<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="//thenationnetwork.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/images/6e/ac/article_6eacef9f-84d2-40f8-8517-203a9b45ea62.jpg" alt="USATSI_8403169_168381338_lowres" width="600" height="418"> Photo Credit: Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports
The Vancouver Canucks have traded Zack Kassian to the Montreal Canadiens, <a href="http://twitter.com/HackswithHaggs/status/616303700777242624">according to CSNNE&#8217;s Joe Haggerty</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/TSNBobMcKenzie/status/616305980054327296">confirmed by TSN&#8217;s Bob McKenzie</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/616308116615880704">Sportsnet&#8217;s Elliotte Friedman</a> is reporting that Brandon Prust will be coming back the other way in the deal, while <a href="http://canucks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=773358">the Canucks will send a 2016 fifth-round pick to Montreal</a> in order to balance the deal (which seems odd&#8230;).
Based on an unrelenting torrent of reports over the past few months, a Kassian deal has, apparently, been in the works for months and months. Though Kassian&#8217;s underlying performance has improved in recent seasons and he&#8217;s been known to pot goals at a high rate (<a href="http://canucksarmy.com/2015/6/16/why-it-s-time-to-give-up-on-the-zack-kassian-is-a-playmaker-narrative">largely thanks to a high shooting percentage</a>), his defensive game remained suspect and he&#8217;s been injured plagued in recent seasons. 

Prust, 31, has a significantly better defensive game than Kassian does, but he&#8217;s got much less upside and scores goals at a considerably lower rate (though he&#8217;s a pretty decent passer).
Oddly enough I chatted with Benning about Prust&#8217;s contract when writing about <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/canucks-dorsett-contributes-more-than-fists/">Derek Dorsett&#8217;s extension for Sportsnet</a> in April. Based on his comments, it seemed as if Benning values Prust&#8217;s ability to fight and contribute in a bottom-of-the-lineup type role and on special teams.
Prust and Kassian are both signed for one more season at roughly the same rate, so money-wise this deal doesn&#8217;t tip the scales on way or the other.
In sum, the Canucks trade an inconsistent younger player with more upside who can be effective in a third-line role, for a somewhat more reliable, but older fourth-line winger. And even Kassian recognized that his level of consistency wasn&#8217;t up to snuff during his time with the Canucks.
&#8220;Deep down I think I could&#8217;ve gave more, and I think they knew that,&#8221; Kassian said of his time in Vancouver on TSN following the trade.

Prust is a decent player, but this a move on the &#8220;short-term thinking&#8221; side of Vancouver&#8217;s hybrid-type rebuild, and you can definitely make the argument that Prust is an inferior (and older) player than Kassian. He&#8217;s definitely better defensively, but even so, this is certainly a head scratcher.

<img src="//thenationnetwork.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/images/6e/ac/article_6eacef9f-84d2-40f8-8517-203a9b45ea62.jpg" alt="USATSI_8403169_168381338_lowres" width="600" height="418"> Photo Credit: Winslow Townson/USA TODAY SportsThe Vancouver Canucks have traded Zack Kassian to the Montreal Canadiens, <a href="http://twitter.com/HackswithHaggs/status/616303700777242624">according to CSNNE's Joe Haggerty</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/TSNBobMcKenzie/status/616305980054327296">confirmed by TSN's Bob McKenzie</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/616308116615880704">Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman</a> is reporting that Brandon Prust will be coming back the other way in the deal, while <a href="http://canucks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=773358">the Canucks will send a 2016 fifth-round pick to Montreal</a> in order to balance the deal (which seems odd...).Based on an unrelenting torrent of reports over the past few months, a Kassian deal has, apparently, been in the works for months and months. Though Kassian's underlying performance has improved in recent seasons and he's been known to pot goals at a high rate (<a href="http://canucksarmy.com/2015/6/16/why-it-s-time-to-give-up-on-the-zack-kassian-is-a-playmaker-narrative">largely thanks to a high shooting percentage</a>), his defensive game remained suspect and he's been injured plagued in recent seasons. Prust, 31, has a significantly better defensive game than Kassian does, but he's got much less upside and scores goals at a considerably lower rate (though he's a pretty decent passer).Oddly enough I chatted with Benning about Prust's contract when writing about <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/canucks-dorsett-contributes-more-than-fists/">Derek Dorsett's extension for Sportsnet</a> in April. Based on his comments, it seemed as if Benning values Prust's ability to fight and contribute in a bottom-of-the-lineup type role and on special teams.Prust and Kassian are both signed for one more season at roughly the same rate, so money-wise this deal doesn't tip the scales on way or the other.In sum, the Canucks trade an inconsistent younger player with more upside who can be effective in a third-line role, for a somewhat more reliable, but older fourth-line winger. And even Kassian recognized that his level of consistency wasn't up to snuff during his time with the Canucks."Deep down I think I could've gave more, and I think they knew that," Kassian said of his time in Vancouver on TSN following the trade.Prust is a decent player, but this a move on the "short-term thinking" side of Vancouver's hybrid-type rebuild, and you can definitely make the argument that Prust is an inferior (and older) player than Kassian. He's definitely better defensively, but even so, this is certainly a head scratcher.

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