The 2011 NHL Entry Draft weekend was totally overshadowed by two mega-deals pulled off by the Philadelphia Flyers. Out are Mike Richards and Jeff Carter – two players who both thought they would stay in Philadelphia for their entire careers; in are a handful of highly touted prospects. The deals allowed the Flyers to finally acquire a legitimate goalie, one who is a Vezina Trophy finalist.

Other deals rose more than a few eyebrows: Brian Campbell, once thought definitively untradeable, found himself dumped in Florida for a former prospect turned big league bust; and Calgary jettisoned both Robyn Regehr and Ales Kotalik for a couple of spare parts in Buffalo.

The Brian Campbell deal is easy to understand: the Florida Panthers needed to reach the cap floor and still have about $20 million to go, even with Campbell’s $7 million cap hit. They could hypothetically offer Brad Richards a max contract and require further money wasting.

Alternatively, the Robyn Regehr deal represents everything wrong in Calgary.