Flyers Trade Their Captain
To Columbus:
Nicklas Backstrom
To Philly:
Michael MacLeod
2022 1st (CBJ)
Oh man, this one was tough. It was so hard even typing out this thread title.
Seeing that 31 year old Jonathan Toews, who was 3rd overall in league scoring last year, go for 2 former 1sts was a sure sign of the cap-troubled times ahead.
We knew the return on our own 31 year old, who was 10th overall in league scoring last year, wouldn't be anything to write home about. Backstrom has been an stud in the SIM and an absolute work horse during his tenure with the Flyers. Even though the Captain could not lead his team to the holy grail, and we have plenty of depth at C, it was very tough to let him go.
CBJ was one of the first to come knocking when I posted my trade block and I thought the deal made sense. McLeod has one year left to prove his worth in Jersey, and I think he will. The pick is a total wildcard and we'll have to wait 2 years to see if it was worth the wait.
Who am I kidding? I'm not going to try to sugarcoat it. I hate this move but it was a necessary evil that frees up a chunk of cap space for us. We released Holtby and expect Yandle to move this week as well which should leave us in not nearly as bad of a position as we were and then should be able to resign some guys we thought had to be moved.
Big thanks to Russ for the trade. I'm excited to see our former captain spank us each time we play you.
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