Looks like Gillis wants to toughen up our bottom pairings/lines. That said, Krajicek would have been ideal this year. Obviously not in the league of Salo, Edler, Ohlund, Mitchell but I’m not sure about Bieksa. Admittedly Bieksa’s contract would be harder to move and also had an incredible year in 2006-07 but Lukas never got his chance. Our defense’s offensive potential just got slaughtered.

Posted by Johan on 10/06/08 at 01:38 PM ET

I argued here that Ouellet would fit in well with the Canucks, Although, I was suggesting it would have made sense to claim him on waivers.

Posted by PuckStopsHere on 10/06/08 at 01:41 PM ET

Great pick ups, especially O"Brien… the Canucks may not score a lot of goals this season, that is if no more additions are added, but they sure as hell are going to be tough to play against.

I believe another trade is in the works, maybe Bieksa.

Posted by PuckHound61 on 10/06/08 at 01:47 PM ET

Wow! Tampa is already in panic mode...ha ha ha ha

Posted by kevin from boston on 10/06/08 at 01:49 PM ET

i don’t know what the big deal is with o’brien. i found it odd how melrose scratched him in the second prague game. i thought he played well with us the past couple years. vancouver definitely got the better trade out of the two. ouellet will do great for them as well.

Posted by josh from tampa on 10/06/08 at 02:06 PM ET

I don’t like losing Krajicek—I think he’ll become a very good offensive defenseman, maybe even as soon as next season. They’re about the same age and Krajicek’s played more NHL games...but it looks like O’Brien is bigger and tougher. He also < a href="http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8470839&season=20072008&service=page&tab=gbgt">logged a lot of minutes last season</a> (although his ice time seems surprisingly inconsistent from game to game).

Looks like Ouellet could be a great pickup. He’s not young any more, but still has good potential.

Posted by Jeremy from Summerland on 10/06/08 at 02:44 PM ET

vancouver wins this deal no question.  krajicek was an ok defenceman but was never going to develop into anything beyond a 5th or 6th defenceman.  he’s nothing special really...a guy like lawrence nycholat could do the same stuff krajicek can do for less, and every team or organization have guys like that.

o’brien was doing great in anaheim, so great that tampa bay traded a first-round pick to get him last year.  he was ok last year but he was playing for the worst club in the nhl, so obviously his defensive stats weren’t great.  that said, he’s big, physical, a great and willing fighter, hard working, and has offensive potential...sounds alot like kevin bieksa from 2 years ago.  in fact, i’m certain this paves the way for bieksa to be traded for a top-6 forward, and gillis hopes that o’brien can replace bieksa.  if he’s right, this is a steal for the canucks.

Posted by Steve from Vancouver, BC on 10/06/08 at 03:45 PM ET

The thing about O’Brien is that if he isn’t expected to fight every dang night, he’s a good defenceman with lovely skill set.  I think the Canucks won this one hands down, and then some.

Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 10/06/08 at 09:55 PM ET

Krajicek is a skilled defenseman - no doubt - but like others have said, he’d have a hard time cracking the top two pairs.  He’s a good 5th or 6th guy, and even if that’s all O’Brien is, the physical portion of his game will make up for anything that they may have lost in Krajicek.

Posted by Rod Templeton from The Canuck Nation on 10/07/08 at 11:26 AM ET

We’ll have to see how this one pans out. “Cupcake” was injured a lot last year but he showed signs of being a pretty dependable d-man in the 5th or 6th spot. I like O’Brien’s size. Could be good.

Who the hell knows what’s going to work and what isn’t this season. I wouldn’t put a wager on this team in either the winning or losing direction. The proof will be in the playing. Bring on opening night!

Posted by Trini from VanC on 10/07/08 at 02:00 PM ET