Island Nucklehead wrote:Farhan Lalji wrote:old calamari wrote:Talk about baggage how about the great Hodgson a player who lets daddy, agent, Roberts do his dirty work for him. Come back in 3 years and talk about this trade before you try to run your fukin smack. Malcontents need to be killed before they spread cancer in a team.
No argument from me there at all but let me ask you this:
Why trade Hodgson for a "work in progress".........when your team, in its current "window" is a cup contending team...........for a player that "might" pan out in 18-24 months?
If Hodgson is a lockerroom cancer? Fine - get rid of the guy. Just don't trade him for a work-in-progress. Package him off with a 1st rounder and get a significant top 6 forward or top 4 defenseman.
Well rumour was the Stars wanted Hodgson for Ott. Is that the kind of trade we're looking at? A potential top-6 Centre for an 11-goal, soon to be 30 year old making 2.9M? No thanks...
Kassian could be a meaner (and hopefully more motivated) version of Dustin Penner. A huge body with some skill, but also mean and wants to hurt people (legally of course
). A guy that can give you 20-30 (maybe) goals per season, and 150 PIMS while he's at it. That's the kind of player Kassian could turn into. Remember, Hodgson wasn't by any means a finished product, he was very much a "work in progress".
Basically, Gillis traded his future for another teams future. It was a hockey trade. Those short-sighted folk will scream that we didn't improve imidiately, but that's not looking after the future of the Franchise. Hodgson wasn't happy playing behind Kesler and Sedin long-term, and nobody can blame him because there was no way he'd supplant those guys. So, Gillis moved him for an asset the organization lacks. A big, mean, young, hard-nosed winger with potential.
Like some have said when the deal was made, this is a deal that can't be judged for at least a couple years. Hodgson wasn't going to win us a playoff series, and nor was Kassian. Personally, I figure a guy like Kassian will have more of an impact in the playoffs and is exactly the kind of player the Canucks have lacked for years. Bernier and Pyatt were big men with soft hearts. Kassian is a big man that wants to eat hearts...
Great post Island Knucklehead and I'm glad you responded. I especially like that last line of yours there, lol.
I like your viewpoint on the Hodgson deal, but why not make that deal in the off-season? Was Hodgson really THAT much of a lockerroom distraction? I don't think so.
I agree with your rationale that this deal was a "future potential" for another team's "future potential" (with both players perhaps being in a more appropriate fit in a different location), but let's face it. Hodgson WAS a lot further along the developmental curve than Kassian.
I know a lot of people say that Hodgson wouldn't have been a difference maker in the playoffs, but I disagree. Why? Three words: The Boston game.
January 7th, 2012: In the biggest regular season in the history of our franchise, the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Boston Bruins 4-3. Both teams tried to 'downplay the significance' of the game, but everyone knows that this was the invisible game 8 of the Stanley Cup finals. And for those that don't believe me? Consider this: Both Boston and Vancouver never recovered emotionally after that game.......but I digress,
Anyway - guess who stepped up and scored TWO goals in that game. Cody Hodgson. The Power play goal to make it 2-2, and then the absolute LASER of a shot that blew past Thomas.......prompting Thomas to take an extra glance to see who in god's name shot that puck.
Hodgson didn't score frequently..........but he scored on regular occasion.............and when he DID score on those occassions, they seemed to be at the most opportune moments. Hodgson scored a couple of key goals in our games against Chicago as well if I recall correctly.
The bottom line? Hodgson may have been having off-ice issues, but the guy was a 'spark plug' on the ice in important games. Hodgson was the type of guy that could dominate on the 3rd line in the clutch moments. Hodgson was the type of guy that could score that key goal on the 2nd PP unit. Hodgson was THE type of guy that could have scored once or twice against LA (against LA's 3rd or 4th lines........lines that wouldn't have Richards, Carter, Brown, Doughty, Kopitar, etc.) and made a difference.
Is it any coincidence that after the trade deadline, the Canucks basically became a glorified version of their 2006/2007 selves? (i.e. a team that could shut down opponents effectively but couldn't score on a consistent basis).
And yes - I realize that the Canucks had been slumping offensively well before the deadline, but I honestly don't think it would have continued had Hodgson been there to provide a 'spark' on that 3rd line (which in turn, would have taken far more pressure off the twins).
If Hodgson needed to be dealt? Fine. Do it. Just do it in the off-season. The Kassian trade may have been the perfect trade to pull off for Vancouver.........but given where both teams were..........and given where both players were in their development.........I cannot fathom why this deal was made in late February as opposed to early July.
p.s.____________While I'm a rant here, I also think that the Canucks owe Luongo an apology. There's no way he should have been embarrassed by the team like that in the playoffs.......for what was essentially no fault of his. This team, on an emotional level, became Schneider's team on January 7th 2012. Schneider should have become the #1 goalie at that time. I just think it was idiotic for the coach to not recognize that.