Look at the Flyers thrusting themselves into the news cycle on a Friday morning.

They’re swapping defenseman Radko Gudas for Matt Niskanen, a pair of veterans going opposite directions in the Metropolitan Division.

Niskanen is 32 years old with two more years on his contract at $5.75 million per. Gudas is 29 and had one year remaining on his deal at $3.3 million.

There’s also this to consider, after the jump:


Gudas was the Flyers’ most consistent d-man last year and won the Barry Ashbee Trophy, an award presented to… the team’s best d-man.

Niskanen is a righty, a veteran of 12 NHL seasons who won a Stanley Cup in Washington. His two-way game is better than Gudas’ two-way game, but I’m not sure how much better this trade makes the Flyers. Niskanen is the better overall player, sure, but is two years of him at nearly $6 million dollars better than one more year of Gudas at 40% of that salary? Either way, they get a steady presence on the blueline for next season.

Here are his career stats:

So, uh.. what do we make of this trade?