I came so close to mentioning this in the Minnesota Wild recap, but I figured I shouldn’t wildly toss it out there. After being a healthy scratch for two straight games Andrew Alberts has been traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for LW Ned Lukacevic and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2009 entry draft reports Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe. Alberts looked rusty in the pre-season and I thought something might be in the works with him being a healthy scratch twice in a row.
My knee-jerk reaction is that this is a good move. The Bruins don’t need another forward prospect, but shed $1.25 in salary by moving Alberts and now don’t have to potentially offer him an inflated contract or find it impossible to move him later in the year. Lukacevic hasn’t played an NHL game and comes to a team Boston team that is deep with young talented forwards, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Lukacevic or other prospects and that extra pick traded down the line. Also, expect to see a lot more of Matt Lashoff or Matt Hunwick playing up with the big club.
I’ve never been a huge Andrew Alberts fan, and I think this is a wise, shrewd move by the Bruins.
-John
I agree. Alberts was dead weight. Also, on an unrelated note, thanks to the glory of the internet I’m watching the Sabers-Islanders game on my lunch break.