The Vancouver Canucks take on Zack Kassian and the Edmonton Oilers tonight. Now there’s something I didn’t anticipate writing at any point in my life. Ever. 

Kassian was never able to parlay his size, hands and ability to process the game into half of what was expected of him. A lack of playing time or opportunity was once considered the culprit. That argument might carry weight to this day, but addictions issues have come to the front and muddied the picture as a whole.

To their credit, the Canucks have gone on record as saying they tried to help right the ship for Kassian. They did their best, and so on. By that same token, they spoke of Kassian as though he were an object at their most recent town hall. Whatever the case, they ran out of patience last summer and felt they had to deal Kassian, along with a fifth-round selection, to the Montreal Canadiens for Brandon Prust.

So I asked the Canucks Army staff: knowing what we know today, would you have made that trade? 

What are your long-term hopes/projections for Kassian?

absolutely not – we knew from the beginning that Prust was a player that added nothing to the Canucks in their current state, and paying a 5th round pick for him was already inexcusable. Now that we know about Kassian’s substance abuse problems, it only makes the trade more unforgiveable – as an organization, you should a) maximize the value of your assets and b) take care of the people within your organization, and this trade was doing neither.

No.

I believe that when people are going through things like Kassian was, that you stand beside them to help them. The fact the Canucks shipped him off to Montreal and paid a 5th round pick to do so is something that should’ve never been done. Even if they felt he wasn’t wanting the help they were giving, throwing your hands up and shipping the problem out is just a poor thought process. Imagine him with the Canucks now, would probably be a perfect compliment in the bottom 6, instead they have Prust who reached zero value.
Kassian will likely just be a middle 6 winger who is able to chip in 15 goals and 15 assists (due to who he is playing with in Edmonton) but the major benefit of him, is that he can play anywhere in the lineup and be effective.

I will be cheering for Kassian for the rest of his career, and  nobody will convince me otherwise.

They definitely should have stayed by Kassian, regardless of trade partner or  who they got in return. He clearly needed help, and the Canucks decided to move on from it. I understand that they thought a change of scenery may have been good for him, but they should have worked more closely with him and the people around him to ensure he was in a proper state of mind before making a move and taking him away from his comfort zone.

No. From an on-ice standpoint, they gave up a useful player and a pick for a player that is not useful, so I still do not understand that trade. From an off-ice standpoint, it sends a pretty poor message. At that recent town hall, Linden basically referred to Kassian as something that they had to get rid of, which was disappointing considering the amount of work the organization has put into mental health awareness. If something isn’t working, it’s not working – the change of scenery could have been great for Kassian, so I can see an argument for trading him when they knew about his substance abuse problems. But I really have an issue with the way Linden has discussed Kassian since. The Canucks lost this trade the day they made it, but they kind of lost it again when the spoke about Kassian’s substance abuse problems the way they did – I don’t think any fan felt that the Canucks needed to try to justify the poor trade with the “well we  _had_  to trade Kassian because of his off-ice stuff” comments. The whole thing just makes you shake your head because Kassian is good at hockey and deserved support and they got rid of him and a pick for Brandon Prust, and then went and kind of bad-mouthed Kassian! Kassian’s teammates – especially the twins – seemed heavily invested in his success as a player and as a person, and I think a lot of fans enjoyed him too. Hopefully Edmonton is great for him.

The Kassian situation is a delicate one. I care very little about the trade itself, and so I have no problem that it was made. By all accounts, it may have helped. I have trouble believing that Kassian was going to be able to overcome his issues without a serious wake up call, one that he received from both the trade to Montreal and, more significantly, the car accident he found himself involved in on the eve of the season.

I have no issue either with trading a player that is having off ice problems, at least when done delicately and respectfully. This happens all the time – we saw Montreal do the same thing as Kassian recovered from his accident, while in recent years we have seen similar events unfold for Ryan Malone, Brian McGrattan, Jarett Stoll and Mike Richards. The hope is that the organization attempted to help while he was under their purview. By all accounts of Kassian’s case, three coaching staffs and two management regimes had tried to help Kassian, and at some point during his Vancouver tenure he was admitted to the first level of the substance abuse program.

The problem that I have with this whole situation is the way that Trevor Linden spoke of the trade at a recent Town Hall. You want to believe that your organization is run by good, caring people, and Linden’s comments at that event called that belief into question. Referring to a struggling human being as a object that needs to be removed from your organization is a pathetically poor way of dealing with an sensitive issue. It is ironic that a team that has struggled so mightily in the area of asset management plays the depreciating asset card at the most inappropriate of moments.

Again, I don’t have an issue with the trade itself. If it is true, as Kassian states, that the trade helped him realize that change was needed, then I am in fact happy that it occurred. I would gladly sacrifice his offensive upside and his gifable antics if it meant setting his personal and professional lives back on the right course. Even as a member of the hated Edmonton Oilers, I wish him nothing but success from here on out – on the ice and especially off of it.

Everyone had to move on but it sucks that if they wanted to wash their hands clean of him, they should have just kept their mouths shut

I hated the trade from the start. In fact, upon hearing that Kassian was traded, I texted my father, jokingly, that I expected Jim Benning to take Brandon Prust back in return. Oh, the horror of realizing how I nailed it.

Frankly, this isn’t the first time a franchise has given up on a player for addiction problems. I don’t think it will be the last, either. Not by any means. Does that make it right? No, probably not. Every franchise has their line in the sand. Sad reality. It’s a business we’re operating in.

I don’t begrudge the Canucks for throwing in the towel. I really don’t. I absolute begrudge their response. Trevor Linden talking about Kassian, and his addictions, as a “what” is disheartening on so many fronts. I have been touched by addiction at every level. The people who have left their mark, no matter the context, are people. Not things. People.

I hated the trade… I hate it more in the wake of that town hall. Although, I’m willing to suspend a certain amount of disbelief, given the difficulties involved in public speaking. Did Linden really mean to say that? I mean, it’s possible that it was just a slip-up. They happen.

Kassian will never be the top-line player he was projected by many to be. I don’t think he ever had that potential, frankly. Nothing about his resume indicated as much. It’s funny that Kassian’s found himself on the Oilers. In a lot of ways, he reminds me of Benoit Pouliot. I think that should be the new benchmark. A solid middle-six contributor. Maybe a little meaner than Pouliot.