The Philadelphia Flyers cleaned house, trading two star players and acquiring highly touted prospect Brayden Schenn and proven goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov on Thursday.
Philadelphia acquired rising star Schenn from the Los Angeles Kings for team captain Mike Richards and in a separate deal sent all-star forward Jeff Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets for forward Jake Voracek.
“This is a huge day for our organization,” general manager Paul Holmgren said, “and it really changes a lot of things.”
The 19-year-old Schenn was the fifth overall pick by the Kings in the 2009 NHL entry draft and led silver medal-winning Team Canada in scoring at this year’s World Junior Hockey Championships.
The Flyers also received forward Wayne Simmonds and an undisclosed draft pick in the Richards deal.
Also on Thursday Philadelphia signed Bryzgalov to a reported US$51-million, nine year deal. The Flyers acquired the rights to the 31-year-old Bryzgalov earlier this month in a deal with the Phoenix Coyotes.
The Flyers sent Carter to Columbus for Voracek and the club’s first and third-round picks as Philadelphia unloads players with big contracts to make room under the salary cap.
Schenn was named the most valuable player and top forward at the recent World Junior Championships after scoring eight goals and 18 points in just seven games, while playing injured.
Schenn finished with 22 goals and 57 points in 29 games in the Western Hockey League last season with the Saskatoon Blades and Brandon Wheat Kings.
He was called up to the Kings’ farm team in Manchester for part of the season, getting seven points in seven games. He also made his NHL debut by playing in eight games for the Kings.
Simmonds, of Canada, is a proven NHL forward and was the Kings’ sixth top scorer and one of their top defensive forwards last season.
The 26-year-old Canadian Richards had been the Flyers captain and had 23 goals and 66 points this season, down from a career high 80 points in 2009.
Philadelphia were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the playoffs this year by the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins.
The fact that the Flyers are willing to unload two of their top veteran players on the same day they trade for Schenn indicates the confidence they have in the youth movement that the organization has embarked on.
The sky is the limit for Schenn in terms of potential as he is considered one of the best young players in the world not playing in the NHL last season. Schenn is expected to be a nice fit with US national team member James van Riemsdyk and Canadian Claude Giroux.
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