Erik Gudbranson might be staying in Vancouver after all, as Canucks general manager Jim Benning said he'd like to sign the defenseman to an extension instead of trading him at the deadline, reports Sportsnet's Iain MacIntyre.

As a right shot, pending unrestricted free agent blue-liner, Gudbranson's name has been linked in trade talks throughout the season, but Benning believes he's still of use to the rebuilding Canucks.

"He's a physical, stay-at-home defenseman who helps us," Benning said. "We have other defenseman who are more puck-moving guys, but we don't have anyone else with Gudbranson's style of play."

Gudbranson has only appeared in 32 games this season, averaging 17:44 per contest. The 26-year-old has produced one goal and two assists and owns a team-worst 42.81 Corsi-for percentage.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.