Simon Gagne is an elite top-six forward in the NHL, so when the Flyers traded him to the Lightning for a bottom-tier, perhaps even minor-league caliber defenseman and a mid-round draft pick over the summer, the frustration was evident in Philadelphia.
Simon Gagne, Matt Walker And The Most ‘Nothing’ Trade Ever ... Or Maybe Not
But then hockey season came, and with it came... well, nothing. Walker was injured in Flyers training camp and hasn’t played a game for them yet, while Gagne left the Tampa lineup early in the season and missed 18 games with what the team called a neck injury.
Flyers fans were used to this, of course. Just two years earlier, Gagne missed the majority of the season with a concussion, and since we all know how concussions can ruin a career, No. 12’s injury woes began to get under the skin of some Bolts fans.
From our Lightning blog, Raw Charge. Posted on Monday:
And how has that trade worked out for everyone?
[...]
In Tampa, Gagne failed to record a point and was -8 through six games, before being lost to a neck injury. There was some muttered speculation that the term “neck injury” is sometimes used to cover up concussions, but nothing further has come of that speculation. We’ve been teased for a while about Simon’s imminent return, but so far nothing. And when he returns, will he provide anything at all?
[...]
This trade instead looks like it will be a nothing trade: both teams lose little and gain little. The only thing that makes this trade different from a swap of, say, a couple AHL players, is the expectations it created. And Simon Gagne and his sore neck are running out of time to even approach meeting those expectations.
What’s that saying about hindsight and 20/20 vision? Of course, just a day after that, Gagne made his surprise return to the lineup against the Maple Leafs in Toronto. With zero points in the six games he’d played so far, however, he surely wouldn’t do anything of... meaning... in... that... game.... right?
Ah, yes, there’s the Simon Gagne we all know and love. Of course it’s only one goal (he actually had an assist as well) and it doesn’t mean even mean Gagne will have a 20-goal season or anything, but it does show that he has some value left in him. More importantly, it shows that he’s more valuable to the Lightning, even with just that lone goal, than Walker may ever be to the Flyers.
After all, in Philadelphia, the Flyers are set to possibly waive the expensive, still-injured Walker to make room for the soon-to-return Michael Leighton. But hey, at least they have that fourth round pick?
This may turn into a “nothing” deal for the Lightning should they let Gagne walk in free agency at the end of the year, but in Philly, each time Gagne scores a goal from now until he’s dead it’s going to bring up a lot of, well... something.
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