Kukla's Korner Hockey
Flyers Take A Chance With Pronger Signing
by Paul on 07/07/09 at 07:40 AM ET
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from Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer,
The Flyers prefer to characterize the draft-day move as the opportunity to add a future Hall of Fame player who will solidify the back line for seasons to come. That might be exactly how it will turn out, too, but the stakes and the measuring stick for the Flyers remains as always: Cup or nothing.
And with that, the clock is ticking.
It is ticking because the Flyers paid an enormous price to acquire him, sending away two first-round picks, and - by including talented 19-year-old defenseman Luca Sbisa - the equivalent of a third first-rounder.
Three years from now, if the Pronger acquisition has not produced a Stanley Cup, the talent gap left by dealing those three top picks has the potential to leave some holes on the roster.
As it is, there are a few holes the Flyers will have to plug in the short term, too. Losing Joffrey Lupul in the trade and forward Mike Knuble because the team couldn’t afford to keep him will provide for some challenges on the scoring lines, particularly at right wing.
But those are the chances the Flyers have taken, with the future and with the present. And, for all the right reasons, those were the correct chances to take.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Philadelphia Flyers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Chris+Pronger,
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