You’ve seen the news already. The Vancouver Canucks have completely stunned their fanbase and the rest of the hockey world by trading top prospect Hunter Shinkaruk to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Markus Granlund. To be honest, we’re not quite sure what the team is thinking, but here are a few ideas of what might have crossed their minds.

Quotes throughout the past year and change indicate that the Canucks still believe in the old-school approach to building a team. They want good character players, players that can fit set roles, and players who are a bit further accelerated in the development process.

Granlund isn’t exactly a defensive stalwart though scouts have suggested that his two-way game has improved under Bob Hartley and the Flames organization. He’s moderately sized at 6’0, putting him in the same group as Bo Horvat and Jared McCann. Maybe they feel that’s enough in the modern game. Or maybe, just maybe, they feel that he’s been held back by playing behind Jiri Hudler and Sean Monahan?

That’s unlikely, though. Granlund has started over 60% of his shifts in the offensive zone this season in an effort to make him a better, more productive player. It hasn’t really worked; he has just seven points in 31 games and continues to be a negative relative possession player for his team. At 22, there’s still time for Granlund to grow, but the clock is ticking; solid effort might turn him into a neutral possession up-tempo third line grinder. If the Canucks were in a win-now position and needing a player like that this season, this would be a much different acquisition, but he’s due for a raise that will likely bring him to a similar cost to the type of player they could sign on any given July.

It’s certainly possible that the Canucks had shied away from Shinkaruk, and didn’t feel the same way as we did when he ranked him as the 5th-best prospect in the organization this summer. While he’s still big enough to play with the rest of the league, he is a little smaller than the average NHLer, and often plays that way, avoiding rough areas and rarely using his body to power through.

As well, while his AHL numbers this year (39 points in 45 games) are outstanding, their value diminishes a bit when you go into detail. At even strength, Shinkaruk has just 11 goals and 10 assists; meaning nearly half of his offensive contribution comes with the other team being a man short. His 19.6 SH% is a little bit on the unsustainable side, and nearly half of his assists are of the secondary variety. Truthfully, his numbers probably made his play this year look better than it actually was.

Even still, scouts across the league are aware of his offensive upside, and even the “weaker points” like those earned on the powerplay and secondary assists have some value. I find it hard to believe that a team wouldn’t offer more for Shinkaruk; it seems more likely that he was the means used to acquire Granlund rather than the other way around.

Is it out of the realm of possibility that Jim Benning and pals traded for the wrong player? Don’t laugh too hard; it wouldn’t be the first time that an NHL team legitimately confused who they were acquiring. Is it possible that the Canucks were trying to get similarly named Flames teammate Mikael Backlund, or even more hilariously, Markus’ brother Mikael Granlund?

Both of these players produce at a level closer to what you’d expect a player like Shinkaruk to return; better Granlund being the solid point-getter while Backlund is the possession-magnet. It’s a crazy accusation, but I’m not ruling it out.

Maybe they felt really bad about last year’s trade for Sven Baertschi, which seems to have paid immediate dividends? The old guard seems to love doing favours for each other to stay in each other’s good books.

There’s a wildcard here, and it’s the doomsday scenario; maybe things are so bad up top right now that management are willing to try just about anything? If the Aquilini family won’t let Benning go through with a rebuild, and some of their trade chips might not feel like leaving, and others might still be in the process of being auctioned off?

If the Canucks are wrong about this trade, it won’t show immediately. By the time it does, it’s likely that Benning and his boys will be gone. Why not take a couple of chances?

You know, minus it probably accelerating the departure process. But in a world of forced justifcation, anything is possible.