Could Shayne Gostisbehere be cost efficient source of blueline firepower at the Trade Deadline?

Credit: © Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

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With less than two months remaining until the NHL’s March 3 trade deadline, we’re bringing you one deadline-focused story each day at Daily Faceoff.

Today we’re going to focus on Arizona Coyotes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who was No. 11 on our latest Trade Targets board last week.

2023 Trade Deadline Countdown: 49 Days

SHAYNE GOSTISBEHERE
Defenseman, Arizona Coyotes
Shoots: Left
Age: 29
Height: 5’11″ | Weight: 180 lbs.
Cap Hit: $4.5 million AAV
Term: Pending UFA
Trade Clauses: No restrictions
Stats: 41 GP, 9 goals, 19 assists, 28 points, 22:29 avg TOI
Career: 9th season (seven with Philadelphia), 504 GP, 83 goals, 298 points, 20:30 avg TOI

Archetype and Ideal Role

Puck-Mover, Third Pair

Gostisbehere was the No. 20 ranked Puck-Moving Defenseman in Daily Faceoff’s Archetype Ranking series. Ideally, he is slotted in a featured offensive role – where he can contribute at both even-strength and on the power play. Like other high-flying defensemen, he will likely need to play with a strong defender, in a sheltered role, or both.

Scouting Report

The “Ghost” is enjoying a career revival at age 29. After the Flyers were forced to spend second and seventh round picks in 2022 to move off his contract, he went on to put up 51 points in 82 games last season. Health is a big reason why he was so productive – along with a clear boost in confidence. He dealt with multiple injuries at the end of his tenure in Philadelphia and he has not missed a game in a season and a half in Arizona.

Gostisbehere never lost his ability to move the puck, but a lot of criticism fell on him and his $27 million contract as the Flyers collectively failed to meet expectations. Playing free of expectations in Arizona, Gostisbehere is back to being one of the better puck-movers in the NHL and is on pace to eclipse his totals from last season.

He moves the puck so well because he is elusive in small spaces, in large part because of his feet that allow him to move well laterally. He also has solid anticipation with the puck. While Gostisbehere is not a burner by any means, not someone who is going to consistently beat the forecheck with his feet, he can sense and feel pressure well and avoid it to create lanes and angles to move the puck. He is especially effective on the offensive blueline at manipulating the space he gets to open ice and distribute to attacking teammates.

Coupled with his quickness and anticipation, Gostisbehere has soft hands and excellent hand-eye coordination. He deftly catches pucks, settles them, and gets them off his stick to teammates or toward the net. He doesn’t have an elite shot, but it is accurate and he gets it through more often than not, which creates second chances.

Buyer Beware

It’s no secret that Gostisbehere is not a top-flight defender. Like Erik Karlsson, Gostisbehere is a permissive defender, especially through the neutral zone. He routinely backs off and allows opponents space to generate speed and options. Once in the defensive zone, teams notice ‘Ghost’ can be late to react to pressure, which allows opponents additional time and space to attack. He is also not the most physical or the strongest defenseman, so if he can’t gain position with his feet, he often loses battles and ultimately possession.

The other complicating factor for Gostisbehere is his contract. He can certainly be effective when deployed in an offensive role, with mostly offensive zone draws and power play time. See: Kevin Shattenkirk signed by Tampa Bay prior to the 2019-20 season.

But given his $4.5 million salary cap hit, his contract will likely need to be filtered through a third-party broker, which will raise the acquisition cost. The good news is Gostisbehere would then only be on the books for $1.125 million. The bad news: Teams will ask themselves whether a sheltered defenseman will be worth the additional pick or asset to make it work.

Potential Fits

Pittsburgh Penguins: This has been a tough season for Kris Letang, who suffered a stroke on Nov. 30 and has been dealing with the death of his father. Given Letang’s injury history, would Gostisbehere be a solid insurance policy for the Penguins? No one else on the Pens’ roster can really do what Letang does. Gostisbehere is a decent enough facsimile – and certainly more productive than Ty Smith or Pierre-Olivier Joseph. Pens GM Ron Hextall saw Gostisbehere at his best in Philadelphia and signed him to this current contract. Money would be tight, but moving this deal through a third-party broker would make it potentially manageable.
Tampa Bay Lightning: We mentioned Kevin Shattenkirk’s role with the Bolts earlier and that got us thinking. There would be room for a defenseman with Gostisbehere’s skillset in Tampa at the right price. Mikhail Sergachev slots well into that role now, but Gostisbehere could be insurance, and Tampa has proven the right player can be properly deployed when brought in with the right expectations.
New York Islanders: The Islanders need goals. They need a boost on their power play. And they could certainly get more of both with Gostisbehere’s addition. The Islanders are one of a few potentially playoff-bound teams that are actively accruing cap space and wouldn’t need a third-party broker to make a deal like this happen, which would lessen the acquisition cost.
The Calgary Flames don’t appear to be actively in the market for a defenseman and much is still to be determined with the status of Oliver Kylington. But Gostisbehere could be a decent stylistic fit as someone who could help in getting the puck up the ice and as a dynamic blueline presence.

Sizing up the Market

Other defensemen available: LD Jakob Chychrun (Arizona), RD John Klingberg (Anaheim), LD Vladislav Gavrikov (Columbus), RD Erik Karlsson (San Jose), LD Jake McCabe (Chicago), RD Ryan Merkley (San Jose).

Potentially available defensemen: RD Luke Schenn (Vancouver), LD Cam Fowler (Anaheim), LD Niko Mikkola (St. Louis), LD Jaycob Megna (San Jose), RD Sean Walker (Los Angeles), LD Carson Soucy (Seattle).

Pending free agents this summer: LD John Klingberg, RD Matt Dumba, LD Dmitry Orlov, RD Damon Severson, LD Brian Dumoulin, LD Shayne Gostisbehere, LD Carson Soucy, LD Ian Cole, RD Nick Jensen.

Comparable Trade Returns

Ceiling: DeAngelo to Philly

July 8, 2022
To Philadelphia: Signing rights to RFA Tony DeAngelo
To Carolina: 2024 2nd Round Pick, 2023 3rd Round Pick, 2022 4th Round Pick (Simon Forsmark)

Interestingly, the Flyers acquired DeAngelo less than one calendar year after coughing up a second-round pick to get off of Gostisbehere’s contract, to fill largely the same role as an offensive point producer from the back end. Some may view DeAngelo as a ‘better version’ of Gostisbehere and a stronger defender. And DeAngelo would have the numbers to support that (0.80 points-per-game vs. 0.66 last season). Nonetheless, they are similar stylistic comps. DeAngelo is two years younger than Gostisbehere and was an RFA when acquired – so you knew that the player would be part of your club for the longer-term when executing the deal. Gostisbehere is a rental in this case – and won’t be fetching as much.

Mid-Range: Kulak to Edmonton

March 21, 2022
To Edmonton: Brett Kulak
To Montréal: William Lagesson, 2022 2nd Round Pick (Lane Hutson), 2024 7th Round Pick
(Montréal retained 50% on Kulak’s salary – worth $925,000)

While Kulak is a different archetype of defenseman than Gostisbehere, there are some elements of this trade that may be similar. Like Gostisbehere, Kulak was a rental as pending UFA. The Canadiens not only retained 50 percent on Kulak’s salary, but also took back Lagesson’s contract as another form of salary retention. That pushed what might have been a third-round pick into second round territory and caused Edmonton to add a seventh.

Summary

Given the reported pricey acquisition costs of Erik Karlsson and teammate Jakob Chychrun, Gostisbehere could be a great checkdown option for a playoff-bound team looking to add firepower to their back end. Regardless of the return, this is solid asset management by Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong, who is playing with house money after already receiving a second-round pick to take on Gostisbehere. Now that he’s found his game again, whatever comes back is a home run for the Desert Dogs.

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