Kassian

[Fred]

I don't think i'm too far out of line suggesting that there are at least 5 or 6 posters on this board who want Zack Kassian to fail. Pretty jacked up that they consider themselves to be Canucks fans.

Come on Blob that would be stupid, no one wants the kid to fail, he's every coaches/GM dream....if he can dsiplay some skill. Just for a moment think of him as a 6'/185 forward and ask yourself what SKILL does he bring. Being big alone will not cut it. Just watching the kid today he seems to be in a daze, lets hope he can thinking it through during the summer get into top shape and make every one smile

[Waffle]

I think part of the problem for Kassian is that there are rookies on other teams (like Philly) who are playing very well, and its hard not to expect Kassian to produce similar results.

[Jovocop]

I think part of the problem for Kassian is that there are rookies on other teams (like Philly) who are playing very well, and its hard not to expect Kassian to produce similar results.

Philly, similar to Vancouver and Detroit, is definitely handling their rookies a lot better than some other teams. Buffalo, not as bad as Columbus, does not strike me as a team that knows how to handle their rookies.

[mathonwy]

I don't think i'm too far out of line suggesting that there are at least 5 or 6 posters on this board who want Zack Kassian to fail. Pretty jacked up that they consider themselves to be Canucks fans.

We need plastic sheets, the bed wetting is ruining the carpet.

[FAN]

I think the Kassian trade is in part a product of Gillis being much more prepared for the 2009 draft than the 2008 draft. We see this all the time. There are some drafts that GMs really like and they are interested in picking up players they had their eye on at the time.

Anyhow, I don't know where the "Kassian has no skill" comments come from. I wish Kassian had Booth's energy and I still haven't seen much meanness out of him yet, but it's pretty easy to see Kassian's skill set. He just needs to put it together and find a way to score in the NHL. His speed is certainly adequate and he has good hands. One thing that has impressed me most about Kassian is his ability to control the boards. He comes out with the puck almost all the time and you rarely see him lose the puck taking it out of the corners. I've seen him make some nice passing plays coming out of the corners and his passes aren't the hard at your feet type of passes that Booth unfortunately gives out. I think Kassian's goal scoring potential is limited but he should be a 20 goal 50-60+ point guy with his passing ability.

[old calamari]

I think with the dead puck era creeping back Gillis is slowly building on size. Last years draft pretty well all his picks were big guys. St Louis seems to be the new template for a team that can grind with some decent skill. Kassian is just one of the building blocks and has a great cap hit for a few years, the CBA is coming up soon and no one really knows how it will play out. Probably another reason that Hodgson was dealt was the looming nightmare of trying to do a contract with his agent and family.

[RoyalDude]

I don't think i'm too far out of line suggesting that there are at least 5 or 6 posters on this board who want Zack Kassian to fail. Pretty jacked up that they consider themselves to be Canucks fans.

Blobby Cat, you need to relax a little regarding people critiques of Kassian. We all want this kid to turn out, he's ours now, why would we want him to fail? Don't mistake's peoples frustration in trading a player who was helping us now, especially in scoring, for a player who quite obviously is nowhere near ready for prime time. Don't you find it baffling that we would use such an asset in Hodgson and move him for a kid who was playing in the minors when we are trying to win now, especially with the age of our core group? I understand not trading Hodgson for a rental, but there must have been a better option than Kassian who could be doing a lot more for us now than what Kassian is providing, which is pretty much nothing. That being said, I don't think the Canucks are in a position to gamble on a kid, we ain't exactly loaded on the farm, to make such gambles. We are about as flat as the Flames on the promising prospects front. Kassian may turn out, but where is the guarantee written on that? There isn't one, it's still remains to be seen, in the mean time we traded a kid who can play NOW.

[Reefer2]

One thing that I would like to know is if MG called anyone else about CH?

HW do you have anything or heard anything to see if CH was shopped around or was this a quiet deal done and only a few knew about it. To me it seems the deal was done quickly and probably influenced by the crap going on with his dad.

[FAN]

One thing that I would like to know is if MG called anyone else about CH?

HW do you have anything or heard anything to see if CH was shopped around or was this a quiet deal done and only a few knew about it. To me it seems the deal was done quickly and probably influenced by the crap going on with his dad.

I was watching the TSN trade deadline broadcast and I remember someone saying on there that there were GMs who were upset at the trade because they were told that Hodgson wasn't available. Given that it was a last-minute deal, other GMs probably didn't get a chance to match.

With that said, if Gillis was looking at Kassian, who out there had that skillset, age, NHL readyness, and who was available?

[Hockey Widow]

I was told he was not widely shopped. The Canucks identified a few players on a few team that they were willing to pull the trigger with/for if what they had to give up was reasonable.

I had also heard that the Leafs had called to enquire if CoHo was available and suggested a Coho/Schenn deal but the Leafs were told Coho was not going anywhere.

The attitude MG seems to employ is target the ones you really want and get that deal done and don't get into the bigger picture stuff. He has said before he likes the way Wilson runs the teams over in SJS this way.

The rumblings after the deal were similar to what we heard when both Thornton and Diana were dealt, that is other GM's whining that had they know they would have made offers better than what Boston and Calgary respectively ended up with. How much of this is sour grapes or just plain MG's being MG's who knows.

I don't know who else MG targeted nor do I know if Kassian was his first choice. What I do know, or think I know, is that he wanted it quiet and under the radar.

[dhabums]

I don't think i'm too far out of line suggesting that there are at least 5 or 6 posters on this board who want Zack Kassian to fail. Pretty jacked up that they consider themselves to be Canucks fans.

But if they get their wish they get internet laid.

[FAN]

I had also heard that the Leafs had called to enquire if CoHo was available and suggested a Coho/Schenn deal but the Leafs were told Coho was not going anywhere.

Burke must be pretty pissed. Guess there won't be a Luongo to Toronto deal.

[Reefer2]

I don't want Kassian to fail, I want 3 goals from him tonight.

What I wanted was this deal done in the summer after the Canucks win the cup because yes if we had CH on the team right now they would be up 3 - 0.