VOORHEES, N.J. – At the start of what was expected to be a busy trading day for the Flyers, things kicked off with a rather mundane deal around noon on Friday.
With the NHL’s 3 p.m. trade deadline approaching, the Flyers acquired left wing Brendan Lemieux from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for right wing Zack MacEwen.
The Flyers also picked up a fifth-round pick in the 2024 draft in the deal.
Just hours before, the Flyers had activated MacEwen from the injured reserve list. He had been sidelined multiple weeks with a fractured jaw.
Lemieux, 26, was a a second-round pick (31st overall) of the Buffalo Sabres in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
Known for his physical play, he’s accumulated 463 penalty minutes in 257 NHL games in a career spanning three teams: Winnipeg, the New York Rangers and the Kings.
MacEwen, also 26, has been a hard-working fourth-liner for the Flyers over the past couple seasons. In 121 games, he registered seven goals/18 points with a minus-24 and 164 penalty minutes. He’s making $925,000 per year.
Lemieux gives the Flyers a proven enforcer, one who can mix it up with the best of them. When he was a member of the Rangers, he got into a number of physical altercations with the Flyers.
Earlier in the day, the Flyers activated forward Tanner Laczynski from the injured list. He’s been sidelined since December with a lower-body injury.
