Confirmed with Link: Canucks trade Sam Gagner to Oilers for Ryan Spooner, one for one, no salary retained.

Cancuks

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Jan 13, 2014
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Should play Spooner at C not wing as that's where he had his success in Boston. Try Gaudette on Horvat's right side. Put Eriksson back on his natural left wing position with Pettersson and Boeser. I hate Green's line combinations.
 

Ori

#Connor Bedard 2023 1st, Chicago Blackhawks
Nov 7, 2014
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Ryan Spooner was good with coach AV too when he coached the Rangers - I think the system and his own motivation is a huge factor if he is going to be productive here.
 

Star Ocean

Registered User
Dec 30, 2018
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Man canucks need left wingers so bad. The fact a guy having a horrible year might come in and get a shot on the top line is so bad lol.
 

Peter10

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The hateful echo chamber of hfboards Canucks in a nutshell. I agree with you.

At worst, we pay 50 k less for a guy to play in Utica instead of continuing to help a rival team in the AHL.

That would actually the best case scenario and if it came to that I would call it a good deal. However, the worst case is what is apparently just starting - instantly put on the top line to make him look better than he is so management looks good on this deal. He will occupy a roster spot on the Canucks that should go to someone who actually has the chance to improve.
 
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Zippgunn

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Instead of having a bad player buried in the minors and using his roster spot to develop a better player, we now again have a bad player wasting an NHL roster spot for the indefinite future.

...and you know this how? Oh right, you are one of the clairvoyants. Maybe give him a game or two with our team before you totally write him off. Of course it won't matter how well he does you will almost certainly hate him but whatever you were probably one of those who crapped all over Jokinen despite his showing up here ready to play and getting way more points than anybody expected...
 

Zippgunn

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Yeah, definitely very few players on the active roster doing that right now.

We're talking about a guy who couldn't crack the Oilers roster/stick on the wing of RNH/McDavid/Draisaitl and expecting him to come in and just completely buck the trend? Alright. Sure.

What have we got to lose? Gags was never going to get another point for us. Spooner might. Your first sentence says it all, like this trade has anything at all to do with that...
 

Zippgunn

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If the healthy canucks send spooner to Utica then it's fine.

If the healthy canucks send Gaudette to Utica than the trade stinks.

It's as simple as that imo.

Gaudette has FOUR goals in 35 games; it's not like he's lighting it up...
 

MS

1%er
Mar 18, 2002
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...and you know this how? Oh right, you are one of the clairvoyants. Maybe give him a game or two with our team before you totally write him off. Of course it won't matter how well he does you will almost certainly hate him but whatever you were probably one of those who crapped all over Jokinen despite his showing up here ready to play and getting way more points than anybody expected...

Most of us here actually follow the league and the players in it and have opinions on the effectiveness of those players.
 

Zippgunn

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Most of us here actually follow the league and the players in it and have opinions on the effectiveness of those players.

...and that is all they are, opinions. The guy has played ZERO games for us. Looks like he is being given a prime opportunity to find his game in a new setting with a new coach and new teammates. As you might know sometimes a change of address is all a player needs to excel. If he doesn't work on the top line then see what he does elsewhere and, if he still sucks, send him down. Then Utica gets a shot in the arm. Or, if he's shown some other GM out there something they like they can grab him on waivers and we gain a pile of cap space (unlikely I know but stranger things have happened). Maybe he plays well and we include him in a trade package at the deadline. This trade is all win IMHOpinion...
 
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MS

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...and that is all they are, opinions. The guy has played ZERO games for us. Looks like he is being given a prime opportunity to find his game in a new setting with a new coach and new teammates. As you might know sometimes a change of address is all a player needs to excel. If he doesn't work on the top line then see what he does elsewhere and, if he still sucks, send him down. Then Utica gets a shot in the arm. Or, if he's shown some other GM out there something they like they can grab him on waivers and we gain a pile of cap space (unlikely I know but stranger things have happened). Maybe he plays well and we include him in a trade package at the deadline. This trade is all win IMHOpinion...

Jesus Christ.

Why even post opinions here at all?

Anything could happen! What’s happened in the past means nothing! Pfffft to statistical evidence and arguments! Everything is great!

This is a board for posting opinions and backing them up with evidence. I think Spooner is a bad player and have said why. Maybe I’ll be wrong! But usually I’m not.
 

Zippgunn

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Jesus Christ.

Why even post opinions here at all?

Anything could happen! What’s happened in the past means nothing! Pfffft to statistical evidence and arguments! Everything is great!

This is a board for posting opinions and backing them up with evidence. I think Spooner is a bad player and have said why. Maybe I’ll be wrong! But usually I’m not.

Do you think he will make this team worse? Do you think he'll make Utica worse?
 

MS

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Mar 18, 2002
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Do you think he will make this team worse? Do you think he'll make Utica worse?

As I’ve said several times:

If this was a trade for Utica and they were sending him there and burying him, absolutely I’d give it a big thumbs-up.

Yes I think he’ll make this team worse relative to giving a shot to Gaudette or sticking with Leivo in the role they’ve gifted him. Same as Gagner or Vey or Schaller or Leipsic or whoever. A bad player is a bad player.
 

Bleach Clean

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Aug 9, 2006
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Spooner is suspect defensively, I agree, but then how did he survive 214 games under Julien?

That's the real mystery.
 

alternate

Win the week!
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The chance that Spooner turns his career around, finds some desperation on the defensive side of the puck, and returns to a 40+ point player is more than zero. Therefore we won this trade. Worst case scenario, he flames out and makes Utica better.

Lol at putting Gaudette with 40/6. Nothing better than taking a rookie pro still finding his game at the NHL level and putting the pressure of scoring from an unfamiliar position in a playoff race. Don't agree with that idea at all...rather see HockeyGaud back in Utica than put on the top line right now.

As for this whole opportunity cost narrative, don't see Green as the type that will keep a line together when it's not working. Heck, I would prefer if he just picks someone (Leivo imo) and let them run to the end of the season and see if any chemistry develops. I agree with a former post that I'd like to see if Spooner and Horvat could work out.
 

Zippgunn

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As I’ve said several times:

If this was a trade for Utica and they were sending him there and burying him, absolutely I’d give it a big thumbs-up.

Yes I think he’ll make this team worse relative to giving a shot to Gaudette or sticking with Leivo in the role they’ve gifted him. Same as Gagner or Vey or Schaller or Leipsic or whoever. A bad player is a bad player.

So do you think this is a bad trade?
 

AwesomeInTheory

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Aug 21, 2015
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What have we got to lose?

Cap space, evaluation opportunities for players to get called up and fill roles, a potential roster spot next year if we hang onto him.

As several people have said, it is really dependent on what happens with him.

So do you think this is a bad trade?

Why does it need to be established right away whether a trade is bad or good, or if it was 'won' or 'lost'?

Several people have qualified their opinions regarding the trade, stating that if he is a stop-gap solution due to all the injuries the Canucks have incurred, it's an okay deal. If the result is that Spooner ends up eating a roster spot to finish this year and going into the next, it is a bad deal.

EDIT: And I should clarify that the latter being bad really depends on your opinion on the team and what you feel is needed for the future. Again, based on past track record from this management crew, I'm not keen on another spare parts type player who isn't particularly standout anywhere getting a chance with this crew. We already have one of those types of players and his name is Granlund.

If you feel that Spooner is a good player, please explain why you're excited in him potentially taking a top 6 (top 9?) spot. What did he do in Boston that makes you think he can replicate his success here? Is he going to be in a similar position to succeed here in Vancouver?

Since you are wrong that we aren't all clairvoyant, we have to contextualize things and not just operate on a binary "trade good/trade bad" system.
 
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Zippgunn

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Cap space, evaluation opportunities for players to get called up and fill roles, a potential roster spot next year if we hang onto him.

As several people have said, it is really dependent on what happens with him.



Why does it need to be established right away whether a trade is bad or good, or if it was 'won' or 'lost'?

Several people have qualified their opinions regarding the trade, stating that if he is a stop-gap solution due to all the injuries the Canucks have incurred, it's an okay deal. If the result is that Spooner ends up eating a roster spot to finish this year and going into the next, it is a bad deal.

EDIT: And I should clarify that the latter being bad really depends on your opinion on the team and what you feel is needed for the future. Again, based on past track record from this management crew, I'm not keen on another spare parts type player who isn't particularly standout anywhere getting a chance with this crew. We already have one of those types of players and his name is Granlund.

If you feel that Spooner is a good player, please explain why you're excited in him potentially taking a top 6 (top 9?) spot. What did he do in Boston that makes you think he can replicate his success here? Is he going to be in a similar position to succeed here in Vancouver?

Since you are wrong that we aren't all clairvoyant, we have to contextualize things and not just operate on a binary "trade good/trade bad" system.

The reason I ask whether people think it is a bad trade or not is because I simply can't see a serious downside to this. We had a player that was costing us 3 mil a year who was deemed so useless to us that he wasn't even playing in our organization but was instead toiling for another org and helping them develop their minor league players. No benefit to us whatsoever. Now we have a player who will play for us, at least somewhere. It's that simple and to someone who has no axe to grind it can only be a positive. Those worried about whether Spooner takes up a spot in out NHL lineup to the detriment of some minor leaguer's development (like who? Gaudette?) are, of course, confusing who they should be directing their criticism at. If Spooner is put on the top line and sucks but isn't moved from there and indeed wastes a prime roster space then who do we blame? Benning? It isn't Benning who determines who plays on what line, it's Green who never ever seems to get any real criticism here. If Spooner sinks to the bottom of the NHL depth chart but doesn't get sent down to Utica THEN it is time to castigate Benning. Since we are technically still fighting for a playoff spot it seems to me that giving Spooner a chance to regain his 40 point form is a better idea than leaving Gaudette up with the big club and continuing with his 20 point pace (and inconsistent play, at least IMHO). Essentially it is now a competition between Spooner and Gaudette; whoever plays the best stays up, at least theoretically. Spending more time in Utica isn't going to hurt Gaudette and if he comes up then Spooner in Utica will be a shot in the arm there. Win win unless, of course, you are looking for something to whine about...
 

me2

Go ahead foot
Jun 28, 2002
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So with 70% Ozone starts (haven't verified that number) he was good enough to be an NHL regular for 214 games under Claude Julien?
Lot's of young players with offense get an extended looks while the coach tries to fix them. When it becomes apparent the coaches have exhausted themselves and these players can't be taught or don't want to learn/change, there will be no light bulb moment, they get turfed.
 
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RandV

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The reason I ask whether people think it is a bad trade or not is because I simply can't see a serious downside to this. We had a player that was costing us 3 mil a year who was deemed so useless to us that he wasn't even playing in our organization but was instead toiling for another org and helping them develop their minor league players. No benefit to us whatsoever. Now we have a player who will play for us, at least somewhere. It's that simple and to someone who has no axe to grind it can only be a positive.

It's a nothing trade that originated from a bad UFA signing. I mean, you say Gagner wasn't doing anything for us evening in the minors but that was completely self inflicted. Unless Spooner actually does anything for the Canucks we're still left with a negative value asset on the team, and early on I'm getting the impression that Edmonton will get more value for themselves out of Gagner than they did with Spooner, and probably more than we'll get out of Spooner.
 

timw33

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"Steve Tambellini: This is as many impact players on market as I've seen; like giving Spooner first-line duties in debut #canucks"

Well if a great mind like uhhhh....Steve Tambellini says it's a good idea..
 

Megaterio Llamas

el rey del mambo
Oct 29, 2011
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It's a nothing trade that originated from a bad UFA signing. I mean, you say Gagner wasn't doing anything for us evening in the minors but that was completely self inflicted. Unless Spooner actually does anything for the Canucks we're still left with a negative value asset on the team, and early on I'm getting the impression that Edmonton will get more value for themselves out of Gagner than they did with Spooner, and probably more than we'll get out of Spooner.
At least you have a player toiling badly for your own organization, as opposed to toiling badly for the Maple Leafs organization. So there is that.

Of course, they could have simply asked Gagner to report to Utica, but Jimbo is just too darned agreeable to do that...
 

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