LOS ANGELES — The Vancouver Canucks got a sure thing. And for the iron-clad guarantee that defenceman Keith Ballard offers, Canuck general manager Mike Gillis paid a severe price.
Gillis traded his first-round draft pick Friday – Vancouver's only at-bat in the annual National Hockey League talent lottery's first three rounds – and good prospect Michael Grabner to the Florida Panthers to obtain Ballard, a 27-year-old defenceman who will go to war for the Canucks for the next five seasons.
The deal was a shocker because Gillis has stated numerous times his firm belief in drafting and developing players. Now he faces the real likelihood today, when rounds 2-7 of the draft occur at the Staples Center, that he will be the first GM in Canuck history to come home empty-handed from the first three rounds.
But he has Ballard, who is as good as any free agent defenceman who'll be available on July 1. Of course, all they cost on July 1 is money.
“We made the decision this was something we really had to do,” Gillis said. “We know Keith Ballard can step into our lineup and play big minutes. When you have the Hart Trophy winner [Henrik Sedin] on our team and six 25-goal scorers, it really changed our viewpoint about where we are.
“We feel that we have a number of young development players. We've signed a number of college free agents. Our pick was at the end of the first round and we didn't feel there was a player there who'd be able to help us for a number of years. We're trying to get as close as we can to the Stanley Cup final today, and you can't have enough top-quality defencemen, so that's why we decided to make the deal.”
Gillis was able to unload in the trade frustrating winger Steve Bernier and his $2-million-US salary, and took on fringe Panther prospect Victor Oreshkovich, a 23-year-old former second-round pick who had six points in 50 games as a rookie this season.
The Canucks had the option to use their first pick and send the Panthers their 2011 first-rounder, but Gillis included the 2010 selection in the trade when two players he coveted, winger Beau Bennett and defenceman Jarred Tinordi, were chosen 20th and 22nd. The Canuck pick was 25th.
Grabner, a 22-year-old drafted in the first round in 2006, appeared finally ready for the NHL after he had 11 points in 20 games late in the season.
With Grabner and the player they didn't pick 25th, the Canucks essentially gave up two of their top eight prospects to get Ballard, who is one season into a six-year, $25.2-million contract. That's $4.2 million per season for a steady second-pairing defenceman who had 28 points in 82 games last year while playing 22:24 per night.
Against the Canucks, Ballard always seemed prominent when he played in the Western Conference for the Phoenix Coyotes, prior to his trade to Florida in 2008 for Olli Jokinen. The Minnesotan, who is 5-11 and 208 pounds, was originally a first-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2002.
Ballard comes highly recommended.
Canuck assistant GM Laurence Gilman held that post in Phoenix when Ballard was acquired by the Coyotes.
“He's a very dynamic defenceman,” Gilman said Friday. “He's a guy who plays in both ends of the rink. He can play on the power play. He's physical, and he's an incredibly competitive player. He is, in our minds, a critical component of a competitive, top-four defence.”
Ballard is similar in many ways to Canuck shutdown defenceman Willie Mitchell, whose looming free agency is clouded by a concussion serious enough the 33-year-old from Vancouver Island missed the final half of the season.
Gillis said Ballard was not acquired to replace Mitchell, and the Canucks still want Mitchell back if he can prove this summer that he is fit.
Gillis denied he has had talks with the Philadelphia Flyers regarding the rights to Smithers defenceman Dan Hamhuis, although other sources insist the Canucks are keenly interested.
The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to shop defenceman Tomas Kaberle, and the free-agent class next week will be headlined by defencemen Zbynek Michalek, Anton Volchenkov and Derek Morris.
Gillis said it was too risky to rely on free agency to fill a vital need for a top-four defenceman. Mitchell will probably play elsewhere next season, and Canucks Kevin Bieksa, Sami Salo and Christian Ehrhoff are eligible to leave as free agents in 2011.
“It's a tremendous risk,” Gilman agreed of waiting for free agency. “The free-agent market for defencemen, in particular, is very small. We feel it was more prudent to make this deal and get this player for five years than it was to gamble that there might be something of similar quality available.”
A lot of teams will be bidding on July 1.
In the short-term, the Canucks are better for Friday's trade. Still, that seemed little consolation to ashen-faced Canuck chief scout Ron Delorme, whose amateur scouting staff – the largest in the NHL – invested thousands of hours preparing for Friday night, then watched other teams choose 18-year-olds.
Asked how Delorme took the news his pick was being traded, Gillis said: “Rough. The line that we use is that your name will still look as good on the Stanley Cup. It's awfully difficult on them. But this, we felt, was a unique opportunity to improve our team and not be at-risk and we decided to take advantage of it.”
The risk, if it materializes, will show up later.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/...eith+Ballard/3203177/story.html#ixzz0rxLTjF6U
The same player who injured his own goalie :
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Gillis traded his first-round draft pick Friday – Vancouver's only at-bat in the annual National Hockey League talent lottery's first three rounds – and good prospect Michael Grabner to the Florida Panthers to obtain Ballard, a 27-year-old defenceman who will go to war for the Canucks for the next five seasons.
The deal was a shocker because Gillis has stated numerous times his firm belief in drafting and developing players. Now he faces the real likelihood today, when rounds 2-7 of the draft occur at the Staples Center, that he will be the first GM in Canuck history to come home empty-handed from the first three rounds.
But he has Ballard, who is as good as any free agent defenceman who'll be available on July 1. Of course, all they cost on July 1 is money.
“We made the decision this was something we really had to do,” Gillis said. “We know Keith Ballard can step into our lineup and play big minutes. When you have the Hart Trophy winner [Henrik Sedin] on our team and six 25-goal scorers, it really changed our viewpoint about where we are.
“We feel that we have a number of young development players. We've signed a number of college free agents. Our pick was at the end of the first round and we didn't feel there was a player there who'd be able to help us for a number of years. We're trying to get as close as we can to the Stanley Cup final today, and you can't have enough top-quality defencemen, so that's why we decided to make the deal.”
Gillis was able to unload in the trade frustrating winger Steve Bernier and his $2-million-US salary, and took on fringe Panther prospect Victor Oreshkovich, a 23-year-old former second-round pick who had six points in 50 games as a rookie this season.
The Canucks had the option to use their first pick and send the Panthers their 2011 first-rounder, but Gillis included the 2010 selection in the trade when two players he coveted, winger Beau Bennett and defenceman Jarred Tinordi, were chosen 20th and 22nd. The Canuck pick was 25th.
Grabner, a 22-year-old drafted in the first round in 2006, appeared finally ready for the NHL after he had 11 points in 20 games late in the season.
With Grabner and the player they didn't pick 25th, the Canucks essentially gave up two of their top eight prospects to get Ballard, who is one season into a six-year, $25.2-million contract. That's $4.2 million per season for a steady second-pairing defenceman who had 28 points in 82 games last year while playing 22:24 per night.
Against the Canucks, Ballard always seemed prominent when he played in the Western Conference for the Phoenix Coyotes, prior to his trade to Florida in 2008 for Olli Jokinen. The Minnesotan, who is 5-11 and 208 pounds, was originally a first-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2002.
Ballard comes highly recommended.
Canuck assistant GM Laurence Gilman held that post in Phoenix when Ballard was acquired by the Coyotes.
“He's a very dynamic defenceman,” Gilman said Friday. “He's a guy who plays in both ends of the rink. He can play on the power play. He's physical, and he's an incredibly competitive player. He is, in our minds, a critical component of a competitive, top-four defence.”
Ballard is similar in many ways to Canuck shutdown defenceman Willie Mitchell, whose looming free agency is clouded by a concussion serious enough the 33-year-old from Vancouver Island missed the final half of the season.
Gillis said Ballard was not acquired to replace Mitchell, and the Canucks still want Mitchell back if he can prove this summer that he is fit.
Gillis denied he has had talks with the Philadelphia Flyers regarding the rights to Smithers defenceman Dan Hamhuis, although other sources insist the Canucks are keenly interested.
The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to shop defenceman Tomas Kaberle, and the free-agent class next week will be headlined by defencemen Zbynek Michalek, Anton Volchenkov and Derek Morris.
Gillis said it was too risky to rely on free agency to fill a vital need for a top-four defenceman. Mitchell will probably play elsewhere next season, and Canucks Kevin Bieksa, Sami Salo and Christian Ehrhoff are eligible to leave as free agents in 2011.
“It's a tremendous risk,” Gilman agreed of waiting for free agency. “The free-agent market for defencemen, in particular, is very small. We feel it was more prudent to make this deal and get this player for five years than it was to gamble that there might be something of similar quality available.”
A lot of teams will be bidding on July 1.
In the short-term, the Canucks are better for Friday's trade. Still, that seemed little consolation to ashen-faced Canuck chief scout Ron Delorme, whose amateur scouting staff – the largest in the NHL – invested thousands of hours preparing for Friday night, then watched other teams choose 18-year-olds.
Asked how Delorme took the news his pick was being traded, Gillis said: “Rough. The line that we use is that your name will still look as good on the Stanley Cup. It's awfully difficult on them. But this, we felt, was a unique opportunity to improve our team and not be at-risk and we decided to take advantage of it.”
The risk, if it materializes, will show up later.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/...eith+Ballard/3203177/story.html#ixzz0rxLTjF6U
The same player who injured his own goalie :
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