Grabner and Hodgson were ours

[ink]

Watching Grabner score a hat trick other day in Olympic competition and it got me wondering.

The Canucks are declining fast. How much do we need their talent now?

[carson005]

CoHo has been derailed this season by injuries we couldn't have predicted, it sucks for him but it makes the trade hurt less FOR NOW, if he gets healthy and back to where he was it show again.

Grabner we always needed, speed, speed, speed

[sacgiants1213]

Grabner we absolutely did not need. He was redundant with Mason Raymond, whom we all despised.

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Grabner we absolutely did not need. He was redundant with Mason Raymond, whom we all despised.

LOL faced with big decisions, Gillis picked Raymond over Grabner and Kassian over Hodgson.

(And that doesn't even count everything he traded away for Ballard or the choice he made to pick up a similarly overpaid and clearly damaged Booth).

[carson005]

Grabner we absolutely did not need. He was redundant with Mason Raymond, whom we all despised.

Look at minor league stats. Grabner was a goal scorer, pure and simple, we needed that. He scored 35+ in his two WHL season, 30 goals in the AHL.

[sacgiants1213]

Look at minor league stats. Grabner was a goal scorer, pure and simple, we needed that. He scored 35+ in his two WHL season, 30 goals in the AHL.

Even so, he was viewed as a guy who would disappear in the playoffs... at the time the Canucks needed playoff performers, not speedy soft players.

However, I'll admit that I would have preferred Grabner to Ballard... and holy crap just looked at that trade again and we traded Grabner/Bernier/1st round pick for Ballard. Good god, Gillis.

[carson005]

Even so, he was viewed as a guy who would disappear in the playoffs... at the time the Canucks needed playoff performers, not speedy soft players.

However, I'll admit that I would have preferred Grabner to Ballard... and holy crap just looked at that trade again and we traded Grabner/Bernier/1st round pick for Ballard. Good god, Gillis.

Yeah we needed playoff performers I agree. But we traded for Ballard who had never been to the playoffs in his career lol

I mean the only team stupider than the Canucks for making that trade was Florida since they WAIVED Grabner before the start of the season and watched him score 30 goals for the Islanders who gave up nothing. The first round pick Howden has been invisible in the NHL and bad in the AHL this year, he won't ever make it.

[sacgiants1213]

LOL faced with big decisions, Gillis picked Raymond over Grabner and Kassian over Hodgson.

(And that doesn't even count everything he traded away for Ballard or the choice he made to pick up a similarly overpaid and clearly damaged Booth).

He literally hasn't made a good trade/FA signing since Higgins/Lapierre. Maybe you can make a case for Garrison.

But Higgins/Lapierre was 3 years ago.

[sacgiants1213]

Yeah we needed playoff performers I agree. But we traded for Ballard who had never been to the playoffs in his career lol

I mean the only team stupider than the Canucks for making that trade was Florida since they WAIVED Grabner before the start of the season and watched him score 30 goals for the Islanders who gave up nothing. The first round pick Howden has been invisible in the NHL and bad in the AHL this year, he won't ever make it.

Yeah, Gillis needs to stop trading with Florida.

[NUCK-U]

I was a little miffed to see Grabner do so well on Long Island, after he did so little for the Canucks. But the Canucks already had a smiliar player (Raymond) and were making moves to get bigger and grittier. Grabner's success in these Olympics reminds me of when Demitra (RIP) lit it up during the 2010 games in Vancouver, but did nothing for the Canucks during his time here. I guess players get extra inspired playing for their countries and with the tournament every 4 years, they have to seize the moment.

I wonder what the Canucks would look like if they ended up trading the Sedins (after this season) instead of Hodgson two years ago. Top two lines would be centred by Kesler and Hodgson (younger), plus what the Canucks would've gotten for the twins when their stock was high (after the 2011 SCF). But, I imagine Gillis would've been strung up by the fans if he traded the Sedins at their peak. And maybe that's why he extended their terms an extra 4 years, he doesn't want to be known as the GM who "drove the twins out of town". Gillis knows he'll be gone before he has to make that decision to trade them or re-sign them again. Mind you, they'll be around 38 years old by then. But I gotta say, I wish Gillis rolled the dice and made that huge trade.