The Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings have made a trade ahead of the deadline, swapping Zack MacEwen and Brendan Lemieux. The Flyers are also receiving a 2024 fifth-round pick.
In a move that doesn’t really move the needle for either club, the Kings clear $425K in cap space and add a big, physical fourth-line option in MacEwen. The 6-foot-3 forward has racked up 233 penalty minutes in his 176-game NHL career, willing to drop the gloves with any opponent.
MacEwen, 26, has matched a career-high with nine points this season through 46 games, but won’t be asked to score much for the Kings. He may not even play every night, as he enters a much more talented group that is headed for the playoffs.
The Flyers are adding a player in Lemieux that isn’t all that different—low scoring, high penalty minutes, fourth-line grinder—and might not even be with the organization very long. The 26-year-old is on a one-year, $1.35M contract, leaving him an unrestricted free agent in the summer.
Lemieux’s offensive game never did materialize in the NHL. He hasn’t scored a single goal this season, and has just 63 points in his 257-game career. Still, perhaps he’ll find a home in the Philadelphia bottom six if he can impress head coach John Tortorella down the stretch.
More than anything, this is eating some cap space for a fifth-round pick. The Flyers need to change the trajectory of their team, and draft capital is one way to accomplish that.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic broke the news on Twitter.
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