It was precisely at this very time last year that the Vancouver Canucks sold Bo Horvat off for futures, parting with a valuable second-line centre that they either weren't willing or able to sign beyond the season while they still could. In that deal with the New York Islanders, they got back a first-round pick, a prospect, and a winger with another year of salary owed to him to help balance the sides out. Of course, they didn't wind up actually making the first-round pick they acquired, using it a couple of weeks later to trade for Filip Hronek instead.

I was tasked with writing that first deal up the night it happened, and I wrote about how I liked it for them because it reflected a clear understanding that they finally had a good grasp of what they needed to do to turn an organization ar