On Erik Gudbranson and the Vancouver Canucks …
Jason Brough of The Athletic: Vancouver Canucks defenseman signed a one-year deal this offseason and will be a UFA after the season.
Gudbranson could have a good season, and the Canucks could look to lock him up long-term. If he plays well, and they are not able to sign, they could look to trade him at the trade deadline.
George Richards reported this week that Florida Panthers GM tried to trade defenseman Jason Demers to the Canucks for Erik Gudbranson, but Demers used his no-trade clause and nixed the deal.
On Matt Duchene and the Colorado Avalanche …
Chris Nichols: Pierre LeBrun on TSN 1040: “I talked to a GM yesterday whose belief is that Joe Sakic is intent on keeping his price tag high and he’s willing to wait it out.”
Chris Nichols of FanRag Sports: Bob McKenzie was on TSN 690 talking about Matt Duchene, and the value the Colorado Avalanche and other teams believe he’s worth.
“What I do sense is that there’s a divide between what the Colorado Avalanche expect to get – and what internal value they’ve placed on Matt Duchene if they’re going to trade him – and what teams that have interest in Matt Duchene – legitimate interest in Matt Duchene – have on him.”
Duchene has two years left at a $6 million salary cap hit, and that plays a role. Not all teams can fit in $6 million. Term can also be an issue for some as McKenzie notes that some teams may wonder if they would be able to re-sign Duchene when he’s eligible for unrestricted free agency.
“So let’s say a team that’s interested in Matt Duchene – let’s pull the Columbus Blue Jackets out of the hat for starters, they do have legitimate interest in Matt Duchene. So they call up and they say, ‘We’re interested in Duchene but we’re limited in terms of what we’re going to give you because we might trade for Matt Duchene right now, and a year from now we say to him ‘’Hey, we’d like to extend you to a long-term deal now,’’ and he goes, ‘’Ah, you know what? I’m not sure. I might just wait until I go to unrestricted free agency and see where I’m at. ’’ ‘
A team would have up a lot of assets for Duchene, and he may not want to be their long-term. The new team would be in a similar situation that Sakic is now.