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Trade tree: Looking back at the Canucks’ Hodgson for Kassian swap from 2012
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Photo credit: © Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Jeff Paterson
Jun 2, 2026, 13:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 2, 2026, 12:55 EDT
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On the surface, it was a simple hockey trade – a one-for-one swap, the kind the hockey world no longer sees in-season very often.
On February 27, 2012, the Vancouver Canucks sent Cody Hodgson to the Buffalo for Zack Kassian. They were former first-rounders who had fallen out of favour with the teams that had drafted them. Hodgson went 10th overall in 2008, while Kassian was the 13th overall pick the following season. The hope was that a change of scenery would unlock the full potential of both players.
Hodgson’s part of this trade tree is simple. He went on to play parts of four seasons with the Sabres and produced a career-best 20 goals and 44 points in 2013-14. However, a rare genetic condition led to muscle issues that prevented him from playing at the highest level. Hogdson retired from hockey after signing in Nashville and playing a half-season for the Predators in 2016.
Kassian’s side of the trade tree produced several branches as the big winger bounced around the National Hockey League. After parts of four mostly underwhelming seasons with the Canucks, Kassian was moved to the Montreal Canadiens for Brandon Prust. It was a trade that drew criticism in Vancouver because then-General Manager Jim Benning threw in a fifth-round draft pick as a sweetener. The pick – Casey Staum – never panned out, so that wasn’t the problem. It was the idea that the Canucks needed to sweeten the deal at all for a 31-year-old enforcer who would soon be out of the league altogether. Prust played his final 35 NHL games with the Canucks before spending one season in Germany to close out his playing days.
Kassian, meanwhile, had off-ice issues in Montreal, was suspended by the league and never played a game for the Canadiens. Six months after he was acquired by the Habs, Kassian was shipped to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for netminder Ben Scrivens.
It was in the Alberta capital that Kassian played the best hockey of his career, posting back-to-back 15-goal seasons in 2018-19 and again in 2019-20. Kassian also appeared in 37 playoff games over his seven seasons with the Oilers. 
On July 7, 2002, Kassian was on the move again. This time, the Oilers packaged the veteran with picks and prospects and sent the bundle to the Arizona Coyotes in a draft deal in Montreal. The Coyotes received a first-rounder used to take defenceman Maveric Lamoureux 29th overall, while the Oilers nabbed winger Reid Schaefer three picks later with the first-round selection they got in the deal.
Kassian was quickly fading away as an NHLer and managed just two goals in 51 games in his only season with the desert. He played eight games in the Czech league before calling it a career in 2023. 
However, Kassian’s side of the trade tree had one more branch. Looking to beef up its blueline for a long playoff run, Edmonton moved Reid Schaefer, along with Tyson Barrie and a first-rounder in that June’s draft (Tanner Molendyk), to Nashville in exchange for Mattias Ekholm and a sixth-round pick. Of course, Ekholm played a key role in Edmonton advancing to consecutive Stanley Cup Finals in 2024 and 2025. Schaefer made his NHL debut with the Predators this season and appeared in 47 NHL games, while Molendyk spent his first professional season with the Preds’ top farm team in Milwaukee. 
So while both Zack Kassian and Cody Hodgson are out of the National Hockey League, it seems their trade tree has the potential to grow for years to come.
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