"Right after we made the trade [at the deadline in February] when I talked to him, he let me know he wasn't very happy. We talked about it and what I told him was, 'You scratch my back I'll scratch yours,' " the Flyers general manager said yesterday.

"I told him that if he played well here it would only improve his status."

Prospal started out strong for the Flyers, helped get Daniel Briere on track and had a decent, if inconsistent, playoff run, and yesterday Holmgren scratched his back and returned him to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a seventh-round draft pick that previously was Nashville's, No. 196 overall, and a conditional pick in the 2009 draft.

The move brings to five the total number of picks the Flyers will have in the draft this weekend.

As of yesterday, there were no more deals in the works, Holmgren said. He said on Monday he was investigating ways to acquire more picks or to move up in the draft, which starts tomorrow in Ottawa. The Flyers' only first-round pick comes at 27th.

Prospal, who played for the Flyers from 1996 to '98, becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He made $1.9 million last season. The trade does nothing to make room in the Flyers' salary-cap equation except to say they will not have to spend money to keep him.

In addition, if Tampa Bay finds a way to re-sign the Czech center, the Flyers will get a fourth-round pick next season.

That, however, will do little to replace the loss of a good defensive prospect, Alexandre Picard, who went to Tampa in the February trade.

Still, Holmgren said he felt the move was worth the risk.

"We felt we needed to add something at the trade deadline," he said. "That's the risk you take anytime you're dealing with an unrestricted free agent. That's the way the business works."

Prospal, 33, had four goals and 10 assists in 18 regular-season games for the Flyers and 13 points in 17 playoff games. In 62 games for the Lightning, he had 29 goals and 28 assists.

Tampa Bay general manager Jay Feaster said yesterday in announcing the trade that he felt his team also was taking a risk in reacquiring Prospal's rights.

"After assessing the pending free-agent market and receiving a great deal of input from our prospective new owners, the decision was made to attempt to pursue Vinny Prospal for a return engagement to Tampa," Feaster said.

"While we realize some of the risks involved in this strategy we also know that Prospal and [Vincent] Lecavalier have a very special chemistry together and getting Vinny back in the fold early would enable us to focus our time, attention and resources on other critical areas this summer while leaving our successful top line virtually intact.

"At the end of the day, we felt that reacquiring Vinny now and attempting to negotiate a contract with him sooner rather than later was in the best interests of the organization."

Points aside, Prospal's biggest contribution was helping to get Briere's season going. The Flyers' top center struggled throughout the season and was bounced from line to line in search of some chemistry in light of the concussions that cost winger Simon Gagne most of his season.

Prospal was good, especially against Washington in the first round of the playoffs, and then all but disappeared, eventually forcing coach John Stevens to move him off the Briere line.

"He played good early and then had a little dip," Holmgren said. "The last couple of games against Pittsburgh he played better and in the last game, even though we got waxed, I thought he played good."

When the season ended, Prospal made it known that he did not want to stay in Philadelphia.

"When I had my end-of-the-season meeting with him he made it clear that he didn't have much interest in playing here," Holmgren said. "This was a chance to get something back for him."

Flyers' picks

 

Round 1: 27th overall

Round 2: None

Round 3: None

Round 4: 118

Round 5: None

Round 6: 178

Round 7: 196, 208