by Bill Heintz
Looks like we can forget about Hamhuis.
The Flyers dealt defenseman Ryan Parent to the Predators on Saturday in exchange for defenseman Dan Hamhuis and a conditional draft pick in the 2011 draft.
Hamhuis, 27, had five goals and 19 assists for Nashville last season. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. A first-round pick of the Predators in 2001, Hamhuis has recorded 32 goals and 129 assists in 483 career games.
“Dan Hamhuis is a good all-around defenseman,” Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said in a statement. “He has been in Nashville since his draft year. He’s a guy who can play lots of minutes and he can play in a lot of different situations, from power play to killing penalties. He is another athlete we’d like to add to our team to continue to improve our defense.”
Among players drafted in 2001, only Ilya Kovalchuk (621) has played in more career games than Hamhuis. He has only missed nine games since debuting during the 2003-04 season.
“Obviously it is sad to leave the Predators. I spent some great years with them and it is great organization to be a part of,” Hamhuis said. “I’ve heard nothing but great things about the city of Philadelphia and the Flyers. I think Philly has an unbelievable defensive core. To join a core like that makes the Flyers one of the tougher ones in the league. To play against the teams from the East, the conference has a lot of great forwards, and watching the playoffs, having a great defense will get you a long way.”
RYAN PARENT
courtesy of my.hockeybuzz.com
Parent, originally acquired from the Predators in the Peter Forsberg trade, managed only one goal and six assists in 102 games for the Flyers over parts of the last four seasons.
“I think Ryan is a good kid,” said Holmgren. “He is an extremely hard worker. We certainly thank him for his services and his time here. He has a lot of upside.”
