NHL Trade: Simon Gagne Trade Equals Salary Dump

Today's trade between the Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning certainly shows we are in the cap era! Wow, what a salary dump! Do not get me wrong, I am not saying it is a terrible move. If the Flyers main goal was to get Gagne's salary off their books then they succeeded.

To the Lightning: Simon Gagne

To the Flyers: Matt Walker and their 4th round pick in the 2011 entry draft.

Matt Walker is a 30 year old defenceman who has very limited offensive skill. I am not sure what his chances will be of making the team. You would think they would want him to play for them if they made the trade.

Matt Walker's cap hit for next season is 1.7 million while Simon Gagne's cap hit is 5.25 million. The Flyers needed to get under the cap and this trade made that happen.

Simon Gagne is a very talented offensive player when he is healthy. The key word there was healthy. He is one big hit away from ending his career. He scored 17 goals and had 40 points in 58 games last year. He has had 4-30 goal seasons and two of those seasons he scored over 40 goals. He will most likely get a chance to play on the top line in Tampa with Lecavalier and Martin St.Louis. This could be a very difficult line to stop on a nightly basis.

If I was a GM of a NHL team I am not sure if I would take the chance on a player like Gagne because of his concussion issues. If I did make a trade I would do it like Tampa did in not giving up a front line player and take my chances. I am sure the salary is insured in case of injury. After thinking it over though I think I would have passed and tried my luck on another player, although I am certainly not surprised a team took a chance on him.