Confirmed with Link: VAN/COL Poolman (20% retained) + 2025 4th for Erik Brannstrom(Waived)

[Vector]

Brannstrom was actually fourth, by a margin, in PK ice-time last game with just over a minute short-handed. Myers, Soucy and Hronek handled most of it. It looks like they do intend to use Brannstrom short-handed, though.

Yeah, I was quite surprised to see him very close to Desharnais’ total PK time.

 

[HairyKneel]

McCabe and Lumme were 2nd and 3rd round picks.

Still somewhat high picks and highly regarded prospects when we brought them in.

 

[VanJack]

Actually, the Canucks may have really lucked out that Brannstrom wasn't claimed on waivers by somebody.

The reason Ottawa didn't qualify him as an RFA is that he was due a raise on a base salary of $2m a season. But he signed in Colorado as a UFA for only $900,000 a season.

It's hard to believe when the Canucks acquired him and then put him on waivers, that some bottom-feeding team wouldn't have claimed him. After all, he's still only 25 and is still an RFA heading into next season. And $900,000 is barely $150,000 over the league minimum.

So if the Canucks want to qualify him and bring him back next season, it's only going to cost them a 15 percent raise on his base salary this year. Still a bargain.

I mean where are you going to find a depth d-man with two full NHL seasons under his belt in Ottawa for a number barely above the league minimum?

 

[F A N]

I'm not arguing that it shouldn't be the right decision to keep him in the lineup.

But people seem to be assuming he's 'in the regular lineup' not and I'll be stunned if that's the case. And as discussed, playing him creates significant PK issues.

Don't disagree with your prediction here but Desharnais can switch sides on the PK or just have Brannstrom PK. At the end of the day it comes down to fielding the best lineup. If we're winning games with Brannstrom in the lineup then keep him there.

 

[Spectrefire]

i don't see how brannstrom can be a regular (on the left side at least, maybe there's a way for him to be a regular on the right side?) when hughes doesn't kill penalties and soucy is only okay shorthanded. even if hughes was a great penalty killer you can't really have your top pp guy and top ev guy also be your top pk guy. they'd fall apart

They can just have Hughes killing penalties again.

 

[lousy]

I wouldn't waste his ice time on that when he is much more productive in other situations.

 

[Billy Kvcmu]

When you really think it about it

It’s not that surprising that Brannstrom is playing well, he was very highly regarded as a prospect

The only NHL team he’s ever played for was the terrible Ottawa team with a bad HC DJ Smith who hated him cause he’s not 6’2 200lbs

 

[PlayersLtd]

When you really think it about it

It’s not that surprising that Brannstrom is playing well, he was very highly regarded as a prospect

The only NHL team he’s ever played for was the terrible Ottawa team with a bad HC DJ Smith who hated him cause he’s not 6’2 200lbs

Ottawa under DJ was routinely getting caved in our end. We were one of, if not, THE worst defensive teams in the NHL for the entirety of Brannstrom's development. This completely exposed Brannstrom's biggest weaknesses which were his strength, skating and his ability to calm the play under duress before he had any chance to work on them. Trial by fire and quite possibly the worst environment for a player like him to develop in.

On top of that yes, DJ had an affinity for large bodies. A player like Josh Brown was trusted a lot more than Brannstrom. This led to Brannstrom being yo yo'd between Belleville and Ottawa, almost to the point of torture. Just when you thought he was earning a spot in the good books, he was demoted. From a fans perspective it was painful to watch because he was such a hard worker, he was likeable and he was getting punished by larger opposition but he kept popping up and coming out for the next shift. Now, for his part Brannstrom didnt exactly force his way into a bigger role, but he deserved a fair shake and he never really got it before it was too late.

Compounding issues was that because he was hammered into working almost exclusively on the defensive side, which only exposed his weaknesses, he never really got a chance to show his strengths. As much as DJ's teams lacked in defensive systems, they also lacked in breakouts and neutral zone attack, a key part of Brannstrom's game. He never really got to show any of this partially because Ottawa was so chaotic in the defensive end, but also because there wasnt much of a transition game for him to fall into.

Lastly, he is not an offensive dynamo but let the guy build confidence and there is a capable blue line puck mover and a shifty enough player to carry the puck deep off the blue line or circle the zone. We saw flashes of this in Ottawa but he never got a chance to build momentum in this role because he was parked on the third pair and rarely got PP2 time.

All and all I wouldn't categorize it as a complete failure in player development but the environment just wasn't there for Brannstrom to come into his own. Given a capable system to work within and there is no question that there is a player there. Tocchet is one of the best at shoe horning players into his system so he could finally be given the chance to play his game. I sure hope so, there aren't many players I can think of that deserve it more. Treat him well.

 

[Peen]

They can just have Hughes killing penalties again.

The other option, which I don't get why teams don't do more often given the lack of effective two-way D & how polarized the position is with an abundance smaller offensive guys and big pk guys, is to just go 7D & 11F.

 

[Brookbank]

Actually, the Canucks may have really lucked out that Brannstrom wasn't claimed on waivers by somebody.

The reason Ottawa didn't qualify him as an RFA is that he was due a raise on a base salary of $2m a season. But he signed in Colorado as a UFA for only $900,000 a season.

It's hard to believe when the Canucks acquired him and then put him on waivers, that some bottom-feeding team wouldn't have claimed him. After all, he's still only 25 and is still an RFA heading into next season. And $900,000 is barely $150,000 over the league minimum.

So if the Canucks want to qualify him and bring him back next season, it's only going to cost them a 15 percent raise on his base salary this year. Still a bargain.

I mean where are you going to find a depth d-man with two full NHL seasons under his belt in Ottawa for a number barely above the league minimum?

So he's an RFA ? Whatever he is , we need to start negotiations and get something done. Before the agent gets ideas of pumping his value.

We were also lucky that Colorado , Edmonton and Toronto seemed to have zero interest in Lankenin.

 

[Billy Kvcmu]

Ottawa under DJ was routinely getting caved in our end. We were one of, if not, THE worst defensive teams in the NHL for the entirety of Brannstrom's development. This completely exposed Brannstrom's biggest weaknesses which were his strength, skating and his ability to calm the play under duress before he had any chance to work on them. Trial by fire and quite possibly the worst environment for a player like him to develop in.

On top of that yes, DJ had an affinity for large bodies. A player like Josh Brown was trusted a lot more than Brannstrom. This led to Brannstrom being yo yo'd between Belleville and Ottawa, almost to the point of torture. Just when you thought he was earning a spot in the good books, he was demoted. From a fans perspective it was painful to watch because he was such a hard worker, he was likeable and he was getting punished by larger opposition but he kept popping up and coming out for the next shift. Now, for his part Brannstrom didnt exactly force his way into a bigger role, but he deserved a fair shake and he never really got it before it was too late.

Compounding issues was that because he was hammered into working almost exclusively on the defensive side, which only exposed his weaknesses, he never really got a chance to show his strengths. As much as DJ's teams lacked in defensive systems, they also lacked in breakouts and neutral zone attack, a key part of Brannstrom's game. He never really got to show any of this partially because Ottawa was so chaotic in the defensive end, but also because there wasnt much of a transition game for him to fall into.

Lastly, he is not an offensive dynamo but let the guy build confidence and there is a capable blue line puck mover and a shifty enough player to carry the puck deep off the blue line or circle the zone. We saw flashes of this in Ottawa but he never got a chance to build momentum in this role because he was parked on the third pair and rarely got PP2 time.

All and all I wouldn't categorize it as a complete failure in player development but the environment just wasn't there for Brannstrom to come into his own. Given a capable system to work within and there is no question that there is a player there. Tocchet is one of the best at shoe horning players into his system so he could finally be given the chance to play his game. I sure hope so, there aren't many players I can think of that deserve it more. Treat him well.

thanks for the intails

now the biggest question is will Rick sits a veteran on a one year deal like Forbort for Brannstrom

 

[M2Beezy]

Hate that we retained 20% on Poolman in this trade, what a joke, kiss this season goodbye - Johnny C

 

[VanJack]

Tocchet pointed out in his post-game presser that Brannstrom is one of the few guys on the back-end, along with Hughes, who can 'wheel with the puck' out of their own zone.

You can see that he's still recovering from his Ottawa experience, and is trying to play it safe out there. But when he decides to take off the puck, man-oh-man is he quick. I think you'll start to see him lug and distribute the puck a lot more as he earns more an more trust and responsibility from the coaching staff.

Brannstrom may finally be in a system where he can use his first-round talent.

 

[F A N]

Tocchet pointed out in his post-game presser that Brannstrom is one of the few guys on the back-end, along with Hughes, who can 'wheel with the puck' out of their own zone.

Well ya. One look at our D and it's easy to see why.

You can see that he's still recovering from his Ottawa experience, and is trying to play it safe out there. But when he decides to take off the puck, man-oh-man is he quick. I think you'll start to see him lug and distribute the puck a lot more as he earns more an more trust and responsibility from the coaching staff.

Brannstrom may finally be in a system where he can use his first-round talent.

Well I think Brannstrom's talent is clear. He is good at moving the puck up ice. I don't think he's ever going to be great defensively but if he can cut down on his turnovers and play a more mature game he can definitely excel here.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

He seems to have fixed our 3rd pairing problem..?

 

[kanucks25]

Gotta give props to some people here and the group of Sens fans that kept banging the Brannstrom drum despite common wisdom being that he was nothing but a tweener type player.

The sample size is small, and even if he keeps this up for the entire regular season I would still need to see him in the playoffs, but so far he's given the backend a major boost with his ability to push the play forward both with his passing and skating.

I think the key to success for him will be to ride the fine line between being confident and aggressive but not doing too much. Don't be afraid to make a play but also be smart when it comes to picking his spots.

 

[bob77]

Gotta give props to some people here and the group of Sens fans that kept banging the Brannstrom drum despite common wisdom being that he was nothing but a tweener type player.

The sample size is small, and even if he keeps this up for the entire regular season I would still need to see him in the playoffs, but so far he's given the backend a major boost with his ability to push the play forward both with his passing and skating.

I think the key to success for him will be to ride the fine line between being confident and aggressive but not doing too much. Don't be afraid to make a play but also be smart when it comes to picking his spots.

The sample size is small, but he also has played the last 3 games against teams that are 7-17-3 right now. He has played well though.

 

[AlainVigneaultsGum]

Shouldn't be coming out of the lineup. If they wanna get Forbort back in, sit Vinny and try Brannstrom on the right.

 

[Agent Zuuuub]

Brannstrom always looks good on the 3rd pair and with anyone, but you guys have a player who can play in the top 4 in case of injuries and look good doing it for 900k. That shit is invaluable.

Meanwhile we're playing Travis Hamonic on the top pair lol.

But enjoy Brannstrom, he's a high IQ player and and should only benefit in a high IQ team and system.

If he gets stronger or even if he learns how to handle contact a little better. I think he is a top 4 player.

 

[kanucks25]

Meanwhile we're playing Travis Hamonic on the top pair lol.

My condolences.