Vancouver Canucks: Jonathan Dahlen Trade Brings Instant Excitement

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Say what you will about the Vancouver Canucks’ 2016-17 season, but don’t try to tell me it’s an exciting one.

The Vancouver Canucks are boring. Sorry, but they are. Bo Horvat alone can’t change that.

A major reason for that assessment is the Canucks’ age structure. Long-time heroes Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin are 36, 2016 free-agent acquisition Loui Eriksson is 31. The aforementioned three, along with goaltender Ryan Miller and defenceman Alex Edler, are still the star players, though.

There are two scenarios where that is fine:

1. The team is still winning.
2. The team has elite talent sprinkled into the lineup and coming up in the system.

Unfortunately, the Canucks don’t have either.

Right now, the Canucks have an old losing team.

The Young Stars

You may argue that Vancouver has young star players like Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi or Ben Hutton. To a certain extent, that is correct.

Objectively, however, those players are only very good compared to what Vancouver has. League-wide, there are much better players of the same age group.

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There is nothing wrong with hyping guys like Horvat and Baertschi — they are good players and will hopefully develop into even better ones. But, there is a psychological explanation for overvaluing the Canucks’ youngsters: the so-called prospect theory (which has nothing to do with hockey prospects, by the way).

In short, the theory states that we tend to evaluate things from a reference point rather than objectively.

If a team has zero prospects as a reference point and gets one 20-year-old rookie who plays regular third-line minutes, that player is likely to be seen as the next superstar. Having something is better than having nothing.

If you ask a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, however, it will take a Connor McDavid-type player to get them excited. Their prospect pool is so deep, an average bottom-pairing defenceman will not be viewed as the franchise’s future only because he’s 20 years young.

The Canucks have quite a few exciting players now, including Nikita Tryamkin and Troy Stecher. But objectively, they really aren’t that great (yet).

That means two things as a result. One, the Canucks are still an old team with a few average rookies and young regulars sprinkled in, so they need as many prospects and draft picks as they can get. Two, every additional prospect can bring quick excitement to fans.

Exciting Hockey

With that in mind, what makes hockey exciting?

There is an easy answer to that: winning. A winning team is exciting.

Some fans prefer a hard-to-play-against style with lots of hitting and few goals, others would rather see a fast-paced game with a 7-6 result. But the former would rather see his team win 7-6 than see them lose 2-1, and the latter would prefer a 1-0 win over a 7-6 loss.

Related Story: Dahlen Pre-Draft Prospect Profile

But — and this is entirely my personal opinion although I am sure many will agree — young winning teams are more exciting than old ones. More importantly, young losing teams can also be extremely exciting, unlike old losing teams.

There is no doubt that Edmonton Oilers fans were just about done with their team before McDavid arrived. But, even in the toughest times, it was fun to watch young star players like Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

This season, the Toronto Maple Leafs are on the verge of making the playoffs, but they might as well miss them. Fans will call it an exciting and successful season thanks to players like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander.

Trading the Old Core

Now let’s get to the real point. The Vancouver Canucks have acquired Swedish prospect forward Jonathan Dahlen from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for veteran winger Alexandre Burrows.

With that, they exchanged a 35-year-old veteran for a prospect that has excelled this season.

There is one interesting comparable player in particular:

Now, this does not mean Dahlen is the next Filip Forsberg. However, it is great to see that Dahlen has been producing at a higher pace in his draft-plus-one year than an elite NHL scorer at the same age in the same league.

Especially considering the fact that Alex Burrows will certainly not become the next Filip Forsberg in the future.

Dealing an aging veteran for a blue-chip prospect is exactly the kind of move Canucks fans had been hoping for. It is a great first step in the right direction.

The Canucks have finally realised that the playoffs are unrealistic this season, and that they should try to sell as many of their veterans as possible.

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For us fans, that will likely result in more exciting hockey, even though it does not equal more successful hockey. At least not right away.

Exciting rookies are more fun to watch than veterans that used to be stars. So, brace yourselves for more exciting times — with Jonathan Dahlen in the system.