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Trade Reflection: The Time We Traded Away Wayne Simmonds


Ouellet

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I started a Canucks wordpress blog yesterday merely as a hobby. I follow/discuss the team religiously, and I need a venue to put it out. I might be down to include some contributor blogs eventually when things get going a bit. It's not meant to be a fancy site, just hopefully a place for casual discussion. It should be a fun way to destress for my last year of university.

I reflected on a little discussed trade today:

Trade Reflection: The Time We Traded Away Wayne Simmonds

Ok, ok, so we didn’t trade Wayne Simmonds as we know him today. Actually, we never traded the player himself. We did, though, trade away the draft pick that was used by the Los Angeles Kings to select him in 2007, so for fun, why don’t we take a look at what could have been?

For comfort’s sake, this has happened to every single team. Trading away any draft pick comes with the understanding that one day that player could be worth far more than the pick was ever worth. The Canucks traded away their 2nd round pick in 2007 (along with their 2008 4th rounder, who turned into legendary Kings forward Justin Jokinen), and in return they received some hair (with a conditional Brent Sopel). That 2nd round pick that we gave up became Wayne Simmonds.

Let’s look at the Canucks’ return first. Sopel’s first stint in Vancouver was actually pretty decent. In the 2003-2004 season, he netted 10 goals and 42 points. As much as he’s remembered now for that flow, he actually had some skills. Even in the year he was traded back to the team, he put up 23 points 44 games for LA. Back in a Canucks uniform in 2007, he managed a whopping 5 points in 20 games, and that’s the good part. In 11 playoffs games that year, he netted zero goals. He also assisted on zero goals, and the Canucks were eliminated in the second round.

His time with the Canucks was so shitty that he went into Detroit’s training camp the next year without a contract. He didn’t make the team either, but Chicago gave him a chance. He had a solid season, too, with 20 points in 58 games, but who cares? As long as those draft picks didn’t pan out, everything is irrelevant, right?

Well, since I already spoiled it for you, everything wasn’t irrelevant, and this trade should haunt you at night. As Canucks fans, we can have some solace in the fact that Justin Jokinen didn’t live up to his name. But the thought of having Wayne Simmonds on the team in 2011 is painful.

Simmonds already had a 40 point season under his belt prior to that season, and he put up 30 the year the Canucks went to the finals. He netted 49 points in his first year in Philly, and last year he managed 60, better than any Canuck.

It’s not just about his point totals, though. I’m a huge Simmonds fan. His honest grit and toughness could have been an amazing counter to Marchand’s dirty antics in 2011, just like they are now when Philly plays Boston. His timely goals and heavy hitting could have sparked the team in that final series when we needed it. His two way game could have stopped some of those goal barrages against Chicago and Boston. Kesler’s Nashville series could have been even more legendary with Simmonds on the wing. The list goes on.

I know it’s practically useless looking at long finished trades, but this is one that doesn’t get brought up much by Canucks fans. I’m not sure what the rental market was like then, but giving up that second rounder was a whole lot for a pending UFA, even if that pick didn’t end up turning into one of the strongest and most well rounded players in the game. So next time you watch Philly play, and you watch Simmonds celebrate in orange, remember what the reacquisition of Brent Sopel’s hair cost us.

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The point of the reflection is more to pose the question of what could have been. I've talked to a lot of fans who don't seem to know that we traded that pick away. It's purely in the name of fun and 'what ifs'.

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The point of the reflection is more to pose the question of what could have been. I've talked to a lot of fans who don't seem to know that we traded that pick away. It's purely in the name of fun and 'what ifs'.

29 teams passed on Dats, Zata, and whoever else got picked in the last rounds of any draft. "What ifs" and "what could have beens" have no meaning in the real world.

What if 99 signed here instead of 11?

What if Bert never punched Moore?

What if it never rang off the post?

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The point of the reflection is more to pose the question of what could have been. I've talked to a lot of fans who don't seem to know that we traded that pick away. It's purely in the name of fun and 'what ifs'.

What's the purpose though? To learn not to trade away draft picks? Maybe, but the chances of trading away a future superstar are really low (unless you are trading away a high pick). For all we know our 3rd rounder next year that was sent to Anaheim will become the next Datsyuk.

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Don't tell me "And I don't want to read your blog." qualifies as hate speech these days.

Eh, just thought some of the responses here were a little ridiculous. So the OP asked a "what if?" style question - no need to be douchey in the response.

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Eh, just thought some of the responses here were a little ridiculous. So the OP asked a "what if?" style question - no need to be douchey in the response.

I'm glad you are such a nice person, but the OP is just looking for hits on his blog. Nothing else. I didn't even click the link.

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I'm glad you are such a nice person, but the OP is just looking for hits on his blog. Nothing else. I didn't even click the link.

Fight the man!

But seriously, I appreciate everyone who reads it. If it's not your thing, of course you shouldn't click on it. I plan on doing more reflections on past trades, including draft picks that turned into good players. I find it fun, but I also understand people who don't give a shit about it.

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29 teams passed on Dats, Zata, and whoever else got picked in the last rounds of any draft. "What ifs" and "what could have beens" have no meaning in the real world.

What if 99 signed here instead of 11?

What if Bert never punched Moore?

What if it never rang off the post?

What if we drafted Kopitar instead of Bourdon?

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29 teams passed on Dats, Zata, and whoever else got picked in the last rounds of any draft. "What ifs" and "what could have beens" have no meaning in the real world.

What if 99 signed here instead of 11?

What if Bert never punched Moore?

What if it never rang off the post?

Your username could not be any more fitting for this post ;)

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Every draft is full of what ifs...

Bourdon over Kopitar.

Patrick White ahead of David Perron

Jordan Schroeder ahead of Marcus Johansson.

Andrew Sarauer ahead of Ryan Callahan.

The list goes on...

Who cares. That's why the draft is there and that's why teams have the scouting departments. Its so we don't live with what ifs. It's so we live with "this was our move, and its the move we believed in."

Were not going to get the 1st round superstar or the 5th round steal, or the 6th round late bloomer every draft. We draft to get the players we think are the best and can one day contribute to our team. If we miss, we try again. If we get it right, awesome.

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