[Trade] Cody Hodgson to Buffalo

[Robongo]

I don't know how people can even defend this trade. It is absolutely ???? terrible in every single way. Value wise it's not even ???? close, I think if GMs knew Cody was available we could have gotten a better return. It did not address our glaring need for a top 4 dman. What happens when Salo retires next year? Why couldn't we have traded Cody for a big mean young d man? If Gillis thought we were so deep at centre why take Cody at the 08 draft if we could have gotten a great D man or a winger? Why do this trade in the middle of the season when it obviously will disrupt chemistry both on the ice and in the room? We had 3 scoring lines now we have two. Our second PP unit is going back to sucking as Cody was the catalyst. I can sit here all day and list reasons why this is an absolute brutal trade.

I'm not taknig anything away from Kassian, but what more could you want from Cody? Amazing personality, work ethic, all around skill set. a star at every single level, consistent as hell. Most nights who was the forward that was the most noticable and arguably the best out there? Cody ???? Hodgson. People who defend this trade are just eating up the managements every word and can't critically think for themselves. Carry on sheeple, I'm gonna hate saying I told you so.

[Provost]

Welp, there goes our chance at the cup this year. Cody was key to our secondary scoring.

Everyone wanted to run Raymond out of town, after a slow start returning from a near career-ending injury he is now scoring at near the pace that Hodgson was... and that is while he is having one of his worst years on record AND coming back mid-season which is tough to do. He is secondary scoring.

A third line of Higgins-Pahlsson-Hansen is going to pot in a few, plus they are going to be a much better shut down line freeing up Kesler from those responsibilities. Pahlsson and Malhotra will now take effectively every defensive zone faceoff which means that Kesler is going to get far more quality offensive minutes.

A Pahlsson and Hansen duo on the PK may be seriously good.

Gragnani is a depth defenceman we have been looking for, and as Gillis said... another defenceman to play on the PP which we needed (Burrows was not getting it done back there).

I don't know if you recall how much more confident that the team looked making plays when Bitz was playing on the top line, it was like they all grwe 2 inches and gained 20 pounds. Kassian is a much more skilled player than that and tougher. It reminds me of what Babcock said when Bertuzzi signed there "My whole team just got bigger".

I don't expect Kassian to play on the top lines this season, but Hodgson wasn't going to either.

Hodgson was always going to be trade in the near future. We will have to see in a few years how both players have developed.

[Mookie Wilson]

Buffalo thought he was a fringe fourth liner. It's not about what i think im just looking at the trade from a different perspective. Keep drinking the Kassian Koolaid. As for Gragnani, Tanev is higher on the Canuck depth chart. so what do you think?

I highly doubt Buffalo saw him as a fringe fourth liner. He was their first round pick from just a few years ago. He was having a very successful season with their AHL team (he was taken in the same draft as Jordan Schroeder and is substantially outperforming Schroeder this year). While with the Sabres he was getting the same amount of ice time as Cody - 12-minutes per game - which is more than a fringe, fourth liner gets, but not ideal for the development of a prospect.

[Jai604]

Anyone who thinks Kassian is just a fringe 4th liner have absolutely no idea who Zack Kassian is, what his pedigree is, and how highly-touted he was/is.

That's not to say losing Cody Hodgson doesn't hurt. But those of you wailing that Kassian is just a big plumber really have no idea what you're talking about.

Like others have noted, yes, I think we gave up the better player in the deal, but it's not like we got nothing in return. Do a little research first.

Have you guys ever watched Kassian play for Canada, the Petes, and the Spitfires? Kid is the real deal.

[Tangerines]

I miss Cody but welcome Kassian with open arms!  This guys a BEAST and exactly what we need!  He has great vision, soft hands, moves gracefully for his hulk like stature, and can destroy you with a hit or in a fight.  Not to mention he has a wicked shot, and he sticks up for his teammates. He gives this team an element that they didn't have before, and this allows us to match up against any team now.  MG is right these guys don't come around very often.  Other teams will think twice when trying to mess with us now.  This guy can help out in so many areas of the game!  Hope he can show us what he's capable of!  Good luck Zack!!!

[Mookie Wilson]

I don't know how people can even defend this trade. It is absolutely ???? terrible in every single way. Value wise it's not even ???? close, I think if GMs knew Cody was available we could have gotten a better return. It did not address our glaring need for a top 4 dman. What happens when Salo retires next year? Why couldn't we have traded Cody for a big mean young d man? If Gillis thought we were so deep at centre why take Cody at the 08 draft if we could have gotten a great D man or a winger? Why do this trade in the middle of the season when it obviously will disrupt chemistry both on the ice and in the room? We had 3 scoring lines now we have two. Our second PP unit is going back to sucking as Cody was the catalyst. I can sit here all day and list reasons why this is an absolute brutal trade.

I'm not taknig anything away from Kassian, but what more could you want from Cody? Amazing personality, work ethic, all around skill set. a star at every single level, consistent as hell. Most nights who was the forward that was the most noticable and arguably the best out there? Cody ???? Hodgson. People who defend this trade are just eating up the managements every word and can't critically think for themselves. Carry on sheeple, I'm gonna hate saying I told you so.

I think Gillis identified a young, power forward as our greatest need and specifically identified that type of player when fielding offers for Hodgson. I'd be curious to see what other offers were out there.

If you think we need a top-4 defenseman as a replacement for Salo, then remember that we still have Schneider to dangle in the off-season. Also, you might be underrating Gragnani. I've never seen him play so I won't be preaching his abilities, but he does have some impressive accolades, so let's give him a chance. At the very least he's a left-side depth guy who adds a different look than Alberts or Rome. And his scouting reports suggest he has a future as a top-4 D. With him, Tanev and Connauton, our future suddenly looks bright on the back-end.

Our outlook at centre in 2008 was a lot different then than it is now. Hank was a point-per-game player who's future with the franchise was in question, and Kesler was still a checker. Also, it's an established theory that the best method for drafting - especially in the first round - is to take the best player available. Drafting is more about building assets for the future than acquiring specific skillsets. The average draftee takes at least 3 or 4 years to break into the league, and it's very hard to project a team's needs that far into the future.

I don't think this risks chemistry. We've traded away a 22-year old and added a 21-year old and a 34-year old Cup-winner who is a friend of the Sedins. Cody still hadn't become a member of the core group, so I doubt his absence from the room will be an issue. Similarly, I don't think the addition of Kassian will be detrimental. He's young and thus likely isn't a dominant personality in the room. And Pahlsson likely wouldn't be anything but a boost. He's got a winning pedigree, and he was a contributor the Blackhawks as a rental in 2009.

I too am worried about the loss of scoring depth. This puts pressure on Pahlsson (or Manny, Laps or Reinprecht) to step in as an effective third line anchor. It also puts increased pressure on the third line wingers to produce. But this will take checking responsibilities away from Kesler's line, so there production should increase.

I agree that our second PP unit will likely now be less effective, unless Kassian is more ready than we expect and can step in to provide a menacing net presence. Or perhaps we will see Burrows and Kesler swapped so that Kesler can be the trigger man on the second unit.

At the very least, could you not at least see Kassian, Pahlsson and Gragnani play a single game as Canucks before you are so harshly judgmental? In fact, this trade will not be able to be adequately evaluated until June, if not several years down the road. Let's see how Kassian and Gragnani develop, and let's watch Hodgson too.

[Canuck Surfer]

Screw you.

Gaustad would have aided this years cup run more, we have a PF in the making with Jensen & I'd way rather have CoHo than the first Nashville gave up for Gaustad.

Gillis told too many people what he wanted obviously; Hodgson was waaaay to much for a guy who is not yet ready for regular NHL play. And now we still have to find and develop a center to replace Hank in 2 to 3 years.

Secondarily;

Danny/Hank/Kess (now a two way line, not a lame duck offensive only line, & even more scoring potential)

Burrows/Hodgson/Booth smashing offensive 2knd line

Higgins/Pahlsson/Hansen Leagues 2knd best shut down line behind Bergeron's

Manny/Lapierre/Bitz Also a dynamite shut down line

Weise/Reinprecht

easily beats

Danny/Hank/Burrows

Raymond/Kesler/Booth

Hiigins/Pahlsson/Hansen

Manny/Lappy/Kassian

You gotta give some to get. Hodgson awsome guy and deserves top center minutes and will benefit in Buffalo. We got the type of player we wanted and a player that fill a hole in our line up.

[Tangerines]

I think Gillis identified a young, power forward as our greatest need and specifically identified that type of player when fielding offers for Hodgson. I'd be curious to see what other offers were out there.

If you think we need a top-4 defenseman as a replacement for Salo, then remember that we still have Schneider to dangle in the off-season. Also, you might be underrating Gragnani. I've never seen him play so I won't be preaching his abilities, but he does have some impressive accolades, so let's give him a chance. At the very least he's a left-side depth guy who adds a different look than Alberts or Rome. And his scouting reports suggest he has a future as a top-4 D. With him, Tanev and Connauton, our future suddenly looks bright on the back-end.

Our outlook at centre in 2008 was a lot different then than it is now. Hank was a point-per-game player who's future with the franchise was in question, and Kesler was still a checker. Also, it's an established theory that the best method for drafting - especially in the first round - is to take the best player available. Drafting is more about building assets for the future than acquiring specific skillsets. The average draftee takes at least 3 or 4 years to break into the league, and it's very hard to project a team's needs that far into the future.

I don't think this risks chemistry. We've traded away a 22-year old and added a 21-year old and a 34-year old Cup-winner who is a friend of the Sedins. Cody still hadn't become a member of the core group, so I doubt his absence from the room will be an issue. Similarly, I don't think the addition of Kassian will be detrimental. He's young and thus likely isn't a dominant personality in the room. And Pahlsson likely wouldn't be anything but a boost. He's got a winning pedigree, and he was a contributor the Blackhawks as a rental in 2009.

I too am worried about the loss of scoring depth. This puts pressure on Pahlsson (or Manny, Laps or Reinprecht) to step in as an effective third line anchor. It also puts increased pressure on the third line wingers to produce. But this will take checking responsibilities away from Kesler's line, so there production should increase.

I agree that our second PP unit will likely now be less effective, unless Kassian is more ready than we expect and can step in to provide a menacing net presence. Or perhaps we will see Burrows and Kesler swapped so that Kesler can be the trigger man on the second unit.

At the very least, could you not at least see Kassian, Pahlsson and Gragnani play a single game as Canucks before you are so harshly judgmental? In fact, this trade will not be able to be adequately evaluated until June, if not several years down the road. Let's see how Kassian and Gragnani develop, and let's watch Hodgson too.

^^^^^THIS

[YSSUP]

...........

[mau5trap]

I know this is probably whats best for our team.. but man..

Reality sucks.

[gizmo2337]

On a positive note, I've noticed that people are having a tough time deciding what our line-up will look like. We can add guys from the farm too: Tanev, Reinprecht, Oreskovich, Bitz.

It allows the coach to pick the team identity for a given night. If we need to be big and tough, we ice the big boys. If we need finesse and skill, we ice those guys. We have given the coach so many options in terms of what he can ice. Many of our players can move up or down a line and/or have multiple skill sets and/or can play multiple positions (faceoff, shutdown, PK, PP, etc, LW, RW)

Before the trade deadline, we were more 1-dimensional, a skill team mostly. Having more options on how to dress and ice the team is a *wonderful* problem to have. Plus we are creating even more competition for guys to keep their spot.This has proven to work well for us so far.

Sucks losing Cody, as he was coming in with clutch plays. Perhaps we might see Raymond, Jansen step up their game with another young winger in the mix. Another upside is this really helps unleash the Kesler beast mode to the max. Kesler, Booth, Kassian... that is a total power forward line if you ask me. I'm not sure if he's ready to play on that second line, but I have a feeling we might see it tried soon. Maybe even tonight

[Canuck Surfer]

Great; another soft left side D man who can skate...

If Ballard is back for the play-off's, be funny to hear the CDC reaction to who plays > Graggy or Ballard.

We needed a RIGHT side D man.

people are underestimating gragnani. he is the steal of the trade, youll see

[Karlsson`s Flo]

Gillis told too many people what he wanted obviously; Hodgson was waaaay to much for a guy who is not yet ready for regular NHL play. And now we still have to find and develop a center to replace Hank in 2 to 3 years.

Jordan Schroeder says hi. Besides, I think Hank will be around longer than 2-3 years.

[Canuck Surfer]

Wake me up when Schroeder blows one past the reigning Vezina & Conn Smythe winner top shelf for a game winner.

I say Hi back while still snoring!

Jordan Schroeder says hi. Besides, I think Hank will be around longer than 2-3 years.

[George_Costanza]

BTW it was super disrespectful to CoHo giving Kassian the jersey number 9. we should have retired it.

Bahahaha. Awesome troll.

[George_Costanza]

So many whiners, its laughable really.

Good trade all around.

[Canuck Surfer]

This would be fine if Kassian was already putting up 20 goals / 40 points and 120 to 150 penalty minutes.

Rather than give up our best prospect in 10 years; we could have given up much less for a rental. Then drafted or traded pics for a prospect like Zack. Fact is, we got played for Kassian, because everyone knew we did not score Ott, Moen, someone along that vein. So MG made a compromise and got a prospect version. Pitt gave up Goligoski, nowhere near as valuable as Hodgson, for a guy who IS much more valuable than Kassian is likely to become.

Fact is we neither got what we needed for this cup run, and we paid Waaaaaaaay to much for it. Probably done panicking cuz he had not got it done yet; and still missed out on an even more pressing need for a Kassian like right side D. Not an impressibe day for MG.

I think Gillis identified a young, power forward as our greatest need and specifically identified that type of player when fielding offers for Hodgson. I'd be curious to see what other offers were out there.

If you think we need a top-4 defenseman as a replacement for Salo, then remember that we still have Schneider to dangle in the off-season. Also, you might be underrating Gragnani. I've never seen him play so I won't be preaching his abilities, but he does have some impressive accolades, so let's give him a chance. At the very least he's a left-side depth guy who adds a different look than Alberts or Rome. And his scouting reports suggest he has a future as a top-4 D. With him, Tanev and Connauton, our future suddenly looks bright on the back-end.

Our outlook at centre in 2008 was a lot different then than it is now. Hank was a point-per-game player who's future with the franchise was in question, and Kesler was still a checker. Also, it's an established theory that the best method for drafting - especially in the first round - is to take the best player available. Drafting is more about building assets for the future than acquiring specific skillsets. The average draftee takes at least 3 or 4 years to break into the league, and it's very hard to project a team's needs that far into the future.

I don't think this risks chemistry. We've traded away a 22-year old and added a 21-year old and a 34-year old Cup-winner who is a friend of the Sedins. Cody still hadn't become a member of the core group, so I doubt his absence from the room will be an issue. Similarly, I don't think the addition of Kassian will be detrimental. He's young and thus likely isn't a dominant personality in the room. And Pahlsson likely wouldn't be anything but a boost. He's got a winning pedigree, and he was a contributor the Blackhawks as a rental in 2009.

I too am worried about the loss of scoring depth. This puts pressure on Pahlsson (or Manny, Laps or Reinprecht) to step in as an effective third line anchor. It also puts increased pressure on the third line wingers to produce. But this will take checking responsibilities away from Kesler's line, so there production should increase.

I agree that our second PP unit will likely now be less effective, unless Kassian is more ready than we expect and can step in to provide a menacing net presence. Or perhaps we will see Burrows and Kesler swapped so that Kesler can be the trigger man on the second unit.

At the very least, could you not at least see Kassian, Pahlsson and Gragnani play a single game as Canucks before you are so harshly judgmental? In fact, this trade will not be able to be adequately evaluated until June, if not several years down the road. Let's see how Kassian and Gragnani develop, and let's watch Hodgson too.

[Mookie Wilson]

On a positive note, I've noticed that people are having a tough time deciding what our line-up will look like. We can add guys from the farm too: Tanev, Reinprecht, Oreskovich, Bitz.

It allows the coach to pick the team identity for a given night. If we need to be big and tough, we ice the big boys. If we need finesse and skill, we ice those guys. We have given the coach so many options in terms of what he can ice. Many of our players can move up or down a line and/or have multiple skill sets and/or can play multiple positions (faceoff, shutdown, PK, PP, etc, LW, RW)

Before the trade deadline, we were more 1-dimensional, a skill team mostly. Having more options on how to dress and ice the team is a *wonderful* problem to have. Plus we are creating even more competition for guys to keep their spot.This has proven to work well for us so far.

Sucks losing Cody, as he was coming in with clutch plays. Perhaps we might see Raymond, Jansen step up their game with another young winger in the mix. Another upside is this really helps unleash the Kesler beast mode to the max. Kesler, Booth, Kassian... that is a total power forward line if you ask me. I'm not sure if he's ready to play on that second line, but I have a feeling we might see it tried soon. Maybe even tonight

Nice post.

And I agree: assuming Kassian and Pahlsson are effective, we have added more depth and versatility. We have netted an additional forward to an already very deep line-up. In the near-term, I expect the existing lines to be minimally disturbed, with Pahlsson slotting in as 3rd line C and Kassian as 4th line RW. But if Kassian challenges for a top-9 spot, AV suddenly has lots of options.

I'm sure we're all hoping for Kassian to be a top-9 contributor by playoff time. But let's not underestimate the value of adding a beast to our fourth line. Having Lapierre and Kassian rampaging together for 10 minutes or more per game could really wear down an opposing team, especially over a 7-game series. And imagine adding Bitz to that line as well. Our fourth line was inferior against Boston and Chicago in recent playoffs. I think we now have a superlative fourth line.

[JoeyFromBeantown]

Rather than give up our best prospect in 10 years; we could have given up much less for a rental.

Grabner says hi. Had more points at the same point in his NHL career than Hodgson has ...and hows Grabner doing the year after? Don't let a couple month hot streak lead to you believing he was the second coming.

He could be great, certainly. But he could also struggle down the road.

[16mark]

Kess is clearly not the same player he was last year. Kess looks broken down and tired. But AV keeps on driving Kess into the ground. Instead of alleviating some of the pressure that was on Kess AV refused to give Cody more ice time out of spite. Remember in the shoot outs he wouldn't go to Cody until the media got on AV its only then that he gave him a shot. The next shootout they were in Cody was first to shoot and he Scored. Think of how much fresher Kess would be if Cody was given just a little more ice time. Instead of going into the playoffs with three scoring lines we were are going in with our top 2 lines overused and tired. BTW I hope Cody lights it up with a hatty and gives AV the old 1 finger salute on the fly by. Still hope Canucks win though