VANCOUVER — Defenceman Erik Gudbranson was acquired by the Vancouver Canucks in a trade with the Panthers on Wednesday night that sent centre Jared McCann to Florida.
Vancouver also got Florida's 2016 fifth round pick (NYI) and the Canucks sent their second and fourth round picks in the upcoming draft to Florida.
The 24-year-old Gudbranson had two goals, seven assists and a plus-3 rating 64 games for the Panthers last season. He also appeared in six playoff games.
He ranked third on the Panthers in hits (150), fourth in blocked shots (73) and fourth in average ice time per game (20:06). The third overall pick of the 2010 draft, Gudbranson ranked second on the Panthers and led Florida defencemen in average ice time in the 2016 playoffs (26:54) in addition to ranking second on the team in blocked shots (8).
The six-foot-five, 216-pound defenceman has 11 goals and 32 assists in 309 regular season games over five seasons with the Panthers.
On the international stage, Gudbranson earned a silver medal as a member of Canada at the 2011 World Junior Championships. He also won gold at the Ivan Hlinka Tournament in 2009.
The 19-year-old McCann had a strong rookie season with the Canucks in 2015-16, scoring nine goal and nine assists in 69 games with a minus-6 rating.
