Kings News: Simon Gagne traded to Philly for a conditional 3rd/4th rounder

[MsMeow]

I'm kind of sad but he seemed to be in the chateau chien with Sutter. I wonder if he asked for a trade.

So in the past few weeks, the Flyers brought back former Flyers Knuble who's 40, Boucher who's 36 and now Gags at 32.

 

[AKAY47]

Simon Gagné trouvait le temps long avec les Kings, alors qu’il n’avait disputé que 11 des 17 matchs de la formation de Los Angeles. Il avait été laissé de côté lors des quatre dernières rencontres et visiblement il ne faisait pas partie des plans de l’entraîneur-chef Darryl Sutter.

Il a rencontré le directeur général des Kings, Dean Lombardi et son adjoint, Ron Hextall en début d’après-midi à Los Angeles et ils lui ont annoncé qu’ils sont prêts à le laisser partir, même si en l’échangeant l’équipe perdaient de la profondeur. Ils ont pris cette décision parce qu’ils le respectent et qu’ils ne voulaient pas continuer de l’humilier.

Maintenant Simon Gagné devra faire vite parce que les Flyers espèrent qu’il sera en mesure d’affronter les Capitals demain soir à Philadelphie, ce qui veut dire qu’il devra voyager dans la nuit de mardi à mercredi pour arriver le plus rapidement possible là-bas.

Ceci étant dit, cette transaction le soulage vraiment : « Je suis content d’avoir une chance de jouer. Je trouvais ça difficile de ne pas jouer régulièrement. Je m’en vais à un endroit connu. C’est comme retourner à la maison. Je connais tout le monde là-bas. Je retourne là où tout a commencé pour moi. »

On assiste donc à un dénouement parfait pour Simon Gagné sur le plan professionnel lui qui est en parfaite santé présentement et qui est prêt à relever le défi.

http://legrandclub.rds.ca/profils/608456/posts/155543/public

Simon Gagné found the time with the Kings long, he hadn't played 11 out of the last 17 games for LA. He was left out of the last 4 games for LA and didn't seem to be in Darryl Sutter's future plans.

He met with GM Dean Lombardi and Assistant GM Ron Hextall this afternoon and they told him that they were ready to trade him, even if trading him meant the depth of the team would take a hit. They made this decision because they respect Simon and didn't want to embarrass him.

Now Gagné needs to hurry up because the Flyers are hoping he'll be ready to play versus the Capitals tomorrow. Which means he has to depart tonight, hoping to be ready for the game in Philadelphia tomorrow.

With that being said, Gagné is relieved: "I'm happy to get a shot to play. I find it difficult to be able to regularly play. I'm going to a familiar place. It's like going back home. I know everyone there, I'm going back to where it all started".

We're hoping for a successful outcome for Simon Gagné in his professional path now that he's fully healthy and is ready to face adversity.

Renaud Lavoie.


I tried my best to translate it haha some interesting information there

 

[bobafettish*]

pretty sure gagne will find his scoring touch back in philly. woulldn't shocked if he scored 10+ goals.

 

[Live in the Now]

This move is the type I expect the Kings to be doing with Sutter as coach from now on. Whether trading for, trading away, or signing guys, if a forward doesn't play like a big guy, they won't be here. Rightly or wrongly.

That also has a lot to do with why King never took a run of games out of the lineup despite his poor start.

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

pretty sure gagne will find his scoring touch back in philly. woulldn't shocked if he scored 10+ goals.

I guarantee he will. Problem is (for the Flyers), they will still be losing many of those games 5-4

 

[The Tikkanen]

Classy move by the Kings, they weren't going to use him and didn't ship him off to Siberia. Gagne should get his minutes in Philly, hope he can regain his scoring touch.

 

[Mats26]

I only hope this a move to get Toffolli some NHL experience for next year. Even if it is a 3rd pick , we could use Gagne. He is a good playoff performer. I think another move is on it's way.

 

[AKAY47]

A move coming could be Jay Bouwmeester. That's the only Dman I could see moving, with a big cap and that has a history with Sutter. Plus he'd look pretty damn good next to Doughty

 

[bobafettish*]

A move coming could be Jay Bouwmeester. That's the only Dman I could see moving, with a big cap and that has a history with Sutter. Plus he'd look pretty damn good next to Doughty

we dont have the assets to acquire him anway.

 

[Hollywood Cannon]

I know that Gagne was a healthy scratch on Saturday, but does anyone know if he was in warm-ups?

 

[Hatter]

Terrible return. Not sure how anyone is happy with that.

With that said I love Simon and hope he gets to play straight away in Philly. Wait to see him put up 20 goals

 

[Pucknut50]

One good game isn't going to redeem him in my eyes. Gagne contributes exponentially more in fewer games, and wasn't given much time to really show up for us. He was also nearly ppg playing depth for the Lightning in the playoffs prior to us acquiring him. Penner showed up a bit in the playoffs for us, but his overall performance pales in comparison to Gagne's in recent history. Even in his regressed state...

So the question is why? Why are professional coaches and management and a GM who loves Philly guys giving up on Gagne? One reason could be Gagne plays scared does not go to the scoring areas anymore and would rather stay to the outside and pass. He does not check, create space for teammates, or is strong along the boards. Nothing pisses of a coach more than a player who floats unless your scoring a bunch of goals. Penner is like a running game in football he wears opponents down. Just trying to deal with Penner for the 15 min he plays gets you tired were Gagne is an easy defend. Kings rely on big guys wearing the opponent down and Penner is better suited than Gagne.

Gagne for sure has better skill but for this team Penner fits better. Am I a Penner fan no not really but I know what the team wants from him. If he's not controlling the puck down low or causing havoc in the dirty areas he won't play either.

Just look at Lewis why does he play over Gagne? Lewis has hands of stone but he is an energy guy, checks, goes to the dirty areas, fore-checks like a madman and until recently put up zero points. But coaches know what this type of player brings to the game. Coaches hate 7-5 games they like 3-1 games and to many skilled guys that are easy to play.

As Herb Brooks said "I'm not looking for the best players, I'm looking for the right ones"

 

[MsMeow]

Terrible return. Not sure how anyone is happy with that.

With that said I love Simon and hope he gets to play straight away in Philly. Wait to see him put up 20 goals

They told him to get on a plane now so he could play against the Caps tomorrow.

 

[Shellz]

Terrible return. Not sure how anyone is happy with that.

With that said I love Simon and hope he gets to play straight away in Philly. Wait to see him put up 20 goals

It's a 3rd rounder.. what has he done to expect more? I don't know why any Kings fans should be upset. Gagne hasn't done much as a King. And he won't be putting up 20 goals. too many fans are living in the past.

 

[MsMeow]

It's a 3rd rounder.. what has he done to expect more? I don't know why any Kings fans should be upset. Gagne hasn't done much as a King. And he won't be putting up 20 goals. too many fans are living in the past.

They would have let him walk at season's end which isn't far away. A pick is better than nothing and they weren't interested in keeping him from all accounts.

 

[Whiskeypete]

he got his Cup, unfortunately things didn't work out as hoped by everyone (org, players, coaches and fans). i hate losing the depth and different skill set he brings, but its a good move.

similar to SMythers wanting to go back to EDM. that type of move is respected and word moves among players that DL plays fair. this type of move helps with building a culture in LA that makes players want to play there.

scoring another pick for a guy that is a UFA and likely is a healthy scratch over 50% of the games is great. the team needs to add depth and restock, this pick helps. it won't surprise me if DL packages some of these to trade up into a low Rd 1 or and extra Rd 2 pick this summer. its good asset management on his part and a shrewd move

does this now start the cycle of guys back to PHI? PHI ---> LA ---> PHI. can we start calling it LA East now? at some point i expect Hextall will become the GM in PHI, it just makes sense

 

[Shellz]

They would have let him walk at season's end which isn't far away. A pick is better than nothing and they weren't interested in keeping him from all accounts.

Yep! I don't mean to down talk Gagne... he's a good guy. But, it just never really worked out as a King. He goes somewhere he's familiar with. I wouldn't be surprised to see him retire in the next couple years. I don't understand how any fan of both sides could be upset.

 

[Steve Zissou]

Aw man. I just got his autograph last weekend.

$$$$

 

[The Big Giant Head]

how many goals/points did he have in a Kings uniform? He wasnt very successful out here, im happier with Penner. Think a 4th is kinda low for him but if it turns into a 3rd that wouldnt be too bad.

 

[jml87]

I'm not exactly happy about this because I love Gagne, but for whatever reason Sutter just stopped playing him. Still don't know why he didn't try Gagne-Richards-Carter for a couple of games. Whatever, at least he'll get playing time now. Sucks that it's in Philly though.

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

Terrible return. Not sure how anyone is happy with that.

With that said I love Simon and hope he gets to play straight away in Philly. Wait to see him put up 20 goals

I was hoping for a 3rd, so a conditional 3rd isn't too bad. What did you honestly expect to get for an oft injured, soon to be UFA, who hasn't scored in a calendar year?

 

[kingsfan]

Its money we can spend this year at the deadline.

That was my point.

Personally not having a first really does not hurt us. We have Doughty, Quick, Kopitar, and Carter all with long contracts. They are the core of the team. You have a salary cap so you can only have a handful of big contracts. Taking the fact that the pick in the 1st will probably be about 15 not that big a deal. Now if we keep trading 1st down the road that might be a different story.

Yeah, it hurts us. Can we live with out it? Sure, but it hurts. We don't have any real bluechippers in the system right now and outside of Toffoli, nothing that seems like a lock for top six material. That's because we are essentially without a 1st round pick for two straight years (2009 Schenn being dealt, and 2010 pick dealt for Penner).

When you have a cap situation to deal with, having talented youngsters ready to step in is a huge plus. that's where those 1sts really come in handy. I agree with you, we can't keep dealing firsts in the future.

He met with GM Dean Lombardi and Assistant GM Ron Hextall this afternoon and they told him that they were ready to trade him, even if trading him meant the depth of the team would take a hit. They made this decision because they respect Simon and didn't want to embarrass him.

Love the class move.

A move coming could be Jay Bouwmeester. That's the only Dman I could see moving, with a big cap and that has a history with Sutter. Plus he'd look pretty damn good next to Doughty

No way on Bouwmeester. Our cap will be tight next year, no way we squeeze in Bouwmeester's $6.5 mill cap hit. Not to mention the overpayment we'd have to give to get him.

 

[kingsfan]

how many goals/points did he have in a Kings uniform? He wasnt very successful out here, im happier with Penner. Think a 4th is kinda low for him but if it turns into a 3rd that wouldnt be too bad.

45 games, 7 goals, 15 assists. Four more games in the playoffs, no points.

 

[Willard]

So the question is why? Why are professional coaches and management and a GM who loves Philly guys giving up on Gagne? One reason could be Gagne plays scared does not go to the scoring areas anymore and would rather stay to the outside and pass. He does not check, create space for teammates, or is strong along the boards. Nothing pisses of a coach more than a player who floats unless your scoring a bunch of goals. Penner is like a running game in football he wears opponents down. Just trying to deal with Penner for the 15 min he plays gets you tired were Gagne is an easy defend. Kings rely on big guys wearing the opponent down and Penner is better suited than Gagne.

Gagne for sure has better skill but for this team Penner fits better. Am I a Penner fan no not really but I know what the team wants from him. If he's not controlling the puck down low or causing havoc in the dirty areas he won't play either.

Just look at Lewis why does he play over Gagne? Lewis has hands of stone but he is an energy guy, checks, goes to the dirty areas, fore-checks like a madman and until recently put up zero points. But coaches know what this type of player brings to the game. Coaches hate 7-5 games they like 3-1 games and to many skilled guys that are easy to play.

As Herb Brooks said "I'm not looking for the best players, I'm looking for the right ones"

Agreed all the way. Like it or not, Penner & Lewis are fitting the Kings style better than Gagne was. Gagne at this stage is better suited to a team that gets into 5-4 games rather than one that plays 2-1 games.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

This is what it is. Only way this deal turns out bad is if our LW depth takes a monstrous injury hit and we're forced to play guys in the top six that shouldn't even be in the NHL.

Lombardi did Gagne a huge favor here. Gagne has had a pretty terrific career outside of his injury woes and is a respected veteran with a good attitude. He's healthy and should be playing in the NHL right now in a regular scoring role. He wasn't getting that in LA, so Lombardi sent him back to a former team in which he could. I'm okay with this.

This continues to open up the possibility of DL going after a big name (likely defenseman) at the deadline. Bouwmeester is a possibility and it may take less to nab him than you'd initially believe.