Kris Versteeg: Philadelphia Flyers Acquire Left Winger From Maple Leafs

This piece is also featured at The News of Delaware County

Paul Holmgren was on a mission to find the one piece that would put the Flyers over the Stanley Cup edge.

Monday, the Flyers GM found his man.

The Philadelphia Flyers acquired forward Kris Versteeg from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a first and a third-round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, according to the team's website.

"Kris is an exciting young forward," Paul Holmgren said. "He's 24 years old and he'll fit in with our group of players here. He's a quality forward that can play in a lot of different roles for your hockey team. He can move up and down our lineup. He can kill penalties. He can play on the power play. We think he's a guy that over the last few years, particularly in Chicago, has really blossomed into a good forward and we think he's going to be a really good addition to our team."

Versteeg was selected in the fifth round (134th overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins. In 223 career games, he has posted 58 goals and 78 assists for 136 total points.

He came to Toronto from the Chicago Blackhawks after the Blackhawks traded away a lot of their players following the Stanley Cup victory last season. In 53 games with Toronto, Versteeg has scored 14 times and added 21 assists.

"Right away I was extremely excited to join this team," Kris Versteeg said. "They've had a lot of success this season. They had a great playoff push last year and I'm excited to try and have a good one this year. I like to make plays and score goals at the same time, maybe go out there and be an agitator at times too. I'm going to try and do it all and have fun doing it."

The addition of Versteeg adds depth at forward and makes all four lines potent. The Flyers are definitely the deepest team in the league at forward and defense.

Versteeg also adds playoff experience and had six goals and eight assists in 22 games during the Blackhawks Stanley Cup run last season.

With all this considered, the Flyers may be in the market to move another forward to alleviate cap space but the puzzle seems to be coming together for GM Paul Holmgren.