Dan Hamhuis was a popular name at the trade deadline, as the Nashville Predators fielded a number of offers to trade the talented defenseman. In the end though, no offer was good enough and the Predators stuck with him, knowing there was a chance that they would lose Hamhuis for nothing this summer in free agency.
Turns out the Predators just had to wait a few months, as news broke this morning that the Philadelphia Flyers sent defenseman Ryan Parent to Nashville in exchange for exclusive negotiating rights to Hamhuis and a 2011 conditional draft pick.
Parent saw limited minutes with Philadelphia in the playoffs and played just 41 seconds in the entire series against the Chicago Blackhawks. On an already deep blueline, he was expendable and a useful tool to get the rights to one of the better defensemen in the NHL.
The conditional pick is contingent on the Flyers signing Hamhuis; if he does indeed become a free agent then the Flyers essentially traded Parent for a seventh-round draft choice next season. A win all around.
What’s interesting about this trade was that the Flyers were right there in the midst of the trade deadline rumors for Hamhuis but were unwilling to part with the pieces the Predators wanted. While he would have been an enormous boost for the playoffs, the Flyers now have the chance to bolster one of the deepest blue lines in the NHL.
Hamhuis isn’t a big, offensive powerhouse from the blue line but is capable of being one of the best shut down defensemen in the NHL. He’s also incredibly durable, missing just seven games in six full seasons with the Predators. He is coming off a four-year, $8 million contract and you have to believe he’s wanting significantly more than that, as at age 27 he’s entering the prime of his career with a chance to sign a relatively big contract.
The Flyers currently sit $8 million under the cap for next season with 17 players under contract.