After nearly a week spent negotiating with Dan Hamhuis, the Flyers have given up and traded the unrestricted free agent to the Penguins.
A story posted on CSNPhilly earlier today (and since taken down) suggested that the issue was neither one of money or length, but of playing time. It seems that Hamhuis did not want to be behind Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Matt Carle, and possibly Braydon Coburn.
The negative: The Flyers potentially helped their biggest rival improve their team. Looking on the bright side, the Flyers turned Ryan Parent into a third round pick. That’s nothing to scoff at.
Broad Street Hockey had this to say:
You have to wonder, though, why he’d be willing to risk having Hamhuis in the division, especially on the Flyers’ biggest rival. Could it be true that Hamhuis really only wants to play in the West? Maybe Holmgren knows the Penguins are going to have a tough time signing Hamhuis? That, or he knows he’ll suck up a ton of cap space. The Pens seem like a strange dancing partner otherwise.