From Canucks.com:
Vancouver Canucks President & General Manager Mike Gillis announced today that the Canucks have acquired left wing David Booth, centre Steve Reinprecht and a third round draft pick in 2013 from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Mikael Samuelsson and Marco Sturm.
OK, so...is Florida GM Dale Tallon crazy? This is a huge upgrade for the Canucks at first glance.
Mikael Samuelsson was reported 100% healthy at training camp after undergoing surgery to repair his adductor tendon and sports hernia. But missed the last couple of games with what was reported as stomach issues reported as aggravated issues from the surgery. A healthy Samuelsson can score 25-30 goals. Not sure what Sammy the Panthers are getting. Marco Sturm was a free agent signing gamble by Mike Gillis that was a failure. He's a gamble for the Panthers!
26 year-old left winger David Booth has been rumored to be Vancouver-bound before. Now it is a reality. Born in Detroit Michigan, he is listed as 6 feet tall and 212 pounds. Right off the bat you think:
Ryan Kesler, another Michigan native. Wild fact: both Kesler and Booth played on the U.S. Junior National Team in 2001-02. Connections. Also: Kesler, Booth, and Chris Higgins all played together for Team USA at the 2004 World Juniors. There's your new All-American second line in Vancouver.
Booth has only 1 assist and was a -6 in 6 games with the Panthers this season. Scored 23 goals and 40 points (and a ghastly -36) in 82 games last season after missing most of the 2009-10 campaign with TWO concussions. Remember what happened to cause the first concussion?
Ouch.
The second concussion came after a clean hit from Montreal's Jaroslav Spacek. (See that hit here). Booth's breakout season happened in 2008-09, as you can see below:
Let's hope he finds that kind of form on Line 2!
A Booth Hatty:
A Boothian Spinorama:
On to Steve Reinprecht. Born May 27, 1976. Born in Edmonton Alberta. Steve had the beautiful luxury of playing for a stacked Colorado Avalanche squad from 2000-2003 and winning a Stanley Cup with them (2001). He was never drafted. He was signed as a free agent by the Kings in 2000. Vancouver is the 6th NHL team he has played for. Twice he has gone to play in Europe. Last season he went unclaimed on waivers (while with Florida) and was loaned to the German team, the Mannheim Eagles. His career stats:
So, I wonder what the flaws in his game were to get cut by the lowly Panthers in the first place. He hasn't played an NHL game this season yet. He has been with the AHL's San Antonio Rampage. He is a noted 2-way player and mostly plays center position. I know for a fact that he has a wicked backhander.
How about watching a Reinprecht hatty?
I see a trend there: Net Presence! Let's see some of that here, Stevie!
Hey wait....did the Canucks just trade away 2 Europeans in exchange for 2 North Americans? Does Mike Gillis have Sportsnet.ca in his bookmarks?
SALARY CAP IMPLICATIONS
Capgeek.com already has the Canucks' cap spending in place. Wow. Booth is making $4.25 million per until 2015. I believe this complicates matters when Mason Raymond comes back but, that may not be for a long time. Also, Reinprecht is a $2.05 million cap hit if he plays on the Canucks' roster. So he's most likely heading to the Wolves for now.
The other dilemma now is Cody Hodgson. Booth claims Hodgson's spot on Line 2 would be the assumption. Is Hodgson heading to line 3? On his way to the minors? We will soon know.
CHRIS HIGGINS ON BOOTH ADDITION
"I played with him in Florida a bit and he kind of reminds me of Kes with the way he can skate and how powerful he is. I think he’ll be a great addition to the team because he’s a powerful, powerful skater and has a real strong body. He wins a lot of battles and has phenomenal speed with a great wrist shot. I think he’ll find his role on this team pretty quickly."