The term "power forward" just seems like it should be accompanied in the Dictionary of Hockey Parlance - distributed annually by the NHL, reserve your copy today! - by a picture of the Boston Bruins logo.
From Milan Lucic to Cam Neely, the big, rugged player feared as much for his hockey acumen as his pugilistic capabilities or, nowadays, in the less fighting-friendly version of the NHL, tough, gritty, difficult-to-play-against style, perfectly embodies the entire spirit of the Bruins organization.
When a guy with the - as-of-yet unrealized - potential to turn himself into such a player, like Vancouver Canucks forward Zack Kassian, becomes available, it's hard not to envision the possibility of him running the opposition over like a freight train loosed from the tracks en route to the net while wearing the Black and Gold.
TSN's Darren Dreger, appearing on an episode of Toronto's TSN 1050 as transcribed by NicholsOnHockey.com, said recently that Kassian's "name is out there" in NHL trade talks.
He then said that Kassian, who has been a healthy scratch of late in Vancouver, isn't really a fit with the Canucks - anyone surprised? - and will probably be headed elsewhere by the trade deadline or after the season.
Could the Bruins - who have just a teensy, tiny, little bit of a connection to Vancouver and its GM, Jim Benning, and seem like they might be an almost too-perfect spot for Kassian to hone his power forward skills - be a potential trade partner for the Canucks?
"But I think it's an easy connection between Boston and Vancouver because Jim Benning left Boston to go to Vancouver. He's good friends with Peter Chiarelli, the general manager of the Bruins," said Dreger, while cautioning that he didn't think there was much to the recent speculation of an imminent deal.
But the rumors of Kassian's departure from the Canucks - he's got just two goals and three assists in 22 mostly ineffective games this season and continues to ride the press box pine despite his recent return to health - persist.
Kassian signed a two-year, $3.5 million contract extension with the team in July, so he's a very tradeable commodity from a financial standpoint.
For Benning, simply moving a player as frustrated and badly in need of a change of scenery as Kassian may make the organization better all on its own, no matter the return. The Cancucks have climbed to second in the Pacific with little to no aid from Kassian, so he may mean more to the team at this point as a trade piece which could provide picks or upgrades elsewhere (Disclaimer: the auther of this article, of course, recognizes that determining and receiving commensurate value is always a tricky thing).
For Boston, Kassian would be a, so far underachieving, talent who could possibly realize his full potential playing alongside a guy that's the perfect embodiment of what his NHL game should look like, in Milan Lucic.
And for Kassian, it's another NHL opportunity, a chance to start fresh.
Kassian, 23, has yet to turn himself into the player the Canucks envisioned when they traded Cody Hodgson for him in February of 2012. Despite a first-round pedigree, in parts of four seasons in a Canucks uniform Kassian's never played more than 73 games or topped 29 points - though last year, when he set both marks, was his best season, statistically, since he entered the league, so it's hard to fault Benning if he sees Kassian as a player on the rise.
But his supposed ascension was again derailed when he suffered a finger injury that required two pins earlier this season.
He has a minus-6 rating and 7.1 shooting percentage - less than half of what he'd managed the last two years with Vancouver - thus far in his return.
Kassian admitted in a recent interview with TSN 1040, per NBC Sports, that the constant trade talk this season has been difficult for him.
"It's a little frustrating," Kassian said, "but I'm at the point now where if it happens, it happens. It means another team wants you, maybe you get a little more opportunity.
"But I'm a Vancouver Canuck. I love it here. I especially love the guys here. So I'm not thinking too much about that stuff."
As for Benning, he appeared on Vancouver's TSN 1040 on Friday and, per NicholsOnHockey.com, admitted, rather candidly, that there has been ample trade chatter involving Kassian of late.
"Well, teams have phoned to inquire about him. Zack's a young player. He's a power forward style player. We'll listen to what teams say, but he's not unlike a lot of our other players that teams phone and inquire about."
As Kassian's talent continues to waste away - both on the Canucks bench and on the ice - Benning says he'll continue to listen on deals for the forward that could benefit the entire franchise.
"If something comes up, where we think it's a good deal for us or something, we'll do it if we make the organization better," the GM said.
At some point, Benning will be forced to face the fact that moving an underachieving player like Kassian to another NHL destination is the most prudent step, for the team and for the player.
Kassian is given a fresh start with a team perhaps more attuned to his skill-set and with a coaching staff that hasn't yet developed conclusions, fair or otherwise, about him and the Canucks get value for a piece they no longer see on-ice value in.
