Waived: Erik Brannstrom placed on waivers (update: CLEARED)

[Bleach Clean]

Except our forwards don’t come low often enough. Last game if Hughes didn’t have the puck it was Pettersson breaking out of the zone. The game before that, it was no one, and in Montreal it was JT Miller breaking it out himself.

Our system is based on making plays our defenders just can’t do, and they chip it out of the glass and we turn it over or try to dump and chase and hardly ever have the speed to forecheck and come up with the puck.

Hmmm, I tend to see the F3 low to help the DFDs. Pettersson and JT are often in that position, but I noticed Lekkerimaki do it twice against TOR and Garland the same against CAR.

For this DCorps, it's the right system. They can't make stretch passes or skate it out. That's why the forwards have to do it (aside from Hughes).

 

[David71]

Tocc hates Brannstrom and guys that Tocc hates get gone. That's how it is.

I strongly disagree. Brannstrom is a better player than other guys they're playing and has a needed skillset. But this was the predictable ending. I guess we can look forward to more Sbisa-esque pizzas from Juulsen and chasing hits way out of position.

Tocc admitted it himself. He wants to play as low-event hockey as possible, and just hope to win the bounces. It's an effective strategy to have a decent floor, but offers no shot of being a contender.

i dont think alvin/JR seem eye to eye with tocchett. like do they even hold discussions like oh im gonna get player A in our system and hope he turns out well. B. tocchett sees 5-10mins of him on the ice. hes in the doghouse right away..

 

[Leif Rohlin]

Tocc hates Brannstrom and guys that Tocc hates get gone. That's how it is.

I strongly disagree. Brannstrom is a better player than other guys they're playing and has a needed skillset. But this was the predictable ending. I guess we can look forward to more Sbisa-esque pizzas from Juulsen and chasing hits way out of position.

Tocc admitted it himself. He wants to play as low-event hockey as possible, and just hope to win the bounces. It's an effective strategy to have a decent floor, but offers no shot of being a contender.

Yep and its success hinges on being able to win a lot of 50/50 puck battles, which really seems like the wrong strategy for the forward group we have.

 

[Quinning]

Tocchet is f***ing terrible.

 

[tantalum]

I really don't care if Brannstrom is in the lineup. I do care that Juulsen is! I realize Brannstrom is poor defensively but his mistakes are no more or more egregious than the constant mistakes by Juulsen. Yet Juulsen gets a ridiculous amount of rope.

 

[bossram]

i dont think alvin/JR seem eye to eye with tocchett. like do they even hold discussions like oh im gonna get player A in our system and hope he turns out well. B. tocchett sees 5-10mins of him on the ice. hes in the doghouse right away..

The cracks between Tocc and Allvin seem to be revealing themselves more and more. Really started to stand out to me with the Hoglander extension and Sprong signing. These were guys Tocc was simply not going to play.

I think there is a chance Tocchet isn't extended.

 

[bossram]

Yep and its success hinges on being able to win a lot of 50/50 puck battles, which really seems like the wrong strategy for the forward group we have.

The hallmark of a great coach is being able to execute an effective system with the pieces you have available.

Tocc is inflexible. He coaches his way only. And he's only going to play guys that play his way. His system is effective under the right circumstances, but despite it clearly being inefficient this season, he refuses to budge.

You're right. He has a generally small forward group, so trying to play a way where every non-Quinn defenseman just flips the puck out and you hope your forwards can win the races/battles to the puck is kinda dumb.

 

[Nick Lang]

The hallmark of a great coach is being able to execute an effective system with the pieces you have available.

Tocc is inflexible. He coaches his way only. And he's only going to play guys that play his way. His system is effective under the right circumstances, but despite it clearly being inefficient this season, he refuses to budge.

You're right. He has a generally small forward group, so trying to play a way where every non-Quinn defenseman just flips the puck out and you hope your forwards can win the races/battles to the puck is kinda dumb.

I like RT as a coach myself. We play the same style except I like shots lol. He doesn't have an incredible amount of experience so he's not going to Scotty Bowman it out there quite yet. Are there any other coaches out there who would be able to adapt to this group and get far more out of them like you expect?

 

[ihaveyuidonttouchme]

Does anyone have the numbers for shots and shot attempts?
I often see Juulsen take shots, but he misses many of them.

 

[bossram]

I like RT as a coach myself. We play the same style except I like shots lol. He doesn't have an incredible amount of experience so he's not going to Scotty Bowman it out there quite yet. Are there any other coaches out there who would be able to adapt to this group and get far more out of them like you expect?

He's not available now, but Jim Montgomery got snapped up immediately when he was fired and he is who comes to mind.

It's not like Tocc is a rookie coach. He was an assistant for a long time, and then a head coach with Arizona.

 

[Nick Lang]

He's not available now, but Jim Montgomery got snapped up immediately when he was fired and he is who comes to mind.

It's not like Tocc is a rookie coach. He was an assistant for a long time, and then a head coach with Arizona.

Yeah it wasn't in the cards to make a switch at that time but good example. No, not a rookie but not a huge tenure and not great teams either. I agree he doesn't really seem to be that flexible. I know from coaching myself it can be very hard to coach outside of what you know without using the team as a guinea pig. I don't how much more you can get from this group but it is highly unlikely they make a switch until maybe next season. I guess his job is on the line the rest of the year. He sure pushed the right buttons last year.

Does anyone have the numbers for shots and shot attempts?
I often see Juulsen take shots, but he misses many of them.

lol, I always get a kick out of your username. How did you come up with that and what does it say?

 

[Vector]

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

Ya buddy. Abby is gonna have a helluva time fitting everyone in.

 

[VanillaCoke]

Costs to see The Brannchise live just went down!

 

[MS]

Well he hasn't even played since the triassic, all while the team was garnering some pretty bad results. It just seems hard to justify sticking with the status quo while the team was struggling to move the puck (and offense = defense at the end of the day – both involve moving the puck away from your net toward the other one). I know you don't like these comparisons in the abstract, but the numbers do suggest he was a better option for the element the back end was sorely missing.

1. Anything JFresh is inherently terrible.
2. He was getting like 70% zone starts in soft minutes which is basically a formula for looking spectacular in terms of advanced stats.
3. He started well but then went into the tank badly in December.

On the 650 pregame show a couple games back they were giving Brannstrom's xGF/xGA numbers and shot differentials for the previous 14 (? I think) games and the guy was getting absolutely caved. Worst xGF on the team (like *way* worse than Juulsen), worst xGA on the team despite playing the softest minutes.

 

[Bleach Clean]

1. Anything JFresh is inherently terrible.
2. He was getting like 70% zone starts in soft minutes which is basically a formula for looking spectacular in terms of advanced stats.
3. He started well but then went into the tank badly in December.

On the 650 pregame show a couple games back they were giving Brannstrom's xGF/xGA numbers and shot differentials for the previous 14 (? I think) games and the guy was getting absolutely caved. Worst xGF on the team (like *way* worse than Juulsen), worst xGA on the team despite playing the softest minutes.

On the season, he's looked on par with Desharnhais: Brannstron's xGF: 0.8 with 10% of shifts starting in the Ozone and Desharnhais has 0.5 xGF with 8.8% of of shifts starting in the Ozone. Slightly worse than Desharnhais in On Ice xGA/60: 2.28 to 1.92.

Juulsen's On Ice xGA/60 is 2.69 (worst on the Dcorps).

If we parse the worst 14 game stretch for Desharnhais and Juulsen, I'm confident the case for the worst net value would be them.

 

[MS]

On the season, he's looked on par with Desharnhais: Brannstron's xGF: 0.8 with 10% of shifts starting in the Ozone and Desharnhais has 0.5 xGF with 8.8% of of shifts starting in the Ozone. Slightly worse than Desharnhais in On Ice xGA/60: 2.28 to 1.92.

Juulsen's On Ice xGA/60 is 2.69 (worst on the Dcorps).

If we parse the worst 14 game stretch for Desharnhais and Juulsen, I'm confident the case for the worst net value would be them.

I mean, Juulsen sucks and shouldn't be playing. I'm not defending him. And on the whole Brannstrom is probably better than Juulsen ... but that doesn't mean that Brannstrom also doesn't kind of suck. And Juulsen was getting a hell of a lot more difficult minutes than Brannstrom was.

In the end, it's honestly probably a whole not of nothing. And again, Brannstrom was getting caved for a month and when you're a fringe player getting caved for a month ... you can't be surprised when you get waived.

Fans love making these Big Controversies about which fringe player the coach picks as the 18th guy on the roster and turning into Fireable Offenses and they just aren't.

 

[Bleach Clean]

I mean, Juulsen sucks and shouldn't be playing. I'm not defending him. And on the whole Brannstrom is probably better than Juulsen ... but that doesn't mean that Brannstrom also doesn't kind of suck. And Juulsen was getting a hell of a lot more difficult minutes than Brannstrom was.

In the end, it's honestly probably a whole not of nothing. And again, Brannstrom was getting caved for a month and when you're a fringe player getting caved for a month ... you can't be surprised when you get waived.

Fans love making these Big Controversies about which fringe player the coach picks as the 18th guy on the roster and turning into Fireable Offenses and they just aren't.

On balance, it signifies a style preference at the cost of net effectiveness.

Juulsen is getting more difficult minutes, but he's performed worse in those minutes. On a relative scale, Brannstrom still likely comes out ahead (net). He gets waived twice and Juulsen + Desharnhais are still around.

Fans like to believe a meritocracy exists. Hard to make that case here.

 

[MS]

On balance, it signifies a style preference at the cost of net effectiveness.

And again, the difference in net effectiveness is pretty negligible. And didn't exist at all in December. Brannstrom was our worst defender in December.

Juulsen is getting more difficult minutes, but he's performed worse in those minutes. On a relative scale, Brannstrom still likely comes out ahead (net). He gets waived twice and Juulsen + Desharnhais are still around.

I mean, we don't really know what it would look like if Juulsen was getting Brannstrom's minutes and vice versa.

We also don't know what Brannstrom would have looked like playing RHD. If he was a LHS, things maybe play out a bit differently.

Fans like to believe a meritocracy exists. Hard to make that case here.

Problem is that the team doesn't view Brannstrom as a RHD at all, nor Juulsen as a LHD.

In terms of the pecking order, he's clearly (and correctly) behind Hughes, Soucy, and Forbort (who has been really solid in the last few weeks) at LHD.

 

[Bleach Clean]

And again, the difference in net effectiveness is pretty negligible. And didn't exist at all in December. Brannstrom was our worst defender in December.

I mean, we don't really know what it would look like if Juulsen was getting Brannstrom's minutes and vice versa.

We also don't know what Brannstrom would have looked like playing RHD. If he was a LHS, things maybe play out a bit differently.

Problem is that the team doesn't view Brannstrom as a RHD at all, nor Juulsen as a LHD.

In terms of the pecking order, he's clearly (and correctly) behind Hughes, Soucy, and Forbort (who has been really solid in the last few weeks) at LHD.

Forbort has been #1 in On Ice xGA/60 for any Dman playing over 10 games. If he continues like this, they must re-sign him.

When looking for gains at the margin, it was there between Brannstrom and Juulsen/Desharnhais (overall). Recency bias and handedness are a factor. Still, it remains to be seen if Brisebois is anything but a magic bean. They made a style choice there too, let's see if it pays off?

 

[MS]

Forbort has been #1 in On Ice xGA/60 for any Dman playing over 10 games. If he continues like this, they must re-sign him.

When looking for gains at the margin, it was there between Brannstrom and Juulsen/Desharnhais (overall). Recency bias and handedness are a factor. Still, it remains to be seen if Brisebois is anything but a magic bean. They made a style choice there too, let's see if it pays off?

Yeah, Forbort has really found a groove and is skating and playing miles better than he looked in preseason and the first couple games before his leave.

The other thing in Juulsen's favour is that he's a very good PK guy.

I don't personally agree with the locked in LH vs RH stuff but I do somewhat understand it and I understand that literally any coach you ever could have is going to have some hard set preferences like this.

 

[Curm]

I think they need to move the puck out of their own end.

Well, yes, and they need to find a couple d-men so we don't see any of Forbort, Juulsen, and Desharnais in the lineup regularly.

Again, Brisebois took Brannstrom's job. Going back to last season, Tocchet mentioned liking Brisebois, he got 17 games in here and would have played more if not for injuries, he played the PK and started in the DZ 62% of the time at ES. The opposite of how Brannstrom was deployed here. And if they finally add another LHD, he'll probably go back down too.

 

[MS]

Well, yes, and they need to find a couple d-men so we don't see any of Forbort, Juulsen, and Desharnais in the lineup regularly.

Again, Brisebois took Brannstrom's job. Going back to last season, Tocchet mentioned liking Brisebois, he got 17 games in here and would have played more if not for injuries, he played the PK and started in the DZ 62% of the time at ES. The opposite of how Brannstrom was deployed here. And if they finally add another LHD, he'll probably go back down too.

Several things happened that caused Brannstrom to be waived, I think :

1) His play nosedived in December.

2) Forbort returned from injury and played really well and on a team that's pretty set in terms of wanting to do LH/RH stuff there wasn't really a spot for him any more.

3) Hronek is about to return, reducing the need for an additional skill defender.

4) As you say, Brisebois kind of took his job as the 4LD. One of the problems with carrying Brannstrom is that he's too similar to Hughes as a mini LHD. Neither is a guy they really want playing PK minutes and when you play Brannstrom you're pretty much forced to give him a bunch of o-zone starts that you'd probably want to be leveraging Hughes into. Brisebois as the 4LD is a much easier straight substitution for Soucy or Forbort.

 

[Curm]

Several things happened that caused Brannstrom to be waived, I think :

1) His play nosedived in December.

2) Forbort returned from injury and played really well and on a team that's pretty set in terms of wanting to do LH/RH stuff there wasn't really a spot for him any more.

3) Hronek is about to return, reducing the need for an additional skill defender.

4) As you say, Brisebois kind of took his job as the 4LD. One of the problems with carrying Brannstrom is that he's too similar to Hughes as a mini LHD. Neither is a guy they really want playing PK minutes and when you play Brannstrom you're pretty much forced to give him a bunch of o-zone starts that you'd probably want to be leveraging Hughes into. Brisebois as the 4LD is a much easier straight substitution for Soucy or Forbort.

Yes, absolutely to all of that. An understated point you make is in sheltering Brannstrom with OZ starts, some of those are at the expense of having Hughes out there.

 

[VanJack]

We've probably seen Brannstrom's last game in Vancouver Canucks uniform. He's an RFA heading into next season, but it would a shock if he gets qualified.

It was a nice story for awhile, and if he was right-shot defender instead of a lefty, he might still be here. I mean the only reason Juulsen and Desharnais (who's been healthy-scratched at least 10 times) are still here, is that they shoot right.

It's certainly not because they're anything more than 'marginal' NHL defenders. But it's also the reason they were forced to offer 34-year old Tyler Myers a three year deal. If he's still here at age 37, I plan to tape my eyes shut.

But just goes to show---when you find a right-shot d-man like Tom Wilander who looks like he can chew bubble gum and actually handle the puck at the same time--you hang on for dear life.