Trade Deadline Aftermath; How Did The Canucks Fare?

New Faces:

Zack Kassian - A big, bruising, young power forward, Kassian adds an element that the Canucks have been seeking for awhile now. He will hit, fight and grind it up and he has enough offensive skill that he could slot into the top 6. Is he ready for that kind of a role yet? Nobody is really sure. Questions always arose if Vancouver would be tough enough to endure another deep playoff run but it looks like those questions may have been answered. They may have lost some offense but they certainly improved their size and toughness.

Marc-Andre Gragnani - A small-statured defenseman who isn't afraid to use his body, Gragnani led a woeful Buffalo team in plus/minus with a respectable +10 this season. He also has some offensive abilities. He led all AHL defenseman in scoring last season and has put up decent offensive numbers in his brief NHL career. At the end of the day, he is an upgrade as a 6th defenseman over Aaron Rome and Andrew Alberts so the Canucks improved their defensive depth.

Sami Pahlsson - An integral part of Anaheim's 2007 Stanley Cup Championship, Pahlsson is widely known for his defensive abilities. He is considered a shutdown centerman who can play against the opposing team's top line and is also very good in the faceoff dots. He has been buried in obscurity in Columbus the past few seasons and seemed to become stagnant playing in a non-hockey market. He has the ability to be a key component for a deep playoff run, but he won't contribute much offensively. He is also good friends with the Sedins so he will fit right in in the locker room.

Andrew Gordon - Nothing more than a depth move, the small winger will only see time with the Canucks if there are a number of injuries. He is a two-way forward who won't offer much as far as an impact with Vancouver.

The Departed:

Cody Hodgson - Canuck fans everywhere are sad to see him go. Hodgson was enjoying a great rookie season with 33 points, ranking him 5th in rookie scoring. He was an intrical part of Vancouver's offense because he was scoring from the 3rd line. The Canucks definitely lost some offense but he was considered expendable because of Vancouver's depth at center. Hodgson was likely the best player in the deal and Buffalo should be very excited about acquiring one of the best young players in the NHL.

Alexander Sulzer - Sulzer was nothing more than a depth defenseman for the Canucks, so his loss won't be a big deal. He will likely be the 7th defenseman for Buffalo and was likely thrown into the deal to even up roster spots for both teams.

Taylor Ellington - A throw-in in the Pahlsson deal, Ellington is considered a bust as a 2nd round pick in 2007 by the Canucks. He was unable to earn a spot with Vancouver's AHL team in Chicago this year and has been playing in the East Coast Hockey League. Ellington was under contract and team's can only have 50 players under contract at a time, so the Canucks needed to shed a spot in order to obtain Pahlsson. He will likely never play an NHL game.

Two 4th round picks - 4th round picks often never make the NHL, but sometimes a team will find a diamond in the rough. We won't know about the impact of these picks until probably about 3 years after the draft has taken place.

Overall Analysis - Time will tell if this deadline was a good one or a bad one for the Canucks. If they go far in the playoffs again this year and Kassian proves to be a valuable piece of the puzzle, then it would have to be considered a success. I think the winner of these deals will be determined a few years down the road when we find out what type of players Hodgson and Kassian become and what impact those 4th round picks make on the league. As it stands, Vancouver is as deep as any team in the league and stands poised to make another run at the Stanley Cup. It changes our style and dimensions but at the end of the day I think the Canucks may have slightly improved their team for this year. In five years, maybe not.

Canucks trade Cody Hodgson to Buffalo For Zack Kassian

The Vancouver Canucks have traded away their rookie of the year candidate Cody Hodgson, along with defenseman Alexander Sulzer to the Buffalo Sabres for young power forward Zack Kassian and defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani.

A shocking deal as Hodgson was coming into his own and was considered a key component of Vancouver's offense.

Kassian, a 1st round pick in 2009, is a huge, mean power forward with offensive skills. He will stick up for his teammates, hit everything in sight and chip in offensively.

The Canucks have said they wanted to get bigger and stronger all season, and with this deal they have certainly done so.

Hodgson was considered expendable by Vancouver because he is a centerman, and was stuck behind Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler on the depth chart meaning he would never crack the Canucks' top 6 forwards.

In Gragnani, Vancouver gets a solid defenseman who can chip in with some points here and there. He was a +10 on a poor Buffalo team and was actually their leader in plus/minus. He is an afterthought in this deal but is a definite upgrade on Aaron Rome and Andrew Alberts and will provide the Canucks with some valuable minutes.

My personal opinion: I was absolutely flabbergasted when I first heard of the deal. I love Cody Hodgson and think he is a great player and will only get better. I think he will be a top 20 scorer in the league in a few years.

Zack Kassian is a monster though and will become a fan favourite very soon. He is a big body who will punish other teams and he can score too.

There were always rumours of a rift between Hodgson and Alain Vigneault and maybe even team management. I'm beginning to think there is more to those stories than I know.

More to come in a bit as I digest the deals....

Sidenote: Vancouver also acquired Andrew Gordon from the Anaheim Ducks. He's a minor leaguer as of now who can provide some depth in case of injury. He had 5 points in 37 games for the Ducks this season.

Canucks acquire Sami Pahlsson from the Blue Jackets

You can't have enough depth heading into the playoffs. Especially at center.

That is obviously Mike Gillis' thoughts as the Canucks General Manager has acquired center Sami Pahlsson from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for two 4th round draft picks in this Summer's Entry Draft (we had the Islanders 4th round pick too).

Pahlsson won a cup in 2007 with Anaheim, so he knows what it takes to win in the playoffs. He is a defensive-minded center who is good on the faceoffs. He has virtually zero offensive ability - he has only 2 goals and 9 assists in 61 games this season - and will certainly be used in a defensive role.

The 34 year old Swede has a cap hit of 2.65 million and is an Unrestricted Free Agent at the end of this season, so you'd have to imagine that he's a rental and won't be resigned in the offseason. With that said, if he proves to be a valuable player, Gillis may opt to resign him just as they did with Max Lapierre and Chris Higgins whom were signed last summer after being acquired at last year's trade deadline.

Vancouver now has six natural centers on their roster with Henrik Sedin, Ryan Kesler, Cody Hodgson, Manny Malhotra, Maxime Lapierre and Sami Pahlsson.

Malhotra has been playing on the wing already, and now one would assume that one of the aforementioned centers will have to move to the wing too. Obviously Henrik and Kesler will stay as the #1 and #2 guys, so who will move to the wing?

Maybe Hodgson will play wing on the 2nd line with Booth and Kesler?

More to come later.

Failed icing call leads to Canucks shootout loss

With a 2-1 lead and just over a minute left in the game, Jannik Hansen made a great play by sending the puck all the way down the ice with perfect velocity; just enough so that there wouldn't be an icing call.

Not so fast.

Dallas defenseman Stephane Robidas decided to take an indirect route to the puck, and it apparently fooled the linesmen as Robidas' slow loop resulted in the puck crossing the goal line before he touched it. Usually an obvious attempt at creating an icing call would be waved off.

Not this afternoon.

Off the ensuing faceoff in the Canucks zone (which should have never been), Mike Ribeiro tipped an Alex Goligoski point shot passed Roberto Luongo to tie the game with 56 seconds left, and ultimately sending the game to overtime.

In OT, Loui Eriksson converted on a cross-crease pass from Trevor Daley to give the Stars a 3-2 win, and extend their winning streak to four games.

In fairness to the linesmen, they get about 99 percent of the calls right, but it's funny how those blown calls nearly always result in a game-changing play.

Vancouver earned a single point and now hold a two point lead over Detroit in the Conference Standings.

The Canucks, playing their sixth game in nine nights - including their fifth in a row on the road - understandably looked sluggish for most of the afternoon, but were able to stay in the game with great goaltending and a solid overall defensive game.

Vancouver won 2-1 in New Jersey on Friday night, then endured a long flight to Dallas for the afternoon affair today.

The Canucks finish off their six game roadtrip Tuesday night in Phoenix against the red hot Coyotes.

Other News: Keep in mind that the trade deadline is tomorrow (Monday) at noon and Vancouver is expected to make some deals.

GM Mike Gillis announced on Saturday that they have put defenseman Keith Ballard on Long Term Injury Reserve which means his contract comes off the books. This frees up over four million dollars in salary cap room for the Canucks which will allow them to make some additions by the deadline.

Stay informed of all of Vancouver's moves and my analysis of the additions tomorrow here at Canuck City!

Follow me on twitter. @mikekermode

Canucks Snap Detroit's Home Winning Streak With Shootout Win

Rarely does a game with so much hype live up to it's billing. This wasn't one of those games.

The Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings put on an amazing show Thursday night in a 4-3 Canucks shootout win in front of a packed house at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. It was so good in fact, that I forgot to PVR tonight's episode of Jersey Shore.

Not only did Vancouver pull within one point of the Wings for the Conference and NHL lead, but they also snapped Detroit's streak of 23 straight wins on home ice.

Alex Burrows scored the lone shootout goal in the win. In classic Burrows fashion, he faked to snap his stick over his leg as if to say " the streak is snapped."

This is exactly why Canucks fans love #14, and probably exactly why others hate him.

Daniel Sedin scored his 27th and 28th goals of the year, including the game-tying goal with only 16 seconds remaining. Cody Hodgson also scored for Vancouver.

Darren Helm, Kyle Quincey and Justin Abdelkader scored for Detroit who were without their all-star center Pavel Datsyuk.

The Canucks dominated the Wings in the first period and probably deserved a better fate at the intermission in which they were down 1-0. Darren Helm flubbed a shot from the slot that fooled Roberto Luongo blocker side to give the home team the lead.

Daniel Sedin scored his first of the game midway through the second period to tie the game up heading into the third stanza.

Kyle Quincey - acquired yesterday in a deal that sent Detroit's first round pick to Tampa Bay - scored six minutes into the third frame to give Detroit a 2-1 lead. Seven minutes later, good-looking Canucks rookie Cody Hodgson scored his 16th goal of the year to once again tie the game up.

The tie didn't last long, however, as Justin Abdelkader banged home a loose puck a mere 20 seconds later to give Detroit their third lead of the game.

The Wings looked to have the game under wraps and looked to extend their NHL record home winning streak to 24 until Daniel scored his second of the night with only 16 seconds left as Vancouver had the extra man with Luongo on the bench.

Overtimed proved nothing, except for that these teams are as evenly-matched as any two in the league.

Roberto Luongo was spectacular as usual, stopping 33 shots, along with stopping all three of Detroit's shootout attempts. Jimmy Howard was equally magnificent stopping 40 shots in regualtion and overtime.

Howard make a ludicrous save on David Booth with a minute left in regulation as Booth sped through and split the Detroit defense and came in on a breakaway. Booth, playing in his home state for the first time as a pro, deked forehand only to have Howard stick out his right pad and make the incredible stop.

With the two points, Vancouver now sits only one point back of Detroit in the NHL and Western Conference standings. Detroit earned a single point with the shootout loss.

Vancouver continues their hellish road trip tomorrow evening in New Jersey, then an afternoon affair with the Stars in Dallas on Sunday before finishing up with a date with the Coyotes in Phoenix on Tuesday.

Follow me on twitter! @mikekermode

Worth The Wait; Canuck City is back!

Okay folks, after a lengthy hiatus I have decided to fire up the ole' blog once again. Let's talk some Canucks!

As it stands, Vancouver is in position to once again make a deep playoff run. They have it all, starting with great goaltending.

Roberto Luongo has arguably been the best goalie in hockey since December. After a notoriously (and all too common) slow start, he has bounced back and has been a cement wall for the Canucks in the last few months. Familiar story right? He was on the same path last season and we all know how that ended. Cory Schneider has proven himself as an NHL goalie, and has provided Vancouver with impeccable goaltending when needed. When Bobby Lou needs a rest, or gets injured, Canuck fans know that their net will be in good hands, or umm pads.

The defense has been solid. Alex Edler has stepped up his offense in the absence of Christian Ehrhoff and currently sits third in scoring by a defenseman in the NHL. Kevin Bieksa and Dan Hamhuis have become one of the top shut-down units in the whole league, a far-cry from where Bieksa was just a few seasons ago (check the archives). Aside from missing a few weeks thanks to a Brad Marchand cheapshot, Sami Salo has generally been injury-free this year (knock on wood), and when he's healthy, he's as solid as they come. Keith Ballard has been better than last year, but still fails to get the respect due to his high salary. This is where the good news ends on the backend, however. Andrew Alberts has been decent, but isn't a guy I feel too confident about playing regular minutes in the playoffs. Aaron Rome, whom for some reason seems to be coach Alain Vigneault's favourite player, is just plain awful. He often seems lost in his own zone, he brings nothing to the table offensively, and in my opinion, he should be abolished to the AHL and only be used in case the Canucks face some serious injury troubles to their rearguards. Chris Tanev has played a handful of games and seems to be the best option as our sixth d-man. He quietly makes great outlet passes and rarely makes mistakes in his own zone. You can't ask for much more from your sixth man. Hopefully AV figures this out sooner than later.

Offensively, the Canucks are as deep as any team in the league. As usual, the Sedin twins are leading the way. They are both in top 10 in league scoring, and rarely is there a night that they don't hit the scoresheet. Alex Burrows, a mainstay on the twins' wing, is once again putting up points and has proven himself to be a top line winger. Mid-season acquisition David Booth is finally looking comfortable on the West Coast, pairing with countryman Ryan Kesler to give the Canucks some secondary scoring. The third and fourth lines can also provide some scoring, while most importantly playing solid defense, winning the majority of their faceoffs, forechecking hard and playing a physical style.

What do the Canucks need most as the trade deadline looms?

1. No question, this team needs another defenseman. A guy who can slot in on the bottom pairing and play some valuable minutes in the post-season. I'd like to see a defense-first type guy who can kill penalties and play a physical game.

Ideal Pickup: Mark Fistric

2. Depth up front. Last year Vancouver acquired Chris Higgins and Maxime Lapierre at the deadline. Both moves were considered small, under-the-radar type moves. However, both players proved very valuable in the long playoff run and both were rewarded with new deals and are still key members of this year's team. Another bottom six player like these guys would be an important move for the Canucks as depth is always important heading into the playoffs. A physical player who could drop the gloves and stick up for teammates when needed would be great.

Ideal Pickup: Travis Moen

Many fans/pundits expect the Canucks to play that Ace up their sleeve and trade backup goalie Cory Schneider at the deadline to acquire the spare parts the Canucks need to finally win a Cup. I don't think they should, and I don't think they will for two reasons.

Firstly, despite having another spectacular season, questions still remain if Roberto Luongo can be the goalie that brings the Stanley Cup to Vancouver. He laid a few eggs in some of the most important games last post-season and looked to be mentally fragile at times. Having a goalie like Schneider that can be used as a replacement if need be is a HUGE accessory to have, and if the Canucks trade him you can assure they won't get a goalie of Schneider's caliber in return.

Secondly, Vancouver simply won't get a fair return for 'Schneids' at the deadline as they should in the off-season. Schneider is a Restricted Free Agent. Any team can send him an offer sheet, and based on his play the past two seasons, Schneider would likely demand a decent contract. As an RFA, teams who offer him a contract would have to send some high draft picks to Vancouver in return. The Canucks will likely shop Schneider in the off-season and if they can't get a package to their liking, they will probably accept the picks in return. Those picks will be higher than any team will pay at the deadline this year.

The trade deadline is Monday. Stay tuned to Canuck City for all the latest deals and my thoughts on how the deals will work out for our team.