Shocker Sends Kassian To Vancouver; Hodgson To Buffalo

Vancouver Canucks Acquire: Zack Kassian and Marc-Andre Gragnani Buffalo Sabres Acquire: Cody Hodgson and Alexander Sulzer

Review:

The common theme we've seen in many of today's trades is that the players involved seemed to be guys that weren't expected to move. Many of the supposed 'available' players stayed where they were, while young, thought to be untouchable, players got moved for each other. In this particular case we saw the Canucks acquire a big twenty-one year old winger in Zack Kassian. Kassian had already begun to develop into a fan favorite with the Sabres and I'm sure the same will happen in Vancouver. What makes him so likable is the impressive mixture of physicality and skill which is so rare to find. He can drop the gloves and win against any player, and his 26 points in 30 AHL games proves he can put up points as well. We saw during last year's Stanley Cup Final how much physicality meant in the full seven game series and apparently Canucks GM Mike Gillis saw as well because this definitely seems to be their answer to Boston's Milan Lucic. The Canucks also acquired defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani who has played well this season. At the time of the trade Gragnani led all Sabres players in plus/minus with a plus-10. His play has been very good considering that this year is his first full season at the NHL level. During the 2010-11 season he put up 60 points in 63 games in the American Hockey League so he has some very impressive offensive skills that will begin to be shown more once he gets more comfortable at the NHL level. Although I love the Canucks acquisition of both Gragnani and Kassian, they paid a large price in Cody Hodgson and Alexander Sulzer. 

The Sabres had been very high on Kassian, but apparently Cody Hodgson was enough to change their mind. At twenty-two years old Hodgson is playing his first season in the NHL. He's done very well for himself putting up 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points which is good enough for the 2nd highest goal total of all rookies. His great creativity and hockey sense makes him a prospect with a great future. For many years Canucks fans have been big supporters of Hodgson, and at times were over supportive of him, which surely makes this move a little harder to stomach for the Canucks faithful. I could see him fitting in really well in Buffalo as a future first line center playing in between Pominville and Vanek. The Sabres also received Alexander Sulzer who is a depth defenseman. Sulzer joins Christian Ehrhoff and Jochen Hecht as German players on the Sabres. Maybe his comfort level will be raised and he will perform better, maybe not. Either way he is right now nothing more than a bottom-pairing defenseman.