Defensemen, especially right-handed ones, are a hot commodity in the NHL, and the Vancouver Canucks got to feel that twice this year. First, they had to play guys like Matt Bartkowski or Luca Sbisa on their off-sides, before switching to right-handed Alex Biega for parts of the 2015-16 season. Then, GM Jim Benning finally got a deal done to acquire right-handed Erik Gudbranson, but he had to pay more than what many would consider fair value.
Gudbranson was the third-overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Unfortunately, he failed to develop into the No.