As everyone has been expecting, the Flyers pulled the trigger and traded away their longest-tenured player in Simon Gagne. But in an unexpected twist, the Flyers recieved next to nothing in return for a player who played such a large role in their recent Stanley Cup push.
They traded Gagne away to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and in return received defenseman Matt Walker and a 2011 fourth-round draft pick. So in a move that was supposedly made to free up cap space, why exactly did they trade for a guy scheduled to make $1.7 million per season over the next three years?
"This was a move to solidify our defense," said Flyers' GM Paul Holmgren. "Matt Walker is a right shot defenseman that we like. He brings size, grit and toughness to our backend."
So they traded for a defenseman to sure up their defense. Thanks a lot, Paul.
But that still doesn't answer the question as to why they'd pick up his contract when they're so strapped for cap space. Trading Gagne away was supposed to alleviate that, but now all they've done is perhaps come closer to breaking even.
However, as Sam Carchidi of Philly.com points out, the move likely isn't complete.
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Bob Cunningham
Simon Gagne Trade Makes Little Sense for Flyers
July 19th, 2010 by Bob Cunningham Leave a reply »
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