Brandon Sutter Autograph Card

I last featured Brandon Sutter two years ago when he'd been traded from the Carolina Hurricanes to the Pittsburgh Penguins; today, the Pens sent him to the Vancouver Canucks for center Nick Bonino and Adam Clendening.

Clendening's a decent defensive prospect from the Chicago Blackhawks' system who had very good statistics in the AHL and just needs to translate that into the NHL, while I still think Bonino has the potential to be a consistent 20-goal scorer in the NHL; still, the best player here is Sutter, who actually not only already is a consistent 20-goal man, but did so on the Pens' third line while Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby monopolized all the best wingers for themselves.

You could argue that by signing free agent Eric Fehr on the same day, though, the Pens ended up even, while the Canucks gave more than I would have but may have cemented their 2C spot for years if they can sign Sutter and not lose him as a UFA by the end of the year.

We're talking about a guy who often gets Selke and Lady Byng votes at the end of the year and has won gold with Team Canada at the World Juniors (2008). At age 26, he's still a guy you can add to your nucleus and will add leadership and help steer the kids in the right direction. He's a Sutter, after all, and has even worn the alternate captain's ''A'' as a young guy with the Canes, as can be attested in card #BSU from Panini's 2011-12 Titanium set (part of the Private Signings sub-set):

The gold foil border's a nice touch, as is the Hurricanes' black (third) jersey. It's signed on-card in thin blue sharpie and just generally has a nice vibe to it.

Ironically, today marked the second time in three years Jim Rutherford has traded and praised him, as he was also the one who sent him to Pittsburgh in the first place when he was GM in Carolina.