New penguin Erik Gudbranson

It is February 26, which means we have passed the 2018-2019 deadline and we have all survived the legacy of Executive Director Jim Rutherford for defenseman Erik Gudbranson. Everyone deserves a pat on the back for that.

Now that we are in a new day and have a fresh start, we are now focusing on the Penguins and their extremely important match tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets – a game that has a ton of divisional positions and implications for the playoffs.

Due to the madness of the deadline, we've never really had the opportunity to let the dust settle (and claws retract) Gudbranson's trade and break down the pros and cons of l & # 39; acquisition.

Gudbranson is now part of a new team. He deserves a clean slate and a fair shot. But that does not erase the negative reputation that accompanies it. To find the right balance, I will start with the disadvantages, because they have been thoroughly exposed by almost all statisticians, analysts and drummers under the sun – including us. Then, I will familiarize myself with the benefits and emphasize the part or parts of his game that the Penguins can actually use.

The bad

In an attempt to quickly move this huge dagger into the heart of the problem, I will begin by telling him that plus-minus is almost useless in this hockey era because of its deceptive nature and its many levels of inaccuracy. However, when a player has extremes at one or the other end of the spectrum, it should be mentioned. The plus-minus figures of Gudbranson are quite shocking and have always been negative on the negative side during his stays in Florida and Vancouver.

I will give you two numbers: minus 49 and minus 48.

The first is Gudbranson's plus-minus with the Panthers for five seasons, during which he played 309 games. The second, his figures in just under three years with the Canucks, in which he played 139 games, one year after a three-year contract extension (!).

As our friends from Nucks Misconduct told him in his farewell message:

"It's really a great day for the Canucks to advance and improve their defense by getting rid of the guy who, just about every measurable statistic, was the worst defender in the NHL."

Another big drawback is the amount of the penalties inflicted on Gudbranson. While it's important to have a physical element in your game, playing the defense should be the first priority for an NHL defenseman. He led the Canucks in the penalty minutes with 46 out of 15 penalties and misconduct, beating the second-ranked player by 11. He will take penalties because he ends up being caught off guard, but not so much after. hissing scrums. Hopefully this last point will be postponed to Pittsburgh. Gudbranson strikes, he fights and the fans will cheer him, but his numerous statistics accumulated over the years suggest that he will also play very badly in the defensive zone and will spend a lot of time sitting in the surface, or worse until more game misconduct.

Over the recap of the Nucks Misconduct game, any mention of Gudbranson was greeted with typical PIM indignation and puck watching as the opposition scored. If you're a masochist, browse their Twitter feed and try not to flinch.

For the 2018-1919 season and his 57 games played, his advanced stats (especially with respect to ice performances) are abominable. He has a percentage of 43.45 Corsi For (6th only because he has participated in more than 20 games more than players who have a number less than 300 minutes of TOI), a total of 28 goals against the higher danger, a second place. ranking in scoring chances against with 496, and a 59-goal lead against. Basically, it does not remove the offensive of the opposing teams effectively – it's not a good look for a man.

While Chad Ruhwedel, who has been strong enough for the Penguins since his re-entry into the squad, Gudbranson is ranked lower than him and Ruhwedel is a substitute and a career No. 7 defender. Gudbranson contributes only in the 45th percentile in forced splits for 60 people, the 25th percentile in allowed entries to the allowed possession out of 60 and the 59th percentile in allowed entries to the allowed possession – a complete sequence 10% less than that of Ruhwedel .

Data from Corey Sznajder, ie from CJ Tutoro

Conversely, what he lacks in defense also hinders his performance on the ice at the end of the attack. In fact, it does not contribute at all to the offense. This is not surprising considering his M.O. As a defenseman in the defense (a dying race in the NHL today), it surely does not make sense to deploy him into the Penguins system led by Mike Sullivan. In 109 games in total with the Canucks, he has only 13 points (four goals, nine assists). Gudbranson has the second worst goal. Percentage percentage with 34.44 and odds of scoring for 38.61, beaten only by Brandon Sutter, who has played in 38 games less than him.

As for its less than ideal contractual terms, our own Adam Gretz talked about this Monday night.

To evaluate Gudbranson from the viewer's point of view rather than simply presenting you with his advanced metrics, I've also bent the ear of Acting Editor Kent Basky of Nucks Misconduct in order to provide a more detailed context:

"I think the best way to describe Guddy is that he would have been a star in the '80s. He's slow. He's making bad choices (including continuing the strikes and chilling the puck by taking the time to think about the best options available), he's not as physical as we've suggested, and he does not really seem to master the game evolves. He plays as a player five or six years older than him. "

Basky mentioned that Gudbranson was not as physical as everyone believes and that one of the things that would have been said to Vancouver fans when Gudbranson had arrived was his willingness to fight and defend his teammates (that sounded familiar?). a handful of leftovers while he was there and they were rarely memorable, except for the one with Matt Martin last season, where he shouted a death threat in the locker room that had been apprehended by reporters.

As for the context that goes along with his poor statistics on the ice, Gudbranson sounds a bell similar to the criticisms concerning Jack Johnson:

"It had come to the point this season where it was a real surprise if someone was scoring on the Canucks and he was not on the ice, and even more so if the Canucks scored and he was. "

I will conclude with the fact that the Canucks launched their first shutout in almost a calendar year in the first game they played after the transaction. To be honest, they were still outmatched and played against the Ducks, but Vancouver's defense was much tighter in front of Jacob Markstrom.

Good

Before scratching the bottom of the barrel for positive attributes, I want to formally thank the Vancouver Canucks, not for Gudbranson, but for Jared McCann. Curiously, the fact that Gudbranson first went to Vancouver, was bought by McCann as a potential customer and future 18-year-old at the time, in 2016. Everything was looped, backwards .

Again from Nucks Misconduct:

"Even if Jared McCann did not score the goal, you have to imagine he still has a place on the Canucks team. Gudbranson … he could not even get into the top four Canucks with Chris Tanev and Alex Edler on the injured reserve. In other words: it is bad. The acquisition of Gudbranson reflected Benning and Linden's obsession with culture and character. He was a player on whom we counted for tenacity, courage and responsibility. You can affirm that he provided these things … but you can also state that he did not provide much else. "

As for the positives on Gudbranson, fans have never doubted his presence in the room. He was appreciated by his teammates and the Vancouver media always praised him. Gudbranson is also a real force in the community (it's a huge thing because the Sedins are setting the bar very high for community participation), which will be a real bonus for the Penguins and their charitable prospects. . But none of this wins the hockey games and he will have to play minutes at the helm if he does not want to be effective at all.

Rutherford said he wished a player like Gudbranson was greeted with honest critics. The league is no longer oriented in this determined direction. However, he finished second on Vancouver with 121 hits and sixth on blocked shots with 45 hits. I do not know how confident I am to inflict a penalty if his defense is more holistic than Swiss cheese (the Canucks did not seem to do that), but there is some merit here.

I leave you all with an astonishing and brutally candid quote from Basky:

"I think every time the Jim Benning era comes to an end here, it will be best known for acquiring Gudbranson and Loui Eriksson (both of whom came to the Canucks at the same time) as the first time. Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes. I think that they've reduced their losses on Guddy after last season, Benning looks a lot better, but the fact that he's set up seasons where he's been getting less and less good, then that. It has been re-signed, is a very bad look. "

Let's hope that Rutherford will not have the same perception, despite the Stanley Cup victory with the Penguins, if he continues to die on this hill built on courage and character.

(All statistics and data are courtesy of Natural trick)