Maybe I just haven't followed the NHL as a whole closely enough this season, but this sure seems to me like a completely uneven trade, Pavel Brendl and Bruno St. Jacques for Ryan Bast and Sami Kapanen. Did Kapanen have an outrageously large salary that Carolina needed to dump, or has he just hit _that_ hard of a slump this season?
From the looks of Kapanen's performance in the Flyers/Rangers game, it sure looks like he's ready and able to contribute to the Flyers' offensive cause while LeClair and Gagne are still sidelined with injuries...
I believe Kapanen makes about $2.5 million US this season, but has about 6 goals (before his goal for Philly today) to show for it.
As a 'Canes fan (well, as a Ron Francis fan,) I'm not too happy with this deal, but Brendl does have an upside...if he can ever reagin the touch he had here in Calgary as a junior.
"No team that has lost in the first round of the playoffs has ever gone on to win the Super Bowl." - Dave Letterman, January 6, 2003.
Bruno and Bast are largely interchangeable; Bruno's probably got more potential than Bast in the long run, but neither is an NHL-level prospect quite yet. I've watched both with the Phantoms for some time now.
Brendl has Alexander Daigle Disease -- a chronic disorder involving motivational deficiency. Perhaps a change of scenery and bosses will do him good, perhaps not.
"Ah, the old exploding-beartrap-in-the-ass trick." -- Goemon Ishikawa
Brendl will just change from scarfing down cheesesteaks between periods to chowing on BBQ sandwiches - this deal only has upside for the flyers.......and to the think, Rangers fans were upset when Brendl was dealt to Philly last year
5 Time 5 Time 5 Time 5 Time 5 Time Wiener of the Day Runner-up
The sad part about this deal is that the Flyers have yet to address their need for another goal scorer. They are still holding out hope that LeClair is a full time player when he has fallen to the ranks of injury prone veteran.
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