Rumor: I Heard A Rumor...: Rumor Thread Part 6

[Chino Oscar]

He had like 2 noticeably bad games all year. What are you talking about?

Yeah... I covered my face too after reading that...

 

[HockeyRulez]

1) I was talking about his contribution to the team overall, not just this season.

2) There's no doubt he's had lots of not so good moments this year too including being benched.

3) Ekblad, a rookie who is 4 years younger than he pretty much is already better than him in every aspect of the position. If I were Gudbranson I'd be pretty embarrased to see a rookie d-man come in and have a much bigger impact than me.

 

[IceManCat]

Guds was solid all year not sure how you can fault him for 4-5 bad games. When we drafted him everyone knew he was extremely raw and was going to take awhile to develop. He has done nothing to deviate from that and is progressing at the slow rate everyone expected him to. He still has all the tools is starting to show that he has the tool box to go along with them. Now he needs to work on his offensive game.

 

[panthersfan94]

1) I was talking about his contribution to the team overall, not just this season.

2) There's no doubt he's had lots of not so good moments this year too including being benched.

3) Ekblad, a rookie who is 4 years younger than he pretty much is already better than him in every aspect of the position. If I were Gudbranson I'd be pretty embarrased to see a rookie d-man come in and have a much bigger impact than me.

1) He was almost a completely different player this year and as he gets older, he will continue to mature and get better as most young players do. So his contributions to this team as a 19 year old have no impact on what he will do in the future.

2) As I said he had like 2 bad games. They happened to be consecutive so he got benched he was much better after that and before that though. And while we're at it, as great as Ekblad was all year, he had more bad games than Guds, as he should, but still you brought up Ekblad.

3) Ekblad and Gudbranson almost play 2 completely different positions. That would be like comparing Barkov and Kessel because they are both forwards. Gudbranson is a large imposing shut down defenseman, something he did very well this year. Ekblad is more of a complete defenseman so of course he is going to have better stats and look better on the offensive end of the ice. As for him looking better in all aspects, it's really not even close. I'd argue Guds was better in the D zone over the course of the year and when it comes to physicality, lol. Ekblad was given much more leeway this year as a rookie. If he makes some of the same mistakes next year as he did towards the end of this year, fans won't be as forgiving (Exhibit A: Seth Jones). Also, Ekblad has the potential to be a generational talent so of course he is going to eventually be better than Guds. And in all honesty Guds probably doesn't give a **** who on his team outplays him as long as we win the damn games.

 

[HockeyRulez]

Guds was solid all year not sure how you can fault him for 4-5 bad games. When we drafted him everyone knew he was extremely raw and was going to take awhile to develop. He has done nothing to deviate from that and is progressing at the slow rate everyone expected him to. He still has all the tools is starting to show that he has the tool box to go along with them. Now he needs to work on his offensive game.

He needs to work on a lot more than that my friend.

 

[HockeyRulez]

1) He was almost a completely different player this year and as he gets older, he will continue to mature and get better as most young players do. So his contributions to this team as a 19 year old have no impact on what he will do in the future.

2) As I said he had like 2 bad games. They happened to be consecutive so he got benched he was much better after that and before that though. And while we're at it, as great as Ekblad was all year, he had more bad games than Guds, as he should, but still you brought up Ekblad.

3) Ekblad and Gudbranson almost play 2 completely different positions. That would be like comparing Barkov and Kessel because they are both forwards. Gudbranson is a large imposing shut down defenseman, something he did very well this year. Ekblad is more of a complete defenseman so of course he is going to have better stats and look better on the offensive end of the ice. As for him looking better in all aspects, it's really not even close. I'd argue Guds was better in the D zone over the course of the year and when it comes to physicality, lol. Ekblad was given much more leeway this year as a rookie. If he makes some of the same mistakes next year as he did towards the end of this year, fans won't be as forgiving (Exhibit A: Seth Jones). Also, Ekblad has the potential to be a generational talent so of course he is going to eventually be better than Guds. And in all honesty Guds probably doesn't give a **** who on his team outplays him as long as we win the damn games.

I brought up good points, you didn't really hit on any of them.

I'm saying that 18 yr old Ekblad was better than 23 yr old Gudbranson, both offensively and defensively.

Gudbranson is a good d-man but he needs a lot of improvement compared to Ekblad who has been stellar at a younger age. As far as I'm concerned they were both drafted high, both are RD, but one is clearly better than the other, no question about it.

I don't know if you're a Guddy fan boy but as far as I'm concerned this is a guy who we all see as a potential future captain but for me Ekblad has certainly made a strong case for himself. Guddy has to be a better hockey player not just someone who hits a guy every once in a while.

 

[vendetta]

I brought up good points, you didn't really hit on any of them.

I'm saying that 18 yr old Ekblad was better than 23 yr old Gudbranson, both offensively and defensively.

Gudbranson is a good d-man but he needs a lot of improvement compared to Ekblad who has been stellar at a younger age. As far as I'm concerned they were both drafted high, both are RD, but one is clearly better than the other, no question about it.

I don't know if you're a Guddy fan boy but as far as I'm concerned this is a guy who we all see as a potential future captain but for me Ekblad has certainly made a strong case for himself. Guddy has to be a better hockey player not just someone who hits a guy every once in a while.

I would take guds in a shutdown role over Ekblad right now... he is better defensively right now and his first pass is excellent and he's a lot faster right now... also can change momentum with a big hit... u clearly dislike guds for whatever reason... he stepped up big time this year and is right on track with his developement... top 4 shutdown d with upside yet... points probly won't start coming for a couple years... but his size and skating and power is a rare commodity and much needed come playoff time... u r selling him short big time

 

[Gentle Man]

Wait, So the If a guy has been blessed with better skills than someone they should be embarrassed? so people should be embarrassed when McDavid starts scoring more than players older than he?

 

[Brokin]

I would take guds in a shutdown role over Ekblad right now... he is better defensively right now and his first pass is excellent and he's a lot faster right now... also can change momentum with a big hit... u clearly dislike guds for whatever reason... he stepped up big time this year and is right on track with his developement... top 4 shutdown d with upside yet... points probly won't start coming for a couple years... but his size and skating and power is a rare commodity and much needed come playoff time... u r selling him short big time

Players hear rumors all the time once they get back home to the Ontario area. Some of it is BS, and other times it's not. If Eric has heard something he should take it with a grain of salt as management for all teams are constantly throwing out possibilities.

Is he untouchable? No, of course not. Many teams would covet a young physical defenceman who makes a solid first pass and has more speed than most. If a deal does come about, he will be part of a package to try and secure a forward who can score. Defence is where we have the most depth and other teams look for NHL experience in a young player when making a trade. That leaves him or Kulikov, and Guds contract is easier to swallow for a team close to the cap.

 

[gudzilla]

tiwas the first year gudbranson didnt play against his own d-partner, i'll give him 1-2 more years before i judge him

 

[Gentle Man]

Unless you have elite talent, it takes about 300 games for NHL Dmen to develop into whatever player they will be. Typically around the 4th season barring injuries or shortened season.

So, this coming year is when you SHOULD see what kind of Gudbranson will be.

And if you are paying attention, you already have an idea he is a stay at home, defensive defenseman.

And when you are stay a defensive defenseman, you only usually hear from them when they throw a big hit, or make a mistake.

otherwise they are playing a solid defensive game.

 

[SoupyFIN]

A whole lot of fuss for nothing.

I think Guds just worded it poorly, he meant good/positive things with that.

 

[gudzilla]

gudbranson also had career highs in everything except PIM:s

 

[MintyFresh88]

People need to move on from the fact that he was a 3rd overall pick and accept that his ceiling is probaby a #3/4 at this point. Obviously the expectation for a guy picked that high should be higher, but he is what he is and you're only going to drive yourself crazy if you keep expecting more from him.

 

[HockeyRulez]

I agree with Montsy.

Anyways this shouldn't be an evaluate Guddy thread, we should get back to talking about rumors.

 

[panthersfan94]

I brought up good points, you didn't really hit on any of them.

I'm saying that 18 yr old Ekblad was better than 23 yr old Gudbranson, both offensively and defensively.

Gudbranson is a good d-man but he needs a lot of improvement compared to Ekblad who has been stellar at a younger age. As far as I'm concerned they were both drafted high, both are RD, but one is clearly better than the other, no question about it.

I don't know if you're a Guddy fan boy but as far as I'm concerned this is a guy who we all see as a potential future captain but for me Ekblad has certainly made a strong case for himself. Guddy has to be a better hockey player not just someone who hits a guy every once in a while.

And I'm saying that that statement is false as Gudbranson is better defensively. Also I don't think the Ekblad comparison means anything because of course Ekblad is better offensively, Gudbranson doesn't have an offensive game, we knew that when he was drafted. You need both kinds of defenseman to succeed in the league. And as for the captain point, that makes no sense because you have no idea what goes on behind closed doors and skill means nothing when it comes to leadership ability. Gudbranson is similar to Mitchell so I don't see why he can't be a great captain in the future. And as for your last statement he was great in his defensive zone this year, with positioning and everything so he wasn't just "hitting people every once in a while"

 

[GrumpyKelly]

Gudbranson can still turn into a Seabrook type, 30 point defensive Dman. It's too early to label him yet especially since he has played in a ****** team most of his career without really any help. Also his injuries have slowed him down.

 

[EnforceTheLaus]

Gudbranson can still turn into a Seabrook type, 30 point defensive Dman. It's too early to label him yet especially since he has played in a ****** team most of his career without really any help. Also his injuries have slowed him down.

I think be he'll much closer to Mitchell than Seabrook. I'd jump for joy if ever breaks 25 pts. I just don't see the offensive upside in his game at all.

 

[GrumpyKelly]

I think be he'll much closer to Mitchell than Seabrook. I'd jump for joy if ever breaks 25 pts. I just don't see the offensive upside in his game at all.

He doesn't have much, true... but he has a bomb of a shot. If he can just learn to hit the net he should be getting at least more assists.

My point really was it's too early to say how he ends up, he is still just 23.

 

[FlaPanthers11]

tiwas the first year gudbranson didnt play against his own d-partner, i'll give him 1-2 more years before i judge him

He still had to do that for the first half of the season.

 

[ShootIt]

He still had to do that for the first half of the season.

Man, almost forgot about Olsen being on the team. Had to sit back and rewind my mind to remember his original blueline partner.

I don't think Olsen was that bad at first.

 

[FlaPanthers11]

Man, almost forgot about Olsen being on the team. Had to sit back and rewind my mind to remember his original blueline partner.

I don't think Olsen was that bad at first.

Probably not. It furthers the point that he hasn't had a solid partner yet though. Ekblad looked great with the veteran Campbell. Kulikov was much improved with the veteran Mitchell. Gudbranson is still bouncing around with guys on the border of the AHL and the NHL.

 

[ShootIt]

Probably not. It furthers the point that he hasn't had a solid partner yet though. Ekblad looked great with the veteran Campbell. Kulikov was much improved with the veteran Mitchell. Gudbranson is still bouncing around with guys on the border of the AHL and the NHL.

I agree with that. Mitchell was his first legit pairing partner. It would be nice to see him stick with a guy like Mitchell next year.

then put Kulikov with a guy like Petrovic, potentially.

 

[Gentle Man]

Im down to pairing Soup with Gudbranson, Kulikov with Ekblad, and Petro with Mitchell.

Maybe Soup can make Gudbranson look better, and set him up like he used to set up G52 Bomber

 

[Android 16]

Im down to pairing Soup with Gudbranson, Kulikov with Ekblad, and Petro with Mitchell.

Maybe Soup can make Gudbranson look better, and set him up like he used to set up G52 Bomber

Gudbranson has such a heavy shot it's a shame he has the accuracy of Dick Cheney.