Can Chris Pronger bring the Cup to Philly?
By Mike Gill
With a look at 2009-2010, the Flyers traded away 19-year old defender Luca Sbisa, forward Joffrey Lupal and two first round picks all for veteran blue-liner Chris Pronger. While many fans of the orange and black were happy when they heard the news, one has to wonder – did they give up to much to get a 34-year old guy?
Consider that the Flyers not only gave up their first round selection this season, but next year as well, but they also gave up a young, talented defender and a guy who scored 25 gaols and had 25 total points.
Meanwhile, the Flames acquired highly coveted defender Jay Bouwmeester from Florida for defensemen Jordan Leopold and a third round pick. Leopold is a nice player, not a great player by any means and might not even be signed by the Panthers, who really want the draft pick and to shed salary.
You can argue that Pronger is the better player then Bouwmesster, but Bouwmeester is younger and apparently doesnt cost quite as much. Pronger is certinly a guy who can stop guys like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the rest of the Stanley Cup champion Penguins.
So if you are a Flyers fan who liked the Pronger deal at first, how do you feel now knowing that Bouwmeester cost about half the price?
It’s a steep price to pay but the goalie move really pissed me off (I wanted the trade for Price), so I’m glad they did something that can give us some hope for the coming season. Pronger will actually be 35 once the season begins but he hasn’t seemed to of lost much. Obviously, at some point he will but this move was clearly made for the here and now and certainly makes this a much better team for the 09′-10′ season. With limited cap room, there was not much this team could do to create any buzz and the fans certainly would not have been happy if this team had stood pat. Let’s hope this is a big season, because the future just took a big hit.
Bouwmeester us a UFA and needs a new contract which will be MUCH more than Prongers. Plus, Keep in mind…Calgary traded just for the exclusive RIGHTS to speak with him.