The Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings have made a trade ahead of the deadline, swapping Zack MacEwen and Brendan Lemieux. The Flyers are also receiving a 2024 fifth-round pick.
In a move that doesn’t really move the needle for either club, the Kings clear $425K in cap space and add a big, physical fourth-line option in MacEwen. The 6’3″ forward has racked up 233 penalty minutes in his 176-game NHL career, willing to drop the gloves with any opponent.
MacEwen, 26, has matched a career-high with nine points this season through 46 games, but won’t be asked to score much for the Kings. He may not even play every night, as he enters a much more talented group that is headed for the playoffs.
The Flyers are adding a player in Lemieux that isn’t all that different—low scoring, high penalty minutes, fourth-line grinder—and might not even be with the organization very long. The 26-year-old is on a one-year, $1.35MM contract, leaving him an unrestricted free agent in the summer.
Lemieux’s offensive game never did materialize in the NHL. He hasn’t scored a single goal this season, and has just 63 points in his 257-game career. Still, perhaps he’ll find a home in the Philadelphia bottom six if he can impress head coach John Tortorella down the stretch.
More than anything, this is eating some cap space for a fifth-round pick. The Flyers need to change the trajectory of their team, and draft capital is one way to accomplish that.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic broke the news on Twitter.
Ew but I guess a good trade
MacEwen seems like a good fit with the kings.
Fletcher is impotent.
Wow swapping 4th liners huh Fletcher? Is that going to be your only deal for the day?
The guy has no goals in 27 games. Not even one by accident.
One goon for another. I guess Andre “Poodle” Lussier is still in seclusion, and Gilmore Tuttle is still running his donut shop on Mile 40 in Saskatchewan. I hope Denny Pratt is gonna be OK
I’m convinced Chuck Fletcher doesn’t actually exist and that the Flyers are just run by low-grade AI.
CHUCK?
Contemporary
Holographic
Universal
Computer
Konsole
“Make a trade Chuck!”
“I’m sorry Dave, I can’t do that. This mission is far too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it”
Lemieux was great last year, had 7 goals and played inspired, then had a shoulder injury and hasn’t played the same since and has been injured a couple of times this year too. Good low risk trade to bring in some toughness. Kings keep adding cap space, about $5.5 mil now, will Blake do anything with it?
Lemmy is too small to be effective if he’s not putting in 5-10 goals a season (given his limited ice time). And he doesn’t draw enough penalties to warrant more time in the lineup. Now, he’s a good fighter for his size, but he’s not intimidating anyone…
I like the deal, even if it’s a minor blip on the radar.. #GoKings
He was effective and toothy! Now… Not so much. I like what Blake did, but considering $5.5 mil in cap space……..♂️ Should be an interesting off season!