Fantasy Impact: The Vancouver Canucks trade forward Cody Hodgson and defenseman Alexander Sulzer to the Buffalo Sabres for forward Zach Kassian and defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani

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The Sabres get: a potential No.1 center who at this point could probably slot in at No.2. They also get a depth defenseman who can play a few games when needed to be a PP QB on the second unit, if one of their top guys are hurt.

The Canucks get: a future power forward and an underrated power-play quarterback.

Fantasy Players Impacted: Gragnani will slide into the void left by Christian Ehrhoff as the No.2 PP QB in Vancouver. His fantasy value just went from zero to decent. Look for at least 12 points going from now until the end of the season, plus playoff value - remember that he had seven points in seven games in the playoffs last year.

Kassian may see some NHL time, but that is not certain. The Canucks added Pahlsson, which is essentially trading offense (Hodgson) for defense (Pahlsson). Eventually, though, the Canucks would like to see Kassian do what Milan Lucic has been doing for the Bruins. Warning - he may be a 40-point guy for three or four years before reaching his potential of close to 70.

In Buffalo, I don't like this fit for Hodgson. With Derek Roy, Luke Adam and Tyler Ennis already there, how many offensive centers can they use? It just doesn't fit, something has to give - their points/production will cannibalize each other. If things loosen up this summer in terms of the logjam, I will like this better.

Andrej Sekera will benefit from the added PP time, potentially.

Other thoughts - let's not forget that Cody Hodgson had the back problems a couple of years ago, and refused to go to Vancouver to train with their specialist and rather go off with his own in Brampton. That didnt' sit well with the Canucks and at that point I knew that he wouldn't be a career Canuck. I was surprised that he was with them this long. But what they did was "sell high". They waited until he was healthy and proven, and highly-regarded. Then they moved him. I think what you will find is that he gets hurt a lot. Just a hunch, but that's how I look at the player. A 45-point rookie with upside gives people a lot of hope, but Kassian could/should be a 45-point rookie with upside next year. And he's huge, which fits a need. Adding mobility in Gragnani is just icing on the cake. Don't underestimate how well Vancouver did here. In my opinion - give me the Vancouver side. I know I'm in the minority, but let's talk in 2015.

Fantasy Players this helps, in order:

1. Gragnani

2. Sekera

Fantasy Players this hurts, in order:

1. Ennis

2. Hodgson - although in the long run, he has a better chance of being the go-to guy.

3. Roy - increases offseason trade odds

4. Kevin Bieksa takes a small hit.

Comments (19)

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Jeff said:

Well said, Dobber! I'm fully in agreement over this. BUT, I don't think this necessarily hurts Hodgson. I've always said that prospects who have to EARN a roster spot will out-perform those who have one handed to them. I think we've only seen the tip of the iceberg, in terms of what Hodgson's capable of. Having to beat our Adam and Ennis for that top-6 spot is going to force him to perform and, hopefully, it'll bring out the best in him. If Hodgson does manage to beat out 2 very capable young prospects in BUF to get that spot, I would guess he'll have a very Logan-Couturian sophomore campaign. On the other hand, if Ennis or Adam holds onto that #2C spot, that may very well be all-she-wrote for Hodgson in yet another market.

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February 29, 2012
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Mabus said:

	... While I disagree with Dobber's assessment on Hodgson, and believe his production will increase, he is not alone in his assessment that Vancouver benefits more from this deal over the short to medium term. Here is an example: http://www.puckprospectus.com/...cleid=1262
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February 28, 2012
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Man not Puck said:

... methinks Dobber is letting a little of his butt-hurt Maple Leaf fan do the talking there. C'mon - admit it - watching all the "local" teams (BUF, MON, OTT, NYR) have SOME success in the past half-decade while your home team keeps finishing a non-respectable OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS must sting a little. I live in Ontario too, I'm just happen to know its best out West. Thats why I stay up late to watch my hockey....

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February 28, 2012
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bomm said:

	Dobber http://www.dobberhockey.com/fo...post913864
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February 28, 2012
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Buffalo87 said:

... Center is Buffalo's biggest organizational need and it is not even close. Adam has not been good at all after his first ~20 games and is now in the AHL. Ennis has been a winger in the AHL and NHL level until about 3 weeks ago. He has been great since moving to center 5-6 games ago but I'll need more than that before annointing him a bonafide NHL center. Hodgson will likely be the 1b behind Roy for now. I don't see how Hodgson is worse off from a fantasy perspective after the trade. As far as Buffalo being a "joke" organization and spending without having a plan and being a "circus", not sure where that all comes from. They were lacking a PP threat and a punishing dman from last years roster. Went out and signed the best defensive PP threat available on the market and traded for one of the better shutdown dmen available to them. The vision of Leino was for him to shift to center because they were (and still are) extremely thin there. They obviously overpaid for him and that plan did not come to fruition. If you're basing the "circus" and "spending without a plan" comments on just that contract then I can think of a number of other organizations who are beyond a circus.

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February 27, 2012 | url
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Ray Irwin said:

A move the Canucks had to make, but the Sabres got the best player Living in Vancouver, and as a Canucks fan, I will state that Cody Hodgson will play in more than 1 All-Star game during his NHL career. He's going to be a star, as he's an elite playmaker with a great shot. Also wouldn't be at all surprised to see him captain of the Sabres one day down the road. That being said, it was a move the Canucks would have had to make eventually. Cody doesn't fit as a 3rd line center and his talent is wasted on the wing. Look for him to develop into an elite face-off man, playmaker, and goal scorer. If you saw Cody play a lot this year, you saw him devastate goaltenders with pin-point accurate shooting...a snapper that exploded off his stick. No-look passes that only the high-end players make. And the beginnings of being a player that could drive through defenses on end-to-end rushes. Cody Hodgson WILL be an NHL all-star and the Sabres did well here. He's a player to build around, IMO...and I've watched a lot of young players over a lot of years. Kassian and Gragnani fit into what Mike Gillis needed to do. While a guy like Brendan Morrow may have served the Canucks better today, the fact is that the Canucks want to be in Cup contention for the next 5 years, so salary certainty is so important to a club that has so many veterans locked up long term. All in all a great deal for the Sabres, as I fully believe they got (by far) the best player in the deal, but nice job by the Canucks to get 2 players who can help their NHL roster for several years to come.

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February 27, 2012
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Robert Esquire said:

	... P.S. The Sabres do not have a logjam at center. Roy-Hodgson-Ennis Adam was sent down a week ago after 17 games without a point. He has all he can handle in the AHL for now.
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February 27, 2012
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Robert Esquire said:

Excellent move for the Sabres It is said that you can judge the winner of a trade by whomever received the best player. In this case the best player is Hodgson. He will be a great fit in Buffalo where he will not only have more ice time, but be flanked with much better wingers. He will fit in nicely as a nr. 2 center until he is ready to move up. Adam has shown that he's not ready for prime time and I predict he'll spend another year in the minors. Top centers are tougher to find than wingers, so when you have an opportunity to snag one, you pounce! Kassian was an immature kid in junior. He was lectured by Darcy before coming up to change his ways or forget about the NHL. However now when he plays he doesn't have that edge you look for in a tough young kid. He's reticent to fight and more content to shield opponents away with his body. Perhaps Darcy lectured him too hard and too long. In Vancouver I think he will be in the minors until at least next year. As he matures and develops I expect him to become a decent second line winger. But to expect him to eventually be another Lucic or Holmstrom might be a bit of a stretch. MAGS never cemented his role with the Sabres, despite his excellent playoff run last year. He was too erratic with too many turnovers and bad passes. He has a nice shot but needs a lot of development to bring him around into a reliable top 4 d-man. Overall the edge in this trade goes to the Sabres. Players like Hodgson are hard to find and his potential is that of a nr. 1 center. Kassian has yet to show he's ready for an 82 game grind and MAGS will take a bit of seasoning as well before he's ready for prime time. Sulzer is a throw-in.

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February 27, 2012
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Craigington said:

Dobber I'll take your word on the calling it 2 years ago, but I think the trade had more to do with Hodgson being stuck behind Sedin/Kesler for the next 5+ years more than it did because he used his own doctors 2 years ago. As for his ice time in Buffalo, I'd be SHOCKED if it was below 15 minutes a game. I think 16-18 minutes a game is more likely. The difference between Hodgson and Ennis/Gerbe/Adam is that Hodgson can actually play defense, is smart with the puck, and despite being a rookie he rarely makes stupid mistakes. Hodgson plays like a veteran despite his young age. Ennis/Gerbe/Adam all have nice upside, but they play like their age and make rookie type mistakes. I don't think the Sabres organization is a joke either. They've done way too well drafting players for that to be the case imo. They finally got an owner who cares last year so they spent more money than they should, but I don't think they'll be down for long.

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February 27, 2012 | url
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Mabus said:

... Production=talent+opportunity+system. By "system" I mean coaching style and linemates. The system is a smaller determinant of production than talent or opportunity (according to my numbers anyway). Talent is the constant here, so I'm not going to speak about it anymore. Hodgson is currently getting 12:43 in icetime per game (slightly less than Malhotra or Hansen). Essentially, he's getting 3rd line minutes. Out of this time, 1:50 of it is powerplay time. This is exactly the same amount of time Burrows and Booth are getting - basically 2nd powerplay unit time. There is no way Buffalo is giving up Gragnani/Kassian if you aren't going to give Hodgson more than 12:45 in icetime and/or 1:50 in powerplay time. Gaustad was getting more than 15 minutes per game of even strength time. In short, I see this to be a better opportunity for Hodgson to produce. That will allow us to see what his talent level is. If he produces, he will continue to get opportunities. If he sucks, it will be back to the drawing board. Hodgson is averaging 0.52 points per game right now. I would guess that this number will increase during his time with Buffalo this year. Next year, who knows, but at least he should be given an opportunity. If he's successful, he no longer has Sedin and Kesler ahead of him on the depth chart. Sounds like a win to me. Mabus

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February 27, 2012
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Dobber said:

Craigington Pt 2 That Hodgson statement is not hindsight bias, you can go back two summers ago to where I said that very thing here in the ramblings. Or how about my Fantasy Prospects Report 2010, in which I gave caution about his health? This is not a hindsight statement, I preached it beforehand. I love it when newcomers assume they know everything that I said or didn't say over the last few years. (actually, I do - it means I'm still getting newcomers LOL)

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February 27, 2012
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Dobber said:

Craigington How on earth do you think a young player can go to a circus team like Buffalo and GAIN from this? A team which gives Ennis 10 minutes one game, 17 the next, or Gerbe/Adam/insert name here? You really think Hodgson will waltz in and be an 18-minute player game in and game out? Kudos to you if you're right, but I wouldn't put more than a few coins on that bet. The organization became a joke when ownership took over and spent money just for the sake of spending money, with no plan in mind.

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February 27, 2012
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Bender said:

	Roy I think the logjam will go away when Roy is sent packing in the offseason. He'll have 1 year left at 4M per year (thanks capgeek) which should be an easy salary for most teams now, especially with only 1 year.
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February 27, 2012
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Craigington said:

? How is Hodgson hurt by this? How on earth is Hodgson hurt by this deal? He's averaging 12 minutes a game and has been playing with the likes of Janick Hansen and Maxim Lapierre. And not only that, but he had Kesler and Sedin blocking him off from future top line center minutes in the future. Everything points to Hodgson being helped by this trade as far as I'm concerned. And saying something like "I knew that he wouldn't be a career Canuck" sounds like hindsight bias to me. If that's what you thought, you should have flown over to Vegas and put some money on him getting dealt and walked out with thousands upon thousands.

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February 27, 2012 | url
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bomm said:

	one more thing.... ...losing Gragnani (who has always been a Ruff's s***list) opens a spot next year for McNabb. Getting Sulzer allows the org to not rush McNabb into a role he may not yet be ready to accept.
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February 27, 2012
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bomm said:

	... This deal was done with a long term view in mind. Give Sabres some flexibility (finally) at center, if things don't work out with Roy. Plus gives them an option to move Ennis on Hodgson's wing....again, perhaps. Also no dearth of "tough" wingers in the pipeline so losing Kassian - who is questionable at this point - is really no loss at all. Good move.
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February 27, 2012
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Larry said:

sad Canuck fan here... Loved Hodgson,who although wasnt going to supplant either Henrik or Kesler, he didnt look out of place on the wing. Kassian maynot be a player type the Nucks have on their roster-but if he isnt ready this year- then why make the trade now? Canucks will miss the offense Hodgson provides now. Gragnani should be an upgrade over Sulzer, but Sulzer looked fine in the few games he did play, so the real question should be is Gragnani an upgrade over Alberts/Rome whom he is more likely to be battling for icetime. Look for Derek Roy to be dealt in the offseason.

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February 27, 2012
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Miqualle said:

	... As A Sabres fan I will echo your comments...would rather not have seen Kassian get dealt.
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February 27, 2012
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TheCamelToews said:

	... Could not have said it better. As a diehard Canuck, sorry to see Hodgson go, but just love the move to acquire Kassian. He will be a fan favourite for years to come, and Gragnani has potential as well. Would love to see Kassian brought up for the playoffs!
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February 27, 2012
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