In a suprising move on Friday night the Philadelphia Flyers acquired defenseman Matt Carle from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for defenseman Steve Eminger and forward Steve Downie.

The two clubs also swapped draft picks, with the Lightning sending the San Jose Sharks third round pick in 2009 (acquired in the deal that sent Carle to Tampa Bay this summer) to the Flyers in return for their own fourth round pick in 2009, which they'd dealt to the Flyers last February.

Speculation has it that this move would not only provide some depth to a Flyers blueline that has been ravaged by injury this season but might also clear the way to sign UFA winger Brendan Shanahan.

Both Carle and Eminger are on the move for the second time this year. Carle had been acquired by the Lightning this summer in the trade that sent Dan Boyle to the San Jose Sharks, and at the time of the deal the Bolts management were quite keen on Carle, touting him as a future star on their defense corps.

To date Carle had a goal and an assist in 12 games and was plus-1.

He's struggled since his splashy rookie debute in 2006-07 when he had 42 points and a plus-minus of +9. In 66 games last season with the Sharks he had only 15 points and a -8 plus-minus.

Eminger was acquired last summer from the Washington Capitals and thus far had only two assists in 12 games.

Downie was a first round pick of the Flyers in 2005 and had earned a reputation for questionable play, earning a 20-game suspension last season as a result of a pre-season head shot to Ottawa Senators forward Dean McAmmond.

This season Downie has played in only 6 games with only 1 assist.

The knock on Carle, according to the St. Petersburg Times, is that he was poor defensively despite displaying real skill at times.  Eminger meanwhile has a right-handed shot which the Bolts apparently need on their blueline and his $1.2 million contract is cheaper than Carle's $2.95 million per season.

As Lightning management was believed keen to pare down some payroll this move appears to have achieved that need, as Eminger's and Downie's salaries combined are still cheaper than Carle's salary.

Still, it's surprising that they would give up on Carle so soon. Defensemen tend to take time to develop and at 24 Carle still has plenty of time to improve. Given his talent, patience may simply be needed for him to regain his confidence and his consistency.

He'll get his chance with the Flyers, and if he should blossom there this deal could come back to haunt the Lightning for years to come.

The return for Dan Boyle for the Lighning is now Eminger, Downie and prospect Ty Wishart, which is now less impressive than the initial return.