SCF's Official NHL Trade Deadline Thread - Countdown to Feb. 27

[Wickabee]

IMO - Canucks did well today. Very well.

They add Phallson (spelling horrible, sorry!) as an upgrade for the 3C slot, right now. They add Kassian for more sandpaper, right now.... and he's only 21, so he'll be around for a while. They also upgraded their D with Gragnani.

Yes, they gave up a big prospect in Hodgeson - but they are much better to compete in the playoffs now than they were thismorning. That is the motivation for these deals.

If Vancouver wins a Cup, and Hodgeson becomes Captain in Buffalo while racking up 900 points over 14 seasons...... is this trade not still a win for Vancouver?

THANK YOU

Some people are acting like this is Gretzky for Gelinas.

[Craig2]

THANK YOU

Some people are acting like this is Gretzky for Gelinas.

Really, I just think people feel the Canucks gave up a lot in Hodgson although it's a deal that could benefit both teams......both teams had a good day, IMO.

[Wickabee]

Really, I just think people feel the Canucks gave up a lot in Hodgson although it's a deal that could benefit both teams......both teams had a good day, IMO.

I think the Canucks did well overall. If the Canucks were going to do something, they were going to have to lose Schneider, Hodgson and/or Raymond. The first thing they did was acquire a genuine 3rd line center in Pahlsson. Hodgson is a 2nd or 1st liner in reality, but the Canucks have Sedin and Kesler and they have them for awhile. They also have Schroeder coming up in the minors who will conceivably be a 1st or 2nd line center when they need one. They're still rolling with 5 centers in the line-up and Reinprecht and Schoeder in the minors. In Sulzer they lose an 8th dman and Gragnani will step into the 5th spot. Ultimately, while losing Hodgson hurts, the Canucks improved overall without completely mortgaging their future. Last season they had no consistency at the 4th line center position, so Gillis acquired Lapierre and shored up the top 6 forwards a little. This year, they've had no consistency at 4th line wing, so he gets Kassian who is young and has the potential to blossom into a premier power forward. Gragnani gives the defense more depth and more options, and can be seen as the answer to losing Hodgson on the PP.

Overall, I think this team is more balanced and I think Gillis is a man who can judge what is needed vs what is expendable. I'm not happy that Hodgson is gone, but overall I do think the team improved. At the same time, I think Buffalo improved a great deal as well.

[scottkoz20]

Hodgson for Kassian looks like the Canucks lost. It will, however, take some time before it's really known for sure. What can be said is Kassian will likely step into a third or 4th line role that the Canucks desperately need some consistency on. Having Kassian will eliminate the need to decide between Weiss and Bitz every night. Hodgson is an amazing addition for Buffalo, but the Canucks seem to believe they can continue scoring without him and let's face it, they're moving for a Cup now and Hodgson was their future, not their now. I am sad to see him go, he could have been a great Canuck, but no way am I going to call this the worst trade ever or anything like that.

This is a deal that we will not know the "winner" for sometime. However, this deal could be a franchise altering move for both. The Sabres FINALLY have a Center that can be a Top 6 guy and can move forward with while the Canucks are going to get a guy that has the potential to be Cam Neely (which was the worst deal Vancouver ever made)

Sulzer for Gragnani is an all-out win for Vancouver. Sulzer was the 8th Dman in Vancouver at absolute best (9th depending on your thoughts of Tanev). Gragnani will step into a 4th or 5th role. One of Vancouver's major strengths last season was the fact they had 5 top 4 defensemen. Gragnani is a good puck mover, you'll see him on the powerplay and I think he's going to become a big part of the Canucks D-core.

The Sabres realistically had 3 of the same type of defenseman on the roster with Grags, Leopold and Sekera. If Grags fills a 4/5 role in Vancouver, this might speak to the lack of depth the Canucks might have (not knowing the system well, I'm only guessing based on the comment). Sulzer is a 6/7th guy with Mike Weber and simply replaces the role that Grags was holding. I do not believe that Grags would not have been qualified in the off season by the Sabres. Sulzer (as was Grags) is going to be around until Brayden McNabb is ready to step into the lineup as the #5 guy. TJ Brennan is also a guy that appears to be NHL ready waiting in the wings with the Amerks.

This trade was made for right now but without completely mortgaging the future. Kassian still has loads of potential and I think the Canucks see him as a potential Todd Bertuzzi v2.0. I think Gillis explained himself well when he was questioned simply because he said what I was thinking of the deal. For Vancouver it's a more balanced line-up, it's a bigger and stronger line-up, it addresses needs for right now. I do think they probably could have got more in return if they had really pushed, but in the end, Gillis and the rest of the team didn't seem to think they needed to. If Kassian is a slight loss and Gragnani is a huge win, I don't see how that's a bad trade overall. I think a lot of Canucks fans need to calm down and realize this is Hodgson for Kassian, not Gretzky for Gelinas.

This was one of the few times in recent history that this was a pure hockey trade and not a guy moving for a puck bag and/or a pick and/or a prospect that may or may not pan out. Sometimes you have to give up something to get something and this was a deal that helps BOTH teams today and going forward.

[Wickabee]

I agree with most of your comments. The Canucks lack of depth on D this year is kind of interesting. They have a great top 4 in Bieksa, Hamhuis, Edler and Salo but one of the major reasons they went as far as they did was the fact they had Ehrhoff, which gave them 5 legitimate top 4 guys. Letting Ehrhoff go wasn't a bad decision, as they were faced with Bieksa or Ehrhoff, but the loss is noticable. Gragnani is no Ehrhoff, but that's ok. He fits into the system in the 4th or 5th spot, depending on exactly what Vigneault and Bowness want to do with the defense pairings. Sulzer was barely used here in Van and was behind the top 4 plus Alberts, Rome, Ballard and was arguably in the process of losing position to Tanev and Sauve in the pecking order. Vancouver has a lot of depth at D, but the drop off from 4 to 5 was pretty huge. Gragnani makes it more of a slope and can fit in nicely.

As to Kassian, I think he does have the potential to be another Neely/Bertuzzi/Lucic but even if he isn't a premier guy like that, he's not a total loss. The potential in this guy is pretty big, but the Sabres just seem to not have given him an honest chance yet, much like the Canucks did with Grabner. He adds an element the Canucks lacked last year and continued to lack this season.

[Sportfreund]

One thing I will caution Canucks fans on is that Gragnani is awful defensively. I know he got on the radar with his playoff performance last year but he's regressed and has been a liability. I watch Buffalo more for Myers/Ennis and Gragnani's a healthy scratch fairly often but he's pretty bad when he does play.

I don't really like Kassian for Hodgson but might work out. My main problem with it is that it's thinking short-term in terms of Kassian being a winger who helps them beat Boston cos they need toughness, better asset mgmt would've been to keep Hodgson till his value went up and then trade him for a 2nd line established winger who's further along in development and is proven unlike Kassian.

[Estovia]

I think the question that has been raised though, is how much Hodgson would be able to prove in Vancouver. How high can his stock go if he's only getting 3rd line minutes behind Kesler and Sedin?

I think over time Vancouver fans will come to be happy with this trade. The only major difference between these two players right now is a year of NHL playing time. If Kassian meets the expectations Sabres fans had for him here, then the "win" in this trade will go to Vancouver.

As far as production this season goes, keep in mind that a lot of people are calling for Lindy Ruff's head on a plate. This team was supposed to be improved from last year, and right now the only thing we're competing for is a lottery pick.

The major opinion is that Lindy's program, successful coming out of the lockout, is flawed, and won't work with the way the league has adapted post-post-lockout. It makes for a really bad barometer to judge the kids by.

I suspect, with the proper coaching and program that Vancouver can provide, you'll get more than you are currently expecting out of those two kids, and the sting of losing Hodgson will abide with time.

Well, except for those folks with extensive Hodgson collections.

[Wickabee]

One thing I will caution Canucks fans on is that Gragnani is awful defensively. I know he got on the radar with his playoff performance last year but he's regressed and has been a liability. I watch Buffalo more for Myers/Ennis and Gragnani's a healthy scratch fairly often but he's pretty bad when he does play.

We had Ehrhoff last season. I'm sure he's a little better than Grags defensively, but in Vancouver he was caught up ice after a rush and took a bad penalty coming back, so we're kind of used to that sort of thing. We have shut down Dmen in Hamhuis, Bieksa, Edler, Salo, Alberts and Rome. The addition of Grags, who is a good puck moving Dman and will see some powerplay time, brings Vancouver almost to the level of D-core they had last season. I think Grags can fit into Vancouver's system and they tend to play a team defense system anyway.

Letting Hodgson going was a mixture of having too many centers, not enough toughness and Cody isn't that great in his own end either. Not as big a deal as with a defenseman, but still an important part of a center's game. I have no doubt Hodgson will mature and improve in this area, but the Canucks didn't need another non-hitting sniper in the line-up. I'm hearing people say Vancouver "mortgaged their future" on this trade and I couldn't disagree more. Kassian has a bright future and we do have another top-2-center in the making in Jordan Schroeder.

At first glance, this trade is a head scratcher for certain, but when you look at Vancouver's whole picture, it makes sense. Still unpopular, but makes sense and has the potential to possibly put Van over the top this season.