On June 23, 2011, the Philadelphia Flyers made a pair of franchise-altering moves, trading Mike Richards to the Los Angeles Kings and Jeff Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Today’s recommended read centers around the days leading up to the trades, and the Flyers-Blue Jackets negotiations that, obviously unbeknownst at the time, had major impacts on the Kings’ 2012 Stanley Cup run. Could Columbus have acquired both Carter and Richards in the same trade? Aaron Portzline, Blue Jackets beat writer for the Columbus Dispatch, says that such a trade had been discussed between Paul Holmgren of the Flyers and then-Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson.
From the Columbus Dispatch’s Puck-Rakers Blog:
Holmgren called Howson the day before the draft in the morning to tell him he was ready to make the move, but not before he dropped a bombshell on Howson’s lap, one that staggered him and forced him to sit down:
“You want ‘em both?” Holmgren asked Howson, meaning Carter and Richards.
This is a good read: “You Want ‘Em Both?”
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