Tackling The Trade Rumors

I understand the nature of rumors. The existence of rumors don't bother me. In fact, I admit to liking to hear about them. I mean, if the Canucks were rumored to pull a big trade or sign a marquee free agent, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested. But rumors do bother me when they are passed along irresponsibly. When they are passed on even knowing that there is no rationale behind them. Such like the recent rumors surrounding the Vancouver Canucks.

In the past week, I've seen all sorts of rumors around surrounding the Canucks - they are usually thrown out by the same person but that's another post altogether - but for the life of me I can't see the rationale behind any of them. Look at the following examples:

• Sedin twins and Kesler for Ilya Kovalchuk and Chris Tamer - because the Canucks apparently have cap space for Kovalchuk and are willing to give up three of their better, young players for him?
• Three-way trade between Vancouver, Toronto and Columbus. Basically, Cloutier, Jovanovski and Cooke for Marc Denis, Luke Richardson and Nik Antropov - where do I start... goalie with playoff question marks for goalie with 0 GP in the playoffs; potential Norris trophy defenseman for 36-year old defenseman on the downhill; small, versatile, gritty player for big winger who disappears in the playoffs
• Three-way trade between Vancouver, New Jersey and Florida. Vancouver gets Roberto Luongo and Sergei Brylin; Florida gets Ed Jovanovski, Dan Cloutier (or possibly Todd Bertuzzi), Jamie Langenbrunner and Jeff Friesen; New Jersey gets three high draft picks - Florida gets a no. 1 goalie, a potential Norris trophy defenseman and two high-caliber veterans for Luongo and draft picks; Vancouver getting Luongo isn't bad but at the expense of another defenseman? I suppose Luongo is used to not having a defense in front of him; I know the Devils are trying to clear cap room but trade three forwards for three draft picks?

Again, my issue isn't with that these rumors are out there. My issue is with that they are so far out left-field that they shouldn't have been out there to begin with. One glance at the players involved and you can quickly see that the trades don't add up. Instead, the originator passed them on to the hockey masses, in the process citing "credible sources". That these credible sources seem to include radio talk shows and fan message boards is another story, but again I digress. Anyway, to those who like to "break the story" ... please... at least put a little bit of thought into it first.

I know, I know... more of a rant today. I'm on my way to the Okanagan for the long weekend. I'm not sure yet if I'll be able to post while I'm up there, but I'll try.