Senator Stanley
Registered User
- Dec 11, 2003
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I'd be surprised if Dorion waived Brannstrom. He makes sense to keep around as a 7th defenceman.
Traded Erik Brännström - D - Part III
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I'd be surprised if Dorion waived Brannstrom. He makes sense to keep around as a 7th defenceman.
Do Make Say Think
& Yet & Yet
- Jun 26, 2007
- 51,588
- 10,455
Problem is we don't have a good veteran shutdown guy to pair with Brannstrom on the third pair. When your third pair is garbage, you overplay the other two.
I'm still looking forward to the season but our D is still one of the worst in the league and the coaching staff doesn't make me think they will be able to find a way to overcome this.
Here's to hoping!
BondraTime
Registered User
He's just not a very good NHL level D, especially for this Sens team.
We aren't putting him on PP1, you're not playing him for his defense, he's not a physical presence.
You don't carry a D to have him play your PP2, and even then he may not be the PP2 D.
Unfortunate swing and a miss, though Glass would have been a miss as well.
We aren't putting him on PP1, you're not playing him for his defense, he's not a physical presence.
You don't carry a D to have him play your PP2, and even then he may not be the PP2 D.
Unfortunate swing and a miss, though Glass would have been a miss as well.
He's the same size as Sam Girard, I really hope he can magically become a smooth of a skater as Girard. Girard isn't the strongest guy but he's nifty. I swear to god if Brannstrom does non stop power skating with Gary Roberts, he can skate his way out of all his problems.
I'm still good to have him and Holden be a pair to start the season tho
I'm still good to have him and Holden be a pair to start the season tho
Alex1234
Registered User
- Oct 14, 2014
- 17,291
- 7,532
Agree
We have Chabot and Sanderson for that
We need physical presence on D
Suzuki was the guy to get but hey....
Senator Stanley
Registered User
- Dec 11, 2003
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In theory, you're playing Brannstrom because he can move the puck, which is part of playing defense.
But we're talking 3rd pair on a weak blueline, here. You have to pick your poison. Obviously this is not the choice their facing this season, but philosophically, do they prefer a puck-mover like Brannstrom or a physical presence like a Josh Brown? I think we know DJ's answer. Personally, I've seen enough "physical presence" 3rd pairing guys. I'm happy to try the alternative.
DylanSensFan
BEESHIP: NBH
You willing to make a bet on that? We just signed Branny for $1.2-million. He either plays on our top-6 defenders or he's getting traded. He isn't being put on waivers. He'll get snatched immediately and we get nothing in return if your prediction happens.
true he probably gets dealt then
I like the idea of keeping him around even as an extra but with zaitzev here that might not be an option
DylanSensFan
BEESHIP: NBH
BondraTime
Registered User
We probably don't get anything for him for a trade, he has no value around the league
Can cut bait with him however we choose, isn't going to make much difference either way
Micklebot
Moderator
- Apr 27, 2010
- 58,732
- 36,995
We played him ~20 mins a night last season, there's no way we are waiving him...
The absolute worst case is he ends up as the 7th D, waiving him is highly unlikely.
aragorn
Do The Right Thing
- Aug 8, 2004
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The Sens don't need Brannstrom with 3 other options in Belleville JBD, Thomson & Guennette. I even prefer Heatherington over Brannstrom on the 3rd pairing. Brannstrom isn't playing over Chabot, Sanderson, Zub, Hamonic or Holden, he is fighting it out with Zaitsev for the 6th & 7th D spots. The 3 in Belleville are also fighting for that one spot on the 3rd pairing.
Brann won't be waived, but he might be traded in a package, I doubt he has much value on his own to acquire much in return. I think he will on the team to start the season, but it's just a matter of time before someone in Belleville takes his spot & he is moved out IMO. If Zaitsev is on the opening night roster does he get the same treatment from fans as Gonchar got that one yr?
Brann won't be waived, but he might be traded in a package, I doubt he has much value on his own to acquire much in return. I think he will on the team to start the season, but it's just a matter of time before someone in Belleville takes his spot & he is moved out IMO. If Zaitsev is on the opening night roster does he get the same treatment from fans as Gonchar got that one yr?
L'Aveuglette
つ ◕_◕ ༽つ
I think most people would be happy for Brannstrom to be better but realistically he needs to play his way on to the 3rd pair. Maybe Holden sucks and Brannstrom gets the spot by default.
SlapJack
Scum bag Sens
- Dec 6, 2010
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How is it that Chabot goes down, Brannstrom assumes the #1 D role for that stretch by anchoring the PP and playing the most minutes, the team has a record of 9-7-2 during this time where the PP was clicking at over 21%, virtually nothing has changed with Brannstrom since - and he's now a waiver candidate because he can't even play as a #6?
If Brannstrom is on the 3rd pair, he will do well. He's better than Zaitsev and not waiver exempt like Thomsen and JBD. It won't happen, but ideally this is what I would like to see with the pairings:
Chabot-JBD
Sanderson-Zub
Brannstrom-Hamonic
JBD is solid enough defensively for Chabot to "carry" a rookie, Sanderson-Zub would make an excellent shut down pair, Brannstrom-Hamonic take the easier minutes and get special team time.
If Brannstrom is on the 3rd pair, he will do well. He's better than Zaitsev and not waiver exempt like Thomsen and JBD. It won't happen, but ideally this is what I would like to see with the pairings:
Chabot-JBD
Sanderson-Zub
Brannstrom-Hamonic
JBD is solid enough defensively for Chabot to "carry" a rookie, Sanderson-Zub would make an excellent shut down pair, Brannstrom-Hamonic take the easier minutes and get special team time.
Zub is not playing with Sanderson. There is not enough communication going on there for that to happen, and they want Chabot to have a to notch partner finally.
It’s not happening. Chabot and Zub is a pair now, and they’ll work on building chemistry. Sanderson doesn’t need a defensive partner, he needs a mentor, a guy who will talk to him all game, and a guy who will step in a fight guys who take liberties. On our team that guy is Hamonic. Sanderson seems to think pretty highly of him so far so that’s good.
That leaves Holden as a vet for the last pair, and Branstrom, JBD, and Tompson battling out who will be 3rd pair, and who will be injury call ups. I think it will be Branstrom personally, and he’ll get a shot to show he’s an NHLer. He has always played when available to DJ, so that isn’t an issue. Lassi and JBD have one more year to prove that they can step into the line up.
That’s how I see things shaking out.
I think he should 100% be on the roster. I just think DJ has his mindset and has always wanted bigger defensemen.
He will thrive when given a chance elsewhere imo
I hope I am wrong and we play him on the roster
I don't hate Bran, and I was really hoping he would make the team and be a good defenseman for us. I'm just getting tired of waiting to see that happen. He makes some good moves and does some good things, but then I see him so many times turning the puck over by not reacting fast enough, and getting smashed by bigger players for the same reason. Maybe he is just overthinking everything and not just trusting his instinct, and the reason for that might also be because DJ is making him feel insecure? Not sure what it is, I just know that when I see not just Chabot, but also Zub (who was not guaranteed an NHL spot either) or even Sandy (although it's way to early to evaluate his performance), they don't look like that. He just looks worried on ice, to me at least, I might be wrong. Not worried about getting hit, worried about his performance and making mistakes.
aragorn
Do The Right Thing
- Aug 8, 2004
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I guess you would know you were on the Josh Brown Haters Club.
I think so too, however, I think that Zaitsev will play against tougher & bigger teams while Brannstrom will play against weaker teams. Unfortunately, I think both Thomson & JBD will likely start the season in Belleville.
DylanSensFan
BEESHIP: NBH
People keep talking about trading one of JBD, Thomson or Guennette for an NHL caliber defender? The point is, aside from goaltending, defenders are a major need for every single team out there. If Pierre didn't see a place for Branny, the team would have let him walk or traded him already. I am getting tired of this same pre-season nonsense playing out year over year. We need to realize the assets we have and learn to develop them fully.
If Brannstrom ended up on our third line and plays a solid 20-minutes that take the heat off of Chabot, then it is already a win. If he plays on the second PP unit and contributes to offence then that is a double win for us. If he turns out to be even close to what Pierre hoped for, then there is no reason to trade him or banish him anywhere right now.
We need to look at the assets we currently have and continue to develop from within. We still have to sign players like DeBrincat who we gave major assets for. We need to build a team and remain cap friendly. Currently Brännstrøm is cheap and so is every single developing player in the organization. We start selling our assets right now to land a player who may not even sign long term with us, and we go down the same path we just wallowed in until this year.
We need to keep the players we have in the system happy and growing, while making our team a playoff contender. We have a year with Bran to find out how regular a player he'll be. (insert jokes here)
SlapJack
Scum bag Sens
- Dec 6, 2010
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I agree that it's not going to happen and Zub will be paired with Chabot, but that argument where Zub can't play with Sanderson because of a language barrier is a bit ridiculous.
aragorn
Do The Right Thing
- Aug 8, 2004
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We have plenty of defencemen in the org who IMO would be a better fit than Brannstrom on the 3rd pair. He may not even be able to replace Zaitsev on that 3rd pair. If they can't re-sign DeBrincat we may be able to use him to acquire a top 2 RD. We don't have to do anything we have plenty of assets to assess where we are as a team & where we need to improve & if someone would take Brannstrom in a package than great, he gets another opportunity on another team. We are only selling assets to improve the team, that's what asset managament is all about, improving the team where you can when you can. But they also don't have to do anything yet.
