Dan Hamhuis' Rights Traded To Penguins For 2011 Third Round Pick

Paul Holmgren just broke the news to the media in Los Angeles: at the conclusion of the first round, they've traded the rights to defenseman Dan Hamhuis to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a third round pick in 2011.

Apparently, the news that the Flyers couldn't come to an agreement with Hamhuis were true. With a broad view, however, this means that Paul Holmgren just got a third round pick for Ryan Parent. That's a win. We don't believe the Flyers keep the seventh round pick from Nashville that they conditionally received in the original Hamhuis deal, but that's up in the air.

Either way, this is a win.

You have to wonder, though, why he'd be willing to risk having Hamhuis in the division, especially on the Flyers' biggest rival. Could it be true that Hamhuis really only wants to play in the West? Maybe Holmgren knows the Penguins are going to have a tough time signing Hamhuis? That, or he knows he'll suck up a ton of cap space. The Pens seem like a strange dancing partner otherwise.

Who knows. This looks bad on the surface, but it's really not. It's a pretty savvy move by a GM who essentially got something out of nothing. Oh, and Hamhuis has a weird last name.