Todd Cordell
There are a few candidates but Erik Gudbranson stands out the most to me.
For whatever reason, he seems to be highly regarded as an effective shutdown defenseman but that couldn't be further from the truth.
He is a big time anchor in possession – he's never posted positive numbers relative to the team – and only once in seven seasons has his team fared better in the goal department with him on the ice than without. That year the difference was negligible.
He brings absolutely nothing to the table offensively and his defensive impact is vastly overstated. If anything, it's been negative.
I wouldn't trade any remotely valuable asset for him and, in Vancouver's case, I certainly wouldn't be trying to re-sign him.
Peter Tessier I was going to say Dion Phaneuf but that ship sailed. Gudbranson seems like an obvious choice but I would also suggest Jack Johnson and Kevin Bieksa as two more to avoid. If you look at all the pending UFA defence players there's more than a few who will stand out as obvious players to avoid so when does the bet on who acquires one of them happen?
Oh right...too late again.
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