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We have a trade to announce: Philadelphia acquires Pavel Kubina from Tampa Bay

Put the Rick Nash rumors on hold – and the Luke Schenn ones too while you’re at it – Pavel Kubina is the latest addition to the Philadelphia Flyers. Tampa Bay, who kept Kubina out of their lineup on Thursday to make sure he would stay healthy, will get a second and a fifth round draft pick in exchange. This also comes just two days after the Flyers acquired fellow defenseman Nicklas Grossman from the Dallas Stars for a pair of draft picks.

None of this will replace Chris Pronger, but it does serve to address the team’s defensive problems. Both Grossman and Kubina are big men who aren’t afraid to throw around their bodies and block shots. Even combined they might not be able to match a healthy Pronger in terms of offensive output, but the struggling Ilya Bryzgalov will certainly appreciate their work. We’ll have to wait and see if the Flyers are done shopping. Either way, they look much more like a serious playoff contender now than they did a week ago.