Flyers deal Versteeg, lose out on Leino

Kris Versteeg sure wasn't with the Flyers for long. After being acquired from Toronto back in February, Versteeg played in just 38 games for the Flyers before being shipped out of town again. According to TSN, the Flyers have shipped Versteeg to the Panthers for a second round pick in either 2012 or 2013 plus a third round pick in 2012.

The trade of Versteeg was likely made so the Flyers could clear some cap space and go after another free agent forward. My first assumption was that the Flyers would finally re-sign Ville Leino, but that idea was quickly shot down once it was reported that Leino signed with the Sabres for 6 years, 27 million. At a cap hit of 4.5 million per year, I'm glad the Flyers passed on bringing Leino back. He's a great contributing player but he certainly isn't worth that kind of money.

As for Versteeg, the Flyers got decent return for a guy they dealt first and third round picks for originally. While I liked him, he had his shortcomings and probably wasn't worth his 3 million dollar salary. Given that he has only played in 250 games in the NHL and he has already been traded four times, there might be something more to the story on him.

As for what the Flyers plan to do to replace Versteeg, that's a complete mystery. Maybe we will see the return of Simon Gagne?

Shouldn't the Flyers retire John LeClair's number?

With the announcement that newest Flyer Kris Versteeg will be wearing number 10 when he suits up for the Flyers tonight, I can't help but think of John LeClair, who wore number 10 for the Flyers for a decade. Given that LeClair scored 50 goals three times in his Flyers tenure and he accumulated 333 goals in 649 career games in the orange and black, I assumed that his number would be retired by the Flyers. Considering the Flyers gave the number to a young player like Versteeg, who could be with the team for a long stretch, retiring LeClair's jersey apparently isn't in the cards, at least in the immediate future.

Should LeClair's jersey be retired by the Flyers? While he wasn't their best player during his stretch of time with the team, he certainly is the best American player to ever suit up for the Flyers. He was also one of the best power forwards in the game and a tremendous goal scorer, so LeClair definitely has the credentials. Sure, he didn't win a Cup, but no other Flyer in the recent era did either. Perhaps the Flyers feel LeClair's success was simply a by-product of Eric Lindros?

What say you, Flyers fans, should LeClair's number 10 jersey be retired? Leave a comment below or vote in the poll to the left.

Flyers acquire Kris Versteeg for draft picks

The deepest set of forwards in hockey just got deeper. According to TSN, the Flyers have acquired forward Kris Versteeg from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for first and third round picks in the 2011 draft. You are likely familiar with Versteeg because he won a Cup with the Blackhawks last year.

Versteeg, who is just 24, is a solid all-around player who can play on the powerplay and the penalty kill. This is his third year in the NHL and he scored 20 goals in his first two seasons and currently has 14 goals and 21 assists for Toronto this season. Versteeg has a cap hit of just over 3 million dollars and will be a restricted free agent after next season, so we could be seeing him in Flyers orange for several years.

The acquisition of Versteeg gives the Flyers quite possibly the best group of forwards in the league. Adding Versteeg to a list of playmakers that already includes Danny Briere and Claude Giroux makes an already dangerous Flyers attack that much more potent. Sure, giving up a pair of draft picks is a pretty steep price, but the Flyers are clearly going for broke this year and want to put the best possible team out on the ice. Given that the Flyers now have an extra forward on the roster, don't be surprised if they make another move in the coming days.