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It's a race: Cody Hodgson vs Zach Kassian


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I am glad Kassian is a keeper. And every bit as good as Hodgson in his own way. I also think what he brings to the team, size and grit, is more needed than yet another small(ish) offensive player.....this season.

That said I think I have to remind people that the main objection to the trade was THE TIMING. We were trading away our 4th (I've heard 3rd?) leading scorer at the time of the trade. Top of the rookie heap as well with the Nuge out for a bit. And what was the main complaint in the playoff run the year previously? Not enough offense. AND they traded away this scoring potential knowing full well that Kesler had sustained a nagging shoulder injury in January, to go on top of his other recovery, which they kept secret. Of course they couldn't predict Keiths hit on Daniel just before the playoffs, but they should have known they were thin on offense going in.

And those that categorically state that it wouldn't have made any difference in the LA series......how do you know? We weren't blown away in games against LA. One or two goals or assists here and there might very well have allowed us to scrape through LA. And then with Daniel improving every day...who knows?

There is a definite window of opportunity which will end in a few years and Gillis in part gave up on last year to secure a prospect for the future. Lucky for us and him that Zack developed so quickly. I think it helped that the Sedins put him under their wings this last Summer in training. But there's no reason that Zack wouldn't have still been available in the Summer. (If not another talented gritty prospect) So we may have had not only Kassian here now, but a Stanley Cup parade as well, if Gillis had only held off, and AV had swallowed his baffling grudge against Cody. He should have lessened Keslers minutes in order for him to be more rested for the playoffs, (instead of the opposite) and increased Cody's minutes to give him even more experience and chemistry on the team going into the playoffs.

So yeah, today.....I am happy we have Kassian. But that does not mean I let MG off the hook for throwing away a scoring threat right before last years playoffs for a kid that was clearly not ready for prime time.

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OP here; I agree with the comments so far, and thanks for not totally bashing my Thred. I love that we have the more physical player of the two on our team, and I think the Hitting and Fighting more than makes up for Cody's slightly better scoring touch as of right now.

I was just really surprised to see them both with the same number of goals, so I thought it was worth bringing up this topic again.

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Cody went on to do nothing last season in Buffalo after the trade. So would he have been a difference-maker against LA? Not likely. So you need to give MG a pass. Esp. when Coho, y'know, ASKED to be dealt.

Meanwhile, Buffalo's top line is lighting the lamp a lot, but they're also last in their division standings, due to them also giving up a lot of goals-against.

While Kassian has benefitted a lot from Sedin icetime, he's also done a lot on his own. The assist to Edler last game was his, not a Sedin's. He is looking more and more like a rare 'complete player' with size. Something that Cody will never be, of course.

The players will be forever compared, but if GM's were to pick between Lucic and Krejci on which player is more important to the Bruins, it's gonna be Lucic 9 times out of 10. This is because players like Lucic are far more rare than players like Krejci.

I don't think we have another Lucic in Kassian though. But a fair comparison might be Ryan Malone or Ryane Clowe, who are both VERY important players on their teams.

Just glad that Kassian is working out for us so far. If Hodgson gets more points this season, it'll be because of Vanek and a continuing team disregard for defense.

I am glad Kassian is a keeper. And every bit as good as Hodgson in his own way. I also think what he brings to the team, size and grit, is more needed than yet another small(ish) offensive player.....this season.

That said I think I have to remind people that the main objection to the trade was THE TIMING. We were trading away our 4th (I've heard 3rd?) leading scorer at the time of the trade. Top of the rookie heap as well with the Nuge out for a bit. And what was the main complaint in the playoff run the year previously? Not enough offense. AND they traded away this scoring potential knowing full well that Kesler had sustained a nagging shoulder injury in January, to go on top of his other recovery, which they kept secret. Of course they couldn't predict Keiths hit on Daniel just before the playoffs, but they should have known they were thin on offense going in.

And those that categorically state that it wouldn't have made any difference in the LA series......how do you know? We weren't blown away in games against LA. One or two goals or assists here and there might very well have allowed us to scrape through LA. And then with Daniel improving every day...who knows?

There is a definite window of opportunity which will end in a few years and Gillis in part gave up on last year to secure a prospect for the future. Lucky for us and him that Zack developed so quickly. I think it helped that the Sedins put him under their wings this last Summer in training. But there's no reason that Zack wouldn't have still been available in the Summer. (If not another talented gritty prospect) So we may have had not only Kassian here now, but a Stanley Cup parade as well, if Gillis had only held off, and AV had swallowed his baffling grudge against Cody. He should have lessened Keslers minutes in order for him to be more rested for the playoffs, (instead of the opposite) and increased Cody's minutes to give him even more experience and chemistry on the team going into the playoffs.

So yeah, today.....I am happy we have Kassian. But that does not mean I let MG off the hook for throwing away a scoring threat right before last years playoffs for a kid that was clearly not ready for prime time.

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