Looking at Potential Trade Partners: Part 1 - Philadelphia
With the trade deadline winding down and no really hot rumors on potential trades, I have decided to take a look at each team that is definitely out of the playoff race to try and determine what assets they have that would be of potential interest to the Red Wings.
Let’s go backwards and start with the team with the lowest point total and work our way forwards. That means we start this excercise looking at the Philadelphia Flyers. The Wings were reported to have been in on the Peter Forsberg sweepstakes but didn’t offer enough to acquire him via trade. That is probably a good thing considering how much Nashville gave up to acquire Foppa.
Philadelphia’s best forward is Simon Gagne. He is on pace to score 45 goals and notch 24 assists. He scored 47 goals last season. Unfortunately there is no chance the Flyers trade him.
Gagne would look great in the Winged Wheel. Not gonna happen tho.
Their next best forward is Mike Knuble, who was drafted by the Red Wings in 1991. He was on pace to pot 31 goals and chip in 30 helpers before he colided face-first with Brendan Shanahan on February 17th. He suffered an orbital bone fracture and is out of the lineup for the foreseeable future. He also recently re-signed with the Flyers, which means he wasn’t likely to be traded anyway.
Mike “the blur” Knuble. Do not try this at home.
photo: Kuklas Korner
There has been talk that Philadelphia might try to trade Kyle Calder as he will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. He has scored 20+ goals twice in his career, but he has also been a really bad +/- player during the bulk of his NHL career. He simply doesn’t impress me enough to really give up much in the way of assets to acquire him. He probably has more offensive talent than Jason Williams but is a liability on defense. I just think Detroit can do better.
So the Flyers do not look like a good trading partner for a top 6 forward now that Forsberg has moved on to Nashville. How about a 3rd or 4th line gritty forward?
The first name that leaps to mind is Ben Eager. He’s the only guy in the NHL to be suspended for incurring one too many instigator penalties. Put him on a line with Kris Draper and Johan Franzen and just sit back and enjoy the festivities.
It takes two to tango and Eager is always up for a dance
Eager probably wouldn’t cost much to acquire but he is a fan favorite which could make it difficult for Philly to trade him. It’s probably worthwhile to see what it would cost to acquire him. He is more Bob Probert/Joey Kocur than Darren McCarty as he isn’t a great skater or scoring threat.
Todd Fedoruk could be another good option as a physical player. Light on scoring or playmaking, Fedoruk is a big boy at 6′2″, 235 and can bang. He is decent cycling the puck but isn’t a scorer. Sounds like a good fit for the 3rd line alongside Draper and Franzen or maybe on the 4th line.
So Philly really doesn’t have any assets they would want to part with as far as top 6 forwards go. They do have some solid options for the 3rd and 4th line, but the question is whether those players are the types of players Detroit wants to acquire. The Red Wings would obviously like to get one or two guys who excel at the physical game but can also score. Both Eager and Fedoruk are good at the physical game but are not offensive threats. That is what doomed Brad Norton in Detroit.
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