The J.T. Miller trade was the big one last week in the NHL. With the Mikko Rantanen blockbuster on Jan. 24 shocking the hockey world and the Miller move the next Friday night, the expectation was another big trade on the last weekend before the 4 Nations Face-Off and the break from action. None happened but the New York Rangers managed to get their star for a playoff push late in this season.
Related: Berard & Othmann Lead Resurging Hartford Wolf Pack Offense
One of the players to move from the Vancouver Canucks to the Rangers in the trade was Erik Brannstrom, a journeyman defenseman who is still a prospect at 25 but is also someone who has been around the block. He was drafted by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and traded to the Ottawa Senators in the Mark Stone deal. After six seasons with the Senators and bouncing around as a depth defenseman and a key part of the American Hockey League (AHL) roster, he joined the Canucks this offseason.
Now he’s on the Rangers, specifically the Hartford Wolf Pack. Brannstrom can bring a lot to the defense and for a team spiraling downward, they can use a player like him on their blue line.
What Brannstrom Brings to Hartford
Brannstrom is a great skater and plays the point well. It’s how he scored two goals and 10 assists with the Abbotsford Canucks this season and became a key part of their offense. The big thing for the Wolf Pack is that he can operate the power play, a unit that’s struggled all season. “I hope he can assimilate himself on the power play, an area we need to improve, and he’s got the skill to help us,” Wolf Pack head coach Grant Potulny noted after a 3-0 loss to the Charlotte Checkers on Feb. 7, a game where the offense was non-existent.
The power play is scoring only 16.1% of the time this season, the worst mark in the Atlantic Division. There are plenty of reasons why the unit has struggled with the skill players failing to move the puck in the offensive zone and taking advantage of open looks, but a prominent issue is at the point. The Wolf Pack struggle to move the puck into the offensive zone and when they do, they lack that defenseman who can find open skaters and put the puck on the net. Brannstrom will provide the team with that and continue to be a weapon for the offense. “He’s generated points at almost every level,” Potulny stated about the recent addition.
Along with his skill on the offensive end of the ice, Brannstrom will be a veteran in the lineup. The Wolf Pack have a handful of developing prospects on their defense and it shows at times. The young skaters will often be out of position or mishandle the puck following a turnover and Brannstrom will add stability to the defense while also helping out the other skaters along the way.
Can Brannstrom Fix the Wolf Pack Defense?
The defense has fallen apart in recent games and caused the Wolf Pack to go from an average team in the division to the bottom (they’d be the worst but the Bridgeport Islanders will tell them to hold their beer). They’ve allowed 30 goals in the last seven games and their latest loss to the Checkers saw them allow three goals on 38 shots. Even with strong play in the net from Dylan Garand and Louis Domingue, there’s only so much they can do when the defense is allowing shots on the net at will.
The bottom line is that the defense isn’t great and one addition won’t change that. Brannstrom particularly can only do so much since his style of play has its issues as well. He’s a smaller skater who gets pushed around and that’s what happened against the Checkers. Brannstrom will create turnovers and move the puck up the ice, but he won’t remove someone from the puck with a hit or win battles along the boards for loose pucks, and the Wolf Pack need that in their lineup.
This team has lost its spark and looked lifeless recently, which explains a seven-game losing streak. They need a player who can change that and provide a jolt for the rest of the lineup. Brannstrom might help the offense but that only solves some of the problems this team is dealing with.
Why the Canucks Easily Traded Brannstrom
The Canucks are in a different place than the Rangers, especially when it comes to their defense. Sure, the two teams are on the bubble for the playoffs, but the Canucks are trying to retool their blue line on the fly while the Rangers are trying to rebuild it with players coming up from the AHL.
After trading Miller, the Canucks flipped one of the draft picks they received in the deal for Marcus Pettersson, who they subsequently extended. With Quinn Hughes already leading the unit as one of the best two-way players in the game and Filip Hronek, Tyler Myers, and Pettersson (plus another Elias Pettersson on defense) rounding out the unit, Brannstrom became expendable. It’s why he’s on the Rangers and one of the defensemen looking to make the leap to the NHL and join a blue line looking for depth.
Brannstrom’s Role on the Rangers
Adam Fox is the anchor of the Rangers defense while K’Andre Miller and Braden Schneider are also reliable parts of the unit. Otherwise, the defense was rebuilt this season and is still going through changes. Jacob Trouba was traded for Urho Vaakanainen and Will Borgen was added in the Kaapo Kakko trade. Both skaters add youth to the blue line but the team is looking for someone to join the unit from the AHL ranks.
Brannstrom might be one of the options if his two-way play takes off. The Wolf Pack have some defensemen who can improve into NHL-caliber skaters, but it might take a few seasons and some are showing glaring weaknesses. Brannstrom can come in and round out the unit.
