Rumors have been flying for some time now, but no one really knew where winger Simon Gagne would land. But, now it’s done. The Philadelphia Flyers have traded Gagne to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a Miller Lite keychain and a lamp that was purchased at a yard sale in 1988.
Actually, they got defenseman Matt Walker and a fourth-round pick in return, but you get the idea.
“We acquire a very talented player that will play along side our top forwards,” Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman said. “With his combination of speed and skill, we are excited to have him with us.”
Gagne had to waive his no-trade clause in order to facilitate the move.
“I’m really looking forward to playing with guys like (Vincent) Lecavalier, (Steven) Stamkos and (Martin) St. Louis,” he said.
This is a salary dump move for the Flyers, who had to get under the cap. As for the Lightning, even if Gagne’s injury issues flare up, he’s only signed through the end of this season.
Flyers GM Paul Holmgren defended his decision to trade the long-time Flyer.
“This was a move to solidify our defense,” said Holmgren. “Matt Walker is a right shot defenseman that we like; he brings size, grit and toughness to our backend.”
What a horrible deal. Walker is 30yo and not good to begin with; we probably already have 6 defensemen better than him. Was no one willing to part with a higher round draft pick?