Judging by the early response to the Flyers-Predators trade, I may be the only person with some reservations from a Philadelphia standpoint.
On the surface, it's a great deal for Philadelphia, but:
1) Timonen-- a rock solid defenseman who will add a lot to the Philadelphia blueline-- is 32 years old and the team will be taking a $6.3 million cap hit on him until he's 38. He's worth that right now. Will he be worth that five and six years out?
2) Hartnell is a heart-and-soul type forward who will help Philadelphia-- one of the poorest puck possession teams in the NHL--on the forecheck and add something to the second powerplay unit. The real question with him is whether he's a $4 million player.
I'd say yes if he solidifies the second line. If he's a third liner, no.
3) Lastly, from a draft/ player development standpoint, the Flyers have said they really want to start rounding out the depth in the organization. Well, while that can be done in later rounds, the odds are better when you are picking a little higher. After making the second overall pick, the Flyers will now not be picking again until the third round.
One way of looking at it is the Flyers beat the free agency spending rush and may have paid somewhat (but not a whole heap) less for Timonen and possibly Hartnell than they would on the open market.
Clearly, the players' agents and the Flyers were in contact (with Nashville's blessing) throughout this process. From the agents' perspective, they merely get to cash in early at figures that aren't all THAT far away from what they'd have gotten on the open market.
Another interpretation is that Philadelphia has complicated life for their scouting department to acquire two players they may well have been able sign anyway as unrestricted free agents on July 1.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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