Gagne shipped to Tampa Bay
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Gagne shipped to Tampa Bay
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
Left winger Simon Gagne's terrific 10-year career with the Flyers is over.
In a move that gives the Flyers cap space but severely weakens their offense, Gagne, 30, was sent to Tampa Bay for defenseman Matt Walker and a fourth-round draft pick in 2011 on Monday.
Walker, 30, had two goals and three assists and was minus-11 last season. The 6-4, 215-pounder was a third-round pick by St. Louis in 1998.
Gagne, who starred in playoffs against Boston and Montreal last season and was the longest-tenured player on the team, was dealt because the Flyers needed to free cap space; he will earn $5.25 million this season.
The Flyers are now overloaded with defensemen and thin on quality wingers, and they almost assuredly will now trade a D-man.
Walker has three years left on his contract, which pays him $1.7 million per season.
GM Paul Holmgren received lots of criticism after the trade was announced, but the deal cannot be judged until the next domino falls.
"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. Simon Gagne played 10 seasons for the Flyers and was not only a good player for us, but also handled himself in a first class manner on and off the ice.”
Walker, 30, appeared in 66 games during the regular season for the Lightning, recording five points (2G,3A) and 90 penalty minutes.
"My initial reaction was pure excitement,” said Walker. “To find out that I was coming to Philly, I don’t know if I would say it was a life-long dream, but I’ve always wanted to play in Philly and I thought I would be a good fit there.”
Talk about the trade in our NEW Flyers forum 
after 35 years as a die-hard Flyers fan, i am half-way out the door. replace Leighton as #1 goalie and the deal will be sealed. best wishes to Gagne with Tampa Bay.— stonelamb
People relax. Im hearing this trade was made in order to make another trade. Most likely im hearing it will be Coburn going with something else for a winger. They needed another quality defense man to take the spot to pair with O'Donell and Meszaros will move up to top 4 where he belongs anyway to take Coburns spot.— MrSmithTP- Clearing salary cap space is the name of the game now. The NHL is the NBA on ice.— Rick Wise Guy
- This reminds me of the times Clarkie got rid of Dave Poulin and Brian Propp and got zilch in return.— Snap Crackle Propp
- stonelamb.............your team just made the Stanley Cup Final and your saying that your halfway out the door as a fan. Good bye! We dont need you. I dont have a problem trusting in Homers moves cause since hes taken over we've gotten to eastern conference finals against Pittsburgh and then made it to the Stanley Cup Finals against Chicago. I think we could be a lot worse. We dont need malcontents like you.— MrSmithTP
- Pathetic. Homer can't get out of the stone age. I think it was Gagne's time to go, but man, Holmgren is lame. Another D-man? At least it was a right handed D-man. So now we have like 11 defensemen. Maybe trade Richards for Chelios. Little more grit on the back line.— bobby orr
- People!!!! We are not keep a 7th defense man making 1.7 mil. Dont you people ever look at the big picture and realize sometimes trades are made in order to make other trades????— MrSmithTP
- "a move to solidfy our defense", is that a joke or does Holmgren think Flyers fan are complete morons?— pgcd3
- Holmgren. You're slipping buddy! Simon will be a flyer killer now.— blueye7
- Giroux overrated? 3rd liner at best?? Is that why every GM brings up his name when talking trade?? Apparently you were out of the country from Apr - June.— mark77m
- I knew it was coming but it still doesn't make it any better. And for another TB D-Man. If Pronger wasn't on the team I would say bye-bye to my season tickets. This offseason has been pathetic. Jeff Carter is still on the team and we have his clone in Zherdev. Are you kidding me, Homer?— forphillyfromla
- What happened to the nimrods who said we'd get Bernier? We'd have been better keeping him and if we are legit he'd fit in well. If not he'd have had more value at the trade deadline. One thing I hate more than POS Clarke and our neandethal mentality is idiotic trades by fans such as SyddBarrett.— rollins
- DUMB DUMB DUMB— bobdiz
- Sorry to see Gags go, but we all knew it was coming based on cap issues and player movement limitations (i.e. no-trade clauses). While I'm sensing this may not be the popular line of thinking, but I will give Homer the BOTD until "the next domino falls". Hopefully they can eventually resign Asham...or find a way to sign Raffi Torres who I think would be a solid addition at RW.— dri_as_a_bone
- mark77m: I was around...was at most games. I didn't say "at best"-- i said Giroux was a 3rd liner, period. The fact is that, while a very good player, he is not even the 3rd best center on the team. Under those circumstances, he is a 3rd liner. For another team with less centers, he is on the 2nd line. My point in raising it is that Giroux gets all the hype, while Gagne gets no respect. Speaking of April-June, Gagne carried this team on his back against Boston and Montreal. In the season, he had more goals than Giroux, despite playing significantly less games, a better +/-, and otherwise their numbers are fairly comparable...last year Gagne's numbers were much better than Giroux's. In any event, we can't rely on Giroux and JVR to "step it up" to replace Gagne-- they are already expected to "step it up" to fill the void of Lupul and Knuble. So that leaves Zherdev to fill for Gagne. Good luck. He has a chance on the ice, but none in the locker room and he certainly does not have the veteran experience of Gagne, something this team is suddenly sorely missing at forward.
