Monday, February 27, 2012

TRADE DEADLINE 2012 - The Canucks End "The Hodgson Era" Early

It's really hard to put my thoughts into words right now. I'm sure you all know why. Cody Hodgson was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in this years Trade Deadline at approximately 12:40 Pacific. He is/was my favourite player. It's really hard seeing a guy you've cheered for and supported since his draft day to be snapped away from you just like that. Before I bounce from point to point let's look at the other acquisitions the Canucks made today and come back to CoHo.

TRADE #1
                                                                       
To Vancouver:                                                             
Samuel Pahlsson (C)

To Columbus:
Taylor Ellington (D)
4th Round Pick (2012)
4th Round Pick (2012)

This trade was the first of the three the Canucks made today and really was the only trade I thought was necessary. Samuel Pahlsson isn't a goal scorer nor a playmaker, he is a grinder. We saw what he could do winning a Stanley Cup in Anaheim and that is valuable experience that can only help the team. He fits in well as a fourth and/or third line guy. Smart and relatively cheap pickup by Mike Gillis.

At this point in the trade deadline I'm satisfied. I took the day off of school (which I had prepared for two weeks in advance) and "I got what I paid for". I think Gillis did well to address the slight absence of grit in our bottom 6. Fast forward to after the noon trade deadline. There were only a couple trades to be confirmed after noon and the Canucks were rumoured to be submitting a trade. I was anxious...I was excited...the best possible scenarios were running through my mind. Then this happened...

TRADE #2

To Vancouver:
Zack Kassian (RW)
Marc-Andre Gragnani (D)

To Buffalo:
Cody Hodgson (C)
Alexander Sulzer (D)

You all know I just recently officially announced my first ever player collection. That player was of my favourite player on the Canucks roster and in the league - Cody Hodgson. The hype around Cody was huge, especially after the fantastic performance he had at the World Juniors. I loved watching him develop, through the hard times and easy I was always there to back up Cody. I truly believed he was going to develop into the eventual captain of the Vancouver Canucks and maybe even lead us to a Stanley Cup. A kind of Trevor Linden type story (dare I say it). But Mike Gillis threw the hockey world a curveball and delt Cody out of the blue to the Sabres.

Now I get what Gillis was thinking. Maybe Kassian isn't currently ready to make a consistent impact in the NHL like Cody Hodgson is doing right now BUT he supplies huge upside in the future. He's a big boy (6'4" / 230 lbs.) he's mean, aggressive and plays with a lot of heart. These are all aspects I love in players but it just feels like we sold away our future that we had already invested so much in. 

Who knows though, maybe Kassian will end up being my new favourite player (even though Cody still holds that title...I think). It's hard having your favourite player wearing another teams colours, but I do wish Cody well and future success in his professional career (as long as it's not against the Canucks). 

As for Buffalo fans that want to know more about Cody (Marko) he has exceptional hockey sense and he sees the game very well. He's creative and has recently had the knack to score big goals at big times. Thus, the nickname was created - "Clutch Cody". His weakness is his physicality, he get's bumped around a bit in the Western Conference but what I like is that he's still not scared to get into those corners and the dirty areas. His speed was also critiqued but quickly taken back as he proved he can keep up with the NHL's best. He's a great leader and a franchise player. He's a keeper!

I know a limited amount about Kassian. I only really have watched him in the WJ's and other than that just highlight reel's on YouTube. If anyone has any really in depth info about him I'd love to learn more. From what the scouts and so called "experts" say he is a Milan Lucic/Todd Bertuzzi type player. I like both of them so if he turns out like any of those two I will be happy.

The second half of this deal was a swap of two d-men. Alex Sulzer who is now heading to Buffalo is a solid young defenseman who get's the job done. I think the Canucks really got the better d-man in return though as Gragnani is a skilled young man with good hands and has already some impressive stats. Consider that he is 2nd on the Sabres in both plus/minus as well as minutes on the PP and that is a player I'll take any day of the week.

Probably the most important question hockey card wise is do I keep on collecting Cody Hodgson card as a player collection? What do you think? I'm no fair-weather fan of Cody but I'm not sure I'd love to collect other team's cards as a player collection.

I guess hockey is a business, and business' can be brutal. I learned that today the heard way.

TRADE #3
To Vancouver:
Andrew Gordon (RW)

To Anaheim:
Sebastien Erixon (D)

This was more of a minor trade but as far as I'm concerned we got a compact and speedy winger that has struggled to break into the NHL even though he was drafted almost 8 years ago. He has 12 NHL games under his belt and has produced 2 points in that time.

So that's it trade wise for the Canucks. What did you guys think of the deadline? There were 15 trades (1 lower than last year) and how did you enjoy the coverage of the deadline whether it be TSN, Sportsnet and/or Score? Do you have info on Kassien? Were you ever in my position where your favourite player got moved from your favourite team? 

GO NUCKS GO!

8 comments:

  1. 1) yes, i have been in your position before. summer of '07 when we lost Daniel Briere and Chris Drury, who pretty much won us a presidents trophy with the help of Ryan Miller.
    2) As for kassian, you will get this...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fC1ZLG0rfP0#!
    and this...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1qudbtB-MA
    like u said, big kid who plays physical. He can score and has great puck possession skills. He's a great young hockey player who I think will only get better with experience. As for Gragani, he might turn out well also. I didn't really care for him this year, but i'm impatient. I think in a few years, he can turn into a solid d-man for the power play

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    1. After talking about the trade ALL day with many different people, I've come to a very important conclusion. I'm NOT mad at Kassian (his skill level etc) but I AM mad at how Hodgson went and how little he was appreciated for. I feel like Gillis sold the farm a little bit and he UNDERSOLD it at that.

      I think it's clear that Kassian does not replace CoHo SHORT TERM. Nor will he replace CoHo LONG TERM. That is why I think we undersold Cody to Buffalo. I'm just very disappointed at the trade and I think the Sabres really stole this one away. Also out of all the confrontations I've had today with schoolmates and others wanting to know my opinion I've learned that people that believe this trade is justifiable don't have any proof to back that up.

      But I'm happy for you Marko :)

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  2. Welcome to my world. When the Canucks dealt Linden all those years ago, I never really forgave the Canucks (I still don't have the same love for them as I used to). I followed him to New York and became an Islanders fan. My desire to collect his hockey cards was as strong as ever. It was definitely an odd time though.

    When he made his way back to Vancouver a few years later, I was thrilled for him.

    Is it the jersey on the front or the name on the back that's more important to a player collector? That's the question to ask yourself.

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    1. Ya know that is a question I'm still mulling over and I've been a Canucks fan all my life and have no intention on changing...EVER. BUT, Cody was a guy I watched develop and grow and I've invested so much time into him that I feel like it would be doing a disservice to myself to give up on him. So I think I will continue to collect his cards but it will be tough seeing him as a Sabre (that's for sure)!

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  3. Thought of you right away on this one kid. I felt the same way when Guerin way traded from NJ for Arnott. I stayed a Devils fan of course, but my favorite player also remained Guerin which isn't hard to do trust me! I say keep it up, after all his cards are about to get a fair bit more affordable in the province of BC!

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    1. It's interesting how the blogging world has really changed my view on how I watch hockey. I feel as if I have connections to certain teams and players. It's nice to know you're thought of by others around the hockey world too! I certainly think of you every time we play the Devils or they make the news, same with other teams of other bloggers.

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  4. Yeah, those trades can get weird. My first hockey idol was Patrick Roy, and I never thought he'd play for another team than the Habs. Turns out he did just as well in Colorado, and since the Avs were pretty much the old Nordiques, I didn't have too much trouble staying true to him.

    But I've been against almost all the Canadiens' trades since then, will always doubt them. It turns out I'm right to, too.

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  5. My first favourite player to leave my favourite team was Paul Reinhart, way back in 1988. However, he had been a Flame for a long time, and PCs were certainly different back then :P

    Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that your article and MHCO's latest have both inspired my own most recent post.

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