Fantasy Take: Pearson To Canucks For Gudbranson

Ian Gooding

2019-02-25


The Vancouver Canucks have acquired forward Tanner Pearson from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenseman Erik Gudbranson.

Pearson is on to his third NHL team this season, having scored 14 points (9g-5a) in 44 games with the Penguins after recording just a single point in 17 games with the Kings. Pearson has had better days, as he had reached 40 points in each of his previous two seasons with the Kings. A turnaround is still possible, as Pearson is still only 26 years old.

The Canucks have attempted a number of left wingers on the top line with Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser. Sven Baertschi would seem like the best choice, but he has been sidelined for much of the season with a concussion. Nikolay Goldobin has been given his share of opportunities there, but he has scored just six goals all season and has also been healthy scratched for his defensive play. Josh Leivo has also been given a go here, but he has been held without a point in his past six. Ryan Spooner was recently acquired, but he was held to under 10 minutes in his last game. So Travis Green might place Pearson on the top line and hope it sticks, but it’s more likely that it won’t last.

Pearson had recently been a healthy scratch in Pittsburgh, so his departure shouldn’t have a profound effect on the forward lines there, although he'd already been given his shot with the big guns there and couldn't make it work. Teddy Blueger would have seemed like a beneficiary, but the Penguins just re-assigned him to the AHL. Blueger was reasonably productive with four points in nine NHL games and will likely be recalled again soon, as he leads the Pens’ AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with 21 goals. The Pearson trade should also solidify Zach Aston-Reese as a top-9 forward. Aston-Reese has been heating up with four points in his last four games.

Gudbranson has no fantasy value outside of contributions in hits and penalty minutes. His minus-27 is by far the worst on the Canucks, and the third overall pick in 2010 doesn’t appear to be anything more than a third-pairing defenseman in today’s NHL (just ask Canucks’ fans). The Penguins are desperate for any defensive help that they can find, as Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin, and Olli Maatta are all sidelined with injuries at the moment. The Penguins will have to pay Gudbranson $4 million for two more seasons after this one, which is a considerable price for his expected value.

Players this helps, in order:

Aston-Reese

Blueger

Luke Schenn

📢 advertisement:

Ashton Sautner

Players this hurts, in order:

Goldobin

Leivo

Spooner

Baertschi

Fantasy owners are weighing in on the trade – give your take here!

Leave A Comment

UPCOMING GAMES

Apr 17 - 19:04 BUF vs PHI
Apr 17 - 19:04 CBJ vs NYI
Apr 17 - 19:04 NYR vs T.B
Apr 17 - 19:04 OTT vs CAR
Apr 17 - 19:04 PIT vs WSH
Apr 17 - 19:04 TOR vs DET
Apr 17 - 21:04 L.A vs CGY

Starting Goalies

Top Skater Views

  Players Team
IVAN DEMIDOV MTL
CONNOR MCDAVID EDM
SAM RINZEL CHI
MAX DOMI TOR
ALEX IAFALLO WPG

Top Goalie Profile Views

  Players Team
JET GREAVES CBJ
CALVIN PICKARD EDM
ANTHONY STOLARZ TOR
CONNOR HELLEBUYCK WPG
PYOTR KOCHETKOV CAR

LINE COMBOS

  Frequency PIT Players
18.1 RICKARD RAKELL EVGENI MALKIN DANTON HEINEN
17.2 BRYAN RUST VILLE KOIVUNEN SIDNEY CROSBY
7.8 PHILIP TOMASINO KEVIN HAYES CONNOR DEWAR

DobberHockey Podcasts

Keeping Karlsson: End-of-Season Beginnings, Vibesgoaliebord

Elan and Brian express their interest in players on the verge of playing their first NHL games, make some playoff predictions with no promises, and do a vibes-based draft for goalies they are willing to commit to rostering for the entirety of the next NHL season.

Fantasy Hockey Life: X Gamers and Silly Season

Jesse and Victor talk about up and coming prospects Michael Hage, Berkly Catton, and Nick Lardis. We feature polls from NHL Rank King Mason Black.In the second half Jesse asks if hockey has become as crazy as basketball for late season volatility. Lastly we talk about fantasy playoff heroes Kiefer Sherwood, Dylan Holloway, and Drake […]

Keeping Karlsson: Gr8 V16es

Elan and Brian celebrate two legends with massive accomplishments today: Alex Ovechkin, the NHL’s new goal scoring record holder, and Ian F, the newly crowned KKUPFL Ultimate Champion and undisputed best fantasy hockey manager in the world. You decide which one matters more.

Fantasy Hockey Life: Tidy Commissioner Roundtable

Our TIDY commish team joins the show for a roundtable to look back on a thrilling season. Have a listen! Our show is part of the Dobber Podcast Network and sponsored by Fantrax.com. Email fantasyhockeylife@gmail.com and ask to join our free discord. Join our Patreon at Patreon.com/fantasyhockeylife for rankings, bonus podcasts, in-depth prospect reports with […]

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

📢 advertisement: