The Philadelphia Flyers have addressed their biggest need, acquiring defenseman Nicklas Grossman from the Dallas Stars in exchange for a 2012 second round pick (MIN)Â and 2013 3rd round pick (.
Grossman, 27, was one of the most underrated stay-at-home defenseman on the trade market. At 6-foot-4, 230-pounds, Grossman has excellent size and fits the profile to a “T” of what the Flyers lack on the blueline. Grossman a strong shot blocker, led the Stars with 100 blocked shots and has 96 hits on the season. Grossman has averaged 18:59 of ice time per game and 2:17 of ice time on the penalty kill.
A left handed shot, Grossman has 5 assists and an even rating on the season in 52 games played.
The addition of Grossman doesn’t impact the Flyers cap situation much. The impending unrestricted free agent carries a cap hit of $1.625 million and will only approximately count $438,000 against the Flyers cap, giving them close to $4.5 million in cap space to address other needs.
Prior to the acquisition of Grossman, Philadelphia was projected to have close to $5 million in cap space, according to capgeek. The Flyers continue to show interest in Jackets star forward Rick Nash, in addition to Blues winger Chris Stewart. The Flyers also might not be done on the blueline and have had interest in Hal Gill, among others.
Stars Analysis: Despite being four points out of the playoffs, it was a move the Stars could make due to the depth they have on their blueline as Grossman was playing a 3rd pairing role. For a budget team, it was also a smart move to get future assets for a player the Stars felt was going to be out of their price range this summer.
