Player Discussion Erik Gustafsson: The "Don't Panic, It's Not Gudbranson" Edition

[bretpatrick7]

I remember when we first traded for Petry, he had good offensive numbers but terrible defensive numbers. look how far he's come? Gustafsson has shown some very good offensive abilities to move the puck and jump in on the attack with 60 points with chicago. I think if they isolate him with a solid defensive partner like weber on a second pairing, they could both excel playing with each other.

 

[Adam Michaels]

I remember when we first traded for Petry, he had good offensive numbers but terrible defensive numbers. look how far he's come? Gustafsson has soon some very good offensive abilities to move the puck and jump in on the attack with 60 points with chicago. I think if they isaolate him with a solid defensive partner like weber on a second pairing, they could both excel playing with each other.

Even if you remove the 60-point season in Chicago, Gustafsson has produced at a 30+ point pace every other year, including this year. Only his rookie year, he was on pace for 27 points.

After Weber and Petry, who on the Habs blue line has produced at that pace? It was that one year where Weber (42 pts), Markov (36 pts), and Petry (28 pts) played together? Beaulieu also had a good season that year, putting up 28 pts, as well. But since then, Habs haven't had a third defenseman who can contribute offensively like Gustafsson can.

 

[Milhouse40]

Even if you remove the 60-point season in Chicago, Gustafsson has produced at a 30+ point pace every other year, including this year. Only his rookie year, he was on pace for 27 points.

After Weber and Petry, who on the Habs blue line has produced at that pace? It was that one year where Weber (42 pts), Markov (36 pts), and Petry (28 pts) played together? Beaulieu also had a good season that year, putting up 28 pts, as well. But since then, Habs haven't had a third defenseman who can contribute offensively like Gustafsson can.

There's one thing different between Philly and Montreal.
Philly is filled with very young D-man, he was practically the oldest and he seems like a D who need a babysitter next to him like he had in Chicago. We have a lot of that in Montreal.

He's not worst than Mete in his zone....but he's 100 times better offensively. If Mete can survive in the NHL next to a Weber, he could also.

 

[Stive Morgan]

I remember Mete being pretty highly touted. I haven't followed him closel, what happened?

Rushed into the NHL due to heavy injuries on our backline when he graduated Major Junior, all he can do is skate fast. His offensive and defensive IQ are lackluster. That being said, I could see him getting it together with another team (maybe not Ottawa) I think it's a confidence issue.

 

[JianYang]

I think there will be a sort of rotation of dmen coming and going out during this brutal schedule.

I expect this guy will be part of that rotation. It's for a 7th rounder with retained salary. I don't think there is anything being handed to him

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

You guys are much more optimistic than I am when it comes to Gustafsson, for a couple of reasons...

1. His 18-19 season was a complete outlier compared to the rest of his career...take it out and he's scored 69 points in 166 games with 12 goals, with most of his points coming 5 v 5, not on the PP...and he's consistently been a minus player when at 5 v 5...

2. Who on our D is insulating him when he plays 5 v 5? Mr. Ed? Then who insulates Petry, who requires the same attention? Weber-Chairot-Kulak? None of these 3 give me any confidence that they can cover for a rover, hence why they can't do it for a much better one in Petry...

3. Do we dress seven D in order to play him while insulating his shortcomings? Then who sits? Nevermind, we know who sits; Lehky or Evans...two of our better Bottom 6ers...

4. The BIG one, imo; how is he at transitioning the puck, can he smartly and effectively get the puck out of the D-zone and into the O-zone, our biggest deficiency on the backend...Watch him play...NOT his strength at all; his strongest area, and only real strength imo, is getting pucks to the net once it's in the O-zone...he's actually pretty abysmal when the puck is on his stick for any longer than it takes to fire it at the net and we have that already in spades, so he's just another guy that pretty much treats the puck like a live grenade everywhere but the O-zone...only in this case, he's not just useless, but actually detrimental everywhere else on the ice...


...I could go on, but we all get the point; not a fan...and the bigger issue for me is that there were defensemen available who can move the puck...Kulikov, moved...Montour, moved...and instead, Bargain Bin goes after raw point totals instead of fixing how we actually get the puck to the O-zone to score...and without getting it there, it's awfully hard to score...

 

[le_sean]

But that's the problem with Bargain Bin's shortsightedness; it didn't HAVE to be a Top Pairing LH PMD, just a defenseman who has the ability to move the puck smartly...Kulikov was available and got moved...Montour was moved...Hell, try Hadyn Fleury or Madison Bowey, both were cheap and are still young...says he's trying to save his job but doesn't actually try to fix the big shyte...and that's not even bringing up why it wasn't already done, since it's been a HUGE issue since Markov left??...I'm sorry, my patience is gone with this meatpuppet. so if ranting is what I need to do to get it off my chest, it's gonna happen...at least get a good laugh out of my ravings...

You’re mentioning guys that make no offensive difference whatsoever. None of those guys can QB a PP. I agree they need to address the LD problem in the summer but right now with the limited cap space and quarantine, it was nearly impossible, especially with big games coming up against Calgary. You don’t want to lose more key players.

 

[The Great Weal]

And if you take out his 60 point season playing with Patrick Kane's ungodly year he falls off the map completely with only 1 point more than Chiarot.

I man Chiarot was also on a stacked offensive team, even deeper than the Hawks. He's obviously a lot more competent than Chiarot offensively. He's awful defensively though.

 

[Miller Time]

In Philly, he was kind of redundant. They already have guys who offer what Gustafsson offers. So they preferred playing the other guys. MB in his presser said when he asked Fletcher why he was scratched, Fletcher told him it's because they already have Gostisbehere that plays the same game as Gustafsson, and they chose to play Ghost.

In Montreal, he can be a complimentary piece. Because he offers something others don't. Only Petry and Weber provide offence and no one else really produces. So Gustafsson will be able to help in that department. And he's mobile. Defensively, he probably has guys in Montreal who can help make up for his weakness there. And chances are, he's not in the line-up all the time.

Fair and likely the logic behind the addition...

but I wonder, who sits in order to get him in the line-up to find out?

Petry, Weber, Edmundson likely not at all.
Merrill? we'll see, though indications of his level of play this year suggest he's likely an everyday roster player.
Chiarot, once healthy, likely returns to an everyday player.

That leaves Romanov, Kulak, Gustafsson competing for 1 roster spot (unless we're now icing 7 dmen and pushing Evans/Lekhonen into the yo-yo blender even further).

imo it would be absolutely stupid to start rotating Romanov out of the lineup at this point. He's been playing well enough to justify a regular roster spot. To start giving him the yo-yo treatment is a completely unjustified move that has almost only negative risk/reward impacts... especially if it's 3 guys rotating in/out of 1 spot...

would be different if Gustafsson was a clear cut top-4 addition, but to add a on-trick pony and start juggling a top young player that has played well with consistent lineup opportunities? seems like more of the same foolish bargainbin tinkering to no clear benefit.

don't get why he bothered adding both Merrill and Gustafsson... 1 of them, sure. but both with neither of them being actual fits/updgrades for what we needed (a top-4 PMD)? epitome of MB's failed approach at roster building and lack of appreciation for setting young players up for success. Competition is good. Dumpster diving? not so much.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Fair and likely the logic behind the addition...

but I wonder, who sits in order to get him in the line-up to find out?

Petry, Weber, Edmundson likely not at all.
Merrill? we'll see, though indications of his level of play this year suggest he's likely an everyday roster player.
Chiarot, once healthy, likely returns to an everyday player.

That leaves Romanov, Kulak, Gustafsson competing for 1 roster spot (unless we're now icing 7 dmen and pushing Evans/Lekhonen into the yo-yo blender even further).

imo it would be absolutely stupid to start rotating Romanov out of the lineup at this point. He's been playing well enough to justify a regular roster spot. To start giving him the yo-yo treatment is a completely unjustified move that has almost only negative risk/reward impacts... especially if it's 3 guys rotating in/out of 1 spot...

would be different if Gustafsson was a clear cut top-4 addition, but to add a on-trick pony and start juggling a top young player that has played well with consistent lineup opportunities? seems like more of the same foolish bargainbin tinkering to no clear benefit.

don't get why he bothered adding both Merrill and Gustafsson... 1 of them, sure. but both with neither of them being actual fits/updgrades for what we needed (a top-4 PMD)? epitome of MB's failed approach at roster building and lack of appreciation for setting young players up for success. Competition is good. Dumpster diving? not so much.

It will be juggling act for sure. I also hope it's not Romanov who will pay for these additions. I'm a fan of Kulak's, but if he's one who has to be taken out of the line-up, I'm okay with it.

As for why he got both Merrill and Gustafsson, we know MB likes to stock up on defensemen, particularly when the team is on their way to the playoffs. But both of these players are different. One will be more on the bottom pair and is more defensive while the other is someone who offers more offense.

In Gustafsson's case, I don't expect him to play every game. If he gets in and lights it up or helps the team light it up, I can see him staying. But aside from that, I think it's more insurance than anything else that MB acquired here.

 

[Locks]

Thank you for saying it. How so many Habs fans thought Dunn was available to them is mind boggling.

Exactly. "We gotta get Dunn no matter what" First, he might not be available. Second, if he was available, the price might be too high.

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

You’re mentioning guys that make no offensive difference whatsoever. None of those guys can QB a PP. I agree they need to address the LD problem in the summer but right now with the limited cap space and quarantine, it was nearly impossible, especially with big games coming up against Calgary. You don’t want to lose more key players.

Outside of his outlier season in 18-19 when he had 18 PP points (4 G, 14 A), he has 2 goals and 16 assists in his entire career on the PP; most of his points actually come at 5 v 5...what makes anyone think he can QB the PP??...his strength is getting pucks to the net, nothing else...at least in Merill, Bargain Bin basically got a better Kulak...Mete was pretty damn useless, but the one thing he could do was transition the puck, after someone else went and got it for him...that's not at all Gustafsson's game; he's not an upgrade on Mete, he's a much worse version of a rover like Petry...so we now have three stationary defensive defensemen (Weber, Merill, Kulak), a braindead supposedly defensive defenseman who just chases hits and gets out of position all the damn time (Chairot), two rovers - one good, one very bad (Petry & Gustafsson), and Romanov - the only one that has the ability to transition the puck effectively and efficiently out of the defensive zone and into the offensive zone...so what did Bargain Bin fix??...why lose Mete for nothing to bring someone else in when the one skill Mete had was something that was useful and the guy you bring in doesn't even have that??...instead, he's a far less competent version of a player you already have (Petry)...you say that guys like Kulikov and Montour make no difference, but they actual excel at the one area we need the most help in on the back end, transitioning the puck from D-zone to O-zone...and Montour (don't know about Kulikov) actually has experience QBing a 2nd Unit PP...I mentioned Bowey and Fleury because they are both still young and both can move the puck, not to mention they were cheap (a Bargain Bin must); why not try instead of bringing in someone who you and everyone else knows doesn't fill your needs??...again, Bargain Bin is fiddling with a clogged shower head while the bathroom is flooding due to the obvious broken pipe...

 

[Miller Time]

It will be juggling act for sure. I also hope it's not Romanov who will pay for these additions. I'm a fan of Kulak's, but if he's one who has to be taken out of the line-up, I'm okay with it.

As for why he got both Merrill and Gustafsson, we know MB likes to stock up on defensemen, particularly when the team is on their way to the playoffs. But both of these players are different. One will be more on the bottom pair and is more defensive while the other is someone who offers more offense.

In Gustafsson's case, I don't expect him to play every game. If he gets in and lights it up or helps the team light it up, I can see him staying. But aside from that, I think it's more insurance than anything else that MB acquired here.

i hear that...

though not sure a player most likely to be a daily healthy scratch is much of an insurance policy lol

compound the reality of the condensed schedule (which heavily limits practice time), and it's hard to imagine either Merrill/Gustafsson giving the team much unless they get some regular minutes/games.

seems like a foolish and ill-advised approach to bolstering a roster for playoff time. Aside from the financial limitations, i think a big part of why we didn't see as much player movement and playoff teams stocking up on depth is the realization that the devil you know (depth/youth players already on the roster) is probably better than trying to integrate new depth in the absence of practice time and in light of the added quarantine time...

i'd be curious to see the actual numbers on that... how many teams added roster players that weren't top-4/top-9 locks and/or from within the division bubble... i suspect once you pull those moves out, the contrast to a normal deadline will be quite staggering... but we can also count on MB being smarter than the rest of the league

 

[Runner77]

Don't panic.

We’re in the middle of a deadly pandemic — I want to see which fan is going to lose control over a hockey contingency.

 

[Runner77]

I really want to see if he can hack it on the 4th line as a winger and then also play the pp.

He has a nose for the net from the point.

Or, Gusto gets paired up with Streeper (Merrill) and you get a yin/ yan thing going — an offence first D playing with a defence first D.

 

[26Mats]

Or, Gusto gets paired up with Streeper (Merrill) and you get a yin/ yan thing going — an offence first D playing with a defence first D.

It depends how bad Gustaffson is in his own end. If he's Jane Niiniima bad, he can't be put on the ice 5 on 5. I'd rather just go with Romanov on the 2nd pp unit, and Petry and Caufield on the first.

 

[cphabs]

Guessing Bergevin hoping he's going to be MA Bergeron and help PP.

I thought Coach Muller was the problem with our PP.... Not the absence of Gudbranson! Or for that matter? Trading the replacement for Markov for Drouin the new franchise “center”. Seriously, we are pathetic!

 

[Runner77]

It depends how bad Gustaffson is in his own end. If he's Jane Niiniima bad, he can't be put on the ice 5 on 5. I'd rather just go with Romanov on the 2nd pp unit, and Petry and Caufield on the first.

Only one way to find out. Those Flyer fans who chimed in about him made him sound underwhelming.

 

[Habs]

Honestly I've never heard of him. Can he be worse than The Kulakian Warlord?

 

[1909]

He can be a good piece if we play 7D. plus, our 4th line stinks right now

Lehkonen is good. Perry is useful. Staal, not so much.... And Armia is coming back soon. It's gonna be hard to play 7D and 11 forwards only.

 

[1909]

Some mentioned he’s been benched for a while. Not sure why.

They have 6 better d-men , I guess. And Vigneault was finally fed up with him. Same with Mete in MTL.

 

[calder candidate]

Lehkonen is good. Perry is useful. Staal, not so much.... And Armia is coming back soon. It's gonna be hard to play 7D and 11 forwards only.

I like Lehkonen but he can easily be replaced and a 7D PP specialist might be more useful...

 

[26Mats]

Lehkonen is good. Perry is useful. Staal, not so much.... And Armia is coming back soon. It's gonna be hard to play 7D and 11 forwards only.

For the playoffs:

Tatar Danault Gallagher
Toffoli Kotkaniemi Caufield
Perry Suzuki Anderson
Gustafsson Evans Drouin /Staal/Byron/Armia/lehk/Frolik

 

[1909]

For the playoffs:

Tatar Danault Gallagher
Toffoli Kotkaniemi Caufield
Perry Suzuki Anderson
Gustafsson Evans Drouin /Staal/Byron/Armia/lehk/Frolik

Don't talk about Playoffs. Habs are not there yet.

 

[webersshot]

This guy has 60 points the year before last. Definitely worth a shot