Jim Benning strikes again. Sit down Canucks fans, I’ve got some bad news for you.
The Vancouver Canucks have reportedly traded forward Jared McCann, a 2016 second-round draft pick and a 2016 fourth-round draft pick to the Florida Panthers for defenseman Erik Gudbranson and a fourth-round pick, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.ca.
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/735637271173566465
The move is an absolute no-brainer for the Florida Panthers.
McCann, the 24th overall selection in 2014, is a good two-way center who appeared in 69 games with the Canucks in 2015-16, scoring nine goals and 18 points. He’s only 19 and has a good chance at becoming a good second-line center. Acquiring a second-round draft pick is no small deal either, as the Canucks finished in the lottery and the pick falls 33rd overall – it’s almost another first-round pick. That pick should become another quality prospect. The fourth-round pick is another nice asset, though not as significant.
To top things off Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.ca reports the Panthers retained none of Gudbranson’s $3.5 million cap hit next season. Florida moved out a bottom pair defenseman and his high salary for an impressive return which should help their current squad and future club.
Panthers captain Willie Mitchell might not be thrilled about the deal, however.
As for the Canucks, it’s a flabbergasting move. Gudbranson is a fine bottom-pair defenseman with a good physical edge. He’s a serviceable player, but he’s nowhere close to the value Vancouver gave up. In 64 games the 24-year-old scored two goals and nine points. The Canucks need defensemen as their blue line is mostly a mess, but they didn’t need to partially mortgage their future for a one-year rental. The club could lose Dan Hamhuis in free agency, so perhaps Benning made a panic move. Right now, the Canucks’ defense for next season should feature Gudbranson, Nikita Tryamkin and Lucas Sbisa – none of those defensemen should inspire confidence. Vancouver fans should be thankful Chris Tanev is locked up to a long-term deal.
In the last three months Benning has now traded two of the Canucks better prospects in McCann and Hunter Shinkaruk (traded to the Flames for Markus Granlund) for a modest return. His willingness to give up good prospects for depth players is baffling.
It’s hard not to feel bad for Canucks fans. The team is in a desperate need of a rebuild and when it seems like they’ve finally embraced one, their general manager trades their best prospects for middling returns.
If Vancouver wanted to acquire a top-flight defenseman with a big trade package like this one, they should have offered it to Colorado for Tyson Barrie. Acquiring Gudbranson and a late-round draft pick for that return doesn’t make sense. Acquiring Gudbranson for McCann alone doesn’t make sense.
If you’re a team looking to trade a mediocre player for an amazing return, call the Canucks.
