Anze Kopitar quarterbacks this goal, with a loft pass over the St. Louis defense and onto the stick of Simon Gagne.

Per NHL.com:

The Los Angeles Kings, one of the runners-up in the race to sign Brad Richards, wasted no time turning to Plan B by signing veteran forward Simon Gagne on Saturday.

Kings Insider on the team’s website says it’s a two-year, $7 million deal that will pay Gagne $4.5 million in 2011-12 season and $2.5 million in 2012-13 for a $3.5 million each season. Gagne has been cleared to play — he missed time last season with a sore neck but returned in the playoffs — so the signing is not contingent on him passing a physical.

Gagne, 31, spent 10 seasons with Philadelphia before being traded to Tampa Bay last summer. He had 17 goals and 40 points in 63 regular-season games, then contributed 5 goals and 12 points in the playoffs, helping the Lightning advance to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to Boston.

The native of Saint-Foy, Que., has 276 goals and 564 points in 727 regular-season games, as well as 37 goals and 59 points in 105 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He had back-to-back 40-goal seasons for the Flyers in 2005-06 and ’06-07, and put up 34 goals as recently as 2008-09, one year after missing most of the season with concussion-related problems.

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Per Blecher Report:

For newbie GM Steve Yzerman and owner Jeff Vinik, the word was patience. Yet whn teams just give away a top line player for what’s tantamount to a bag of hockey pucks, well, patience may not be in the Lightning’s vocabulary when they hit the ice in October.

Vincent Lecavalier finally has a winger capable of putting the puck in the net, as Steve Yzerman traded defenseman Matt Walker and a draft pick to the Flyers for superstar winger Simon Gagne.

Yes, the same Simon Gagne who was drafted the same year as Lecavalier and is second only to Vinny in goal scoring from that draft class.

The same Gagne had 524 points in 664 regular season games in 10 seasons for the Flyers.

The same Gagne who has scored dramatic OT playoff goals for the Flyers, including Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Lightning in 2004.

Walker’s a decent defenseman, who should be able to compete for one of the top six spots on the Flyers’ roster. He would likely have been relegated to number five or six in Tampa Bay, a team that isn’t known for its defensive prowess.

But a clincher in a deal for the likes of Simon Gagne? Wow.

In Philadelphia GM Paul Holmgren, Yzerman has found a trading partner willing to help the Bolts out of cap hell by acquiring some of the worst contracts done by former Lightning GM Brian Lawton.

Early in the off-season, Yzerman sent underachiever Andrej Meszaros and his monster contract to Philly for a 2nd round draft pick.

Now he gets Gagne for Walker, who definitely is not worth his $1.5 million dollar contract and a fourth round pick next season.

Gagne, 30, comes with a $5.25 million contract and a checkered injury history.

Suffering from concussion, groin, and toe injuries, Gagne has had a bit of an up and down career. If he can stay healthy, he’s deadly. A two time All-Star, Olympic Gold Medalist, and two time 40-plus goal scorer, Gagne provides speed and scoring ability to a Lecavalier line that lacked both.

Lecavalier’s numbers have dipped since longtime linemate Vinny Prospal was traded away and Martin St. Louis now plays with Steven Stamkos.

Despite his struggles, Lecavalier still put 70 points on the board last season playing with the likes of Alex Tanguay.

The Lightning hope Vinny will return to greatness with a quality winger on his line.

“In adding Simon to the Lightning today, we acquire a very talented player that will play alongside our top forwards,” Yzerman told Philly.com. “With his combination of speed and skill we are excited to have him with us and grateful he was willing to waive his no-movement clause. This trade not only makes us a better team in the short-term, it helps create long-term flexibility for us, which all along has been one of our top priorities.”

Gagne had to waive his no-movement clause to facilitate the trade and seems to have been more than happy to do so.

“I’m very excited right now,” Gagne told Philly.com “I’m looking at this opportunity as a new challenge and a new start. Tampa Bay was a team I was more than willing to waive my no-move clause for. I really like the direction the team is headed in with a solid owner, Steve Yzerman as GM and Coach Boucher.”

Whether or not the Lightning are close to becoming contenders again for a playoff spot remains in question, as does Gagne’s ability to stay healthy.

Still, Yzerman has the guts to take a chance on a talented player and gave up little to do so.

“I’m really looking forward to playing with guys like Lecavalier, Stamkos and St. Louis .” Gagne said, “I’m excited to be a member of the Lightning and I’m looking forward to starting next season in Tampa Bay.”

Best wishes to Walker, he did his job with the Lightning. He was never spectacular but he wasn’t a liability either (on most nights). He was just there with his lunch pail doing what he needed to do. He’s not going to clear the mess in front of the net, nor is he going to carry the puck for you up the ice. He can’t man a power play or join the rush for scoring. Nope, he’s just your average joe.

We can only hope that after securing two lopsided wins against the Flyers, Yzerman can find a way to talk Holmgren into a Mike-Richards-and-Jeff-Carter for Mike Lundin deal.

Per NHL.com:

Philadelphia Flyers All-Star left wing Simon Gagne will have surgery Tuesday to repair issues with his abdominal and groin muscles and will miss about 6-8 weeks.

Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren confirmed that Gagne, who has missed the last two games with a groin injury, will have a procedure performed to repair the rectus abdominus muscles on each side of his groin area.

The surgery will be performed by Dr. William Meyers at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia. Meyers is considered an expert in this field.

Holmgren said Meyers also will perform a laparoscopic procedure to check the status of a pair of small hernias in his right groin.

“Simon is going to have surgery tomorrow to repair or reinforce his rectus abdominus (muscles) on both sides,” said Holmgren. “At the same time he’s going to look and see laparoscopically through his belly button at the smaller hernias and repair those as well.

“We’re probably looking at 6-8 weeks before Simon can play.”

Meyers is the third doctor Gagne has seen in his search for a resolution to his latest core-muscle issue.

“It’s just more Simon feeling comfortable with what’s going on,” said Holmgren. “I think deep down he just wanted to know, which is his right. It does seem frustrating at times, but at the end of the day you have to trust the player and Simon’s been through a lot. You want to make sure you get it right.”

Gagne’s loss is a big one for the Flyers. The two-time NHL All-Star is a two-time 40-goal scorer, but he’s lacked the explosiveness in his skating that defined his game and made him one of the best two-way forwards in the League. Some of that was chalked up to offseason hip surgery, but the latest injury cropped up following Sunday’s loss to the San Jose Sharks. He played just 11:44 and hasn’t played since.
The Flyers also will be without right wing Danny Briere, who pulled a muscle in his right leg. The good news is it’s not related to the groin injury that sabotaged last season; the bad news is he’s also going to need more time to recover.

In the meantime, Holmgren said he would be looking to the players currently on the roster to raise their collective level of play.

“We’re going to continue to lean on the guys we’ve got,” said Holmgren. “Some of our younger players have come up. James (van Riemsdyk) has played very well. David Laliberte had a good game last game. We’ll see how it goes for a while. It’ll be nice to have Danny back, I don’t think that’s a long-term thing right now. The other guys just have to pick it up.”

Per Yahoo!:

Flyers forward Simon Gagne(notes) has two small hernias in his right groin and could face surgery.

Asked before Philadelphia’s game at the Washington Capitals on Tuesday whether an operation is likely, Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said: “I can’t really say for sure. We need to sit down and talk with Simon. … It is an option, yeah.”

Holmgren said his team’s medical staff will meet with Gagne on Wednesday to discuss his options.

The left winger had an ultrasound on Monday that discovered the hernias.

Gagne has struggled this season with only one goal in nine games.