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Trevor
Linden was re-acquired by the Vancouver Canucks three and a half years
after he was dealt to the Islanders for Bryan
McCabe and Todd
Bertuzzi. The 31 year old Linden was dealt along with a 2002 2nd round
pick by the Capitals to the Canucks for a 2002 1st and 3rd.
There are a lot of positives in this deal for Canuck fans.
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Washington eats some of Linden's salary
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They have done nothing to improve their 2001/02 team (unless it was addition by subtraction) thus it's unlikely the 2nd the Canucks get will be drastically worse
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Even if Linden is here only for leadership he
would be the perfect linemate for the Sedins once Andrew
Cassels comes back.
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And most importantly, the Canucks have managed to add a forward capable of filling the void left by
Peter
Schaefer not resigning. And to be able to fill that void without giving up a young player is stunning.
First round picks are overvalued: let's not forget that the 2001 draft was one of the deepest in recent memory. It's unlikely we will see one of those again for at least a decade. The player the Caps are going to get with the pick will either be a solid CHL kid who will take time to develop but almost assuredly be a good (but unspectacular) 2nd tier guy. OR they will roll the dice on a skilled European player.
When you do that you can either end up with a Martin
Havlat (26th in 1999) or a Michel
Riesen (14th in 1997) or even worse an Alexandre
Volchkov (4th in 1996). Looking at the projected top players for 2002 it
would appear that the depth just isn't there for 2002. As a result they pull the trigger on the deal.
Fantasy Impact:
Linden will play 2nd line center until Cassels
returns. Then it's very likely that he will move to the right wing with the
Sedins. This will be an excellent developmental move for the twins and could
have a great affect on both their stats and Linden's. Look for a pop in his
numbers regardless of which line he plays on. He will be motivated to be
back "home" and feels that he left the team with something to
prove. The Sedins will also see a jump in numbers but not solely because of
a new linemate. The pressure will be relieved as they will be able to return
to their development curve back on the 3rd line once Cassels returns.
Projected lines for the Canucks before and after
Cassels returns:
Before:
1 - Markus Naslund / Brendan Morrison / Trent Klatt
2 - Daniel Sedin / Henrik Sedin / Todd Bertuzzi
3 - Donald Brashear / Trevor Linden / Matt Cooke
4 - Jarko Ruutu / Trevor Linden / Denis Pederson
After:
1 - Markus Naslund / Andrew Cassels / Trent Klatt
3 - Daniel Sedin / Henrik Sedin / Trevor Linden
2 - Donald Brashear / Brendan Morrison / Todd Bertuzzi
4 - Jarko Ruutu / Denis Pederson / Matt Cooke
Note: Harold
Druken could replace Ruutu on the 4th line, but it's also possible that
he could be dealt...rumour has it the Sens are interested.
As for the Capitals this is an interesting
situation. They are deep on the right side and down the middle, but still
have some real weaknesses on the left wing. This deal does not help the
situation. This team is far too "star dependent" and my find
themselves in a heap of trouble once the "dog days" of January
roll around. Look for Andrei
Nikolishin and Dmitri
Khristich to benefit with some additional offensive time, but this is
probably not the last deal for the Caps. Adam
Oates is still unhappy and the team would love to add a 1st line LW.
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