BRANDON SUTTER - Center - 30 - $4.37MM Cap Hit - UFA in 2021-2022
LAST UPDATED 8/28/19
While he used to be a decent third line center who could chip in 20 goals and bring reliability and durability to the bottom half of a lineup, those days are long gone for Sutter. Sutter hasn't reached the 20 goal plateau since he left Pittsburgh, and has only had one fully healthy season as a Canuck. Sutter has some valuable traits, but the NHL as a whole seems to have passed him by. Sutter is a below-average skater with very poor speed. That lack of speed means he's often one of the last players to enter the zone on the rush, and he can be late to scoring chances if he's playing with faster forwards. That also impacts his defense, as he's a less effective forechecker and worse chasing for pucks that get past him. Sutter still has a decent shot, but he's far less able to get into position to use it, which hurts his goal scoring upside. He still has size and strength, and can help out in the corners, but he simply does not have the foot speed to be a plus offensive center. Defensively, Sutter's lack of foot speed impacts his ability to kill chances at even strength where skating is more important. On the penalty kill, though, Sutter's lack of speed is far less of an issue and his size, strength, and defensive awareness are given more of a platform to shine. This means that Sutter is, at this point in his career, a pretty one-dimensional penalty-kill specialist. At $4.37MM, he's an expensive luxury, and given his durability issues on top of all of his game's flaws, he's a definite negative-value asset.
While he used to be a decent third line center who could chip in 20 goals and bring reliability and durability to the bottom half of a lineup, those days are long gone for Sutter. Sutter hasn't reached the 20 goal plateau since he left Pittsburgh, and has only had one fully healthy season as a Canuck. Sutter has some valuable traits, but the NHL as a whole seems to have passed him by. Sutter is a below-average skater with very poor speed. That lack of speed means he's often one of the last players to enter the zone on the rush, and he can be late to scoring chances if he's playing with faster forwards. That also impacts his defense, as he's a less effective forechecker and worse chasing for pucks that get past him. Sutter still has a decent shot, but he's far less able to get into position to use it, which hurts his goal scoring upside. He still has size and strength, and can help out in the corners, but he simply does not have the foot speed to be a plus offensive center. Defensively, Sutter's lack of foot speed impacts his ability to kill chances at even strength where skating is more important. On the penalty kill, though, Sutter's lack of speed is far less of an issue and his size, strength, and defensive awareness are given more of a platform to shine. This means that Sutter is, at this point in his career, a pretty one-dimensional penalty-kill specialist. At $4.37MM, he's an expensive luxury, and given his durability issues on top of all of his game's flaws, he's a definite negative-value asset.
Services |
Company |
|