The Canucks announced on Thursday that they have re-signed restricted free agent defenceman Erik Gudbranson to a one-year contract extension. Consistent with recent signings around the league, the Canucks officially announced the terms of the deal instead of them getting “leaked” via other means.
It’s a one-way contract worth $3.5 million, a raise from the $2.5 million per year on his last deal. The money and term mean Jim Benning avoided making two major mistakes: paying too much for too long.
The ingredients were there for an overpayment: the Canucks appear to overvalue Gudbranson’s physicality and stay-at-home game; the loss of Nikita Tryamkin to the KHL leaves the Canucks without much in the way of size on the blue line; the team may lose another defenceman in the expansion draft; and Gudbranson’s last contract was his bridge deal that was supposed to lead to a larger payday.
With those things in mind, it would have been really easy for Jim Benning to justify a more expensive long-term deal. Instead, he signed Gudbranson to a show-me deal: a one-year contract to prove he’s capable of being the top-four defenceman they believe him to be.
The deal makes sense for Gudbranson too, since he'll be looking to prove he's worth a lot more when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer. He's coming off an injury-plagued season that saw him miss 52 games and in the 30 games he played, he did not look like a second-pairing defenceman.
Gudbranson finished second-last on the Canucks in corsi percentage, ahead of only Luca Sbisa, and was dead last in goals-for percentage. The Canucks got badly outpossessed and outscored when Gudbranson was on the ice. And, in the small sample of passing data we have for last season, he also finished last among Canucks defencemen in zone exits with possession.
It should be noted, however, that Gudbranson was playing through his injury before it ended his season. There’s a possibility that he has more to show and that another year of familiarity with his teammates and a new coaching staff will bring out the best in him. Or maybe we'll find out that he is the third-pairing defenceman he appears to be.
The one-year deal gives Gudbranson the chance to prove himself and it gives the Canucks a chance to walk away at the end of the season (or trade him at the deadline) if it isn’t working out.
