Lightning forward Jeff Halpern is on his way to the LA Kings on this deadline day. Coming back from Los Angeles will be RW Teddy Purcell and a 2010 third round draft pick that was originally owned by the Florida Panthers
Purcell is a bit of a Brandon Bochenski variety forward, in that he is a star in the AHL and can’t uite pass muster in the NHL. Rudy Kelly from Battle of California explained:
good offensive player that never really fit in LA. He’s a puck possession guy that likes to work along the sideboards and find holes in defensive coverage. He’s a former Rookie of the Year in the AHL but he’s struggled to find the same space in the NHL. He just seems a split-second too slow for the NHL; he’ll see the lane or the opening and then make the play, but by then the opening’s already closed. He re-engineered his game this last off-season to become a grittier player but he seemed to lose his scoring touch as a result.
We’re still awaiting for an official press release from the team. But being another RW (and comparable to Bochenski in that he excels in the AHL) I would not be surprised if this is to appease Norfolk, who has been robbed of two scoring RW’s by Lightning, to aid their own playoff push.
The move removes $1.4 million from the Lightning cap number (trading Halpern’s prorated $2 Million for Purcell’s $600,000).