Devils make their move

[kasper11]

Word out of the swamp has it that New Jersey has just traded Pascal Dupuis, Yann Danis, and Tuomos Pihlman to Anaheim for star RW Zigmund Palffy. Palffy is one of the top scorers in the league, but has been known to battle injury problems and is expected to retire at season't end as a result. GM Rich Epstein had this to say:

"We gave up some good young players, but Palffy is an elite skill and we have a chance to do some damage this year. Besides, I have always been a huge fan, and am very happy to bring him here during his probably final season. The price was steep for a rental player, but the fact that we were able to bring someone like him in without trading any of our key young players was important."

With the top two lines already producing at a high level, it is unsure where Palffy fits in. He could play with Nieuwendyk and Blake to give the Devils a great third line, or could this mean that Mark Recchi is now on the block?

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[Mandaou]

Flyers "Disappointed" in Losing the Palffy Stakes

(HAP) Flyers GM Claudio Mannarino is not a happy executive today. Last night he felt he had offered enough in a deal to land Palffy from Anahiem but to his suprise this morning he got the call from Anahiam GM Matt Gledhill informing him that Palffy had been traded to division rival NJ Devils.

"I'm disappointed at the turn of events but we're still very confident our team is set for the playoffs. We're waiting on league approval on 2 deals. The main deal involves a veteran All-Star goalie and a future Hall-of-Fame defenseman. Once the deal is confirmed this afternoon, we expect the players to be in our lineup for our next game."

"We also had another deal ready but was dependent on the Palffy deal, unfortunately we had to cancel that deal, which involved such much needed cash. Having said that, the goalie acquired will bring more fans to the rink, which will help us reach one of our endorsement deals but also increase our projected gate receipts."

Asked if the GM was finished he responded by saying that the Flyers were actively trying to improve the team for the playoffs and if an opportunity presented itself to do so, the team would not hesitate.

Expect the Flyers to make a deal for a "rental" defenseman and a scoring RW.