NHL Trade Rumors: Why the Canucks Acquiring Rick Nash Would Be an Huge Gamble
19.05.12
In short, he would be a major addition to any contending team, and in Vancouver's specific case, the power forward fans have been clamouring for since Todd Bertuzzi.
But while this would be a doable trade for the Canucks, it would be a huge gamble.
First, the Canucks would be trading Hodgson, whose offensive skills have turned the Canucks into a team with three scoring lines.
With Nash in the fold, the Canucks would have two extremely stacked lines with the usual Sedin twins plus Alex Burrows, as well as a Ryan Kesler, Nash and David Booth second line.
But the third line would then be centred by either Manny Malhotra or Maxim Lapierre. And neither of those two have the offensive talents or playmaking ability of Hodgson.
In this scenario, the third line would likely shift to being a more traditional shutdown line, with Malhotra centring Chris Higgins and Jannik Hansen. The fourth line would then in turn be centred by Lapierre, and be more of a traditional energy line.
Source: Bleacher Report