Friedman: Cody Hodgson attempting comeback.

[Mick Riddleton]

He has not played since the 2015/16 season, so this will be tough to catch up.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

A return to Vancouver would be cool.

so he can be pelted from the stands with pacifiers?

would be nice to have some closure with that era

 

[jetsforever]

How is he supposed to magically be in NHL shape after so many years not playing?

 

[Chainshot]

How is he supposed to magically be in NHL shape after so many years not playing?

Perhaps he's using the goal of returning to play to test out whatever gene therapy or treatment for his condition? He's said before that he has issues even doing mild exercise, so perhaps his stretch goal is getting back to pro hockey rather than his expectation?

 

[SK13]

Translation: He's out of money, needs to earn, somehow has enough juice to get Friedman to say his name on national TV and will wind up playing 13 games in tier 3 European pro before the comeback ends and he has to get a real job somewhere.

Perhaps he's using the goal of returning to play to test out whatever gene therapy or treatment for his condition? He's said before that he has issues even doing mild exercise, so perhaps his stretch goal is getting back to pro hockey rather than his expectation?

Maybe it's this.

The NHL should really have a WWE-style post-retirement program for players to pay for medical treatment in their post-NHL careers.

 

[Reddawg]

He just came off our cap over the summer, despite having been bought out the year McDavid and Eichel were drafted.

 

[dirtydanglez]

He just came off our cap over the summer, despite having been bought out the year McDavid and Eichel were drafted.

this might explain the comeback attempt. no paycheque anymore.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

how can he be out of money? the last eight years he’s made more than a quarter mill a year without having to do anything

i imagine he made other money having a real job like a normal person for at least some of that time too. he was retired, so it’s not like he was spending all his time trying to get back into game shape.

i am sure he wants to earn some hockey money, but he was a smart kid, was a finalist for scholastic player of the year, and came from a very rich politician’s family so he should have someone telling him how to take care of his money. i’d be very surprised to hear that he’s broke.

 

[VaporTrail]

Is Hodgson’s dad part of the package? That guy was force f***ing his way to management to give his son more ice time.

Yes..Cody says Dad would be rooming with the coach while on the road.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

This but even more so. Dude has been done for the better part of a decade, it’d be impressive to make it back to any pro level. Hope he does it, though.

Would love to know how he actually was as a player. Most people seem to think he was just lazy, others know of the health stuff, I wonder if both can’t be true. Young talent takes it for granted, struggles, then the health stuff drags him down and he realizes what he’ll miss.. sounds like he’s feeling better, at least, so that’s dope.

All else aside, he had the makings of a decent 2nd line center, if everything went right.

The laziness was largely to do with his health issue. He also had interfering parents that Canuck management got sick of.

But he was a talented guy and generally deemed a hard worker. His biggest problem was his skating. His legs were short and he didn't have a great stride as a result.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

 

[neelynugs]

probably better than 1/3 of the sharks or blackhawks roster currently, worth a look

 

[biturbo19]

Translation: He's out of money, needs to earn, somehow has enough juice to get Friedman to say his name on national TV and will wind up playing 13 games in tier 3 European pro before the comeback ends and he has to get a real job somewhere.

Wasn't he running a reasonably successful hockey camp/program down in Nashville for a while? I'm sure he'd be fine just setting up shop somewhere in Canada and running a hockey program like that just off WJC glory alone. Much less being a successful former NHLer with a recognizable name. I really doubt it's a "ran out of money" scenario.

Maybe it's this.

The NHL should really have a WWE-style post-retirement program for players to pay for medical treatment in their post-NHL careers.

They do. NHL players have a pretty strong pension that vests with seasons accrued/games played. Hodgson had a relatively short career relative to expectations, but he's probably got healthy options available with the half dozen or so years he was able to play.

 

[MS]

There's likely 0 members of the organization from that time still around. That was the Mike Gillis era.

There are several people still in the Canucks organization including the ones that were responsible for drafting him. Plus guys who he played with are now part of management (Sedins, Higgins, & Samuelsson).

Yeah, and Hodgson was hated by the veterans on the team who once taped a 'C' on his jersey for practice because he was such an entitled shit.

There is zero chance he plays another NHL game. He might be able to collect a paycheck in Germany or somewhere else in Europe for a couple years if he needs the money.

 

[MarkWheeler]

Heard he’s already in negotiations with the Leafs on a $12 million contract.

 

[Djp]

how can he be out of money? the last eight years he’s made more than a quarter mill a year without having to do anything

i imagine he made other money having a real job like a normal person for at least some of that time too. he was retired, so it’s not like he was spending all his time trying to get back into game shape.

i am sure he wants to earn some hockey money, but he was a smart kid, was a finalist for scholastic player of the year, and came from a very rich politician’s family so he should have someone telling him how to take care of his money. i’d be very surprised to hear that he’s broke.

In his last contract..he made $6.5M before buy out. He was owed $19M when buy out occurred at 25 at 1/3 or $6.33M. He did a 1 yr $1M with nashville.

I don’t think he’d be doing it for money. I think it’s just to test what he can do.

 

[FerrisRox]

But he hasn’t played pro hockey in eight years. I wish him all the luck.

Terry Ryan just made a comeback to professional hockey today, on his 47th birthday.

He was away from the game for twenty years.

 

[smoneil]

Clear opportunity for Dallas. They can finally be the team to re-unite the Brampton line of Duchene, Hodgson, and Grachev...

 

[Crosby2010]

I can remember him in the 2008 and 2009 era. The 2009 WJCs he was on fire. Actually outpointed Tavares. Hodgson just seemed like a future star in the making in the NHL. He seemed to have the chops for things. He really struck me as a guy that would be every bit as good as someone like Bergeron at that time. I know eventually he had injuries, but I just wonder why he was never able to crack more than 40 points in a season.

 

[Scintillating10]

Just said on the headlines segment at intermission.

The hype around him when he was drafted was HUGE.

I hope he's successful.

A return to Vancouver would be cool.

Long shot of all long shots

 

[lawrence]

This but even more so. Dude has been done for the better part of a decade, it’d be impressive to make it back to any pro level. Hope he does it, though.

Would love to know how he actually was as a player. Most people seem to think he was just lazy, others know of the health stuff, I wonder if both can’t be true. Young talent takes it for granted, struggles, then the health stuff drags him down and he realizes what he’ll miss.. sounds like he’s feeling better, at least, so that’s dope.

he suffered an injury during the summer of 2009 while training. He injured his back or something like that. nightmare scenario. He did work very hard in the gym according to Gary Roberts. Of course, I'm not impressed his dad tried to lobby us to give him top 6 minutes, despite Gillis caving in and promising that the best he can do is guaranteed no more AHL time but he will play in the bottom 6 role. (there was no way he was going to outdue Kesler or Hank Sedin) Gillis tried to trade him for Kyle Clifford, or John Carlsson eventually we ended up with Zach Kassian.

 

[David71]

Not sure he has the speed for todays game.

he never had the speed even when he played. he was slow despite his back injuries

 

[EpochLink]

All I remember from his time from Vancouver was his dad pestering management to give him more ice time when he didn't earn it yet. This guy was supposed to be the future captain but we shipped him for Zach Kassian. He got injured, then he dipped.

Not sure how he would fit this current Vancouver team, Tocchet will have him playing the fourth line.

 

[Rude Dog]

This was one prospect I got completely wrong. I know he had injury issues, but I thought he was a can't miss. Such a smart hockey player. Hope he gets one more chance.

 

[Chainshot]

This was one prospect I got completely wrong. I know he had injury issues, but I thought he was a can't miss. Such a smart hockey player. Hope he gets one more chance.

It's hard to identify genetic abnormalities in scouting reports.