In June 2011, the Philadelphia Flyers infamously shocked the hockey world when they dealt away two franchise cornerstones in Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. They were signed to 12 and 11-year contracts, respectively, with the Flyers and it appeared they were going to be in Philadelphia for their entire careers. Fast forward four years later and the fates of the three teams involved, the Los Angeles Kings, Columbus Blue Jackets and Flyers have dramatically changed since then.
How The Mike Richards, Jeff Carter Deals Changed Everything
The Kings acquired Richards for top prospect Brayden Schenn, forward Wayne Simmonds and a 2012 second round pick. Acquiring Richards made the Kings an expected contender in the West but Los Angeles would struggle to meet those lofty expectations until Darryl Sutter came in as head coach and Carter was acquired in a separate deal from Columbus in exchange for defenceman Jack Johnson and a conditional first round pick (that would used in 2013 on Marko Dano). The Kings went on to win the Stanley Cup that year and again in 2014.
In their time in Los Angeles, the careers of Richards and Carter have gone in different directions. Richards, who was lauded for years as a top two-way centre, has seen his offensive totals drop off and is often seen playing on the fourth line. On the other hand, Carter has improved his defensive game dramatically while still maintaining his offense. He has become more of a leader since the trade and embraced centering two rookies in Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli.
On the Columbus side of things, they originally landed Carter in exchange for Jakub Voracek, a first round pick that became Sean Couturier and a 2011 third round pick. From the get-go, things just didn’t seem to be working out. Carter was injured from the start to the season and showed little enthusiasm to play for the Blue Jackets, who were languishing in the NHL’s basement at the time. Carter wanted out and the Jackets obliged and soon Johnson and the first rounder was theirs. The Blue Jackets missed out both times in the trades as Carter and Jakub Voracek have flourished in their new locales while Couturier has developed nicely.
But it isn’t all negative for Columbus. Johnson showed genuine enthusiasm in being traded to the Jackets, a rare thing at the time. Getting a well known player who wanted to play for them had to be a self esteem boost for the team. Hiring GM Jarmo Kekalainen and President of Hockey Operations John Davidson, as well as trading Rick Nash, were huge in changing the culture to what it is today, but it’s hard to deny that getting the enthusiastic Johnson didn’t play a role in helping to change the team’s reputation.
In Philadelphia, the Flyers found themselves with a wealth of younger players as Voracek, Couturier, Schenn and Simmonds were all fresh faces in the lineup. Voracek has become a star since joining the Flyers and has formed a dangerous duo with Flyers captain Claude Giroux. He is leading the NHL in scoring, a surprise in the least. As a former seventh overall pick, Voracek showed flashes of his potential but he has put it all together to become a dominant scorer. The other piece from the Carter trade, Couturier dropped down to eighth overall before Philadelphia scooped him up. Couturier made the Flyers right out of training camp and has evolved as a strong shutdown centre. A scorer in junior, it’s a little surprising how Couturier has developed but to his credit, he has excelled in the role.
Schenn was arguably the most talked about piece in the deals and for good reason. He was one of the top prospects in the world and was an offensive machine in the WHL and with Team Canada. Many had compared him to Richards, so the expectations were high. In his time in Philadelphia, some have expressed disappointment in Schenn, as he hasn’t become a dominant scorer at the NHL level. His career high in points is 41, and he isn’t the most defensively polished player in the world. But Schenn has improved year-to- year and much of the disappointment stems from expectations that were too high in the first place.
Simmonds, much like Voracek, has blossomed playing for the Flyers. Simmonds certainly isn’t the scorer Voracek is but Simmonds puts up good numbers too and is a fan favourite for his style of play as a power forward. He can score, skate, hit and fight which endears him to the blue collar Philadelphia crowd, who are known to like rough and tough hockey.
In the end, how do you judge who was the winner of these three teams? In terms of team success, Los Angeles is the clear winner. As a unit, the acquisitions for Philadelphia have been better and considering their ages, they have more room to grow still. Columbus has gotten themselves out of the basement and into a playoff contender but it stemmed more from other factors rather than these trades. All three teams’ fates are intertwined with each other since that big day back in June 2011. The trades changed the NHL landscape and we’ll be hard pressed to see anything like this for a while.
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