Chris Pronger traded to Arizona
If that one caught you off guard, we understand why.
Chris Pronger has not played since 2011. After a strong career with St. Louis as a dominating defenseman, he played for Edmonton and Anaheim before signing with the Flyers in 2009.
Unfortunately, due to numerous injuries – including post concussive symptoms and a nasty stick to the eye that has left him with vision impairment – Pronger hasn’t actually played since 2011.
So why the trade? He is still under contract with the Flyers and counts almost $5M per year against the cap.
SportsNet takes a closer look:
“I made a deal,” Maloney said. “A small one.”
While that characterization was technically true, the ramifications for the Arizona Coyotes and Philadelphia Flyers were rather large: Sam Gagner and a conditional draft pick to the Flyers for defenceman Nicklas Grossmann and Chris Pronger’s contract.
The perpetually capped-out Flyers will realize a savings of $7.28-million next season — assuming they buy out Gagner, which isn’t guaranteed — while Arizona moves $7.194-million closer to the cap floor, adds a defenceman and only takes on about $125,000 in actual salary commitments.
Working through the components of the trade, which included the Flyers retaining $500,000 of Grossmann’s salary while dealing a future Hall of Famer who hasn’t played since 2011, requires some heavy duty math.
What it all added up to is a creative bookkeeping maneuver for both teams.
“It’s a benefit to Philly to lose that cap charge and of course we have plenty of room, so that’s why it made sense,” Maloney told the Coyotes website on Saturday.
The Arizona GM still plans to be active once free agency opens on July 1, but took a big step towards making good on his word that the $52.8-million salary floor would be no trouble to reach next season.
In Grossmann, he added a veteran blueliner who previously played for coach Dave Tippett in Dallas. A big goal for the Coyotes is making life easier on goalie Mike Smith next season and shoring up the defence corps is a big part of that.
Image courtesy of Dinur.
