Canucks trade Sturm/Samuelsson for Booth/Reinprecht

David Booth comes to the Canucks and could be just the right ingredient to complete
the second line with Ryan Kesler.

The Vancouver Canucks have traded Marco Sturm and Mikael Samuelsson to the Florida Panthers for David Booth, Steven Reinprecht and a 2013 3rd round draft pick.

It appears, at first glance, that Mike Gillis has finally rounded out the second line and given Ryan Kesler a complementary speedy winger.

The Canucks official announcement can be found on their website here.

Marco Sturm struggled mightily in his VERY brief time in Vancouver, and Mikael Samuelsson was off to a horrible start this year. Some suggest that he may still be hurt and recovering following off-season surgery. Whatever the case is, neither winger found any real chemistry on the second line and both were relegated to the press box already.

In David Booth, the Canucks a speedy winger capable of finding the back of the net. Despite a nasty concussion in 2009-10, Booth recovered to play all 82 games for the Panthers last season. He will make an excellent addition to the second line and provide Ryan Kesler with a great outlet on that line. Booth’s only down side. He was a hideous minus-31 last year.

As for Steven Reinprecht, he should be quite familiar with the Canucks, spending a significant portion of his career in the Northwest Division with both the Avalanche and the Flames, as well as in the Western Conference with the Coyotes. Reinrpecht also played all 82 games with the Panthers last season and notched 16 goals.