Pronger Traded To Philly

[gracie12]

As per TSN:

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=282981

No details yet...lets hope the flyers paid through the nose...

[tmash]

No details yet...lets hope the flyers paid through the nose...

Yep ... 2 first round picks, their first round pick from last year and a former first round pick who's also a pretty good player.

All for an aging, arguably declining dman with one year left on his contract ...

The Ducks got a steal here, although it doesn't help them a lot in the present (although maybe this was done to clear up cap space for Beauchemin).

[DA_Champion]

This is such an inconceivably amazing trade for the Ducks.

2 1st rounders, and the 1st rounder from last year and a decent 2nd line power forward entering his prime. They also get a conditional 1st round pick on top of that apparently. This is a bigger steal of a trade than the Marian Hossa trade imo as the 1st rounders the Thrashers got were not very good. It's the biggest steal of a trade I've seen since I started following hockey I think.

If Pronger is worth a lot, than certainly Komisarek was worth only Sbisa at the deadline. A young 6"2 highly talented 2-way blueliner... damn Gainey for having hallucinations of stanley cup contentions.

[js2]

Dreger is saying apparently he's looking for a 5-year extension at a minimum of $6M/yr.

[Guest]

This is a tough deal to figure out. What was Philly thinking?? They gave up half the farm to put themselves in serious cap trouble.After who they have to dump to get under the cap i just don't see how this deal makes them better.

Congrats to the Ducks on this one IMO.

[A-K-46]

philly got ripped off

[Rocket-1]

The drug was good in philly yesterday.

[fourtrax]

What on earth are the Flyers going to do with their cap situation now?

God, what a horrible trade for them. Anaheim made out like bandits.

[tmash]

What on earth are the Flyers going to do with their cap situation now?

I assume Brierre's out (although he'd need to waive his NMC). With Carter and Richards he's really not needed and with a fairly reasonable 6.5 million cap hit some team's would be willing to pick him up (I wouldn't mind him in Montreal).

[fourtrax]

I assume Brierre's out (although he'd need to waive his NMC). With Carter and Richards he's really not needed and with a fairly reasonable 6.5 million cap hit some team's would be willing to pick him up (I wouldn't mind him in Montreal).

Yeah, but isn't Briere signed for like 6 more years? He's small, he's injury-prone, on the wrong side of 30, with a $6.5 million cap hit for the next 5-6 years. If teams are balking at Dany Heatley, they are going to run from Briere.

[RicochetII]

Yeah, but isn't Briere signed for like 6 more years? He's small, he's injury-prone, on the wrong side of 30, with a $6.5 million cap hit for the next 5-6 years. If teams are balking at Dany Heatley, they are going to run from Briere.

Teams are balking at Heatley for good reason, he has shown he can be uncooperative and the Sens expect to get full return or better for what is essentially a salary dump for them if Heatley refuses to play up to his standards. Add the $4M signing bonus and cap hit and you have to expect less than ideal return.

As long as the Flyers are willing to admit that Briere is a salary dump for them, and accept a reasonable return based on that, they should have little trouble moving him.

I would prefer the Flyers keep Briere and trade Carter however. I'd help them restock a little in exchange for him, but if they think they are going to recover assets from Briere, I hope they aren't thinking Montreal.

[tmash]

Yeah, but isn't Briere signed for like 6 more years? He's small, he's injury-prone, on the wrong side of 30, with a $6.5 million cap hit for the next 5-6 years.

Yes, he has 6 years left which will scare some, but considering this is pretty standard nowadays, I'm not sure it will be a huge issue. Montreal, for example, a team potentially in desperate need of a center if Koivu leaves, look at it this way: if we get a good free agent, they will likely require at least 6 years and are probably similar in age. The trades we've heard about (Lecalvier) are for players in similar situations. Let's say it comes down to getting Brierre cheap or going with Lang-Plekanek-Lapierre-Chipchura as our centers, I don't see the 6 years being a huge deal. And this may sound a bit overly dramatic, but look at the free agents and centers rumoured to be available: there's not much there. Sedins will require a deal probably a lot longer than 6 years.

Also, while it isn't a huge deal for Montreal, low-spending teams could spend below the cap floor with Brierre because while he has a 6.5 cap hit (helping them reach the cap floor) his actually salary averages out to a million less than this on the remaining years: so they can save a little money.

And injuries are a concern, although he's had lots of 75+ game seasons as well.

If teams are balking at Dany Heatley, they are going to run from Briere.

I think teams are balking at Heatley because they question his attitude after the way he requested a trade. Also, there are plenty of teams who would take Heatley, it's just they aren't giving the return Ottawa would like.

I don't think Brierre will get Philli much, but someone will take him.

[roy_133]

I think teams are balking at Heatley because they question his attitude after the way he requested a trade. Also, there are plenty of teams who would take Heatley, it's just they aren't giving the return Ottawa would like.

I don't think Brierre will get Philli much, but someone will take him.

Agreed, teams are balking because apparently the Sens are asking for a ton. If the Sens were trying to just flat out dump his salary without taking back too much in return there would be a lot of willing teams.

[QbGamer]

Yep ... 2 first round picks, their first round pick from last year and a former first round pick who's also a pretty good player.

All for an aging, arguably declining dman with one year left on his contract ...

The Ducks got a steal here, although it doesn't help them a lot in the present (although maybe this was done to clear up cap space for Beauchemin).

Which is why it kills me Gainey never trades away any of our players... He simply lets them go..

Guess what you need to trade away your assets if you dont plan on keeping them the following season.. We could have stacked up some great picks for Sourray/Streit/Ryder...

Not to mention this year. Koivu/Kovalev/Komi/Tanguay

All of these guys would have gotten us a MINIMUM of 1 first round pick each.. MINIMUM... Imagine if we had 4 1st rounders.. along with our on...

Come on now..

Kils me to know we keep tossing out our players for NO RETURN... BG drives me nuts

[tmash]

Which is why it kills me Gainey never trades away any of our players... He simply lets them go..

Guess what you need to trade away your assets if you dont plan on keeping them the following season.. We could have stacked up some great picks for Sourray/Streit/Ryder...

Not to mention this year. Koivu/Kovalev/Komi/Tanguay

All of these guys would have gotten us a MINIMUM of 1 first round pick each.. MINIMUM... Imagine if we had 4 1st rounders.. along with our on...

Come on now..

Kils me to know we keep tossing out our players for NO RETURN... BG drives me nuts

Yes and no. Souray was a mistake: I said it at the time and I still think it now.

Streit and Ryder were UFAs in a season where we landed first overall in the regular season. While I thought Ryder may be traded because he wasn't really working out, you can't trade away players when you're doing that well. Sure, in hindsight it would have been smart, but at the time it would have made no sense.

This year is more difficult to say, especially since some of the players should be back. But considering our chances to do much in the playoffs were slim, I wouldn't have minded being sellers.

[mandred]

I don't see how this is a bad move for Philly. If Emery is on his game and Pronger plays as good as he did last year, this team will easily make it to the conference finals.

See, Philly is going for a LETS WIN NOW team, not a LETS MAYBE WIN IN 5 YEARS team, and I for one think this was a damn good move.

[Rocket-1]

I don't see how this is a bad move for Philly. If Emery is on his game and Pronger plays as good as he did last year, this team will easily make it to the conference finals.

See, Philly is going for a LETS WIN NOW team, not a LETS MAYBE WIN IN 5 YEARS team, and I for one think this was a damn good move.

This is a terrible move.

You don't seem to see this deal in 3d.

Now the flyers have to get rid of a big salary forward and get pretty much nothing in return for it (or young prospects) to clean their cap issues.

And after that there still not contenders, don't tell me that Philly was 1 player away from a cup, with the addition of Pronger they have 4 good defenseman the rest is average at best.

Then they have Emery in nets with no backup whatsoever (most likely someone from the AHL).

I'm willing to bet that this team won't pass round 2 of the playoffs (at best) next year.

God knows what they were thinking, now there already on the cap with 18 players signed.

[leafs_rock_go_mccabe]

Which is why it kills me Gainey never trades away any of our players... He simply lets them go..

Guess what you need to trade away your assets if you dont plan on keeping them the following season.. We could have stacked up some great picks for Sourray/Streit/Ryder...

Not to mention this year. Koivu/Kovalev/Komi/Tanguay

All of these guys would have gotten us a MINIMUM of 1 first round pick each.. MINIMUM... Imagine if we had 4 1st rounders.. along with our on...

Come on now..

Kils me to know we keep tossing out our players for NO RETURN... BG drives me nuts

I agree, and what bothers me even more is how we could drastically improve our team over time if we had made some of these decisions. Instead we are now having to wait anyway, but without the added beneift of having good draft choices. Gainey is delusional. The team needs a major improvement. I had mentioned we should've traded Komisarek away before last year's deadline. Possibly Kovalev, too. You need to learn how to cut your losses... Even if it is the centennial.

[SteenIsThaFuture]

This is a terrible move.

You don't seem to see this deal in 3d.

Now the flyers have to get rid of a big salary forward and get pretty much nothing in return for it (or young prospects) to clean their cap issues.

And after that there still not contenders, don't tell me that Philly was 1 player away from a cup, with the addition of Pronger they have 4 good defenseman the rest is average at best.

Then they have Emery in nets with no backup whatsoever (most likely someone from the AHL).

I'm willing to bet that this team won't pass round 2 of the playoffs (at best) next year.

God knows what they were thinking, now there already on the cap with 18 players signed.

How are they not a contender? They have one of the best top 4's in the league. Even if their 3rd pairing is below average they still have a dominant D corp even though Ryan Parent could surprise.

Lets say they trade Briere, their top 6 is Richards, Carter, Gagne, Giroux and X because if they dump Danny, they will have cap room to sign someone likes Fedetenko.

If Emery is even average, which he could be a lot better, thats a very solid team. Yes Ray could be a headache, but hey its the Flyers

I agree, and what bothers me even more is how we could drastically improve our team over time if we had made some of these decisions. Instead we are now having to wait anyway, but without the added beneift of having good draft choices. Gainey is delusional. The team needs a major improvement. I had mentioned we should've traded Komisarek away before last year's deadline. Possibly Kovalev, too. You need to learn how to cut your losses... Even if it is the centennial.

Not that simple, I'm pretty sure very few ownerships in sports would ever sacrifice potential playoff revenue to make a run in a few years. Sometimes it isn't always about hockey.

[gracie12]

Sometimes it isn't always about hockey.

This is a great point, MP - and something many of us forget now and again.

There are so many things going on behind the scenes - like owners trying to get a revenue on their substantial business investments - that its hard for us to make clear analysis' about particular moves.

I do think that Philly paid through the nose for a player who has shown a large drop in play lately. I also think they played their hand too fast because I dont think they are 'ready' this year...but that said, they weighed their options, took a risk & will now stick with it. Time will tell if it will pay off.

[mandred]

This is a terrible move.

You don't seem to see this deal in 3d.

Now the flyers have to get rid of a big salary forward and get pretty much nothing in return for it (or young prospects) to clean their cap issues.

And after that there still not contenders, don't tell me that Philly was 1 player away from a cup, with the addition of Pronger they have 4 good defenseman the rest is average at best.

Then they have Emery in nets with no backup whatsoever (most likely someone from the AHL).

I'm willing to bet that this team won't pass round 2 of the playoffs (at best) next year.

God knows what they were thinking, now there already on the cap with 18 players signed.

Pronger is the type of player that can help carry a team. He is one of the best D's in the league right now.

With the addition of Pronger they have a rediculous defense system. We have all seen Emery's potential when he is on his A game. If he plays even half as good as he did for Ottawa at one point they will coast into the playoffs.

[musicalhab]

Whether Pronger is declining or not...he's not someone Im looking forward to seeing when Plekanec is carrying the puck up the ice, looks at Pronger, forgets about the puck and sprints away!!

[gracie12]

Pronger was the type of player that can help carry a team. He was one of the best D's in the league up until a year ago.

Fixed that for you.

Im just playing of course, but the point is that Chris Pronger, with 1 year left on his contract - I think that philly gave up what pronger was worth 2 or 3 years ago. Now, they've over paid.

That said, his real worth is the playoffs & if this year is any indication, he should do well for them next post season.

[SteenIsThaFuture]

This is a great point, MP - and something many of us forget now and again.

There are so many things going on behind the scenes - like owners trying to get a revenue on their substantial business investments - that its hard for us to make clear analysis' about particular moves.

I do think that Philly paid through the nose for a player who has shown a large drop in play lately. I also think they played their hand too fast because I dont think they are 'ready' this year...but that said, they weighed their options, took a risk & will now stick with it. Time will tell if it will pay off.

That being said, from a hockey perspective I do like Phillly's chances. Emery is a good goalie, a headcase but a good goalie, theyt have a dynamic offense, great special teams, and now a great D corp with room to improve if Carle and Parent take yet another step forward.

Not to mention the X factors in Giroux and perhaps VanRiemsyk if hes ready by mid-year (most likely won't make the team out of camp).

[DA_Champion]

That being said, from a hockey perspective I do like Phillly's chances. Emery is a good goalie, a headcase but a good goalie, theyt have a dynamic offense, great special teams, and now a great D corp with room to improve if Carle and Parent take yet another step forward.

Not to mention the X factors in Giroux and perhaps VanRiemsyk if hes ready by mid-year (most likely won't make the team out of camp).

Yeah, now that I think about it, both teams won this trade.

Philly might win a stanley cup, or they might not. They are mortgaging their future. If they fail, they can have a string of high draft picks a few years down the line.