Gagne traded. He's not impressed.
The Los Angeles Kings have traded Simon Gagne to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick that they acquired from Phoenix, as seen on Philadelphia's official Twitter account.
Gagne skated with the Flyers between 1999-00 and 2009-10 (10 seasons) before spending one season in Tampa Bay (2010-11) and a little more than one full season with Los Angeles (2011-12, 2013).
Welcome back to Philadelphia, Simon Gagne. The veteran returns to Philadelphia after an extremely slow start to 2013 with the LA Kings. In 11 games, Gagne has yet to score his first goal of the season. He's been able to chip in five assists, but to say his goal drought has been disappointing is an understatement. His struggles date back to a 2011-12 season where injuries limited the forward to just 34 games. When he was healthy, he was a shell of his former high-scoring self. He tallied just seven goals with the Kings, yet ultimately emerged a winner as the Kings hoisted the Cup.
Perhaps a return to familiar scenery is exactly what Gagne needs to find his old goal-scoring touch. Gagne had some extremely impressive seasons with the Flyers, including a 2008-09 season where he lit the lamp 34 times and ended the year with a career-high 74 points.
As for Philadelphia, this move signals that they aren't giving up on the 2013 campaign just yet. Despite a disappointing start, the Flyers find themselves in the 9th spot in the Eastern Conference with a 9-11-1 record. By trading away a pick for an NHL player – a veteran at that – the Flyers are letting the league know that they aren't just going to roll over.
