[Trade] VAN acquires Linden Vey

[HockeyHobo73]

I am hearing Vey is a good young player, but it would have been nice to have drafted 4 first round ranked players (Virtanen, McCann, Demko, and McKeowen)

[thad]

I wonder what torts is thinking watching us make all these gritty high compete level meat and potatoes moves haha. Fire the guy then start building his dream team haha

[Boudrias]

Raymond-Kesler-Samuelson

The closest Van has come to a 2nd line in 4 years. One should consider the impact that has had on the play of the Twins. Gillis's failure to create a 2nd line brought the Canucks to the current situation.

Old News put it as well as can be done IMO. Vancouver's depth is horrendous. A depth chart is not just player projection but also a timeline. Benning increased his depth in the 22-26 grouping which was critical. Adding 3 players plus Dorsett changes the complexion of this roster. Not only does it increase the compete for the vets but also takes some pressure off the previous draft picks of 2012 & 2013.

[stawns]

Raymond-Kesler-Samuelson

The closest Van has come to a 2nd line in 4 years. One should consider the impact that has had on the play of the Twins. Gillis's failure to create a 2nd line brought the Canucks to the current situation.

Old News put it as well as can be done IMO. Vancouver's depth is horrendous. A depth chart is not just player projection but also a timeline. Benning increased his depth in the 22-26 grouping which was critical. Adding 3 players plus Dorsett changes the complexion of this roster. Not only does it increase the compete for the vets but also takes some pressure off the previous draft picks of 2012 & 2013.

This was part of a larger post I made in the Iginla thread, but sums up what I would say here

Suddenly the future of this franchise looks bright and he has no need to rush these young guys into the lineup because he was able to make moves to get guys like Bonino, Ley, Sbisa and Dorsett on draft day. On top of that, he now has a boat load of cap space to make some UFA signings. Two months ago, I thought this team was in the tank for at least 5 years, now I see that they are going to be a pretty solid team for at least 3-4 years, which allows the young guys time to cure. What TL and JB have done this weekend is nothing short of amazing. If JB can convince a couple of UFA's to come to Van, this team is going to be able complete with the big boys for a cpl of years.

Benning (with some help from some nice picks by MG) has now put this team into rebuild mode without having to rush them into the NHL. Horvat and Cassels will return to Jr for another season, then at least one in Utica. Shink, Gaunce and Fox will be in Utica next season working on their pro games with some solid, young 3rd-4th line guys and some decent young dmen. Add to that McCaan, Virtanen, Demko and the Russian giant and things look pretty darn good for 5-6 years down the road, wgen the twins finally pack it in. In the meantime, there is a new core of 22-26 year olds ready to bridge the gap and keep the team competitive.

Kudos to JB and TL, what a weekend. Now I'm excited for next week and the UFA pool, as that will determine our compete level for the next 2-3 years.

[Boudrias]

Totally agree. There are no guarantees that a draft pick actually realizes potential and that is why depth counts for so much. As Stawns suggested being able to bring young guys along at a pace that they can handle is essential. More young talent has been ruined because of putting them in situations they were not ready for than anything else.

[canucksVSflames89]

I liked this move. Getting a seemingly bonafide NHLer for the 50th pick is a good move.

[Angry Goose]

Canuckes NEEDED some new, young players in the line up right away, so the trade makes perfect sense. And if Vey can become a top 6 player in time then it is a no brainer. Smart pick up because LA was worried about losing Vey to waivers

[Gustavo Fring]

This is gonna be the trade that will define next season. I have a really good feeling that he'll surprise everyone.

[ocnucksfan]

If Benning wanted a fast, skilled guy, why didn't he draft Nylander? Nylander under the Sedins tutelage would have been amazing. Albeit Nylander is about 3-4 years away, but he could have been a future 1/2 centerman with star power. I wish we would have been able to get Reinhart. Nylander was my second choice and he was right there waiting for us. I hope JV will be a good player for us, yay...

Nylander against Kopitar, Thornton, and Getzlaf?

We'd be sending the kid back to Sweden in a body bag.

Guys like him and Backstrom may be able to compete in the Atlantic, but the Pacific is a whole other beast.

^exactly

I was actually at the draft, walked past nylander and didnt know it until after the fact. i'm slightly taller than average but skinny, no thronton, kopitar, or getzlaf. even i felt like i could crush that kid, granted i could skate well enough(i cant). I hope for his sake he grows, literally, A LOT. after seeing nylander in person i wouldn't hesitate to say he might be the bust of this draft. he'll probably tear up the minors but unless he has a growth spurt i dont see the incredible amount of success everyone's expecting, especially in the playoffs.

on topic, the 50th pick can be a crap shoot, some greats were picked around there but most have been average if not busts. gambling on a 50th pick being great or not vs. picking up a proven kid groomed by champions and ready to play with the big boys. not to mention hes played under WD, i think this is a definite win. not sure how i fell getting rid of hansen but this kid is a lot cheaper and younger. furthermore, this kid is on line with emerson etem and practically everyone wanted etem in the kes trade, JB got it done another way.

JB is proving himself to be very open minded. rather than having a one track mind and sticking to a deal with specific names and ending up not making the trade because the terms weren't inline with his one track mind. JB knows what he wants and skins his proverbial cat in many ways. this draft made us younger, faster, tougher, cheaper in two days. if this is what he can do in 2 days, i cant wait to see what he can do in over 2 months of off-season/ free agency. this guys mind probably looks like a fireworks show of player moves and signings, during the grand finale.

[Bure to Mogilny]

How can you dispute that? Vey is by far the most NHL ready Canuck prospect. He's 22 and put up 48 points in 43 games in the AHL.

Maybe your right. I was researched and found that kings fan are pretty high on him

Losing Vey is tough as I know many of us saw him replacing Stoll eventually, but with the team committed to Richards, Kopitar, and Carter in the long-run there wasn't a huge need at the NHL level to keep Vey

A little bummed that Vey is gone but he realistically had no chance here. More annoyed that he's a Canuck now. Oh well, best of luck. At least Brad Richardson doesn't have to worry about Vey making him his ***** anymore.

NHL ready and has been for about a season now. He is quick and shifty, an excellent playmaker with good vision and hockey IQ, and he is defensively responsible along with being able to win important draws. He isn't very physical and is more of an offensive player and belongs more towards the top 6 than the bottom 6, but can be a good third line center.

Vey is terrible on Draws, Awful. Why do people keep saying he is good at it ?

He is not even average. His game is more suited to Wing. It's a contributing factor for LA moving him. He didn't develop the Skill set to play Center at a high level.

Nick Shore basically pushed Vey out due to a superior Skill set.

[Bure to Mogilny]

quote]

He's a facilitator with great vision. Not the best skater, not a great shot, but no slouch at either of those either. He's your prototypical playmaking forward. Can play center, but has more of a winger skillset, IMO. He's also responsible and knows where to go both ways on the ice.

He looked lost at times on the Kings, but once he got comfortable he looked good. I have a feeling if he gets his confidence going he's going to be a solid 2nd/3rd line tweener. Not sure of a comparison, he kind of reminds me of Boedker.

Sad to see Vey go. I always liked his game and think he'll be in the NHL this season. But, there was no spot for him on this team. He would've had to clear waivers to get to Manchester this season and would've likely been claimed.

Vey's is listed at bigger than he really is and plays. Kings players pay the price for possession up and down the ice, he simply doesn't. He has really good hands though and looked like a pretty good playmaker to me which takes vision & instincts you can't teach. On another team he may have success (a la Teddy Purcell) but not the Kings. Just not willing to muck it up and come away with the puck which on LA is a pre-requisite.

Good Luck to him though!

As for losing Vey well I see it as a high price for us to have paid for McKeown. Linden Vey is a very solid young player who is going to play in the NHL for a long time. Give him ice time and the right wings and he will produce on O in the NHL while not costing you at the other end. Ask him to play a shut down style and he will give you that. We only get to see a very small sample of who LV was on the Kings and who he should become at the NHL level but like has happened with so many other young players who have made the team he (LV) needs time to establish his game and build his confidence.

Hopefully the Canucks can give him those two things. With a less restrictive two way system LV should be able to become the very good 3rd line center that everyone believed he would be. I am sorry to see him go and the Canucks got a very good young NHL ready center for the price of a 2nd round pick.

That said credit to DL for once again making a tough but correct decision when it comes to how to handle everything to do with the team. If it wasn't Vey it would be someone else and with our depth at C LV would have had to play wing to stick around and even then we would have had to have found a spot for him.

Great job by DL and co and all the best to LV.

[Amish Rake Fighter]

This was part of a larger post I made in the Iginla thread, but sums up what I would say here

Suddenly the future of this franchise looks bright and he has no need to rush these young guys into the lineup because he was able to make moves to get guys like Bonino, Ley, Sbisa and Dorsett on draft day. On top of that, he now has a boat load of cap space to make some UFA signings. Two months ago, I thought this team was in the tank for at least 5 years, now I see that they are going to be a pretty solid team for at least 3-4 years, which allows the young guys time to cure. What TL and JB have done this weekend is nothing short of amazing. If JB can convince a couple of UFA's to come to Van, this team is going to be able complete with the big boys for a cpl of years.

Benning (with some help from some nice picks by MG) has now put this team into rebuild mode without having to rush them into the NHL. Horvat and Cassels will return to Jr for another season, then at least one in Utica. Shink, Gaunce and Fox will be in Utica next season working on their pro games with some solid, young 3rd-4th line guys and some decent young dmen. Add to that McCaan, Virtanen, Demko and the Russian giant and things look pretty darn good for 5-6 years down the road, wgen the twins finally pack it in. In the meantime, there is a new core of 22-26 year olds ready to bridge the gap and keep the team competitive.

Kudos to JB and TL, what a weekend. Now I'm excited for next week and the UFA pool, as that will determine our compete level for the next 2-3 years.

I definitely wasn't expecting to come out of draft weekend with so much depth and cap space.

And, if it were up to me, every single draft pick (with some rare exceptions) would play out their junior career and 2 or 3 years in the AHL before coming to the NHL

[Bure to Mogilny]

More from hf boards

Much better winger, his skill set suits wing. Vey is just not a very good Center.

It's a contributing factor in LA moving him. He didn't develop into a high level Center.

Nick Shore pretty much passed him on the depth Chart here in LA.

Nick Shore has a natural Center skill set, and is signed. Also projects to be a better fit for Bottom six play in the Kings system.

Sad to lose Vey -- he clearly has an awesome set of hands, is a good skater and a smart player; his game is real entertaining to watch. One of his games with the Kings last season he had a gorgeous assist. Still, not exactly a physical player and probably wouldn't fit that well with the Kings play style. Better to get a good prospect out of him than hold onto a player who may never make the squad, no matter how good he is. He should do well in Vancouver (unfortunately).

That said....where are all this people coming from that say he is a better wing then a center...when have you ever seen him play wing?? He may ultimately become a wing, but his skillset (similar to Loki) is much better utilized at center. To say he is better as a winger (atm) is just false.

Woke up yesterday around 8:15, checked HF on my phone, saw the trade and was immediately displeased. After about five minutes of thinking further about it though, I figured that RFA negotiations were going to be a pain in the ass because Vey knew there wasn't a spot for him on the team and that LA must have had McKeown rated in the 1st round. Good asset management after painting yourself into a corner with said asset.

On the surface, however, Dean just traded a potential 50-point player to a division rival for a "hope this guy works". Vey is an NHL player and Lombardi has said as much. I don't know where the "better on wing" belief has stemmed from, other than damacles saying it for over a year and maybe because he played some wing in Juniors, but he can play center in the NHL.

I'm not a fan of developing a guy with legit talent and then handing him to a division rival. Hopefully McKeown can become an NHL player because this feels a lot like throwing Purcell away. I know the return here is better just based on potential than what came back in the Purcell trade, but Purcell was also sent to a team that doesn't matter to LA.

It is what it is due to not having spots on the roster and I can't blame Vey for requesting a trade so he can get his career started. I just don't like some of the hand wringing going on over Vey in this thread. Kid is a player and can be a 2nd line center on a decent team. He's going to have a nice career: hopefully it doesn't bite us in the ass.

[-Vintage Canuck-]

Gritty two-way player with good hands and great passing ability.

That is his 2nd NHL game... what a play!

I remember this!

[DeNiro]

I think what some people are overlooking is his connection with Desjardins. Apparently Vey is a big fan of Willie's, and I would say by this acquisition that Willie is a big fan of his.

So whatever he was on the Kings, will not likely be what we see on the Canucks. We're gonna have a motivated player who already has a great relationship with the coach. As opposed to him being buried on the Kings, under a coach who probably wasn't going to give him much opportunity.

Can't wait to see if there's another level to his game.

[Fanuck]

This was part of a larger post I made in the Iginla thread, but sums up what I would say here

If JB can convince a couple of UFA's to come to Van, this team is going to be able complete with the big boys for a cpl of years.

Kudos to JB and TL, what a weekend. Now I'm excited for next week and the UFA pool, as that will determine our compete level for the next 2-3 years.

Everyone keeps saying UFA this, cap space that......What I want to know is who do we expect JB to sign that won't be asking every team for obscene money/term/NTC? These contracts all too often end up like dead weight on a sinking ship that cannot be unloaded. Lecavellier, Erhoff, Richards, etc to name a few.

I would really like to know who ppl think JB can sign to a REASONABLE UFA contract?

[Dogbyte]

Everyone keeps saying UFA this, cap space that......What I want to know is who do we expect JB to sign that won't be asking every team for obscene money/term/NTC? These contracts all too often end up like dead weight on a sinking ship that cannot be unloaded. Lecavellier, Erhoff, Richards, etc to name a few.

I would really like to know who ppl think JB can sign to a REASONABLE UFA contract?

Iginla 2 years $12 million would be hard to say no to. Leaves us with lots of cash.

[Spoosh]

This was part of a larger post I made in the Iginla thread, but sums up what I would say here

Suddenly the future of this franchise looks bright and he has no need to rush these young guys into the lineup because he was able to make moves to get guys like Bonino, Ley, Sbisa and Dorsett on draft day. On top of that, he now has a boat load of cap space to make some UFA signings. Two months ago, I thought this team was in the tank for at least 5 years, now I see that they are going to be a pretty solid team for at least 3-4 years, which allows the young guys time to cure. What TL and JB have done this weekend is nothing short of amazing. If JB can convince a couple of UFA's to come to Van, this team is going to be able complete with the big boys for a cpl of years.

Benning (with some help from some nice picks by MG) has now put this team into rebuild mode without having to rush them into the NHL. Horvat and Cassels will return to Jr for another season, then at least one in Utica. Shink, Gaunce and Fox will be in Utica next season working on their pro games with some solid, young 3rd-4th line guys and some decent young dmen. Add to that McCaan, Virtanen, Demko and the Russian giant and things look pretty darn good for 5-6 years down the road, wgen the twins finally pack it in. In the meantime, there is a new core of 22-26 year olds ready to bridge the gap and keep the team competitive.

Kudos to JB and TL, what a weekend. Now I'm excited for next week and the UFA pool, as that will determine our compete level for the next 2-3 years.

That was very well said.

I'm still hoping Horvat will make the team and play the 9 games at least and see where that puts us. Cassels also pretty close, and IMO it would of course be foolish not to add a guy if he's up for the challenge without damaging any huge parts of his development process. Prospect camp & main training camp will actually be more exciting that it's probably ever been.

TL talked about us paying a high price for players during the draft (meant Dorsett & Vey) and indicated that even if good additions for us, it was also a way of showing we are a good partner to talk trades with later on in the summer. So expect us to move a few pieces around still. Probably no going to lean on the UFA market that heavily, but we'll still be looking for that experienced goalie to complement Lack or even take charge for a few years.

[Fanuck]

Iginla 2 years $12 million would be hard to say no to. Leaves us with lots of cash.

Just don't see Iggy signing with any team other than a legit contender.

[aGENT]

Just don't see Iggy signing with any team other than a legit contender.

Add Iginla and say Niskanen and this team looks a LOT more competitive.