NHL Rumors: Did Philadelphia Flyers Re-acquire Simon Gagne To Set Up Another Trade?

By Deanna Vasso
Philadelphia Flyers re-acquire Simon Gagne
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports-

The Philadelphia Flyers just re-acquired Simon Gagne from the LA Kings for a conditional fourth round pick (third if the Flyers make the playoffs). So with Ruslan Fedotenko, Mike Knuble and Gagne all back, the Flyers are looking like the team from earlier seasons.

Gagne is beloved by fans, but why sign another forward when the Flyers have a pretty non-existent blueline?

For Nostalgia? Maybe. Or it possibly could be to retire Gagne in the black and orange sweater. Gagne is only 33, so I guess he probably has a few more good seasons left in him, unless he (god forbid) suffers a career-ending injury when he suits up for the Flyers.

There has to be another reason why the Flyers signed him. Despite being a part of the winning Kings last season, Gagne hasn’t scored a goal in the 11 games he played this season, and he’s been a scratch for the last three. That’s not really good news for the Flyers. Especially when you know he only got traded in 2010 because he was a health liability.

There have been some rumors about the Flyers looking at Dustin Byfuglien, so Gagne might have been brought in as depth for a trade. Perhaps he could be paired with, or act as a precursor to trading Danny Briere?

The rumor mill has been a bit muddled tonight about the Flyers next move. Jarome Iginla and Corey Perry‘s names have also been thrown around, but there’s nothing solid that the Flyers are looking into either player.  But don’t worry, I’m sure GM Paul Holmgren has something up his sleeve.

Of course, Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn are also on the chopping blocking when it comes to trade talks, especially with Coots having struggled this season. That said, the Flyers wouldn’t even give them up over the summer when they tried to snag Shea Weber from the Nashville Predators, so it’s not all to likely that they’ll move them now.

The Flyers really need a defenseman to strengthen their game, and the organization is starting to get desperate, so they’re going to have to part with someone big to get what they need.

Let’s go Flyers! Deanna Vasso is a Flyers contributor for www.rantsports.com. You can follow her on Twitter @Dmvasso.

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