Philadelphia Flyers reacquire Simon Gagne from the LA Kings
In Oct. 2010, Simon Gagne returned to Philadelphia after having been traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning by the Flyers. A video tribute to his time in Philly – he score 259 goals from, 1999-2010 for the team – ran on the Jumbotron.
"I didn't want to cry. I was trying not to, but it was hard,” he said.
Wonder what his tear ducts are doing today?
Gagne will wear the orange and black again, as the Philadelphia Flyers reacquired the left wing from the Los Angeles Kings for a conditional fourth-round pick in 2013, which the Flyers owned from the Phoenix Coyotes. (That pick was acquired in the Sergei Bobrovsky trade with Columbus, which it had acquired in the Antoine Vermette trade.)
The Kings had scratched Gagne for four straight games, as he had five assists in 11 games and played to a plus-2. His ice time was on the decline. It was time to go, and the Kings found a taker for his $3.5 million cap hit (and expiring contract).
It’s more than a nostalgic pickup for the Flyers – it’s a nice kick in the pants for a 9-11-1 team that needs to start turning the corner if it wants to make the playoffs.
He's a veteran that commands respect, and has a Stanley Cup ring to go along with his reputation in Philly. We're talking about Mike Knuble, of course ...
(Oh, Paul Holmgren, always bringing back old favorites.)
(Please tell us the next call is to Peter Forsberg.)
It’s not a game-changer for the Flyers, but it could be one for Gagne.
Well, at least Jeff and Mike got to party with Simon for a while in LA. But Flyers East just recycled a player from Flyers West.
