Hodgson asking for a trade, was not really public knowledge.. Fact is, sorry, opinion is, they could have gotten more in return for Hodgson.
- PatC80

That is yet to be seen. I actually think Kassian will have a great year this year with Tortorella and people will praise Gillis for the move. It wasn't a shortsighted trade.

Grabner would have been waived from 28 other teams. Florida waved him. He's not that good. Wait a few years before you anoint the Hodgson trade a a loss. Two totally different players. You make it seem like they decided to trade Hodgson on a whim. He asked for a trade on multiple occasions You have no idea what your talking about or the reasoning behind your said "blunders".
- Boinker

Well, the reason why he was asked to be traded is because he's not a 3rd line center like the Canucks were playing him as. He's a top 6 guy. I think it would have been far more beneficial, if the Canucks intent was to keep Sedin and Kesler as your top 2 centers, to move Hodgson to the wing.

And we'll never know about Grabner. But when he was waived by Florida basically three teams passed on him before the Islanders claimed him. So it's not like every other team in the league passed on him.

I'm confused. Are you saying that it is a fact that Hodgson asked for a trade but it wasn't public knowledge or that it is speculation that Hodgson asked for a trade?

Fact is sorry? Your opinion is that the Canucks could have gotten more in trade?

This is all kinds of confusing.
- 1970vintage

That was my point... (insert evil laugh, here)

It was reported after the trade that Hodgson wanted out. Not being in Vancouver, I am not sure if it was public knowledge before he was dealt.

Would you not agree that the return for Hodgson should have been higher

Maybe so, but majority of those things did actually happen
- PatC80

Yes, you're right, some of those things did happen. Gillis did indeed sign Luongo to a 12 year contract, that at the time was one way for teams with a lot of money to beat the cap. The environment changed and the contract is now a serious problem, the management should have planned for this, they screwed up.

It's the factpinions I have a problem with.

- Made Luongo Captain
- BruHAWK[organizational move]
- Resigns Luongo to a 12 year, 64 mil contract extension [owner told him to]
- Strips Luongo of Captaincy [Luongo stepped down]
- Declares that Schneider will be the starter and that Luongo will not be back with Canucks [wrong]
- Unable to trade Luongo due to horrible contract that he negotiated [Lu wouldn't waive no trade, couldn't trade after changes to CBA]
- Trades Corey Scneider for far less than he could have (If he kept his mouth shut) and declares that Luongo his his starter for upcoming season [wrong, you overvalue trade value of goalies]
- TSN contacts Luongo who indicates that he had not spoken to Gillis previous to trade, and has not decided what he will do for the upcoming season. [who cares?]

That my friends is the work of an incompetent GM. [wrong]

That was my point... (insert evil laugh, here)

It was reported after the trade that Hodgson wanted out. Not being in Vancouver, I am not sure if it was public knowledge before he was dealt.

Would you not agree that the return for Hodgson should have been higher
- PatC80

At the time, I was livid with the trade. Not the trade itself, but especially the timing. If this deal is made in the off season I think the Canucks could have done better, but who knows. I had no idea who Kassian was, but since he has been here he has shown a lot of potential and I think that if put in the right situation he can definitely succeed, I could see a Bertuzzi 2.0 from him. Hodgson is now in a contractual dispute with Buffalo and there is rumour that he is not happy *again* and they may consider trading him...

That was my point... (insert evil laugh, here)

It was reported after the trade that Hodgson wanted out. Not being in Vancouver, I am not sure if it was public knowledge before he was dealt.

Would you not agree that the return for Hodgson should have been higher
- PatC80

I think we all thought it should have been higher, but mostly because we saw the player Hodgson was becoming and knew little to nothing about who Kassian was. Given that it was clear the two players were at different stages of their development increased the frustration (at least for me), but as stated before this trade will be a slow play to discover who got the better player. One thing for sure, Buffalo got the better player right now.

True, but you forgot once small, miniscule even, detail... THEY WON A STANLEY CUP
- PatC80

I forgot nothing. Since they've become top line players (they were secondary players on a stacked championship team) they have won 1 playoff round in 6 seasons. THAT IS NOT WORKING. The Sedins have accomplished much more as top players in the playoffs than Perry and Getzlaf have.

Grabner would have been waived from 28 other teams. Florida waved him. He's not that good. Wait a few years before you anoint the Hodgson trade a a loss. Two totally different players. You make it seem like they decided to trade Hodgson on a whim. He asked for a trade on multiple occasions You have no idea what your talking about or the reasoning behind your said "blunders".
- Boinker

rofl. Grabner has 70 goals over the 3 seasons with the Islanders. 34 goals, 20 goals and 16 goals last year in the shortened season. He's doing it with 3rd line minutes and is also one of the Isles top penalty killers. He also outscored everyone on the Canucks last year in goals. But hey, he's not that good.

Agreed. When you're talking about younger players the won/loss decision is almost always a slow play.
- AlexF

We likely won't be able to accurately judge the winner of this trade for 4 or 5 years. Unless CoHo demands another trade or Kassian gets shipped out for catching too much of that Roxy-flu...

Fun times


"I think I am going to have to reserve comment for a while," Barry said. "We need to get up to speed and take some time. Obviously we are coming on to a difficult file and we need to give him proper advice and we need to take some time here, talk with Roberto, talk with Mike and Laurence"
- Canada Cup

Push the RESET button...."we can remain friends LUO"-MG

Well, the reason why he was asked to be traded is because he's not a 3rd line center like the Canucks were playing him as. He's a top 6 guy. I think it would have been far more beneficial, if the Canucks intent was to keep Sedin and Kesler as your top 2 centers, to move Hodgson to the wing.

And we'll never know about Grabner. But when he was waived by Florida basically three teams passed on him before the Islanders claimed him. So it's not like every other team in the league passed on him.
- BruHAWK

He was waived, which means he was given away for free because they couldn't get so much as a 7th round draft pick from any team in the NHL for him.

We likely won't be able to accurately judge the winner of this trade for 4 or 5 years. Unless CoHo demands another trade or Kassian gets shipped out for catching too much of that Roxy-flu...
- KB3Point0

this is a valid point I agree with. Too soon to judge it and Kassian as a power forward will likely take another year or two before the Canucks know what they have. They could well have been fleeced, or he could turn into the second coming of Bertuzzi. You just can't judge it that quickly.

He was waived, which means he was given away for free because they couldn't get so much as a 7th round draft pick from any team in the NHL for him.
- KB3Point0

He was waived because Talon was pissed off that Grabner didn't work as hard in the offseason as he thought he should have and showed up coasting in camp.

I think we all thought it should have been higher, but mostly because we saw the player Hodgson was becoming and knew little to nothing about who Kassian was. Given that it was clear the two players were at different stages of their development increased the frustration (at least for me), but as stated before this trade will be a slow play to discover who got the better player. One thing for sure, Buffalo got the better player right now.
- AlexF

Until this point CoHo has been the better player. Kassian could easily become the better player as soon as this coming season though. CoHo's skating will likely always be the thing that holds him back from becoming a true star.

rofl. Grabner has 70 goals over the 3 seasons with the Islanders. 34 goals, 20 goals and 16 goals last year in the shortened season. He's doing it with 3rd line minutes and is also one of the Isles top penalty killers. He also outscored everyone on the Canucks last year in goals. But hey, he's not that good.
- Isles_since_6

I think he was refering to when he was waived.

While in Vancouver, Grabner had a rep as being a fairly lazy player, who didn't play D and didn't go to the dirty areas.

Getting waived is likley what kicked him in the rear and got him to figure it out.

And why does Gillis get so much flack for the trade when Tallon gave the guy up for free?

Ballard has been a whole lot more productive so far in Vancouver than Bernier, Howden and Grabner were in Florida.

rofl. Grabner has 70 goals over the 3 seasons with the Islanders. 34 goals, 20 goals and 16 goals last year in the shortened season. He's doing it with 3rd line minutes and is also one of the Isles top penalty killers. He also outscored everyone on the Canucks last year in goals. But hey, he's not that good.
- Isles_since_6

Grabner's a good player. It appears he just needed the reality check that came with being traded and then waived over the course of a couple months to focus him. He's been a much improved player in NY, but that may have been a product of his situation. He might not have put it together the same way if he had stayed in Vancouver or Florida.

I think he was refering to when he was waived.

While in Vancouver, Grabner had a rep as being a fairly lazy player, who didn't play D and didn't go to the dirty areas.

Getting waived is likley what kicked him in the rear and got him to figure it out.

And why does Gillis get so much flack for the trade when Tallon gave the guy up for free?

Ballard has been a whole lot more productive so far in Vancouver than Bernier, Howden and Grabner were in Florida.
- IanEsplen

I didn't give Gillis any flack on that myself, Tallon is an idiot to trade for a young player with that kind of speed and then waive him without even giving him an opportunity to play and see what he had. That was a message from Tallon that he was pissed at Grabner, but a moronic move.

My post was in response to Boinker claiming Grabner "is not all that good" which is present tense, not past.

Until this point CoHo has been the better player. Kassian could easily become the better player as soon as this coming season though. CoHo's skating will likely always be the thing that holds him back from becoming a true star.
- KB3Point0

Why? because he has more points.

I would say they have been fairly even given the lack of opportunity Kassian has gotten so far and that he is a different player.

If Kassian is on a bottom team, he likely has better stats.

He was waived because Talon was pissed off that Grabner didn't work as hard in the offseason as he thought he should have and showed up coasting in camp.
- Isles_since_6

Yes, but the point is he would have been traded, not waived, if another team would have offered anything for him.

I didn't give Gillis any flack on that myself, Tallon is an idiot to trade for a young player with that kind of speed and then waive him without even giving him an opportunity to play and see what he had. That was a message from Tallon that he was pissed at Grabner, but a moronic move.

My post was in response to Boinker claiming Grabner "is not all that good" which is present tense, not past.
- Isles_since_6

Wasn't targeting you with that one. More of a general comment about Gillis haters around here.

Why? because he has more points.

I would say they have been fairly even given the lack of opportunity Kassian has gotten so far and that he is a different player.

If Kassian is on a bottom team, he likely has better stats.
- IanEsplen

I think CoHo's been better so far, but just because Kassian hasn't been given the opportunity yet. I think Zack will be the better player, but he needs to be given the ice time and opportunity to produce. He should get that this season.

- Made Luongo Captain [organizational move] (In Which Gillis has the final say)
- Resigns Luongo to a 12 year, 64 mil contract extension [owner told him to] (Doesn't matter, he still signed him to this extension)
- Strips Luongo of Captaincy [Luongo stepped down] (That is up for debate, I don't recall too many captains stepping down... you know, it's usually an honour to be the team captain)
- Declares that Schneider will be the starter and that Luongo will not be back with Canucks [wrong] (Sorry, I said "will not be back" when Gillis used the term "unlikely")
- Unable to trade Luongo due to horrible contract that he negotiated [Lu wouldn't waive no trade, couldn't trade after changes to CBA] (hmmmm, could that be part of the horrible corner Gillis painted himself in when he signed the contract)
- Trades Corey Scneider for far less than he could have (If he kept his mouth shut) and declares that Luongo his his starter for upcoming season [wrong, you overvalue trade value of goalies] (Do you really think that a 9th overall pick is fair value for Schneider? The Leafs just traded away two roster players and a 2nd for LA's backup, who was an RFA)
- TSN contacts Luongo who indicates that he had not spoken to Gillis previous to trade, and has not decided what he will do for the upcoming season. [who cares?] (It shows a huge disconnect between Gillis and Luongo. Shouldn't at some point Gillis picked up the phone and said "Hey Roberto, we have a trade for Schneider, which means you'd be our starter next season, how do you feel about that?" At least he could gauge his goaltending situation a little better, rather than the mess he has now. He just traded away his top goalie, and his other goalie is questioning whether or not he wants to return)

- Trades Corey Scneider for far less than he could have (If he kept his mouth shut) and declares that Luongo his his starter for upcoming season
- BruHAWK[wrong, you overvalue trade value of goalies] (Do you really think that a 9th overall pick is fair value for Schneider? The Leafs just traded away two roster players and a 2nd for LA's backup, who was an RFA)

I would take one quality, potential #1 center over 2 low end players and a late 2nd round draft pick in a heartbeat.

I think Ericsson is gonna surprise people. I was very upset when the Flyers let him go.