Erik Gudbranson had his ups and downs last season, but he was one of the only players on the blue line who could stay relatively healthy.
Erik Gudbranson had his ups and downs last season, but he was one of the only players on the blue line who could stay relatively healthy.
July 13th, 2022, was a historic day for the Columbus Blue Jackets. They signed two players that day, Johnny Gaudreau and Erik Gudbranson, and according to reports, Gaudreau may not have ended up in Columbus without Gudbranson.
Earlier in the day, it was announced that the Jackets had signed Erik Gudbranson to a 4-year, 16-million-dollar deal. Many people thought based on how much the contract was worth, that was the only signing the CBJ would be making that day. A few hours later that would change with Gaudreau choosing to play in Columbus.
Gudbranson is a former #3 overall pick by the Florida Panthers in 2010. He’s a very large man, standing at 6-foot-5 and weighing 223 pounds, and is a decent skater for his size. As he’s aged his speed has seemed to slow, but that’s expected.
Gudbranson has played 12 seasons in the NHL with many different teams, the Florida Panthers(5), Vancouver Canucks(3), Pittsburgh Penguins(2), Anaheim Ducks(1), Nashville Predators(1), Ottawa Senators(1), Calgary Flames(1) and Columbus. He’s only had four seasons in which he’s had double-digits in terms of points production. His high was 17 during the 2021-22 season with Calgary almost every statistical category for him was a high, which is no surprise based on the season the Flames had.
In his first season in Columbus, he played in 70 games, which in hindsight seems like a ton of games for a team that had 540+ man games lost. He scored one goal and had 13 points. Gudbranson averaged over 21 minutes of ice time and had 137 blocks, 119 hits, and 34 giveaways. He also threw in three fights last season against Michael Pezzetta(MON), Boris Katchouk(CHI) and Josh Brown(ARI).
When they signed Gudbranson I’m guessing they didn’t expect to lose almost the entire defensive roster to injury, with that being said, he still rarely if ever played on the PP. He only averaged about three seconds of PP time, and a little over two minutes in PK time for the game. Both of those times are about average for his career.
So, what is going to be expected of Erik Gudbranson going forward? Most line projections have him on the third pair with guys like Andrew Peeke, Jake Bean, or possibly even Nick Blankenburg. He’s being paid a fair amount for an aging third-pair defenseman, but I think his leadership skills, are what he will need to be good for. He’s 31 years old, on a blue line where the average age is 26. Damon Severson is the closest to him in age at 29, with Boqvist, Bean, Peeke, and Blankenburg all 25 or younger. Not to mention the slew of young defensemen like David Jiricek, Stanislac Svozil, Samuel Knazko, and Corson Ceulemans who are 21 or younger, and could see NHL time this season. Teaching the kids is where I think Erik Gudbranson could shine.
Many people don’t expect Gudbranson to be in Columbus past the 23-24 season. He has three years left, a modified 10-team no-trade clause with an AAV of $4 million. A buy-out after next season would last until 2028 with a cap hit of approx. $1.1 million a year. Jarmo could also trade him and let him chase a cup, which is something he’d be down for I'm sure.
The young studs are on their way and the Columbus front office has some decisions to make, as always.
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