Well, this way they are setting the market preemptively instead of reacting to it. They have the cap space to sign both players to contracts that they knew Hartnell and Timonen would accept and they won't have to worry about a bidding war. That 1st round pick was Nashville's anyway that was acquired in the Forsberg trade earlier this year. Philly got prospects in that trade that are more valuable than the 1st rounder anyway. It also could have been sort of a sweetheart deal that was negotiated in advance (although they would deny that of course) so that Nashville doesn't lose 2 UFA's for nothing and Philly lands their targets.
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