The Florida Panthers have come to terms on a two-year contract with defenseman Erik Gudbranson.
“Erik is an important part of our young core of talented players who we are pleased to have signed,” said general manager Dale Tallon in a release. “He is a big, strong and physical defenseman who is one of the building blocks for our team. We look forward to his continued development and his contributions to the South Florida community.”
The third overall pick in the 2010 draft (i.e. the guy that got picked after Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin), Gudbranson is still developing into an NHL player. He had three goals and six assists in 65 games last season, while logging 17:59 of ice time per contest.
Despite the fact Gudbranson has yet to become an impact player, Tallon is still very high on his future, saying in March that the 22-year-old “is likely going to be the captain of our team some day.”
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"We are going to be fast, we are going to move the puck well and we will bring some size as well," -- @Guddy44 #FlaPanthers
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) July 10, 2014
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