesn't "fit" anywhere? Cmon.

Yep.

Old school mentality means zero ability to see beyond height, AKA everyone on tsn1200 and many on here.

Branny is turning into a solid top-4 guy and no amount of crying about physical attributes can change that.
 

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