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.
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