While you were sleeping Flyers General Manager Ron Hextall continued to make trades ahead of this afternoon’s NHL trade deadline. At 2:59am Braydon Coburn was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 1st round draft pick, a 2015 3rd round draft pick, and defenseman Radko Gudas. The Lightning are near the top of the standings so the first round pick will be a late round pick.
The move was made partially because Coburn carries a heavy cap number ($4.5 million through next season). He was the longest tenured Flyer prior to the trade and played in 576 games over the last 7 years since being acquired from the Atlanta Thrashers in 2007.
This season Coburn has been limited to just 39 games. He broke his left foot blocking a shot in the season opener and then broke the same foot again in January. He has 1 goal and 8 assists so far this season. Saturday night against the Rangers he had an assist and was a plus 2.
In return the Flyers are receiving Gudas from the Lightning. He had season-ending knee surgery in January. Prior to the surgery he was a top-four defenseman for Tampa Bay. In 31 games this season he has 2 goals and 3 assists. Gudas will be a physical defenseman who has accumulated 224 penalty minutes in 126 NHL games.
There is still plenty of time left today before the trade deadline so this might not be the last deal to be made by Hextall. The Flyers currently sit 6 points out of a playoff spot with just 19 games remaining.
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