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The Canucks liked him but felt he could not develop into the type of player they needed going forward. Felt they were lucky to have a player of his skill and potential and be in a position where they could part with him without subtracting from the core. The problems were indeed his father. Although his father did not ask for a trade he often complained about the lack of ice time and was pushing Cody to ask as well. His father pushed the Canucks to the point where no one on the team wanted to take his calls and he did strongly suggest that if the Canucks were not going to utilize him properly then they should trade him. So dad did not demand a trade but strongly pushed for one. All of his lobbying was aimed at the off season and the Hodgson camp was a little taken back that it happened now. The Canucks don't want to come out and say he demanded a trade because he didn't exactly do that but they are a little miffed that the Hodgson camp is not being more forthcoming. The other complaints were along the lines of not getting enough PP time, not getting a shot on the PK (he was a good PK in junior) not having the right wingers for him to properly utilize his skill and of course not enough ice time. Dad was worried that Cody would not be able to develop to the point that his next contract would be severely undermined. So the Canucks were not in a hurry to trade him and did try, in their opinion, everything they could to see how he could better fit now. Bottom line was that the Hodgson camp was not prepared to do their time and this is money driven. So the Canucks parted with Cody because they could and in doing so got rid of a big headache called dad.
Luongo:
Interesting stuff. He is going through some serious relationship shit, on again off again kinda stuff, right now it is on again which may explain his poor play (
) Although the Canucks will publicly deny this, if a trade could have been made deadline day he may have been gone. Their preference at this point is to keep Cory and try to help Luongo get back to the East. Discussions were held with at least two teams, don't know which two and it could be that the foundation is being laid for an off season deal. The Canucks absolutely love Cory, everything about him and do not want to trade him.Deadline Day:
The Canucks had a list of players, 100-150, that they said OK these are the only guys and teams we will focus on. If the call is not about one of these guys then we won't entertain it. With respect to Hodgson that deal was very last minute as they had 3 or 4 teams interested for a variety of players. They waited as late as they could before pulling the trigger and in the end decided that Kassian was the main piece for them. They did have other offers they were entertaining but it all did come down to the act that Kassian was the one they coveted.
They tried every which way they could to trade Raymond. Because he is RFA bottom feeders were not interested and contender did not bite. They simply could not unload him.
They did not make an offer for Ott. He does not fit their mould moving forward and the asking price was way too high. They also knew that with their new ownership Dallas was not about to trade with Canucks or if they did they would want more than an arm and a leg. So they didn't get into that scenario. They like Ott but they don't like his age and were not about to give up a high draft pick and a promising prospect to try and land him. Their philosophy that day was to not be distracted so they left it alone.
Pahlsson was one of four centres they had on their list. He was the first one and they got him.
Given the unknown status of Ballard they did not want to spend more money bringing in another D man. They hope Ballard will be ready for the playoffs. The price to acquire another steady D man was too high for them to pay. When teams are trading with you they know your weaknesses and like last year they found that some players were traded for pieces they would have given but they were never given the chance to do that. The price for them, as it was for a few other contenders, was much higher. Supply and demand and need vs NEED.
On the team play:
They are finding is very f'ing hard to play right now. It is all mental. They know it is a problem but they just don't have the motivation right now. The playoffs can't start soon enough for them. They don't care about individual stats, seeding, President's Trophy. They just want to be in the playoffs. They have all increased their work out routines and are resting as much as possible away from the rink. They are in what they call playoff prep mode. The mental part will come and they know they have to start playing a more consistent game. I think we will see a few more sleepers yet but expect by the last few games they will turn it up a notch. Too bad for me, I have tickets for an up coming game
On Next year:
I think unless Raymond turns his game around he may be done here. I think they will try to trade Luongo and not Cory. I think Ballard may be done and they will try to add another top 4 D man, either through trade or FA.
But as I am not a crazy stalker I will just give you thumbs up 
