Tampa Bay Makes Another Move, Sends Matt Carle to Flyers for Steve Downie, Eminger

I'm pretty sure there are a few fantasy hockey team owners that make fewer roster moves than Tampa Bay's front office. On Friday, the Lightning continued to shuffle their roster as they sent defenseman Matt Carle to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenseman Steve Eminger, and forward Steve Downie. The teams also exchanged draft picks, with the Flyers picking up a third-round selection and the Lightning gaining a fourth-rounder.

Carle, if you'll recall, was supposed to be the centerpiece of the Dan Boyle-to-San Jose trade over the summer. After just 12 games and two points, the Lightning have already given up on the speedy defenseman, making the Boyle trade, at this point, nothing more than a straight-up salary dump. From Damian Cristodero of the Lightning Strikes blog at the St. Petersburg Times:

Asked if the trade of Dan Boyle, which in great part was done to shed his six-year, $40-million contract, now should be viewed as a failure, Lawton said, "I think it's a continuation of the process in evaluating what we have and being comfortable we have the right chemistry and the right balance and enough youth in the organization. It's one younger player for two younger players. ... When we went through it, we felt t was something that made sense."

In return for Carle, the Lightning pick up Eminger, acquired by the Flyers in a draft-day trade with Washington, and Downie, a former first-round pick who, at times, can be more trouble than he's worth. Honestly, he's a five-minute major waiting to happen on some nights. Tampa Bay also saves about $2 million in cap space.

Meanwhile, for Philadelphia, the trade leaves the Flyers with an open spot on their roster, adding to the speculation that free-agent winger Brendan Shanahan could soon be added to the mix. Though, that would appear more difficult now, seeing as how the Flyers actually increased their cap number with this move.

Reactions from some of the blogs:

The Broad Street Blog:

Steve Downie, while he has a lot of potential, he lets his emotions get the best of him and prevents him from playing smart. If he is able to get to get his emotions under control, I bet a conversation Downie, Holmgren, and Stevens have had more than a few times, he will be a very good player.

All Things Philly Sports:

Carle hasn't shown a lot of consistency while playing with the Sharks and Lightning, but he is strong with the puck and won't turn it over as much as Eminger. Losing Downie won't hurt the Flyers much in the long run. Downie is a complete headcase at this point and has been jerked between the Phantoms and the Flyers so much I doubt he knows what's going on. Ever since his meltdown in the playoffs last season, Downie has been a liability and can't be trusted to make the smart play on the ice. He was never going to amount to much in Philadelphia so maybe a chance of scenery will do him good in Tampa.

Boltsmag:

For the second time this season I've seen a promising young defensiveman sent wayward for marginal players in return. That's not even beginning to address the anarchy of the off season where every player on the market was a target and every player on the Lightning roster was expendable. This time it was Steve Downie brought in??! What qualities does he bring to the team? What exactly are you looking for on players? Scumbaggery? Hell, while you're at it, I bet the Calgary Flames would let Todd Bertuzzi go for the low-low price of Martin St. Louis. You can't beat a deal like that, right...?!

The Lightning and Flyers, by the way, play each other tonight in Philadelphia.