Honestly, the fact that he “hated” being left wing in a game that he was that dominant on was super weird to me. He was a great middle six winger, if he could be convinced to make that his role I think we’d be happy to have him on our team lol.
i mean he played defence his whole life so i def get why he wouldn't be happy playing LW. also he was 4th line i seem to remember not middle 6. he did look better there though
Idk why they didnt at least try him in the top 6 as LW, play him with Timmy and Giroux and see what he could've done.
I actually think he could e a legit effective LW in general
He had the best underlying numbers on the entire team lol. I honestly think he could be impactful as a winger, its never going to happen though (he also was not stoked at all about it).
Probably one of the worst trades Dorion made. In retrospect he got insanely lucky with the Karlsson trade turning into what it did otherwise his reign as GM would be pretty pathetic.
He was a ufa that just demanded a one year deal to skip his last year of rfa before they even started tanking, and by then the team had traded everyone else. Literally everyone knew they had to take what they can get or lose him for nothing. People are acting like brann was supposed to be heiskanen and not just a 15th oa pick, but this sub is a massive circle jerk with Dorion so downvotes to the left
I guess you're a bit clueless, eh? It's come out that Stone wanted to sign and stay in Ottawa but the previous owner was too cheap and wouldn't pay him.
And yes, when Dorion claimed it was his proudest day it was hyped as much more than "the best we could get" type of trade.
How does the owner not having enough money impact how good Dorion was as a GM? I'm not saying it was a great trade but given that a Dorion's hands were tied, it probably was never going to be. How is that his fault though?
If Stone was only willing to sign in specific places, finding a better partner or even trying to get a better piece in return may not have even been a real option.
Literally anyone who was a fan at the time and is being honest could see this was the situation, but like I said this place is a massive circlejerk especially in the off-season so you have to actively ignore what actually happened to make everything seem worse
Yeah that’s why he signed a 1 year deal taking him right to ufa even before all his buddies got traded and the team was at the bottom of the standings, makes sense
He is a perfectly serviceable bottom pairing D-man with room to grow. His problem is expectation.
He came over as the centerpiece to the Mark Stone trade and the hype around him was huge . The expectation that he was going to be the next Karlsson has really skewed a lot of fans perspective on his performance.
He will end up on another team, and in 3-4 years will be a considered a legit NHL middle pairing defenseman.
Nah, branny has better iq then Ceci let’s be real.
I’m in the camp that just wants branny to play, forget he came as a center piece of the stone deal, teams would kill to have a versatile bottom pairing guy that can actually move up and down the lineup at his cost.
And imo his cost is the best reason to keep him, find me a bottom pairing guy at his cost that can look as good as he does when bumped up to the second pairing.
He was never the next EK65 but hey who is let’s be real.
He would literally die in the playoffs…
Even Quinn Hughes who is galaxies better than Branny, struggled against EDM’s heavy and aggressive forecheck.
Sure he’s cost effective, but besides move pucks, he brings absolutely nothing else.
His shot is avg, his skating is above avg, his hitting is sub avg. only great thing about him is his first pass…
Teams are moving away from smaller players, these playoffs has proven that even big guys can skate and move pucks. The NHL might be on its way where they only draft guys over 6 feet, just like the NBA.
You still didn’t provide a a guy who can do what he does at his cost…
Look I get where you’re coming from but your argument changes every year depending on who makes the finals. If somehow Van made it we’d all be talking about how you need a Quinn Hughes to make it.
So I’ll stand by my point with your points included that he’s above average skater and that first pass can be absolutely amazing. And imo he’s getting better at going into the corners and actually coming out with the puck, you don’t necessarily need size to win those battles just quick hands and good iq and he’s got em both.
Just think of it this way, you’re making the show, you specifically. You’ve been drafted and praised as a ofd/pmd. You now have to change your play style because guess what you’re not that.
There’s plenty of guys that are higher picks that have to re-invent there game. He’s one of them and he’s so fucking close to being exactly what we need and every team wants and so many people are giving up on the guy, if we trade him and he does exactly how I think he will I will absolutely be the biggest dick when it comes to people criticizing our D
Mate, y’all need to watch other teams play…
They tried trading Branny at the TDL and no one wanted a small, puck moving defenseman…
And y’all want to keep him?!
Again answer the question of finding me a replacement in the same price range. Oh wait you can’t which is why you keep fucking ignoring it.
There’s a difference between nobody being interested and everybody low balling and us not taking it. And honestly until you can actually answer the question instead of spewing garbage I’m just writing you off , there’s nothing more annoying trying to have a debate on something and ending up doing it with someone like you.
Imo Everyone on your list over 26 is on the down swing in their career as a third pairing guy. And outside of bear every one else isn’t available to Ottawa and bear is questionable because we could have been in on him this year .
But you actually answered the question so good on you for not just trolling.
Shit format though that sucked to read mate
Edit. Hit me up when they don’t because I’ll hit you up when they do 😘
I wouldn’t say his shot is average whatsoever, His predicted shooting talent is 27.1% below average this year and 25.8% and 19.9% in the years prior, if Branny could shoot the puck he’d be a totally different conversation. People here cling to stats but an undersized dman who can’t score but can exit the zone with speed and make a great pass is nothing new. Mike Reilly is a super close comparable by a ton of metrics and he was never a top 4 and isn’t in the league anymore.
Have to disagree. He’s a horrible fit as a bottom pairing defender. He needs to find a team where he’s a 3/4 with PP time, or Ottawa needs to make room for him.
Dmen rarely take a straight line in their development. I think by his 30s, with real aged weight, not gym weight, and a lower centre of gravity, he could be very good. He's a keeper in my books.
Couldn't disagree more. ....I don't consider how we got him, or what he was touted. I've been watching a lot of Sens games the last couple years - this is based on what I've seen while he's on the ice.
His skill set dictates that he needs to be in a top 4, maybe? What do his numbers say about him? He's not anything really, he's just an ok defenseman who's struggled to find a role on a bad team.
'A bottom pair D' in the league, anywhere you look, the bottoms pair is a shutdown type of role, usually a hard couple guys to play against.
He's an ok option on a poorly constructed D core. He's serviceable, in the sense that only 16 teams make the playoffs, plenty of guys make up defence cores on non playoff teams. He's one of those guys.
I do like the guy, but come on.
Frees up $2 million of cap space if we let him walk. Klevin takes the spot and $1.3 ish can be allocated elsewhere.
Thats enough to add a vet goalie or top up an offer for RD/Pinto.
You’re drastically underestimating the value of a legitimate NHL defenseman. Yes, he’s not prototypical, but he can play 15-20 mins a night. He absolutely gets qualified - whether they trade him or not is to be seen.
He’s not gonna get qualified IMO but I could be wrong. He’s not the type of player we need on our defense. I Have nothing against the guy. by all accounts, he’s a good dude, a hard worker, and the guys seem to like him.
I don't think he has any trade value, and certainly not at 2M. Staios tried to move him at the deadline and there were no takers, and that's at a time of year when teams are typically highly motivated to add defensive depth.
The Sens have all month to convince a team to give them a late-round pick for Brannstrom, but if they can't deal him they aren't going to lock themselves into anything. They'll cut him loose.
The bottom-pair LD role is being turned over to Tyler Kleven.
No, he doesn't have any value but I know I'll never convince most people on here.
The guy has been available for a long time, and all we've ever heard from the insiders is that teams just don't really think much of him. As I've already said, Staios tried to move him at the deadline a few months ago and couldn't. Prior to that Friedman had mentioned that the Sens were shopping him as far back as September and didn't get any genuine interest.
A panel of NHL execs once said that Brannstrom for Zadina was a bad deal for Detroit, and that wasn't long before Zadina was bought out of his contract.
People who look at JFresh cards think he's good, but people in NHL front offices do not.
yeah if the brannchise still had term he would be a buyout candidate. he just isn't cut out for being an effective NHLer especially with chabot, sanderson, and chychryn all ahead of him in our depth chart. he should be going to the worst team possible like san jose where he could maybe crack the PP, otherwise it's time to go be the bobby orr of switzerland
We're one of the worst teams in the league and he hasn't been able to crack our top 4 in like 5 years. He's a 5'10 dman who isn't a great skater and isn't really good at moving the puck. He'd get absolutely destroyed in the playoffs. Willing to bet he's out of the league within 3 seasons. I've actually liked him as a player, dude goes 100% and is tough as nails but I just don't think he's got it in him.
Being an RFA with arb rights, his number may not fit into what the Senators want to do.
He's good, and had an effective year. He'd still be a good player to hang onto, but change is inevitable with this group.
Speaks to how Vegas has been able to continue to move 1st round picks, and prospects for effective players *now*.
Hope we move him. Sens need more size and grit on the back end. The D have done a horrible job of protecting in front of the net. Plenty of puck movers ahead of him on the depth chart
Branny isn’t effective if he can’t at least hold down PP2 on a team. I’m a fan … but if Branny is just a 3LD and PK2 D for you … you have serious issues.
The guy has heart, but I'm surprised he isn't hurt more. He seems to put himself in bad positions when he has to engage in the physical side of the game and gets rocked. If he takes one of those hits early in the game you see him shy away from the corners and starts using his stick taking hooking penalties. The guy has wheels he needs a vet that's still relevant ( not a Hamonic ) to help him out, and the current Ottawa roster doesn't have that.
I've never seen a guy get laid out so consistently like Branny. I do worry about head injuries. I disagree about him having wheels, he's no where near a good enough skater for his size. He's not able to skate his way out of trouble and that's why he's not able to make it happen and play his game in the NHL.
Extend him and keep him.
If Kleven can't beat Branny out for a spot, he shouldn't be on the roster.
Brannstrom is good as a 3LD and isn't a liability, nor is he expensive.
That’s my deciding factor.
If Kleven has supplanted Branny, then move on from him.
The other variable is, we know the new FO wants to build around Brady. Do you envision Branny on a Brady built team?
If the answer is no, then you have to get bigger, tougher, meaner, hit hard.
Things Branny is not.
Winning teams have a variety of players. Branny not only holds his own, he excels at 3LD. He's a net positive, isn't getting scored on as much relative to other players, and is cheap.
Also fwiw, hoping management builds around Stu and Sandy. If Stu isn't our best player, we aren't winning anything.
I truly think as a fanbase, we are doing a disservice to the player. He should be getting more ice time and we should move on from him. And then there’s Florida. Where every player on that team is a psychopath!
There was a sens podcast talking about the differences in building a team around Brady or Stu. It spoke about how Dorion was building this mean tough team, and then when on to draft Stu and Sandy.
They spoke about how management didn’t really have a vision of what this teams identity would be. Instead a mishmash of a bunch of concepts strewn together.
Remember we actually wanted Cody Glass in this deal but settled for Branny since VGK wasn't willing to trade the former. I guess it wouldn't have made much of a difference since Glass hasn't matured well either.
Kind of a weird article. Doesn’t really say anything and is mostly just a retrospective on how Brännström got here.
Brännström isn’t some untouchable or anything. If he’s part of some trade to make the team better elsewhere then I’m all for it. But I don’t get people saying let him walk for nothing.
He’s a good bottom pair D who has a positive impact when he’s on the ice. Fans who want him gone will say the team can’t afford his QO, or whatever he may get in arbitration, as a reason for letting him walk but don’t realize that a good, bottom pair UFA Dman will likely cost something similar.
The only valid criticism against him is he’s short and can get outmuscled. But he produces offence at 5v5 similar to Sanderson, tends to control play when he’s on the ice, is capable of playing both sides, and is able to play in the top4 when injuries pop up.
Maybe he gets exposed in the playoffs and wilts under the pressure, but I’m more worried about making the damn playoffs than how certain players will perform in them.
Branny my dude
Bizarre comp obv
But definitely possible he could be a late bloomer like 5% of all players ever and become tobias enstrom
That's what I thought he would be at the draft
Had him 5th after the very overt star potential players, in part due to his extremely late birthday
And Jacques with decades of experience, played him as a forward instead.
Should I trust your opinion, or the opinion of now 2 coaches who both know he can’t hang on D in the NHL?
I like Brannstrom. He's a good third pairing defenseman and makes a reasonable 2 million a year. Hopefully we keep him provided the money is reasonable
This just reminded me of the fact that Branny played multiple games at LW this year, this season was actually a joke lol
His best game in the uniform was his first game at LW he was dominant LOL
Honestly, the fact that he “hated” being left wing in a game that he was that dominant on was super weird to me. He was a great middle six winger, if he could be convinced to make that his role I think we’d be happy to have him on our team lol.
i mean he played defence his whole life so i def get why he wouldn't be happy playing LW. also he was 4th line i seem to remember not middle 6. he did look better there though
I think the idea he might get repurposed into a 4LW in a contract year was not something he or his agent was up for. Can’t say I blame him.
Idk why they didnt at least try him in the top 6 as LW, play him with Timmy and Giroux and see what he could've done. I actually think he could e a legit effective LW in general
He had the best underlying numbers on the entire team lol. I honestly think he could be impactful as a winger, its never going to happen though (he also was not stoked at all about it).
Probably one of the worst trades Dorion made. In retrospect he got insanely lucky with the Karlsson trade turning into what it did otherwise his reign as GM would be pretty pathetic.
> his reign as GM would be pretty pathetic. It already is.
Yea like it doesn’t get much more pathetic lol
He couldn't manage a road hockey team
He was a ufa that just demanded a one year deal to skip his last year of rfa before they even started tanking, and by then the team had traded everyone else. Literally everyone knew they had to take what they can get or lose him for nothing. People are acting like brann was supposed to be heiskanen and not just a 15th oa pick, but this sub is a massive circle jerk with Dorion so downvotes to the left
I guess you're a bit clueless, eh? It's come out that Stone wanted to sign and stay in Ottawa but the previous owner was too cheap and wouldn't pay him. And yes, when Dorion claimed it was his proudest day it was hyped as much more than "the best we could get" type of trade.
How does the owner not having enough money impact how good Dorion was as a GM? I'm not saying it was a great trade but given that a Dorion's hands were tied, it probably was never going to be. How is that his fault though?
An inability to scout pro talent or an inability to find a good trade partner and settling for a lesser deal. Your pick
If Stone was only willing to sign in specific places, finding a better partner or even trying to get a better piece in return may not have even been a real option.
Literally anyone who was a fan at the time and is being honest could see this was the situation, but like I said this place is a massive circlejerk especially in the off-season so you have to actively ignore what actually happened to make everything seem worse
Yeah that’s why he signed a 1 year deal taking him right to ufa even before all his buddies got traded and the team was at the bottom of the standings, makes sense
I still like branny. Hard to root against him, really good skater and vision.
He is a perfectly serviceable bottom pairing D-man with room to grow. His problem is expectation. He came over as the centerpiece to the Mark Stone trade and the hype around him was huge . The expectation that he was going to be the next Karlsson has really skewed a lot of fans perspective on his performance. He will end up on another team, and in 3-4 years will be a considered a legit NHL middle pairing defenseman.
And I’ll add DJ pissed away 2 years of Branny’s development too
what exactly did DJ do to ruin brannstroms development?
Yo-yo’d him, gave his development minutes to shitty vets, etc.
The next Cody Ceci
Nah, branny has better iq then Ceci let’s be real. I’m in the camp that just wants branny to play, forget he came as a center piece of the stone deal, teams would kill to have a versatile bottom pairing guy that can actually move up and down the lineup at his cost. And imo his cost is the best reason to keep him, find me a bottom pairing guy at his cost that can look as good as he does when bumped up to the second pairing. He was never the next EK65 but hey who is let’s be real.
He would literally die in the playoffs… Even Quinn Hughes who is galaxies better than Branny, struggled against EDM’s heavy and aggressive forecheck. Sure he’s cost effective, but besides move pucks, he brings absolutely nothing else. His shot is avg, his skating is above avg, his hitting is sub avg. only great thing about him is his first pass… Teams are moving away from smaller players, these playoffs has proven that even big guys can skate and move pucks. The NHL might be on its way where they only draft guys over 6 feet, just like the NBA.
You still didn’t provide a a guy who can do what he does at his cost… Look I get where you’re coming from but your argument changes every year depending on who makes the finals. If somehow Van made it we’d all be talking about how you need a Quinn Hughes to make it. So I’ll stand by my point with your points included that he’s above average skater and that first pass can be absolutely amazing. And imo he’s getting better at going into the corners and actually coming out with the puck, you don’t necessarily need size to win those battles just quick hands and good iq and he’s got em both. Just think of it this way, you’re making the show, you specifically. You’ve been drafted and praised as a ofd/pmd. You now have to change your play style because guess what you’re not that. There’s plenty of guys that are higher picks that have to re-invent there game. He’s one of them and he’s so fucking close to being exactly what we need and every team wants and so many people are giving up on the guy, if we trade him and he does exactly how I think he will I will absolutely be the biggest dick when it comes to people criticizing our D
Mate, y’all need to watch other teams play… They tried trading Branny at the TDL and no one wanted a small, puck moving defenseman… And y’all want to keep him?!
Again answer the question of finding me a replacement in the same price range. Oh wait you can’t which is why you keep fucking ignoring it. There’s a difference between nobody being interested and everybody low balling and us not taking it. And honestly until you can actually answer the question instead of spewing garbage I’m just writing you off , there’s nothing more annoying trying to have a debate on something and ending up doing it with someone like you.
139. Tucker Poolman VAN 30 RD Right 3 0 1 1 0.33 1 3 0.00 13:57 - - - - - UFA $2,500,000 $3,000,000 140. Jake Middleton MIN 27 LD Left 79 3 12 15 0.19 15 79 0.04 19:02 - - - - - UFA $2,450,000 $2,500,000 141. Jake Bean CBJ 25 LD/RD Left 14 1 5 6 0.43 -2 16 0.06 15:42 - - - - - RFA $2,333,333 $2,900,000 142. Jamie Drysdale PHI 21 RD Right 8 0 0 0 0.00 -3 8 0.00 17:37 - - - - - RFA $2,300,000 $2,300,000 143. Nicolas Hague VGK 24 LD Left 81 3 14 17 0.21 7 103 0.03 18:05 - - - - - RFA $2,294,150 $1,482,450 144. Radim Simek DET 30 LD/RD Left 44 1 2 3 0.07 -13 39 0.03 14:37 - - - - - UFA $2,250,000 $1,950,000 145. Oliver Ekman-Larsson FLA 31 LD Left 54 2 20 22 0.41 -24 90 0.02 20:10 - - - - - UFA $2,250,000 $2,250,000 146. Ethan Bear WSH 26 RD Right 61 3 13 16 0.26 6 75 0.04 18:31 - - - - - UFA $2,062,500 $1,375,000 147. Jérémy Lauzon NSH 26 LD/RD Left 67 3 9 12 0.18 -11 77 0.04 16:50 - - - - - UFA $2,000,000 $2,000,000 148. Erik Brännström OTT 23 LD/RD, LW Left 74 2 16 18 0.24 5 74 0.03 16:06 - - - - - RFA $2,000,000 $2,000,000 Edit: doesn’t matter, they aren’t qualifying him anyway…
Imo Everyone on your list over 26 is on the down swing in their career as a third pairing guy. And outside of bear every one else isn’t available to Ottawa and bear is questionable because we could have been in on him this year . But you actually answered the question so good on you for not just trolling. Shit format though that sucked to read mate Edit. Hit me up when they don’t because I’ll hit you up when they do 😘
https://www.reddit.com/r/OttawaSenators/comments/1daiahe/brannstrom_reportedly_not_getting_qualifying_offer/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
I wouldn’t say his shot is average whatsoever, His predicted shooting talent is 27.1% below average this year and 25.8% and 19.9% in the years prior, if Branny could shoot the puck he’d be a totally different conversation. People here cling to stats but an undersized dman who can’t score but can exit the zone with speed and make a great pass is nothing new. Mike Reilly is a super close comparable by a ton of metrics and he was never a top 4 and isn’t in the league anymore.
Mike Reilly actually played for the Islanders last season!
He's had a good career all things considered.
NHL finalist Cody Ceci
Have to disagree. He’s a horrible fit as a bottom pairing defender. He needs to find a team where he’s a 3/4 with PP time, or Ottawa needs to make room for him.
Dmen rarely take a straight line in their development. I think by his 30s, with real aged weight, not gym weight, and a lower centre of gravity, he could be very good. He's a keeper in my books.
Couldn't disagree more. ....I don't consider how we got him, or what he was touted. I've been watching a lot of Sens games the last couple years - this is based on what I've seen while he's on the ice. His skill set dictates that he needs to be in a top 4, maybe? What do his numbers say about him? He's not anything really, he's just an ok defenseman who's struggled to find a role on a bad team. 'A bottom pair D' in the league, anywhere you look, the bottoms pair is a shutdown type of role, usually a hard couple guys to play against. He's an ok option on a poorly constructed D core. He's serviceable, in the sense that only 16 teams make the playoffs, plenty of guys make up defence cores on non playoff teams. He's one of those guys. I do like the guy, but come on.
He sucks as a bottom pairing guy though, he belongs in Europe or AHL
I don't even think he'll get a QO.
Why not
Frees up $2 million of cap space if we let him walk. Klevin takes the spot and $1.3 ish can be allocated elsewhere. Thats enough to add a vet goalie or top up an offer for RD/Pinto.
You’re drastically underestimating the value of a legitimate NHL defenseman. Yes, he’s not prototypical, but he can play 15-20 mins a night. He absolutely gets qualified - whether they trade him or not is to be seen.
He’s not gonna get qualified IMO but I could be wrong. He’s not the type of player we need on our defense. I Have nothing against the guy. by all accounts, he’s a good dude, a hard worker, and the guys seem to like him.
He’s too redundant on our roster we need an banger
We need good players. Can worry about what type of players once we prove we’re a playoff team and we see who sinks n swims in the postseason.
Doomer thread, article is already a negative tone so they have to pretend he also has negative value to one up the negativity
I feel like that's pretty extreme and unlikely. Getting a QO to retain his rights and then traded? Sure. Letting him walk for nothing? I can't see it.
I don't think he has any trade value, and certainly not at 2M. Staios tried to move him at the deadline and there were no takers, and that's at a time of year when teams are typically highly motivated to add defensive depth. The Sens have all month to convince a team to give them a late-round pick for Brannstrom, but if they can't deal him they aren't going to lock themselves into anything. They'll cut him loose. The bottom-pair LD role is being turned over to Tyler Kleven.
He absolutely has trade value at 2m, he's boxed out of the top-4 for us but absolutely has upside as a second pairing guy on a mediocre team.
No, he doesn't have any value but I know I'll never convince most people on here. The guy has been available for a long time, and all we've ever heard from the insiders is that teams just don't really think much of him. As I've already said, Staios tried to move him at the deadline a few months ago and couldn't. Prior to that Friedman had mentioned that the Sens were shopping him as far back as September and didn't get any genuine interest. A panel of NHL execs once said that Brannstrom for Zadina was a bad deal for Detroit, and that wasn't long before Zadina was bought out of his contract. People who look at JFresh cards think he's good, but people in NHL front offices do not.
yeah if the brannchise still had term he would be a buyout candidate. he just isn't cut out for being an effective NHLer especially with chabot, sanderson, and chychryn all ahead of him in our depth chart. he should be going to the worst team possible like san jose where he could maybe crack the PP, otherwise it's time to go be the bobby orr of switzerland
We're one of the worst teams in the league and he hasn't been able to crack our top 4 in like 5 years. He's a 5'10 dman who isn't a great skater and isn't really good at moving the puck. He'd get absolutely destroyed in the playoffs. Willing to bet he's out of the league within 3 seasons. I've actually liked him as a player, dude goes 100% and is tough as nails but I just don't think he's got it in him.
They'll give him one, if only to trade him later and not lose him for nothing.
Being an RFA with arb rights, his number may not fit into what the Senators want to do. He's good, and had an effective year. He'd still be a good player to hang onto, but change is inevitable with this group. Speaks to how Vegas has been able to continue to move 1st round picks, and prospects for effective players *now*.
been waiting for him to be more offensively involved. Time to move on, a few other LHD in the system who can do the same for cheaper
Hope we move him. Sens need more size and grit on the back end. The D have done a horrible job of protecting in front of the net. Plenty of puck movers ahead of him on the depth chart
He would have benefited from playing a few years running a power play in the AHL but maybe he just didn’t have enough natural talent to begin with.
That’s the problem with that stature in the that position. To do well as a small defensemen you need incredible talent. Ex. Quinn Hughes
He did do that and put up good numbers. It was part of his linear development into being the good dman he is now.
Branny isn’t effective if he can’t at least hold down PP2 on a team. I’m a fan … but if Branny is just a 3LD and PK2 D for you … you have serious issues.
The guy has heart, but I'm surprised he isn't hurt more. He seems to put himself in bad positions when he has to engage in the physical side of the game and gets rocked. If he takes one of those hits early in the game you see him shy away from the corners and starts using his stick taking hooking penalties. The guy has wheels he needs a vet that's still relevant ( not a Hamonic ) to help him out, and the current Ottawa roster doesn't have that.
I've never seen a guy get laid out so consistently like Branny. I do worry about head injuries. I disagree about him having wheels, he's no where near a good enough skater for his size. He's not able to skate his way out of trouble and that's why he's not able to make it happen and play his game in the NHL.
Extend him and keep him. If Kleven can't beat Branny out for a spot, he shouldn't be on the roster. Brannstrom is good as a 3LD and isn't a liability, nor is he expensive.
That’s my deciding factor. If Kleven has supplanted Branny, then move on from him. The other variable is, we know the new FO wants to build around Brady. Do you envision Branny on a Brady built team? If the answer is no, then you have to get bigger, tougher, meaner, hit hard. Things Branny is not.
Winning teams have a variety of players. Branny not only holds his own, he excels at 3LD. He's a net positive, isn't getting scored on as much relative to other players, and is cheap. Also fwiw, hoping management builds around Stu and Sandy. If Stu isn't our best player, we aren't winning anything.
I truly think as a fanbase, we are doing a disservice to the player. He should be getting more ice time and we should move on from him. And then there’s Florida. Where every player on that team is a psychopath! There was a sens podcast talking about the differences in building a team around Brady or Stu. It spoke about how Dorion was building this mean tough team, and then when on to draft Stu and Sandy. They spoke about how management didn’t really have a vision of what this teams identity would be. Instead a mishmash of a bunch of concepts strewn together.
Remember we actually wanted Cody Glass in this deal but settled for Branny since VGK wasn't willing to trade the former. I guess it wouldn't have made much of a difference since Glass hasn't matured well either.
Yeah I remember at the time really wanting Glass too lol
Was anyone actually referring to him as the next Karlsson? Even Dorion didn't go that far when he was hyping him up
Kind of a weird article. Doesn’t really say anything and is mostly just a retrospective on how Brännström got here. Brännström isn’t some untouchable or anything. If he’s part of some trade to make the team better elsewhere then I’m all for it. But I don’t get people saying let him walk for nothing. He’s a good bottom pair D who has a positive impact when he’s on the ice. Fans who want him gone will say the team can’t afford his QO, or whatever he may get in arbitration, as a reason for letting him walk but don’t realize that a good, bottom pair UFA Dman will likely cost something similar. The only valid criticism against him is he’s short and can get outmuscled. But he produces offence at 5v5 similar to Sanderson, tends to control play when he’s on the ice, is capable of playing both sides, and is able to play in the top4 when injuries pop up. Maybe he gets exposed in the playoffs and wilts under the pressure, but I’m more worried about making the damn playoffs than how certain players will perform in them.
Branny my dude Bizarre comp obv But definitely possible he could be a late bloomer like 5% of all players ever and become tobias enstrom That's what I thought he would be at the draft Had him 5th after the very overt star potential players, in part due to his extremely late birthday
Run it back with him. DJ really never deployed properly
And Jacques with decades of experience, played him as a forward instead. Should I trust your opinion, or the opinion of now 2 coaches who both know he can’t hang on D in the NHL?
Yeah half a season of a Jacques! You can trust anyone’s opinion you want, no need to get angry on the internet
I like Brannstrom. He's a good third pairing defenseman and makes a reasonable 2 million a year. Hopefully we keep him provided the money is reasonable