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Cody Hodgson was going to be a great Canuck, we all thought.

And then he wasn’t.

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He came into the NHL with plenty of buzz. He scored 17 goals in his 71 games in the Canucks’ blue and green. Even so, things never seemed quite right.

Though it was somewhat of a surprise he was traded at the 2012 trade deadline to Buffalo in exchange for Zack Kassian, the young centre’s time in Vancouver was derailed in its early days by a back problem, one that was initially misdiagnosed.

Then there were tales of frustration between player and management and coaching staff.

(GM Mike Gillis lamented after the trade that he spent more time on Hodgson’s situation than on any other player.)

In Buffalo, he burned brightly at first, and his play earned him a big contract with the Sabres. But his play dropped sharply in the 2014-15 season and his contract was bought out in the off-season. He signed with the Nashville Predators as a free agent.

He skated in one season for the Predators, but continued to struggle,his defensive game being highlighted as especially problematic. He ended the 2015-16 season in the AHL.

When he retired suddenly in the fall of 2016, there was some surprise, but given his on-ice struggles, it didn’t come as a huge shock either.