Mirtle: The latest on Brunnstrom

Globe and Mail Blog Post

April 15, 2008 at 7:19 PM EST

Dave Nonis is out in Vancouver, and according to Red Wings GM Ken Holland, that may be his opening in the Fabian Brunnstrom sweepstakes.

A day after Holland had said the Swedish youngster wanted too many guarantees in order to sign with Detroit, he told the Detroit Free Press today that the shuffling in the Canucks' front office could change things. “We've heard he's reconsidering,” Holland told the paper.

Over the past few days, it's been reported extensively that Brunnstrom to Vancouver was all but a done deal, and that the rookie had gotten guarantees as far as where he fit on the Canucks roster from Nonis. It's assumed that meant he would start the season on a line with the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik.

Reports in the Swedish media have Brunnstrom's salary pegged at $2-million a season, which would have to include bonuses given he would be on a capped entry level deal for the first three years. Thomas Rundqvist, who manages Brunnstrom's Swedish league club Färjestad, told Aftonbladet yesterday that, while the player was under contract to the team, he had a out-clause that would allow him to join an NHL team next season.

Brunnstrom's a tough one to get a handle on, given the fact he's 23 years old and has hardly played internationally, but polling a few members of the Swedish media, there's not an overwhelming buzz about him on that side of the ocean.

"He was brilliant during the regular season, but had a really bad playoff with Färjestad," said one Swedish reporter. "[$2-million] sounds a bit much, doesn't it? I mean, he did play in the Swedish Division 1 — which actually means the third division, after Elitserien and Allsvenskan — last year. And I don't think he will make the roster for the national team in the world championships."

"He had a rough 2008 with all the attention, and I think that got to him," said Risto Pakarinen, a Stockholm-based journalist who has written about Brunnstrom this season. "Good kid, though, nice hands, sees the ice well — but we'll see."

It makes one wonder how much Nonis's off-season game plan relied on the unproven youngster to fill a top-line role.

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