Lightning re-signs Boyle, trade Prospal

There were a couple of moves that included the Tampa Bay Lightning which took place overnight.

Firstly, the Tampa Bay Lightning re-signed defenseman Dan Boyle to a 6-year, US$40 M contract.
The veteran defenseman will earn US$6.66 M over the next 6 seasons and will have a "no-trade" clause for the first 4 seasons, while he will have a modified "no-trade" for the final 2.

Secondly, the Lightning dealt winger Vaclav Prospal to the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman Alexandre Picard and a conditional draft pick. The Lightning will receive the Flyers' 2nd Round Pick if the Flyers make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, and if they don't, will get Calgary's 3rd Round Pick.

Having been re-signed, Dan Boyle is officially off the market, and so is Prospal as he has found a new home. The same cannot be said about Lightning forward Brad Richards who will now, with Boyle's re-signing, be officially dealt.

Flyers acquire Modry

The Philadelphia Flyers made a light splash today, acquiring veteran defenseman Jaroslav Modry from the Los Angeles Kings, in exchange for a 3rd round draft pick in this year’s draft.

The soon-to-be 37 year-old (Birthday on Feb. 27th) had 6 points (1+5) in 61 games, to go along with a +2 plus-minus and 42 minutes served in the penalty box.

Modry’s current salary is $1.2 M. He is set to become an unrestricted free-agent on July 1st.

This move comes as no surprise as the Flyers have been severely bitten by the “injury bug”, having lost defencemen Rory Fitzpatrick, Derian Hatcher and Mike Rathje, as well as forwards Simon Gagné, Steve Downie, Joffrey Lupul and Denis Tolpeko to injury.

Modry adds experience, depth and size to an already quite good team in the Flyers.

Flyers-Oilers Swap 4 Players

To Edmonton:

LW Geoff Sanderson
D Joni Pitkanen
2009 3rd Round Pick

To Philadelphia:

LW Joffrey Lupul
D Jason Smith

Continuing their frenzy of trades which have for purpose of transforming them into a cup contender, the Philadelphia Flyers acquired veteran defenseman Jason Smith, the Oilers' ex-captain who could be a top candidate for the same slot with the Flyers. They also add young but "struggling" forward Joffrey Lupul. Adding those important pieces to their lineup wasn't priceless, as the Pensylvanian club had to rid themselves of young but "falling" star Joni Pitkanen, a puck-moving defenseman around whom the Oilers will base their franchise from now on forth and veteran winger Geoff Sanderson, who also joins Kevin Lowe's team.

Winner: Draw

Briere gets offer from Canadiens

MONTREAL- According to TSN's Darren Dreger, the Montreal Canadiens have offered star forward Daniel Briere a contract.

The offer is worth US$42 million over a period of 7 years, an average salary of US$7 million per season.

Briere has also been tendered contract offers by 8 other teams, but has "narrowed his list down" to 5 teams, including the Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings.

Briere is currently in Los Angeles, California.

Rumor Central

CAR/PHI- According to the Raleigh News and Observer, the Carolina Hurricanes are waiting on one of their player's decision on whether or not he will waive his no-trade clause. The no.1 consensus is that this player is defenseman Niclas Wallin. The aforementioned trade would send him to Philadelphia for Flyers' defenseman Joni Pitkanen. The Pensylvanian club is keen on getting rid of the young d-man's salary, in an effort to free up more cap space to sign a prominent no.1 center.

MIN- Per the Star Tribune, the Minnesota Wild have chosen to-resign forward Wes Walz over Todd White and defenseman Martin Skoula. All three are set to hit the market on July 1st.

VAN- According to The Vancouver Sun, the Vancouver Canucks will place center Marc Chouinard on waivers, in an effort to buy him out. He is/was set to earn US$1.1 million this season. Vancouver, per the Vancouver Province, will not play the "free-agency game" this offseason, as they currently have 14 players under contract for an estimated sum of US$41 million. They currently possess 13 unrestricted free-agents.

Three-Way Deal in the Making?

According to numerous "club executives", the Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers are working on a three-way trade that would send:

- Forward Eric Cole from Carolina to Edmonton.
- Forward Raffi Torres from Edmonton to Philadelphia.
- Defenseman Joni Pitkanen from Philadelphia to Carolina.

Now even though this is pure, but "based", speculation, this trade would make perfect sense, for the following reasons:

1) EDM: Looking desperately for a forward that could create some "buzz" in Edmonton, the Oilers may have found their man in Eric Cole, a talented veteran winger with plenty of scoring and offensive ability.

2) PHI: Raffi Torres fits the perfect description of a Flyers' player: big, tough, powerful and talented. Even though those caracteristics depict the Flyers' usual player, the Pensylvanian club does not possess one, which makes Torres a perfect fit. Therefore, it makes the Flyers re-gain the identity they lost over the last past season.

3) CAR: Ever since they lost Anton Babchuk to Europe, the Hurricanes have been looking for a young defenseman who could lead their aging core of d-men. His big frame and offensive talent are exactly what the 'Canes are looking for.

But, unfortunately, it doesn't for this reason:

Why would Philadelphia trade Joni Pitkanen, a player they love and that their remaining fans love, for only an average player in Raffi Torres ?

Of course, this deal, even though having one loop-hole, has a major one.