The Atlanta Thrashers had a short, miserable existence and their status as a perpetual rebuilding squad made them prime trading grounds for other teams. The Thrashers made 127 trades in just 12 seasons in the NHL, six of which came with the Flyers. While most didn’t have long-term impacts with either franchise, there was one deal that may be one of the better diamond in the rough trades in franchise history.
10/15/99 – Jody Hull for cash
The Flyers had originally acquired Jody Hull as a free agent in the summer of 1998, then lost him during the 1999 expansion draft to the Thrashers in June. Four months later, the Flyers would re-acquire Hull from Atlanta for cash considerations. He’d play parts of three seasons with the Flyers before joining the Ottawa Senators as a free agent in 2002.
12/9/99 – Eric Bertrand for Brian Wesenberg
Eric Bertrand played for four different organizations during the 1999-2000 season. He started the year with the New Jersey Devils, was traded to the Thrashers on November 1, then was shipped to the Flyers a month later. He suited up for 15 games in the AHL and was flipped to the Nashville Predators in February of 2000.
Brian Westberg spent three seasons with the Flyers organization, but played just a single NHL game in that time. He played two season with the Thrashers’ IHL affiliate, the Orlando Solar Bears, before retiring in the 2001 offseason.
3/14/00 – Kirby Law for 2000 sixth round pick (Jeff Dwyer) and 2001 sixth round pick (Pasi Nurminen)
Kirby Law was an undrafted forward that signed with the Thrashers in July of 1999. He spent the season in the AHL before this trade. He played for the Philadelphia Phantoms from 2000 to 2004 and managed to sprinkle in nine NHL games during his time with the club.
The Thrashers drafted defenseman Jeff Dwyer 178th overall in 2000. He never played in the NHL.
They also drafted goaltender Pasi Nurminen 189th overall in 2001. He played 126 games for the Thrashers from 2001 to 2004. He retired in 2005 after sustaining a serious knee injury while playing in Europe during the lockout.
3/5/02 – Jarrod Skalde for Joe DiPenta
Jarrod Skalde was an AHL journeyman. He played 16 NHL games with the Thrashers, and split the rest of his two seasons in the organization between the IHF and AHL. He was acquired by the Flyers and played the remainder of the 2001-02 season with the Phantoms, though did dress for one NHL game with the Flyers. He left for Lausanne HC in Switzerland during the summer.
Joe DePenta spent three seasons with the Thrashers’ AHL squad, winning a Calder Cup in 2002. He played three NHL games with the Flyers during the 2002-03 season but was ultimately returned to the AHL. He’d sign with the Canucks during the 2004 offseason.
3/15/02 – David Harlock, 2003 third round pick (Tyler Redenbach)(traded to ARZ) and 2003 seventh (Joe Pavelski)(traded to SJS) for Francis Lessard
David Harlock was the 24th overall pick in 1990 by the New Jersey Devils but never signed with them. He bounced around the NHL a bit over the following few years before landing in Atlanta for two and a half seasons. He was acquired by the Flyers, but never played a game at the NHL level, though dressed for 70 games for the Phantoms over the following season-and-a-half before retiring in the summer of 2003.
The Flyers traded the 2003 third round pick to the Coyotes in exchange for forward Tony Amonte in March of 2003.
They also traded the 2003 seventh round pick to San Jose (which they’d use to select forward Joe Pavelski) in exchange for a 2004 sixth round pick they used on forward Ladislav Scurko who was never signed by the Flyers.
2/24/07 – Braydon Coburn for Alexei Zhitnik
The last trade the Flyers made with the Atlanta Thrashers ended up being one of their best under-the-radar trades in franchise history.
The Flyers dealt defenseman Alexei Zhitnik, who had played just 31 games in Philly after being acquired from the Islanders earlier in the season, to Atlanta for rookie defenseman Braydon Coburn, who was just 38 games into his NHL career at the time of the deal. Coburn would go on to be a staple of the Flyers’ defense for nine seasons including their Cup chase in 2010. He would be dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2015 in a series of moves that landed the Flyers Travis Konecny, and Coburn would go on to win a Cup with the Lightning in 2020.
Zhitnik played one season with the Thrashers and was bought out in 2008. After 15 NHL seasons he retuned to the KHL for the 2008-09 season to finish his career.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
brotherlypuck.com 