Here's my assessment of Kassian, I've watched him closely in Rochester and Buffalo, his problem is his compete level and I'm not sure he is ready for the pros, especially the NHL, by that I mean he at times looks timid, despite his size.

This was a kid who dominated physically in juniors, but when he got into the AHL and NHL it was almost like a shock to him to be playing against men. Yes he has the size and frame, but he really lacked that mean streak that made him so effective in juniors, a lot of times he would just peel off when he had chances to make clean hits without putting himself out of position, which IMO is inexcusable given his size and what made him effective in juniors. He did this a lot both in Rochester, Buffalo and once he got to Vancouver. They way he has played physically in the pros so far reminds me more of Steve Bernier than Milan Lucic, big guy who doesn't/is afraid to use his size.

In Rochester and Buffao, Kassian rarely played a physical game, honestly Nathan Gerbe was more physical than Kass. He would have 1 game where he would throw some good hits then the next 3-4 games be as physical as Jan Hlavac.

Kassian was made expendable in Buffalo/Rochester by Marcus Foligno, who even while younger than Kassian, didn't show no fear physically, playing against men as a 19/20 year old and having a greater compete level, one can argue Marcus Foligno and his brother got those traits from their father Mike Foligno.

Now I'm not saying Kassian is a lost cause, he is still very young and learning the pro game, hopefully he won't be as timid going forward and raises his compete level now that he has more experience playing against men and not boys. Canucks' fans need to temper their expectations of Kassian, he won't be a Lucic, Hartnell or Backes, at least not anytime soon, give the kid some time.

LOL I will say this, I was spot on about my assessment of Grags coming from Buffalo, even after every Canucks fan kept pointing out his good +/- stats and points in playoffs, having watched him with Buffalo, I would've traded him for $1 Ray Sheppard style!

They had to, too big a blow to lose Weber and Suter.

no way they cud let weber go like that

Not surprised

wonder if trade talks will begin again for weber. if there is a lockout and we miss a season, 26 mil in guaranteed bonus money is a lot to absorb if the team can't make as much revenue for 2012-13.

AMAZING! :joy:

schneider's new mask

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...91542956_n.jpg

I wonder what Lu's new mask looks like :troll:

We ain't winning a cup with that mask

http://spck.imageg.net/graphics/prod...568532v275.jpg :troll:

http://www.bullssnapbacks.com/upfile...ogo_137237.jpg :troll:

"None shall pass" :fullofwin:

Bahahahahhahahahahahah

and did we win one with any of Lu's masks?:okay:

Nope and the only one I ever felt was the bear

I read that weber asked the Preds to add a Ntc/nmc to his contract. Hopefully they dont do that if that's the case and get handcuffed. They cud get a huge return (better than the philly picks) for him if they trade him next yr

Does anyone know if cash can be traded in hockey as well?

If so, if the Preds ever think about trading Weber, I think they would want some cash back too.

back in the day you could but you can't now

No trade on Weber's contract the first year.

Post of the thread! Nice :lawl:

Predators matched so that means that we still have a chance! If he went to the Flyers I had a feeling he would probably stay there for life (or at least the first half of his contract) ... but now that Nashville has matched, there will definitely be some awkward moments in the locker room ... and when the Preds flop out again this season (very likely after losing Radulov & Suter) the trade rumours will flare up again and the Canucks could possibly in the running to land Weber next year! :joy:
I'm sure Edler or Kesler + the "CDC Dream" proposal (Raymond, Ballard, 1st) is still better than the low-end draft picks that Philly would have given them in the offer sheet.

I'm still hoping that we land Doan. He would be a perfect type of gritty powerforward that we need on this team, without him we are essentially the EXACT same team that got bounced out of the 1st round last year except Salo is now Garrison. (fingers crossed he isn't a 1-year wonder)

Also I'm not too optimistic about Luongo's value now after seeing Nash getting traded to NYR for a couple of hotdogs and a slice of pizza ...

Hoping that Ryan would come to Vancouver for a similar type of deal? ...

Ok I should wake up from my dream now ...

^

Eh, I'm not too worried about the return for Lu being lower after the Nash trade. Unlike Howson, Gillis is not mentally ill. He'll wait until a team realizes they NEED a good goalie, in which case they may overpay a bit (or meet what Gillis is after). At that point, I'm confident he'll pull the trigger.

if weber is to stay at nashville his production is gonna drop and just play his career out as a hockey player, do well when he feels like it :joy: