Over the course of a couple of hours on the afternoon of Thursday, June 23, the Philadelphia Flyers shook up the NHL, the entire hockey world, and their Stanley Cup-contending roster. Not only was the hotly-rumoured Jeff Carter (finally) traded, but the big surprise was seeing team captain Mike Richards was dealt away as well, changing the entire culture of the roster. Flyers GM Paul Holmgren was known to be talking to the Columbus Blue Jackets all the way back to before the trade deadline, but after Carter signed his 11-year contract extension many believed he was a Flyer for life. It was not meant to be, however, as Philly needed to shed salary to sign a goaltender (more to come on that) and shake up a team that underachieved this past season. Admittedly the Flyers were dealing from a position of strength, having a cupboard full of top-end forwards, and more importantly top-end centres that saw some of them playing on the wing (usually Carter and Daniel Briere). But most teams would trade their whole roster to have the depth down the middle that Philly employed this past season, so why change? Obviously Philadelphia had dreams of a Stanley Cup going into this season after losing in the Finals in 2010 to Chicago. They led the Eastern Conference for almost the entire season before a late swoon, and looked like they had a roster built for the playoffs: a lot of high-scoring forwards and a wealth of capable defensemen. After getting swept in the second round by the Boston Bruins, GM Holmgren obviously felt the need for a major change in the locker room. Carter is one of the top goal scorers of the NHL, and at only 26-years-old is signed through the entire prime of his career at a fair cap hit of $5.27M. Three seasons ago he scored 46 goals and had 84 points; he had 33 goals and 36 the last two seasons respectively. He was picked 11th overall in 2003, won the AHL championship in 2005 and was an NHL All-Star in 2009. Carter could be an NHL All-Star in any given year going forward, he has that kind of talent. The issues that he has had so far is his level of play in the playoffs, where in 47 career playoff games he has posted a mere 13 goals and 21 points with a -14 rating (compared to +51 over his career in the regular season). Perhaps this is the reason that Carter was the most available of all Flyers forwards. Those stats mean nothing for Columbus though, because they have only made the playoffs once in their history, and have yet to win a postseason game. There has been a history of poor drafting, questionable trading and fruitless free agencies that have hindered this franchise, leaving poor Rick Nash to try and do it all himself. This is the very first time that Columbus has ever had two All-Star calibre players on their roster at the same time. In order to get Nash the centre he so badly needed, Columbus GM Scott Howson (with his job likely on the line this offseason) dealt away the 8th overall pick in the 2011 Draft, a third round pick, and young forward Jacob Voracek. Voracek has not progressed nearly as quickly as Columbus hoped. Though only 21-years-old, the 7th pick in 2007 has three full NHL seasons under his belt and has put up 38 points, 50 points, and 46 points in those three seasons. I do not think Howson overpaid; I think it was a necessary move that was a positive one for the franchise, as they were not moving forward without another top-line forward to play with Nash. It better work out as they hope because Carter has a no-trade clause that kicks in July 1, 2012. Grade for Columbus: A+ The Richards trade blew everyone away; hardly anyone knew he was available, as teams just do not trade their captains, especially ones that are 26-years-old, nominated for the Selke Trophy (2009), and won a Gold Medal in the Olympics (2010). Admittedly, Richards was probably named captain too early (2008), and was accused of being a poor leader off the ice. Still, with his young age and very reasonable contract ($5.75M cap hit through 2019-20), Richards is one of best two-way assets in the entire NHL. The fact that this particular player was traded absolutely sent shockwaves through the league. But now he is a Los Angeles King, a team with intentions of deep playoff runs after two straight first round exists. They boast an impressive young core (Kopitar, Brown, Doughty, Johnson, Williams, Quick, Bernier) that so sorely lacked an additional centre to compliment the all-world Anze Kopitar. With the addition of Richards, they look like a team ready to take that next step toward contention for the Stanley Cup. Richards has contributed 62 or more points in each of the last four seasons while consistently being matched up against the top offensive line of opponents. He has scored 30 goals twice, and has 349 points in 453 regular season games to go along with 50 points in 63 playoff games. To reap this reward, L.A. did manage to trade only one player from their roster, third-line winger Wayne Simmonds. Simmonds is a good skater, good physical presence, but is not going to make or break any contenders. The key ingredient here was Brayden Schenn, widely assumed to be the best prospect not on an NHL roster, and deemed untouchable at the last trade deadline. L.A. also sent a 2012 second round pick. The point is, the Kings are ready to make deep playoff runs right now, and Schenn may not become that elusive second center for another three years. They tried to get their additional scoring last year with the Dustin Penner trade, but he was miserable. This trade looks like a fantastic move, despite the big prospect price. Grade for Los Angeles: A Initially, I was internally ripping Holmgren and the Flyers for these deals. To me, the Flyers were a Cup contending team that temporarily lost their way. I think right away they are worse-off without these two, despite their depth on offense and wealth of talented forwards. For the long-term, it is hard to argue they are a worse team (not counting their recent goalie signing). As indicated, Schenn was the most sought-after prospect after being drafted 5th overall in 2009 and excelling in the World Junior tournament for Canada in 2010. He provides a definite long-term solution down the middle for Philly and should be able to slide into a third line role next season. In Simmonds (career-best 40 points in 2009-10) and Voracek, the Flyers get bigger and faster on the wings, though both may only have the ceiling of a third line player (second is the absolute best case scenario). An additional second and third round pick would provide future trade sweetners. A key coup in this draft, however, is the 8th overall pick in 2011 acquired from Columbus. This pick enabled Philly to draft centre Sean Couturier. Pegged by many as a top-3 talent in this draft, there is no way Holmgren figured Couturier would be available when Columbus picked when he made the trade, but what a steal this could turn out to be. Couturier is a big center that may be able to play right away, and if not he will surely be bigger and stronger in 2012. He had 96 points this season and a +55 rating, after becoming the first 17-year old to lead the QMJHL in scoring in 2009-10 with 41-55-96 and a ridiculous +62 rating. He projects to be a shutdown defensive centre who can also contribute well offensively, much like Richards himself or Jordan Staal. Crazy, crazy day, but while Philly does not look to be the Cup contender they were this year, they look to have a solid future nonetheless. Grade for Philadelphia: B