Flyers Deal Calder; Acquire Biron

In separate deadline day deals, the Philadelphia Flyers dealt winger Kyle Calder to the Chicago Blackhawks for defenseman Lasse (pronounced La-She) Kukkonen and a 3rd round draft pick in the 2007 Entry Draft. The Blackhawks then dealt Calder to the Detroit Red Wings for young winger Jason Williams.

Calder's stay in Philadelphia was certainly a tumltuous one. Coming off back-to-back 20+ goal seasons, the Flyers traded away fan favorite Michal Handzus to acquire Calder. At the time, the Flyers had a glut of centerman and a dearth of wingers, so the deal made sense.

However, Kyle could never really find his game in Philadelphia. After 59 games in Flyers' orange, Calder only mustered 9 goals, 12 assists and a team-low plus/minus of -31. His numbers were not due to lack of opportunity or lack of hustle. He played on the 2nd line for the majority of the season and eventually developed a good rapport with center Jeff Carter.

Perhaps Kyle Calder is just a "Western Conference player". As evidenced by a goal and an assist in his debut with the Red Wings.

The acquisition of Kukkonen fordifies the Flyers blueline for next several seasons. Kukkonen, 25, is a steady defenseman that does everything well, but nothing exceptionally well. He can move the puck well, is very disciplined in his defensive zone and led Chicago in blocked shots before coming to Philly. His offensive upside is very limited, however, with the presence of Joni Pitkanen and Alexandre Picard as offensive defenseman, Kukkonen will not be relied upon to rack up points. The Flyers are also hoping that adding a fellow Finnish player on the blueline will help in the development of Pitkanen.


The main prize for the Flyers organization this season is goaltender Martin Biron, acquired for a 2nd round draft pick in the 2007 Entry Draft. Philadelphia has been without a true #1 goaltender since the early days of Ron Hextall in 1980's. Although Biron is not a proven #1 netminder, he certainly has the skills and attitude for it.

Biron was originally drafted by Buffalo in the first round (16th overall) of the 1995 Entry Draft. He has played seven seasons in Buffalo, playing second fiddle each season. Marty is extremely poised and rarely gets rattled after letting in a goal. He has tremendous agility and possesses the cockiness needed to become a true #1 netminder.

He is, however, a free agent at season's end. Says GM Paul Holmgren of the situation: “It was a big price to pay for an unrestricted guy and obviously we didn’t give up a second round draft pick with the idea of not trying to sign him. It’s an opportunity to bring him in, for us to get a little more familiar with him and for him to get a little more familiar with what is going on here. Hopefully he likes the direction we are going and we try to get something done. When I talked to Marty right after we made the trade I said, ‘Come in get settled in and we will talk about later on, later on.’ And I also spoke with his agent and said the same thing.”

So Biron will get the majority of the starts for the rest of the season and it will give the Flyers a good look at his skills and mindset. I'm sure before season's end, there will be discussion of extending his contract.

With the addition of Biron, Robert Esche's days as a Flyer are dwindled. He'll be 3rd string, behind Niittymaki, so unless Antero decides to have his hip surgery before the season is over (he needs to have it done at some point, so why not now?), its unlikely that Esche will see any more time on the ice as a member of the Flyers organization.