The Ottawa Senators announced this afternoon that they have acquired Erik Gudbranson from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a 2021 5th round pick. Gudbranson, who is entering the final year of a contract that carries a cap hit of $4-million, is due to be paid only $3-million in actual cash this season.
Aside from the cap-hit-to-actual-salary delta and admirable off-ice character attributes, Gudbranson is unlikely to bring much else to Ottawa’s back end. His size and decade-old draft pedigree have led to team after team ignoring his truly underwhelming underlying numbers. So far, it hasn't ended well for any of them:
🙃🙂🙃 pic.twitter.com/hKBJ22Fp7H
— EvolvingWild (@EvolvingWild) October 8, 2020
While the on-ice weaknesses inherent in this acquisition aren’t really debatable, some have been quick to make the argument that filling a roster spot with Gudbranson doesn’t really impact the Senators’ development plans. Names like Jake Sanderson, Lassi Thomson, and Jacob Bernard-Docker weren’t going to take roster spots this year anyways, so it makes sense to bring in a high-character player like Gudbranson on a short-term basis. Or, so the argument goes.
My problem with that line of thinking really boils down to the need to create an environment conducive to the development of the forward prospects that the team is expecting to integrate this year. Whether it’s the newly-drafted Tim Stutzle, or Josh Norris, or Logan Brown, or Alex Formenton, or Drake Batherson, or whoever else, the Senators need to put these players in a position to succeed. A right-side defence that consists of Nikita Zaitsev, Erik Gudbranson, and unknowns like Artyom Zub and Josh Brown, probably isn’t going to create that environment. Forwards are going to have a tough time developing when a) the blue line can’t get them the puck, and b) they spend all their time in the defensive end.
With all the options expected to be available either via trade or free agency this offseason, this trade just feels like a lateral move at its absolute best.
As always, thanks for reading.