from Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Province,

For the first time since the Vancouver Canucks originally picked up Adam Clendening, the team finally made a trade where the immediate reaction isn’t to tear out one’s own hair.

Not that this deal is by any means one which will put the Canucks into the playoffs for sure, because at this point that’s looking to be a long shot at best. What it does is get them some insurance at the second-line centre spot in case Bo Horvat can’t seem to make anything happen with his expected promotion — a strong possibility given the wingers he’ll be playing with bear no resemblance to Mike Bossy.

Brandon Sutter gives the Canucks a right-handed centre to take all the key defensive draws on the right side of the ice, which can be handy, and it makes them a little bigger and tougher down the middle, which is certainly an asset in the Western Conference. Canucks general manager Jim Benning considers Sutter a fellow who will be the leader of the young group of players he hopes to assemble here, being slightly more experienced yet still within hailing distance in age of the likes of Horvat, Jake Virtanen, Sven Baertschi, Brendan Gaunce, Jared McCann and the rest he hopes will adorn the roster.

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