"We needed something to stir the pot"

"We needed something to stir the pot."  -Paul Holmgren yesterday.

That right there, is the Downie acquisition in one sentence.

I was very surprised to see the Talbot for Downie trade, although we shouldn't really be surprised when the Flyers reacquire a former player.  Upon letting the trade sink in, it's hard to see many downsides to the deal, in my opinion.

For starters, Downie is clearly much more talented offensively than Talbot.  Talbot is basically a 4th line, penalty-killing, character guy.  He's a 20-30 point player.

Downie is capable of much more.  He certainly looked like a player on the rise in his first season in Tampa, hitting 46 points as a 21 year old, while becoming the first player since Theo Fleury to score 20 goals and have 200 PIMs.  That season came after he was traded along with Steve Eminger, a surplus defensemen, for Matt Carle.  That in itself tells you something of his worth as a player.

The risks with Downie is his discipline and injuries, as well as UFA status after this season.  Regarding injuries, he missed nearly all of the shortened season last year, but thus far this season, he's been healthy and productive.  Probably more importantly, his lack of control on the ice is what got him traded from the Flyers in first place.  I haven't seen him play much the last few years, but the Flyers hope that at 26, Downie is more reliable than he was at 21.

With the Flyers, it makes sense for Downie to slide in on the wing of the Giroux-Lecavalier line.  This is clearly an upgrade from Raffl and Talbot who have been used there the last few games.  In this role, I think Downie's ceiling is ~25 goal, 60 point player.

One last point to consider is that the Avs are likely pinching pennies here.  They've been on a smaller budget since their cup years, and Talbot is only owed a total of $2.25m over the following 2 years, while Downie will be a free agent.  This is a day when it pays to be a rich team like the Flyers, snatching up a talented player.

Of course it could all go wrong, Downie may get hurt, or otherwise fail to fit in to the team, and then move on in the offseason.  But really, what's the worst case there?  The Flyers lose a 4th line player?  It's worth the risk.

The Flyers needed something to change the chemistry of their team.  More importantly, at some point the defense needs a fundamental makeover, but until then this does give the team a little shot in the arm as the Flyers grope for a new identity under Berube.