Most of forward Vaclav Prospal’s best seasons came in a Tampa Bay Lightning uniform and now it appears he’ll be joining the club for the third time in his career.

Nearly five months after the Philadelphia Flyers acquired Prospal from the Lightning, they’ve dealt his rights back to the Bolts for a seventh round pick in 2008 and a conditional pick in 2009.

Something about Tampa Bay agrees with Prospal, where’s spent roughly half of his 11-year NHL career. In each of those 5 seasons with the Bolts he’s consistently scored over 55 points per season, including a 79-point performance in 2002-03, an 80-point season in 2005-06 and a career-high 29 goals in 62 games this past season.

The Flyers acquired him just prior to the trade deadline in February to bolster their offensive depth. His availability at that time was likely tied to his UFA status this summer, his clashes with then-Lightning coach John Tortorella and the uncertainty over the sale of the club to OK Hockey, headed by Hollywood producer Oren Koules.

Prospal played well for the Flyers down the stretch and in the first round of the playoffs but faded in the next two rounds. GM Paul Holmgren claimed Prospal wasn’t that keen to return to the Flyers.

The situation in Tampa Bay has changed since Prospal was dealt;  Tortorella has been fired, the sale of the Lightning to Koules was approved, and apparently the team will be aggressively pursuing UFA talent this summer to bolster their roster.

Acquiring Prospal would be a step in the right direction, reuniting the “MVP” line of he, Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier.

This move might also be interpreted as additional enticement for Lecavalier to re-sign a long-term contract with the team before next summer.

Prospal will be re-signed, as this move wouldn’t have happened if he wasn’t keen to return to Tampa Bay and the Lightning front office weren’t interested in bringing him back.

Prospal’s trade to Philadelphia essentially kicked off the February 2008 trade deadline, and it’ll be interesting to see if his deal back to Tampa Bay is the starting gun for another bout of entry draft weekend dealings.