And now who knows what we get for Luongo as it seems the other teams are a bit reluctant to give up anything of value, I'd be a bit shocked to get a quality prospect plus roster players (for the cap), unless we keep both RL/CS for this shortened season, and they both play lights out!Butterfly effect: When a remote event, like a butterfly flapping its wings, over time has huge consequences elsewhere.
Who knew when Mike (Iron Butterfly) Keenan blew up the roster in 1998 he'd be laying the foundation for much of the Canucks' success today?
When Keenan traded Trevor Linden to the New York Islanders a decade ago he set in motion an indirect process that saw the return of Linden, the drafting of the Sedins and the acquisition of Roberto Luongo.
Coles Notes version: Bryan McCabe became Daniel Sedin and allowed him to keep playing with Henrik (or vice-versa); Todd Bertuzzi became Roberto Luongo.
"Yeah, it's sort of connected, in a roundabout way," Linden said on Monday, having not really given it much thought until asked about the several degrees of separation outlined in the accompanying box. "But you can look around the league and it's all connected."
He's right.
The most nondescript trade -- a swap of sixth-rounders, say -- can unearth a gem such as Henrik Zetterberg (210th overall in '99).
The Canucks themselves, as Linden pointed out, got Alex Edler by trading for a third-round pick in '04 and picked up Kevin Bieksa in the fifth round in '01.
Even in the Linden trade, a third-rounder was thrown in by the Isles -- it turned into Jarkko Ruutu.
Regardless of his own bit part in the acquisition of Luongo and the Sedins, Linden still shakes his head at what GM Brian Burke, at the '99 draft, and successor Dave Nonis, in the summer of '06, pulled off.
"Getting Louie from Florida, I was super-surprised," Linden said. "The fact Dave was able to acquire an MVP candidate was amazing. There aren't a lot of those out there. Obviously, that's an enormous addition.
"And Brian ... to this day it's amazing he was able to arrange things so he could get Daniel and Henrik. I think only Brian could have figured that out."
The veteran remembers thinking at the time that it was a shame but there was no way the twins could wind up on the same team.
"I mean, what team has the second and third overall pick? Can you imagine them on different teams? I can't. I couldn't imagine how they'd wind up on the same team, either."
Neither could the Sedins.
They'd arrived in Boston three days before the '99 draft expecting to be claimed by different teams, go back to MoDo for a couple of seasons, then get together again over midnight-sun barbeques between NHL seasons.
"We didn't even think about being drafted together," Daniel said.
A couple of 18-year-olds from across the Atlantic, they had no idea of the history behind the McCabe-for-No. 2 machinations, nor how McCabe had become a Canuck in the first place through Linden being traded away.
All they knew was Canucks Euro scout Thomas Gradin told them five minutes before the '99 draft they'd remain a duo, leaving the idea of what their careers would look like had they been separated a parlour game for the what-if crowd.
"I don't know what would have happened," Daniel said. "It's fun to think about it, but we're lucky it never happened."
LONG AND SHORT OF IT
Here's a step-by-step guide to how the Islanders helped the Canucks get to where they are today (with a nod to Mike Keenan, Brian Burke and Dave Nonis):
n Feb. 6, 1998 -- Keenan trades Trevor Linden to the Isles for Bryan McCabe, Todd Bertuzzi and a third-round pick (Jarkko Ruutu).
n June 26, 1999 -- Burke acquires the No. 4 pick from Chicago for McAbe and Vancouver's first-round pick in '00 (Pavel Vorobiev).
Burke acquires the No. 1 pick from Tampa Bay for the No. 4 pick (Pavel Brendl to New York Rangers) and two third-round picks.
Burke acquires the No. 2 pick (Daniel Sedin) and a third-round pick (Thatcher Bell) from Atlanta for the No. 1 pick (Patrik Stefan).
Burke selects Henrik Sedin with the Canucks No. 3-overall pick.
n Nov. 10, 2001 -- Burke trades first- (Boyd Gordon) and third-round picks to Washington for Trevor Linden and a second-round pick (Kiril Koltsov in '02).
n June 23, 2006 -- Nonis trades Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen and Alex Auld to Florida; Keenan sends back Roberto Luongo, Lukas Krajicek and a sixth-round '06 pick (Sergei Shirokov).
That's how Keenan's 10-year-old Linden trade brought Luongo and both Sedins -- and Linden again -- into the fold.
And of course a new CBA in place will help the other GM's decide on whats fair.