I think this was probably the most anticipated Flyers trade deadline for a decade or so…. Questions on whether Briers would be able to move Laughton and/or Risto wher at the forefront of everyone’s minds

I’ll be honest. I never thought they would get a first round draft pick for Scott Laughton. Nothing against him, but I just didn’t see him as a first round draft pick type rental. But the Flyers got the elusive pick and more.

But there’s another subtle thing that happened this year.. And it is very important for the franchise moving forward….

The franchise did right by all three players they traded. Laughton gets to play in the playoffs for his hometown team. Pulling a leafs uniform on tonight is going to be pretty momentous in his life…. Erik Johnson gets to be part of another playoff run in the city where he really made his name. And Kuzmenko, in his UFA year, will get a chance to play in the playoffs with the Kings and increase his value in the summer….

There’s no rule Flyers had to put these players in ideal situations, and they didn’t take less to do so.. They got great returns on everybody

But at the end of the day, when a team does right by a player in a situation like this, word gets around that the organization is a class act… and that matters, more than you’d think, heading into the summer and UFA season. It really does. Players and agents take note.

I have talked to agents and players for 20 years heading into UFA season. This stuff does not go unnoticed. Quite often a player has a choice between two or three places to go and something like this goes big time into that decision.


What say you?

Join the Discussion: » 96 Comments » Post New Comment

» Ek on Flyers: How much faith do you have in Danny?

» Scott Laughton’s value Up as St Louis and Montreal In the Hunt…

» Ek On Flyers: Who is Better? Ristolainen or Drysdale? Let’s Compare….

» Ek on Flyers: Keep Laughton or get a second or third rounder?

» I Believe the Flyers have an “offer to beat” on Scott Laughton…