We all had a feeling the Flyers weren’t done. Hey, the Flyers weren’t done. Paul Holmgren’s picked up another defenseman, acquiring Pavel Kubina from the Tampa Bay Lightning, as first reported by TSN. Let’s break this down, with help from ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun who broke details of the trade:
– Flyers get: Defenseman Pavel Kubina.
– Lightning get: Florida’s conditional second round pick (FLA chooses whether this pick is a 2012 pick or a 2013 pick) and the Flyers’ fourth round pick in 2013, Jon Kalinski.
Our draft pick tracker has been updated with the Kubina and Nick Grossman deals, and you’ll see that the Flyers no longer hold a second-rounder in the 2012 draft, nor do they a fourth-rounder in 2013.
The deal is not yet complete, as it would put the Flyers over the contract limit. They can’t just send somebody down here, though. They need to remove a contract from the organization via trade, and Tim McManus of the Glens Falls Post-Star reports that Jon Kalinski was a late scratch from the Phantoms roster tonight. That could be the missing link here, but we’ll see. UPDATE: Yes, Kalinski is headed to the Norfolk Admirals, the AHL affiliate of the Lightning.
We do know this: Kubina and the four-and-a-half months left on his contract are coming to Philadelphia. He was held out of Lightning practice late this week after basically requesting a trade, so it’s not shock that he was dealt. The Flyers make a ton of sense here, too, for obvious reasons — you’ve been watching this team for the last month too, right?
Kubina, 34, isn’t the fastest player in the world and can certainly be beaten by forwards who possess speed, but he has a tendency to jump up into the play a bit more than Grossman, who’s more of a stay-at-home player. Kubina’s a big body, has a hard right-handed shot and can certainly play in the top-four. He’ll log power play minutes if necessary, too. He has a cap hit of $3.85 million, and as we mentioned, his deal expires in July.
Welcome to Philly, Pavel.
