Canucks and Sabres agree to swap as NHL Trade Deadline concludes

As the National Hockey League's trade deadline concluded this afternoon, a major deal hit the league and it did not involve Columbus' Rick Nash who was believed to be traded at some point before the deadline passed. Nash, in fact, was not traded despite reports of a "monster deal" by the New York Rangers who were rumored to be interested in the forward (courtesy of Darren Dreger of TSN). 

Instead the NHL's point-leading Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres agreed to what was the biggest deal of the entire day. Vancouver agreed to send Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year for those unfamiliar with hockey jargon) nominee Cody Hodgson (16-17-33; +9) and defenseman Alexander Sulzer (0-1-1; +6) to Buffalo for forward Zack Kassian (3-4-7; -1) and defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani (1-11-12; +10). 

This deal helps Vancouver in the short-term by getting a player like Kassian who has had a solid season with the Sabres. while Buffalo improves their long-term outlook by acquiring a player like Hodgson who made a big impact for the Canucks and is a Calder nominee this season. There's no telling what will occur in the future but the Sabres are definitely assisted by this move by a large sum in all estimation. We'll see how the loss of Hodgson impacts the Canucks as the playoffs draw closer.