Music: {allcanada} Sabres land Hodgson in four-player deal

VANCOUVER -- Cody Hodgson is a leading candidate for the Calder Trophy, a highly-skilled center with all kinds of offensive upside. He just wasn't the right fit for the Vancouver Canucks anymore.

In a shocking trade of top prospects, the Canucks traded Hodgson, a 22-year-old who had 16 goals and 33 points despite playing less than 13 minutes a night, to the Buffalo Sabres shortly before Monday's deadline in exchange for Zack Kassian, another first-round pick with an entirely different skill set. Vancouver, which had added checking center Samuel Pahlsson from Columbus earlier in the day, also got depth defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani in the deal with the Sabres, who also received spare blueliner Alexander Sulzer in return.

The move made sense in the long term given Hodgson, picked 10th in the 2008 Entry Draft, was stuck behind Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler on the Canucks' depth chart. But in the short term it seems more about Hodgson not being well-suited to play a shutdown role as a third line center. As soon as Pahlsson was added earlier in the day -- for prospect defender Taylor Ellington and two fourth-round draft picks in 2012 -- there were questions about Hodgson's future.

They were answered a few hours later with the trade to Buffalo, which still came as a surprise given his status on a contending team.

"I'm still in shock right now," Hodgson told TSN shortly after the trade. "My phone is blowing up and I don't know what to think. ... I'm still trying to think about it and put everything together."

If Hodgson was more of what the Canucks already had, Kassian should fill one of the few holes on a team that came within one win of the Stanley Cup last summer and is a strong contender again this season as the NHL points leader at the deadline.

Kassian, picked 13th in 2009, is a 6-foot-3, 214-pound power forward with equal parts skill and grit. The latter has been a question mark for the Canucks since losing to Boston in last summer's Cup Finals.

Kassian, 21, had just 3 goals and 7 points in 27 games with the Sabres this season, but had 15 goals and 26 points in 30 games with their AHL affiliate in this, his first pro season.

"I'm shocked, was not expecting this at all," Kassian told TSN. "I like to be physical, but at the same time I like to make plays and chip in offensively. I like sticking up for teammates. I like playing the physical game, and just trying to be an all-around player."

That's also what Vancouver hope it added in Pahlsson.

As impressive as Hodgson's offensive numbers have been, the fact they came while averaging just 12:43 said a lot about coach Alain Vigneault's hesitance to use the rookie in certain situations. Vigneault talked recently about searching for more of a prototypical shutdown presence on his third line, something Hodgson wasn't suited for or ready to provide. The Canucks are counting on Pahlsson being able to do that.

A 34-year-old impending unrestricted free agent, Pahlsson only has 2 goals and 11 points in 61 games this season, but comes with a playoff pedigree as a shutdown center and Stanley Cup champion.

Pahlsson was a key part of a checking line with Travis Moen and Rob Neidermayer that played a huge role in Anaheim's 2007 Stanley Cup win, and should get a similar role in Vancouver, especially with Manny Malhotra still struggling to find last year's form.

Pahlsson is just minus-6 this season, but that was third-best among the regular forwards on a Blue Jackets team that is dead last in the NHL. His 51.1 faceoff winning percentage will rank behind Malhotra (58.2), Kesler (54.2), and Maxim Lapierre (53.7) with the Canucks, but is notably better than Hodgson's 42.8 success rate in the circle.

"(My game from 2007) hasn't changed much," Pahlsson said on a conference call with Vancouver reporters. "The biggest change has been I haven't been in the playoffs in a few years and haven't won a lot of games lately, so it changes my game, too. … This is a great chance for me to get to the playoffs and get a chance at it again."

The Canucks may be just as happy that he won't be doing it against them, especially good friends Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

Pahlsson had 4 points and was plus-3 while shutting down and outplaying the twins in the second round of the 2007 playoffs. The Sedins admitted in the past to having difficulty going up against Pahlsson, who lives in their hometown of Ornskoldsvik and played three seasons with them for Modo in the Swedish Elite League.

Now they should help ease his transition to Vancouver.

"They're really good friends of mine," said Pahlsson, who also played with the Sedins on the 2006 Olympic gold-medal winning team.

"I look forward to playing with them."