Photo: Eliot J. Schecter, Getty Images

I’m gonna be honest here, I’m a little fired up. That being said, I’m going to try and breakdown this trade as calmly as possible and tackle it from all sides.

OK *tries to calm internal screaming*

So, lets’s start with the player the Vancouver Canucks gave up: Jared McCann.

The 24th selection in the 2014 NHL entry draft, McCann’s first season was a roller coaster to say the least. At times in the season, he was displaying his NHL calibre wrist shot and lightning quick skating. At other points, he simply looked lost. He was also stuck on the McPlan which caused him to sit out a hand full of games during the season, in order to adjust to the rigors of the NHL. He finished the 2016 season having played 69 games with 9 goals and 18 points and while this is still a respectable season for a 19 year old, it’s not something to write home about. During his OHL career, McCann was heralded as an elite two-way centre but in my opinion, his tool set (shot, vision, and skating) is better suited for a decent scoring winger in the NHL.

So, let’s say Benning recognizes that McCann is better suited at the wing. This makes McCann an expendable asset as the Canucks have multiple offensive wingers coming up in Anton Rodin, Brock Boeser, and either Pierre-Luc Dubois or Matthew Tkachuk (this trade has to guarantee that we take a forward at number 5 ya?). What I’m trying to say here is that I can live with trading away Jared McCann, a player who is a couple years away from making a substantial impact in the NHL and is on a team that has prospects that can fill his shoes. I realize that this is only based off an assumption but I mean, this is just how I view McCann. Feel free to debate with me whether he has a better shot at being a top 2 centre on a contending team.

Now onto the player the Canucks recieved: Erik Gudbudskis… I mean Gudbranson. At least we can have some fun with his name right guys? Guys?

The Vancouver Canucks are in dire need of some help on their blue line. They surrendered the 7th most goals in the entire league last year and next year doesn’t look to be any better. This trade attempts to address this as Benning dealt from one of the teams strengths in order to fill a glaring weakness. At 6’5 and 216 pounds, Gudbranson is known as a sturdy defensive defenceman who plays a physical game and oozes leadership qualities. Florida Panther’s fans are actually upset at this deal because they viewed him as being their next captain. He’s everything Jim Benning could ever want… except for his offense. Last year he put up 2 goals and 7 assists in 64 games while being ranked 22nd on the Panther’s in CF% (46.1%). The 24 year old probably won’t ever put up more than 25 points in a good year and that’s being generous however, that’s not his game. Keep in mind that he was a former 3rd overall pick while not putting up amazing junior numbers so there has to be more than meets the eye with Gudbranson. If he can prove himself next year as being one of the top shut down defencemen in the league next and we pair him with Ben Hutton, I think that will be a formidable pairing for years to come.

If McCann and Gudbranson were the only components of the trade, I’d say it’s pretty equal. Hell I’d say the Canucks came out on top except, there’s more to this deal than just the players. This is where sh*t hits the fan in Canuck land.

The Vancouver Canucks also traded their 2016 Second and Fourth round draft picks for Florida’s Fifth rounder. When I saw this part on Twitter I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. Is it bad that I also thought typical Benning? I remember reading somewhere that Corey Pronman thought that this year’s draft, after the first round, is not as strong as previous years. That being said, Jim Benning’s biggest strength, hell sometimes I feel like it’s his only strength, is his drafting ability. I’m not saying the Second round pick is guaranteed to turn into a PK Subban or Shea Weber, the odds of that are incredibly low. But, when you are a team who won’t be ready to contend in a number of years, wouldn’t it be best to have as many rolls of the dice as possible in finding those Subbans or Webers? Especially if drafting is your greatest skill?

To end off my thoughts, a trade of this ilk was somewhat predictable. The entire season the Canucks have been saying that they are trying to walk a fine line between developing the future Canucks while staying competitive and winning. This trade is exactly that. Our top four now looks way better than last year’s which leads me to believe that we won’t finish in the bottom three next year. However, in the long run, I think this trade only hurts us as we are losing pieces of the future and chances at finding a true top pairing defenceman (our Second round pick and having a higher draft pick next year). I’ve tried to be as reasonable as possible and I honestly, truly see where Benning was coming from this trade however, for me this trade sucks. This is still my team though and I will stick with them thick and thin. I just hope JB sees something in Gudbranson that I don’t.

-Miroki

Picture link: http://www.gettyimages.ca/pictures/goaltender-roberto-luongo-of-the-florida-panthers-lets-a-news-photo-502468230#goaltender-roberto-luongo-of-the-florida-panthers-lets-a-shootout-picture-id502468230