Brunnstrom heading to Big D

[Big Tall]

Just up on TSN...

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=237147&lid=headline&lpos=secStory_main

Sources tell TSN Fabian Brunnstrom will make his NHL debut next season with the Dallas Stars.

The 23 year old Swedish forward officially made his decision on Thursday with Dallas edging out Montreal, Detroit and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"In the end there was no wrong decision. All of the organizations involved were extremely professional and respectful in their approach and the opportunity was carefully explained. The Dallas option was simply the best one overall for Fabian and he is very comfortable with his decision," said Brunnstrom's agent J.P. Barry

Last week Brunnstrom toured Dallas and spent time with Ken Holland and the Detroit Red Wings before making his way to Montreal where Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey courted the highly sought after free agent.

Sources say the Calgary Flames and Anaheim Ducks also pitched hard in the last 10 days.

The Toronto Maple Leafs campaign for Brunnstrom was based on opportunity and the expectation he would be given a chance to be an impact player in Toronto next season.

Brunnstrom chose Dallas based on his belief there a combination of both roster depth and opportunity will exist when he arrives on the scene for training camp.

Brunnstrom will have a two-year entry-level deal signed within the 24 hours and will be paid in a similar fashion to a top 5 draft pick, which could translate into a cap hit of over 2 million dollars per season.

Part of the impetus for the deal is that Dallas does not have a first round pick this year, it was traded to the Los Angeles Kings last year as part of the Mattias Norstrom deal.

 

[langway05]

James

Thanks for posting and I'm glad that the Drama of the SEL player is over....

Brian

 

[KabbyKev]

Me too - was getting tired of hearing it every time I got in the truck and turned on The Fan...

I hope he does well, but I'm not 100% sure that he's the answer to anyone's problems.

 

[slappy69]

you figure they could get more bang for the buck 2 million for this guy

I guess we will see.

:crazy:

 

[DredJAw]

you figure they could get more bang for the buck 2 million for this guy

I guess we will see.

:crazy:

Thats if he reaches bonuses.

Every top 5 pick gets these types of deals in their entry level contract... from Crosby to Malkin to Ladd and Barker. If your top 5, your base is around $900K and you have incentives from there that can actually get you up to $4M. Most of those are unattainable (i.e. win the Conn Smyth your rookie year, win the All-Star game MVP, etc).

If he sucks, he makes $900K... if he's a point per game he makes about $2M.

Perfect deal if you ask me.

 

[frankiefives]

I'm just stoked that next year's rookie crop just got better

 

[Gerber29]

But this guy didn't even make the WC team of Sweden this year...

 

[Chinner]

Big mistake for the Canucks not to land this guy. He's a fairly young offensive minded forward, what they are lacking! Oh man, all he cost to whatever team he went to was only money.

 

[DredJAw]

Big mistake for the Canucks not to land this guy. He's a fairly young offensive minded forward, what they are lacking! Oh man, all he cost to whatever team he went to was only money.

It wasn't the Canucks decision where he played.

 

[leafschik1967]

It wasn't the Canucks decision where he played.

Not really but the rumour was that they had him all but signed until they fired Nonis.

 

[jmatchett]

He's the newest incarnation of Jirir Dopita.

 

[newfiecomicguy1]

Ruutu all over again. Greatest player outside the NHL, we will see how great he really is.