[Jester]

Originally Posted by Danny Duberstein

And it didn't pay off? Take Pronger off the team, we miss the playoffs, with him we get within two wins of quaffing the bubbly.

1) You don't know that, because you don't know what other moves would have been made.

2) We didn't have a parade, the trade is not a success... yet.

The whole line of reasoning from you and at least a couple other posters here would also suggest the deal for LeClair and Desjardins was not worth it because we did not win. The goal is to give yourself a BETTER CHANCE at the Cup with every move, Philly accomplished that, Anaheim did not. I live in the Ducks' backyard, believe me, that deal HURT them and there is very limited foreseeable upside to it, even stealing Etem with that pick.

The Leclair and Desjardins trade isn't even remotely comparable. John Leclair was 25 when he came to Philly, and Desjardins was 25 as well. That trade was about changing the team up because the team was a *ing mess before they got there... it was not about "putting us over the top."

Originally Posted by DUHockey9

Every trade is made with the intentions of making the team better...so that you can then win the Stanley Cup.

It's just a matter of how directly it would affect such a goal. A trade for Pronger is directly filling a massive weakness with an incredible player. A trade such as Upshall and a 2nd for Carcillo isn't necessarily filling a huge need, but it's getting you the minuscule amount of capspace you need to keep Giroux up, who is deemed to be integral in the team's attempts at winning the cup.

All trades come down to winning. Sometimes trades are made with the primary goal of obtaining, picks, prospects, or cap space. Some trades are made with the intent of "putting you over the hump" it still all comes down to winning.

Some trades are made with the primary goal of winning the Stanley Cup. Chris Pronger was traded for with the primary goal of winning the Stanley Cup. If we do not win the Stanley Cup, then that trade failed to accomplish its goal. It wasn't about "improving" our team. It wasn't about "winning". It wasn't about having a nice little playoff run.

It was about winning the Stanley Cup.

If you cannot see the difference between trading for Chris Pronger and trading for Ville Leino, then I don't know what to tell you. Holmgre sold the **** out to acquire Chris Pronger. It's that simple. He then signed him to an over-35 contract (a necessity given how much we gave up for him) that could cripple us in the future.