I find Crawford's assessment a little... verbous for what we have seen from Kassian. Great way to pimp this as a huge win for Vancouver though. I suppose none of their panel has noticed the massive void in the middle in Buffalo or the ToI Hodgson is going to be getting instantly. He's immediately the best or second best center on the team. Both teams addressed a need and did well, but listening to Crow... eh. Pump those tires there Marc.
Watching TSN's coverage today, it is clear that they focus mostly on the Canadian teams. I wouldn't be surprised they are focusing on the trade from Vancouver's point of view. Not a big deal.
Best case scenario is another Briere for Gratton trade here...
Not at all.
I think this can turn out to be more like Heatley for Hossa -- but earlier in their careers. This has win-win written all over it.
--Vancouver needed a young physical forward to add to their lineup, and they had center depth where Hodgson was never going to be more than a #3 guy.
--Buffalo needed a young, natural center to add to our lineup, and we had a plethora of wingers both on the roster and in the pipeline where Kassian could be replaced. Lose some physicality, but Foligno will help when he's ready.
10 years from now, I think both teams will look at this deal and smile.
hodgson : great on ice vision, playmaker. has good wrist shot and slapshot. surprisingly strong skater - rarely falls down on the boards. not the fastest skater but hockey smarts makeup for it 2folds.
played on the third line behind seeing and kesler and on pace for 50 points this year.
honestly I can see him becoming a captain for you guys in the near future. he just has the qualities you want in a captain.
You guys just landed a future team captain and #1 centre. An incredibly smart and creative play maker with a wicked shot (both his wrister and slapshot). He's also a really high character guy that oozes leadership.
Sulzer is an AHL D-man who you can call up for injury call-up and not be too concerned. Upside is 6/7 D-man. I believe he was in the deal only to make sure Buf got back a blueliner.
I'm not so sure on this deal as a Canucks fan but I trust in Gillis and believe these two players he got in return are going to be guys who can make a difference on this team both now and in the future.
Kassian could be the next prime Bertuzzi type winger -- size, good straight line speed, tough guy who can play it mean/hit to hurt with some good playmaking ability and such. He's got more potential than anything, but he's a first-year pro and there is a lot of his game that needs to be polished. Much like Bertuzzi when he was dealt by the Islanders, he's not mature yet, not well-rounded. But if he lives into that potential -- and getting a chance to be a big contributor on the Canucks, someone they wanted/needed -- he could be a special, special player. It's that Hodgson is farther along and already playing well while Kassian is still finding his way.
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Great hands for his size, and he's very strong on the cycle. I'll be pissed if he finds his physical side, but right now, he seems to be more Bernier/Pyatt than Neil/Lucic.
This is such a risky trade, but I love them for taking a shot on it. Vanek-Hodgson-Pominville, oh let's ****ing go.
I think this can turn out to be more like Heatley for Hossa -- but earlier in their careers. This has win-win written all over it.
--Vancouver needed a young physical forward to add to their lineup, and they had center depth where Hodgson was never going to be more than a #3 guy.
--Buffalo needed a young, natural center to add to our lineup, and we had a plethora of wingers both on the roster and in the pipeline where Kassian could be replaced. Lose some physicality, but Foligno will help when he's ready.
10 years from now, I think both teams will look at this deal and smile.
I hope you're right because I wasn't sure how I felt about this trade, I didn't know much about who we were getting but I know Hodgson is going to be a beast #1C, the kid is pretty damn good, reading the excitement from your board is a little scary but I'm not a GM, just a fan.
Congratulations, can't wait for the two teams to play Saturday.
Very VERY disappointed in this deal from Gillis from a Vancouver fan standpoint. Hodgson was our future replacement for Henrik Sedin as the Canucks top line Centre. As a 22 year old, his on ice vision and hockey IQ ranks probably 3rd of all forwards on the Canucks right now. He probably has the 2nd best shot on the team amongst forwards behind only Kesler. Downsides are that his physical development is a bit lacking particularly as it relates to speed but that usually comes with age and continued development which most do not see as a big deal.
Can Buffalo fans provide some background on Kassian? How badly were the Canucks fleeced in this deal??
We haven't really seen enough of him in Buffalo to have a good idea of his play. He's played 27 games, but mostly in 4th line minutes with no PP time.
He's a loose cannon, but with his size, it can be a good thing. He's very good along the walls and in front of the net. It'll be very interesting to see if he ever becomes more than a tough guy, but if he does, watch out.
You guys got a good player today. Sady to see Hodgson go. I think he's the future captain of the Buffalo Sabres. Pretty good hands, a great shot, and his skating ability (once like a pylon) has really improved. Wow. Thought he was gonna be a lifer.
Drury, less sand paper, more playmaking, better shot, and natural offensive talents.
wow...darth regier, way to use your crazy ****ing Jedi mind tricks to get hodgson. but to any vancouver fans reading this, it will probably be a win win. like others have said, kassian's still finding his game. could definitely develop into a bertuzzi like player. kinda sad to see him go, but we desperately needed a good center. and it's really refreshing to hear that hodgson has leadership qualities.
wow...darth regier, way to use your crazy ****ing Jedi mind tricks to get hodgson. but to any vancouver fans reading this, it will probably be a win win. like others have said, kassian's still finding his game. could definitely develop into a bertuzzi like player. kinda sad to see him go, but we desperately needed a good center. and it's really refreshing to hear that hodgson has leadership qualities.
TSN said that other GMs were told that Hodgson wasn't available and that they are going to be PO'd when they find out that he moved today.
Enjoy guys, CoHo is a future 30-40 goal guy in this league and should be your future captain down the road. Dunno much about Kassian outside of the WJC but hope he can do what we're hoping he can do
