Busy Canucks Acquire Paetsch, Sign Schaefer, Shuffle Players

  General Manager Mike Gillis along with Vancouver’s capologist Laurence Gilman have been very busy in the past few weeks.

  Just after the O’Brien and Hordichuk deals (O’Brien Article – Hordichuk Article) the Vancouver Canucks announced Thursday they have traded Sean Zimmerman to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Nathan Paetsch. On that same day, Mike Gillis announced the signing of unrestricted free-agent Peter Schaefer.

  27 year-old Paetsch split the 2009-10 season with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Buffalo Sabres. He registered two points in 11 games with Buffalo, and six penalty minutes in 10 games with Columbus and had a combined -3 rating.

  Paetsch was drafted 202nd overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabers. Despite showing a promising first season with the Sabres where he scored 2 goals and 24 points in 63 games, he has had a tough time sticking in the NHL and has seen his games-played decrease year by year. In 167 NHL games, the 6'1", 195 lbs. defenceman has registered 7 goals for 42 points, 114 penalty minutes, and has a plus-12 rating.

  He was signed as an unrestricted free-agent by the Panthers in July to a one-year, two way deal worth $525,000, and subsequently waived October 6th. After not being picked up, Gillis’ call got a trade done the following day. Paetsch will reportedly be assigned to Manitoba, Vancouver’s AHL affiliate.

  In return, the Panthers have received Sean Zimmerman. Zimmerman, 23, played the 2009-10 season in San Antonio of the AHL. In 72 games he scored 2 goals for 9 points with a +13 rating and 105 penalty minutes.

  In 181 AHL appearances Zimmerman has tallied 4 goals and 13 assists for 17 points with a -11 rating and 188 PIMs.

  Zimmerman was acquired from Phoenix in the Mathieu Schneider trade, then re-signed in July of 2010 to a one-year, two way deal worth $500,000.

  On the same day, Gillis announced that tryout invitee UFA Peter Schaefer has been signed to a one-year contract worth $600,000 and will report to Manitoba of the AHL.

  Schaefer, 33, was originally selected by the Canucks in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft 66rd overall. Schaefer played three years with the Canucks between 1998 and 2001. In 178 games with Vancouver he tallied 36 goals and 39 assists. In total, Schaefer has 556 NHL games under his belt, registering 98 goals and 161 assists for 259 points, a +63 rating, and 198 PIMs.

  In his eight NHL seasons, Schaefer has split time with Vancouver, Ottawa, and Boston. His last time playing pro hockey was in the 2008-09 season with the Providence Bruins of the AHL where he tallied 7 goals for 26 points with a +5 rating. In that year, his contract was bought out by the Bruins.

  The Regina, Sask. Native was determined to get a contract through his tryout camp with the Canucks, as in five pre-season games he  registered three points with a +1 rating. Gillis obviously noticed, and has awarded him with the contract.

  On Friday, Gillis called up forwards Jeff Tambellini and Alexandre Bolduc, along with goaltender Cory Schneider. After that, center Cody Hodgson, defenseman Lee Sweatt, and goaltender Eddie Lack were re-assigned to Manitoba.

  Jeff Tambellini, 26, had seven goals and seven assists in 2009-10 with the New York Islanders.

  In his 5 years in the NHL, he has registered 18 goals and 28 assists for 46 points in 180 career NHL games with the Islanders and Los Angeles Kings. The Calgary, AB native was originally selected 27th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings and was signed by Vancouver as a free-agent on the first day of free-agency.

  Bolduc has one helper in 22 games over the last two seasons with Vancouver, while Schneider has won twice and posted a 3.46 goals-against average in 10 games with the Canucks over the last two years.

  Schneider’s recall comes as no surprise, as he was sent down purely for salary cap implementations. The hope for the organization is that he can play a decent amount of NHL games this year, relieving Luongo’s load and pushing him to be better.

  Bolduc, 25, has appeared in 207 AHL games posting 39 goals and 53 assists for 92 points with a +18 rating and 299 PIMs. The Montreal, QC native was originally drafted by St. Louis 127th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and signed by Vancouver as a free agent on July 2, 2008.

  Hodgson’s re-assignment, too, is largely for salary cap reasons. With his injury rate and lack of development, Cody’s future and status with the team remains a mystery. He spent last season with the Brampton Battalion of the OHL after he was returned to the Juniors by Vancouver. In that season he scored 8 goals and 12 assists for 20 points with a +6 rating in just 13 games.

  The towering  6’5 Eddie Lack, 22, will make his North American debut after a poor pre-season, while Lee Sweatt, 25, will be making his North American return in Manitoba after playing in Finland, Austria, and the KHL  over the past three years.

  My jaw nearly hit the desk upon visiting CapGeek.com, as Vancouver is an even $0 in terms of cap space and are at the absolute ceiling. The professionals know what they’re doing in Vancouver, but it remains to be seen what will translate to onto the ice. It’s never a bad idea to run with a cushion in terms of cap dollars, something that could well effect the team negatively going forward. Expect many, many more moves to be made in the near future.

- Kendall Grubbs