Simon Gagne
Today, the Flyers traded away a man who is their longest tenured athlete, Simon Gagne, who leaves as their 9th leading goalscorer and 10th overall scorer in team history. Gagne has scored two of the biggest goals in the history of the Flyers, the OT winner against the Tampa Bay Lightning in game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals(the team he was traded to) and the game winner against the Boston Bruins in game 7 of the epic comeback that sent them through to the Eastern Conference Finals. I will always remember him as a hard worker and a great player who never got his due in this town, since he was quiet and not a larger than life presence like a Lindros, Primeau, or Forsberg. I will miss him, but I know why he was traded and it does make sense; he is 30, in the last year of his contract and probably the only player Holmgren wanted to trade who he could trade. Carter is 25 and will most likely get an extension soon, Giroux will be locked up long term, and Ville Leino can earn a nice extension with a solid first half. Homer had to move someone not named Briere or Hartnell. In the old NHL, this deal would not have happened, but the salary cap does exist,so it must be dealt with.
In my mind, he is the best player to ever wear #12 for the Orange and Black, with apologies to Tim Kerr, Gags did it longer and with a great deal of class. I will miss him.
Until next time,
BTPF
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