Flyers deal Versteeg, lose out on Leino

Kris Versteeg sure wasn't with the Flyers for long. After being acquired from Toronto back in February, Versteeg played in just 38 games for the Flyers before being shipped out of town again. According to TSN, the Flyers have shipped Versteeg to the Panthers for a second round pick in either 2012 or 2013 plus a third round pick in 2012.

The trade of Versteeg was likely made so the Flyers could clear some cap space and go after another free agent forward. My first assumption was that the Flyers would finally re-sign Ville Leino, but that idea was quickly shot down once it was reported that Leino signed with the Sabres for 6 years, 27 million. At a cap hit of 4.5 million per year, I'm glad the Flyers passed on bringing Leino back. He's a great contributing player but he certainly isn't worth that kind of money.

As for Versteeg, the Flyers got decent return for a guy they dealt first and third round picks for originally. While I liked him, he had his shortcomings and probably wasn't worth his 3 million dollar salary. Given that he has only played in 250 games in the NHL and he has already been traded four times, there might be something more to the story on him.

As for what the Flyers plan to do to replace Versteeg, that's a complete mystery. Maybe we will see the return of Simon Gagne?