Gustav Forsling is Florida's third-highest overall defenseman in NHL 24. However, he should be rated the highest considering his play in the NHL playoffs.
Gustav Forsling is having a coming-out party on the blueline for the Panthers in these Stanley Cup Playoffs. Fresh off an eight-year, $46 million dollar contract extension that he signed back in March of this year, Forsling is showing the hockey world why Florida invested in him for that long.
In NHL 24, the Finnish defenseman is the third-highest overall blueliner on the Florida Panthers at 86. Only Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad rank above him at 87.
This isn’t to say that those two defensemen deserve to have their overalls decreased, it’s more of a purpose to bring light as to how impactful Forsling has been and why he should be rated the highest defenseman on Florida.
He ranks fourth in playoff scoring amongst all defensemen with 11 points in 16 games. In the Eastern Conference Finals against the Rangers, Forsling has the most points by a defenseman with four. Also, he doesn’t get any powerplay time and collects his points at even strength.
Gustav leads Florida defenders in even strength time on ice per game at 19:57. He averages exactly three minutes of shorthanded ice time per game, and his plus-minus rating, plus-12, is the second-best in the playoffs.
Here are some more stats to further back up our claim. Forsling ranks first amongst Florida defensemen in corsi rating (60.52%) and shots for percentage (62.07%). What this tells us is that the Panthers are regularly getting more shot attempts and shots on net when Forsling is on the ice at 5v5.
For those who didn’t know, Florida didn’t acquire Forsling in a trade, no all they did was submit a waiver claim for him in January 2021 after Carolina waived him.
Gustav has morphed himself into a modern-day shutdown defenseman. He’s not a big defender by any means, but he uses his extremely smooth skating ability to close gaps quickly and his hockey IQ to get inside body position on his man before taking the puck from them.
He’s no slouch offensively and with the puck either. He can transport pucks up ice with ease thanks to his high-level skating ability, and that allows him to join in on the rush to add a layer of attack opponents need to worry about.
While I don’t believe we will see a roster update that will adjust player overalls anytime soon in NHL 24. This sales pitch is to let EA know the impact Forsling has had on the Panthers, and that 86 overall is far too low of a rating for him in the NHL video game.
Remember all the recognition and love Devon Toews got when he won the Stanley Cup with Colorado? Now yes, Toews has produced more offense in his career to warrant his 89 overall in the game. But I think Forsling is only slightly below Toews. One is better offensively, the other is better defensively.
My sales pitch ends with the bid for Gustav Forsling to become an 89 overall. If anything, leave Montour and Ekblad at 87 and if 89 is considered too high because of Forsling's offensive numbers, 88 would be reasonable.