The Flyers traded Cechmanek, 32, to the Los Angeles Kings for a second-round pick in the 2004 NHL Draft on Wednesday.
"Although he never asked to be traded this season, he did ask after last season," Flyers general manager Bob Clarke said. "We just thought that it was time for us to go in a different direction."
"Roman didn't want to leave," revealed Peter Svoboda, Cechmanek's agent.
Roman Cechmanek was traded to the Kings by the Flyers Wednesday.(CP Photo/Aaron Harris)
"But if if had to happen for the better of the organization, then he accepted it."
An unorthodox goaltender whose style resembles that of fellow Czech native Dominik Hasek, Cechmanek had spent his entire three-year NHL career with the Flyers, yet welcomed the move.
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"I'm so excited," said Cechmanek, whose 1.86 goals-against average and .925 save percentage ranked second and third, respectively, this past season.
"It was my first choice to play in L.A. It is something new.
"It's great for me. Gives me a new chance.
"I think maybe it will be different hockey. The Kings play offensive hockey and I like it more offensively and more European than in Philadelphia."
Cechmanek was an impressive 33-15-10 with six shutouts in 58 games this season, but a constant source of frustration with his inconsistent play.
Invincible one night and indifferent the next, he finished a mere 6-7 in the playoffs as the fourth-seeded Flyers fell in six games to the top-ranked Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
"He shuts a team out one night but, when you get down to the nitty gritty and you let a soft goal in, it takes a lot out of your team emotionally," Clarke said.
In the end, Cechmanek was fingered by Clarke and fans alike for Philadelphia's relatively early exit from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"I hear what people say," Cechmanek said. "They hate me.
"I don't know why they hate me. We had a couple of problems, not big problems.
"In the playoffs, maybe it wasn't great, but not bad. It was tough for people, but for me too.
"I don't know why that was the situation. I play for fans and teammates, but the Ottawa team was very strong and they played great."
The Kings were to keen to obtain Cechmanek because incumbent No. 1 Felix Potvin becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1.
Potvin is seeking a sizeable raise over and above the $3.55 million US he earned this past season; Cechmanek is locked in at $3 million US next season and $3.5 million US in 2004-05.
"Going into the off-season, one of our top priorities was to address our goaltending situation for next season," Kings GM Dave Taylor said. "After looking at all the options we had available, we felt that making a trade and acquiring Roman Cechmanek, in particular, was our best course of action.
"Roman will help stabilize this position for the Kings as he has proven to be one of the NHL's top goaltenders for the past three seasons."
Cechmanek is 92-43-22 with a 1.96 GAA and 20 shutouts in 163 NHL games since being drafted in the sixth round -- 107th overall -- by Philadelphia in 2000.
Prior to arriving in North America, he was the Czech Elite League's top goaltender six years running.
Cechmanek has also captured gold medals with the Czech Republic team at the 1988 Nagano Olympic Winter Games and 1996, 1999 and 2000 IIHF World Hockey Championships.
"His track record speaks volumes," Taylor said. "We feel our coaching staff will be good for him to work with."
with files from CP Online
