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He was among a group of prospects discussed, but nowhere near a deal breaker and he wasn’t the player the Canucks were trying to build a deal around.

In reality, the deal those Canucks were working out with Anaheim was better than anything they had with the Pens anyway.

Of course, as legend goes, owners were already planning to chop heads and had no plans to let any of the deals go through.

BEST GOOD TIMES, BAD TIMES

Hey look, Gudbranson got spun around on the Oilers second goal and maybe he could have been more physical on the first, but he did do this:

BIGGEST CONUNDRUM

Word is Dale Tallon recently circled back to kick tires on a possible Gudbranson deal.

This would be a surprise to, well, no one.

Already, the Demers-for-Guddy-trade-that-nearly-happened from early in the summer is everywhere. It broke at the draft and was confirmed out of FLA last week.

Tallon’s interest complicates things for the Canucks. Yes, they could at some point make a deal, and they may have to.

A couple of names to keep an eye on from Team Luongo are Denis Malgin, who the Canucks have shown interest in before and Jayce Hawryluk who represents just about everything the Canucks are seeking.

A problem, however, is Guddy is on an expiring deal and it’s that deal which complicates things.

If the Canucks really are considering signing him long-term how much leverage does Tallon’s interest give Guddy’s agent?

Let’s say Guddy plays well for the first few months. He’s obviously going to be in position to say he’s proven himself and deserves a substantial raise.

Let’s say Guddy struggles. His agent will be in position to say ‘Hey, Tallon’s interest is real. He’ll be coming for him. And Florida doesn’t have state income tax.”

The Canucks look close to being in a corner here because they paid a lot for him, he plays a role no one else in the org can play and he’s closing in on becoming a UFA.

They can’t just lose him for nothing.

It’s has the potential to be quite the pickle