Sportsbook Gamblers Note Tampa Signing Gagne and are excited. General Manager Steve Yzerman continues to make moves that should improve the Tampa Bay Lightning for next season and sportsbook gamblers are starting to notice. The Lightning acquired forward Simon Gagne from Philadelphia on Monday and his acquisition should give Tampa more scoring punch. The Lightning is 40-1 to win the Stanley Cup at the sports book.
Sportsbook odds on Tampa Bay had them as underdogs quite a bit last season but that may change in 2010-2011. Yzerman has been making some moves that should make Tampa a better team. The latest one that brought him Gagne could be a good one. The teams gave up defenseman Matt Walker and a fourth-round draft pick for Gagne. Sportsbook numbers indicated that last season, Gagne had 17 goals and 23 assists in 58 games.
He has played 664 games in his NHL career and has 259 goals and 265 assists. He is ninth on the Flyers’ career list in goals and tenth in points and in games played. Gagne was very good for the Flyers last year in the playoffs as he had nine goals and three assists. He should be able to complement Vincent Lecavalier, Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis next season.
The Flyers will be giving up a popular player in Gagne and getting Walker in return. Sports book stats indicated that he had two goals and three assists last season for the Lightning. He has four goals, 26 assists and 444 penalty minutes in his career. General Manager Paul Holmgren has never been known as someone who could evaluate talent so giving up Gagne to get Walker is not a huge surprise. Holmgren likes players who spend time in the penalty box and Walker definitely fits that mold.
On paper, the deal is completely one-sided for the Lightning. Gagne is a player who led the Flyers in goals three times. He was the team’s MVP twice and went to the All-Star game twice. He as a very popular player in Philadelphia and will be missed on and off the ice. The Flyers were a surprise team last season vs. the sportsbook odds when they made the NHL playoffs, going all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, but they have taken a step back with the loss of Gagne.