The 麻豆传媒映画Canucks said goodbye to Chris Higgins on Sunday, trading the veteran NHLer for assets to be named later, to a team to be named later, in a trade to be named later.
If that sounds weird, it's because it is. Yesterday was a weird day.
To be clear: the Canucks traded Higgins, just only in their hearts, . Higgins remains Canucks property. He hasn't actually been traded. But on Sunday, the Canucks informed him, and the rest of the NHL, of their intention to trade Higgins in a bizarre release, cross-posted to Instagram for some reason, that left many around the NHL scratching their heads. Here's the whole thing:
麻豆传媒映画Canucks General Manager Jim Benning confirmed today that the club is exploring trade options for forward Chris Higgins.
鈥淎s part of our transition to a younger team, I can confirm we鈥檙e exploring trade options for Chris Higgins so we can create more roster space for our younger players to develop. Chris is a quality person who has been an important member of our team for nearly five seasons. Our focus has been on finding a positive new situation for him and we will continue to do so.鈥�
In effect, Chris Higgins got dumped, but the Canucks are going to help him find a new place to live. It's like when you break up with someone you asked to move in.聽
That's very kind of them, but overall, this seems like a pretty crummy way to end things with a player. It also strikes me as truly terrible P.R. heading into a summer where you hope to convince free agents that you're a great organization and not the sort to pull crap like this. But let's take a look at the Canucks' reasoning.
Simply, Higgins was no longer in their plans. That much is clear. The club has been trying to move him since the summer, but as the winger's production dwindled to nothing (Higgins has just two goals this season) and his annual salary of $2.5 million remained constant, his value disappeared. When you factor in his limited no-trade clause, which allows Higgins to submit a list of eight teams to which he's willing to be moved, you can see how the Canucks would feel stuck with him.
Things got especially bad this weekend, however, when the Canucks made the moves that effectively signalled the end of the Higgins era, adding fellow right winger Emerson Etem聽, then deciding to keep Jake Virtanen, also an RW, in the bigs for the remainder of the year. With those two in need of icetime, and a handful of other prospects such as Hunter Shinkaruk and Brendan Gaunce waiting in the wings, Higgins went from a player the Canucks would like to move to a player they needed to move, so as to make room.
Higgins' fate was so sealed that the Canucks announced his trade before they'd even made it.
鈥淭hese are hard decisions, when you鈥檙e disrupting people鈥檚 lives,鈥� . 鈥淏ut doing what鈥檚 best for the organization, we鈥檙e going to have to make these decisions."
It was an unceremonious end for a player who probably deserved a little more ceremony. Higgins likely won't be remembered for his game-breaking offence, but he was a member of the greatest Canucks team of all-time, and that's gotta count for something. Higgins arrived in the Canucks' organization at the 2011 trade deadline, as 麻豆传媒映画geared up for what would eventually be a 15-win postseason. He was acquired to shore up Vancouver's fourth line, which had been comprised of Tanner Glass and a rotating cast of replacement-level players for most of the year.
The Canucks wanted a fourth forward group that they could count on for the playoffs, however, so they added Higgins and center Max Lapierre. But Instead, injuries forced Higgins into a larger role. By the Stanley Cup Final, he was a second-line mainstay, playing 18:04 in Game 7, one second shy of Alex Burrows.
Higgins had some big contributions during that run. He actually scored its very first goal, in Game 1 versus the the Chicago Blackhawks:
And then he was the first player to score in Round 2 versus the Nashville Predators:
Plus he grew the team's best playoff beard, and was the subject of 聽taken during that run.
Unless circumstances change, which I doubt, Higgins will finish his tenure in 麻豆传媒映画with 61 goals and 141 points, which ties him with Sergio Momesso for 58th all-time among Canucks. He'll also be remembered, of course, for his聽.
