04/24/24
June 23, 2011
Flyers trade Richards to Kings, Carter to Blue Jackets, sign Bryzgalov 9 yrs/$51,000,000: In a span of just a few hours, G.M. Paul Holmgren reshaped the team in a significant, important and almost brilliant way. Richards, the team captain, had had his issues with defenceman Chris Pronger and Carter couldn’t find a role on the team, despite scoring 41 goals in the NHL only two years ago. With a centre-ice corps of Claude Giroux and Daniel Briere still in place, Holmgren had the luxury of moving two players, both signed to monstrously long contracts that had decent salary cap numbers because they are back-loaded. Carter is at $5.272-million per year, Richards at $5.75-million.
posted by tommytrump to hockey at 06:29 PM - 6 comments
On November 13, 2010, Carter signed an 11-year, $58 Million contract extension with the Flyers through to the 20212022 season. The deal features a full no-trade clause from 201215, followed by a limited no-trade clause thereafter.
That contract doesn't take affect until the 2011-12 season. That means the Flyers haven't even paid a penny of his contract yet, and he's been dealt.
The kicker for all this was that it was a combination "chemistry" trade (Carter not having a place, and Richards supposedly at odds with Pronger) and salary cap clearing move. They needed the space because they've signed their "goalie to help them win in the playoffs" (part XIV), Ilya Bryzgalov, to a 9-year $51million deal.
posted by grum@work at 07:25 PM on June 23, 2011
Flyers apparently have lots of money to waste. There are 20 goalies as good as Bryzgalov they could have had for much less, and signing any goaltender not named Brodeur to a long term contract has been the recipe for failure for a few decades.
posted by cixelsyd at 10:24 PM on June 23, 2011
I don't know about that. Rick DiPietro is working wonders for the Islanders.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 11:19 PM on June 23, 2011
We have a kid who showed himself during the season to be very capable of being a No. 1 in Sergei Bobrovsky. What Laviolette did with him and the GK situation against Boston was atrocious. Hope Sergei gets traded instead of getting sent back to Glens Falls.
posted by jjzucal at 01:35 PM on June 24, 2011
What Laviolette did with him
The Flyers were alarmingly bad in the playoffs this year and I guess something had to be done. They were loaded with talent and just didn't show up. Focusing the blame on goaltending is a copout, and Bryzgalov's 4.36 GAA and 0.88 save percentage during the playoffs won't make them any better soon.
posted by cixelsyd at 05:24 PM on June 24, 2011
I have to say this is a decent trade for the Blue Jackets. The downside is Carter is somewhat injury prone. They give up Jakub Voracek, a mediocre player, and a 1st round and 3rd round pick. Historically the Blue Jackets have not drafted all that well so in terms of trading a known for an unknown it's a good move. They needed another goal scorer to complement Rick Nash.
With Richards gone does this mean Chris Pronger is the new Flyers captain?