Zhitnik Dealt!

Flyers defenseman Alexei Zhitnik was dealt Saturday night for Atlanta Thrashers defensive prospect Braydon Coburn.

The Flyers relieve themselves of the remaining $7 million in the final two seasons of his contract. The Flyers now have close to $23 million in cap space this summer, depending on the status of Mike Rathje.

A little bit about Braydon Coburn from HockeysFuture.com:

Coburn was listed as the site's 33rd best prospect coming into the '06-'07 season. After four seasons playing junior hockey with the WHL’s Portland Winter Hawks, Coburn signed a professional contract to play for the AHL Chicago Wolves at the end of the 2004-05 season. Last season, Coburn played almost the entire year as a member of the Wolves AHL team. In 73 games with Chicago, Coburn tallied 26 points and accumulated 134 PIM, while maintaining a plus/minus of +12. In the nine games Coburn played as a member of the NHL Thrashers last season, he registered only 1 assist and 4 PIM, while maintaining a –2 plus/minus. A big physical defenseman with a nasty streak, Coburn can be very intimidating on the ice, but struggles with awareness. As the Thrashers will have some hotly-contested battles to make the roster, Coburn will have to step up his game to start the season with the NHL team.

Coburn is a mostly stay at home defenseman who skates very well and makes a good outlet pass. Though not a bruiser, he uses his size to his advantage. Coburn is still loaded with all the right raw materials and his potential remains extremely high. But neither offensively gifted nor a physical force, Coburn’s career hinges on him being very solidly defensively, and that’s where he needs to improve.