Gudbranson on RFA status, captain projection

The Miami Herald notes Florida Panthers defenseman Erik Gudbranson is slated to return to the lineup Thursday night.

A recent interview with Sportsnet is cited in which GM Dale Tallon said Gudbranson, a restricted free agent this summer, is “likely going to be the captain of our team someday.”

Gudbranson: “That’s why you pay your agents to take care of that. I just want to get healthy, get back in the lineup and play good hockey. There is so much good young talent on this team. There is so much upside. We just need to grasp it and learn how to play hockey the right way.”

Source: George Richards, Miami Herald

On the same 'captain' quote, The Sun Sentinel offers this from Gudbranson:

"Those are great words to hear from Dale. That was pretty cool, but to me it's just about what you do on the ice, it's what you do in the dressing room."

He wants to help set a tone for next season.

"I think it starts now. The environment here needs to change," he said. "We need to become winners here. I think for these last nine games pushing ourselves to the limit and going out and playing well, playing hard, playing together, is going to be a huge factor for next year."

Source: Craig Davis, Sun Sentinel