It's not often there's a unanimous opinion on a trade. There is regarding the Cody Hodgson-for-Zack Kassian swap.
Buffalo is happy to have Hodgson, and Vancouver is happy he’s gone.
Canucks General Manager Mike Gillis conducted his season-ending news conference Tuesday, and the trade-deadline deal of two young prospects came up. Gillis was far from flattering with his remarks about Hodgson.
"We made a determination that he didn't want to be here, we built him into something we could move," Gillis told reporters in Vancouver. "There were six young players that I would have traded him for if any of them were ever made available. One was made available at the trade deadline, and it was Zack.”
There have been rumblings since the deal that Hodgson or a member of his camp asked out of Vancouver. Hodgson’s non-denial denials enhanced the speculation.
“"There clearly were issues that were ongoing," Gillis said. "I spent more time on Cody's issues than every other player combined on our team the last three years."
Darcy Regier made it clear he’s happy to have Hodgson in the Sabres’ organization. Asked to compare his season to that of other general managers, Regier’s first comments about his resume centered on the center.
“It’s exciting because Cody Hodgson has been a good addition, is going fit in very well with a group of players," Regier said, "not just the team as a whole but even a younger subset whether it’s Tyler Myers, [Tyler] Ennis, [Drew] Stafford, and I think that that is a positive.”
---John Vogl
