Up until today all of the major
moves over the last week ahead of the NHL trade deadline have come from teams
in the Western Conference. The
Philadelphia Flyers, already the top team in the Eastern Conference, became the
first team in the East to make a splash in the trade market when, per TSN's Bob McKenzie, they
sent this year's first and third round picks to the Toronto Maple Leafs
in exchange for Kris Versteeg. The Flyers were likely
the favorite in the Eastern Conference even before the move and this should
only solidify that position.
This season Versteeg, 24, tallied 14
goals, 21 assists and 35 points in 53 games for the Leafs. A key attraction to Versteeg has to be him
championship experience with the Blackhawks last season when he scored 14
points in 22 playoff games, including five points in the six-game Stanley Cup
finals against Philadelphia. The Flyers
will also have control of him for next season with a salary cap hit of 3.083
million.
Versteeg is obviously a capable
scorer and only adds to what is frankly an embarrassment of riches in the depth
and quality of the Flyers forward core.
Given how deep and talented the group is, Versteeg could go back to
playing a more third line role, similar to what he did in Chicago instead of
being forced into a top line assignment in Toronto.
The price-tag on Versteeg seems
high in the big picture, but when you are throwing your chips in the middle and
making a run for the title, sometimes you overpay to get the guy you want. The only perceived hole in the Flyers
championship armor at the moment appears to be goaltending, but they have the
assets to make a trade for a netminder if they feel it necessary over the next
two weeks. In the meantime everyone else
in the East is now left to scramble to counter against a team that was already
better than them before today and just got better themselves.
