This weekend has been all about family in the NHL, be it the Reinharts (Griffin was the 4th overall pick, Max is a Calgary Flames prospect, and Paul played for Calgary in the 1980's), Subbans (PK and Malcom could be on opposite ends in a few years, as a Canadien and Bruin, respectively), or the Staals (Jordan and Eric are now teammates in Carolina. Could Marc be joining them soon?). Now, you can add the Schenns to the list, as Luke Schenn joins brother Brayden in Philadelphia. Going to Toronto is James Van Riemsdyk.
This trade should help Luke, as he had been scuffling since joining the Leafs in 2008 as a first round pick that year. He is primarily a stay-at-home defenseman, so offense is not his forte. However, he has also been out of position on a few key plays for the Leafs, and has been subject to trade rumors. Now that he is out of Toronto, will he play to his potential? He only needs to look at future teammate Chris Pronger (a big if, due to injuries he suffered this season), who never fulfilled expectations in Hartford, was traded to St. Louis, and became a number one defenseman there. Van Riemsdyk has been injured, but has also shown flashes of potential (see: 2010 and 2011 playoffs). He is likely insurance if the Leafs do decide to trade Mikhail Grabovski. At the moment, it looks like the Flyers have the better of the deal, but time will tell.
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