Former Stanley Cup Finals Rival Kris Versteeg Now A Flyer

I was walking to a nearby campus restaurant during a short break of my evening class when I check my phone. As it turns out, my brother tried to call me 10 minutes earlier. I call back.

"The Flyers traded their 1st and 3rd round draft picks for Kris Versteeg."

"WHAT?!?!?!?" could be my own reply. Versteeg for a first and 3rd rounder. Homer is out of his mind. Again.

I hung up, grabbed my food, and went back to class. My first thoughts on the trade was that of an obvious overpay. A 1st round draft pick and a 3rd round draft pick? Never mind that Versteeg is a solid, young 2-way forward whose prime is still ahead, a 1st and a 3rd rounder seemed like a little much. But then I got back from class, went online, and learned a thing or two about this year's upcoming draft class. As it turns out, it basically sucks. Suffice to say, I am much happier about this trade now than I was a few hours ago. It is still a bit of an overpayment, but given that the Flyers draft picks are going to be picking near the bottom in this very weak class and that Holmgren is clearly bracing the Flyers for "win now" mode, and this trade is not as bad as it initially seemed.

The Flyers can easily slot Versteeg on the line with Richards and JVR, while bumping Andreas Nodl down to the 4th line and benching two of Nikolay Zherdev, Dan Carcillo, and Jody Shelley. It is likely that the Flyers are not done making moves as they have 15 forwards on their roster, 14 if you exclude Ian Laperriere who is on LTIR. It is very likely that Dan Carcillo and/or Nikolay Zherdev will be shipped off before the deadline. While an enigma, Zherdev has been able to light the lamp when given the opportunity by Peter Laviolette. The problem is, Laviolette has this thing where he is not willing to give Zherdev a lot of meaningful ice time and frequently lists him as a healthy scratch for games. And with Jody Shelley signed to a 3 year, $3.3M contract, it is unlikely that he is movable. I will be very surprised if Dan Carcillo is a Philadelphia Flyer once the trade deadline surpasses.

If you are having problems getting excited about Kris Versteeg in a Flyers uniform, allow this to change your mind set. Though I must insist for multiple reasons, watch this video with the sound off.