If I got traded to Columbus, I don't think I'd be happy either (no offense CB, but I'm a Philly guy). We heard from Mike Richards via Twitter about the trade:
"Thanks to everyone in Philly for a great 6 yrs. What a great city and an awesome place to play."
But, we have yet to hear from Jeff Carter. He's either too busy partying in Sea Isle City, New Jersey or he's just flat out pissed. I think it's a little bit of both. Apparently, GM Paul Holmgren lied to Jeff Carter and his agent, Rick Curran, about his future with the Flyers.
The Daily News' Frank Seravalli has more:
"He is disappointed," Curran said on Friday morning in the Minneapolis Hilton lobby. "But that's no reflection of Columbus. It's more that he made a commitment to Philadelphia."
"Jeff called me and asked about the rumors two weeks ago," Curran said. "He figured teams were asking about him anyways. I called Paul and I asked him if this is something we should be concerned about.
"Paul assured me that there was nothing to worry about, that they weren't interested in trading Jeff. He told me that Jeff could come in and meet with him to tell him the same things. And he did. He assured him that they weren't trading him."
Rumored or not, you can imagine Carter's shock when he heard about the trade on Thursday.
I think we can all agree that Paul Holmgren isn't the most trustworthy guy when it comes to bold statements made to the media (or, in this case, players). Then again, Carter and his agent should've seen this coming. The Flyers needed to make room for Ilya Bryzgalov's contract and, naturally, they're going to evaluate the highest-paid players first.
Looks like Carts didn't make the cut this time around.