Hey Paul, I hope you’re doing well. Did you get my last letter? I understand if you haven’t had time to read it. After all, you’ve been a busy man. I’m writing you again today to express another concern of mine. In recent years, you’ve made Scottie Upshall cry, shocked R.J. Umberger, broke Simon Gagne’s heart, saw Nikolay Zherdev escape giddily after being waived, and sent Jeff Carter into seclusion. Including Joffrey Lupul, you’ve signed three players to significant deals and traded them before the no-trade clause kicked in. You also shipped out at least that many players who were …
Let the dust settle
Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it. The Flyers finally have their bona-fide starter. They have some size and grit. They have wingers. They have cap space, and draft picks, and prospects. As Dick Enberg is fond of saying…Oh my! They got all of the assets that we perceived to be lacking in the franchise and for the low, low price of the captain and one of the alternates. The cost is nothing more than a top-tier, team-leading scorer and a heart-and-soul, leave-it-all-on-the-ice leader. Really, it’s a mere pittance. First-line centers. Cornerstones. Franchise players. That’s it. Anyone …
Was trading for Bryzgalov’s rights a worthwhile risk?
To answer this question, we must first ask another one: What benefits are there to trading for the rights of a pending unrestricted free agent? Ideally, negotiating rights will allow you work out a reasonable deal before a player hits free agency. If this is the intent of a general manager, then he had better be sure that the player is willing to take a discount to sign now in lieu of testing the market. Also, he should be sure that the player wants to play in that city. In the case of Ilya Bryzgalov, his actions suggest that he …
Bring Back Gagne? A look at the pros and cons.
We have 25 days until free agency and I’m sure each and every one of those days will be rumor laden until July 1 arrives. Paul Holmgren was fairly active last season, adding Andrej Meszaros, Sean O’Donnell, Jody Shelley and Nikolay Zherdev, while retaining Darroll Powe and Daniel Carcillo. However all of that activity caused casualties of the cap. Arron Asham signed with Pittsburgh as a free agent and Simon Gagne, the longest- tenured Flyer at the time, waived his no-trade clause in a much maligned deal with Tampa Bay, while we took on Matt Walker — or more precisely, his two hip surgeries. …
Is Paul Holmgren still the right man for the job?
Paul Holmgren is a bold man, sure of what he wants and unflinching in his actions. He is willing to pay extra to beat the surge of activity to get his man. As a result, he’s built a team capable — in theory and in his own mind — of competing for the Stanley Cup. However, these actions are adding up and taking an increasing toll on a team that put its eggs in one basket for the 2011 season. That ultimately-failed course has been run, and the team did not win the Cup, yet again, and it is now …
PHI/WAS poll response
I agree with the majority of responders and would not trade Jeff Carter and Matt Carle to Washington for Mike Green and Semyon Varlamov. The Flyers could certainly use a right-handed shot from the point to help boost scoring, especially on the powerplay. However, Mike Green is a defensive liability who comes along with a hefty price tag. You could limit his defensive faults by pairing him with Chris Pronger or Kimmo Timonen but it’s simply not practical to consider adding Green’s $5.25M cap hit to an already expensive defense, even if he does have the potential to score 20+ …
Poll: Would you make this hypothetical PHI/WAS trade?
Before I go on, I’d like to preface this poll by saying this situation is purely hypothetical. I am not speculating that this might happen or suggesting it is a legitimate rumor. For the love of all that is good and holy, don’t read anything into it or claim that I said this might happen. As rivals, the Flyers and Capitals make for unusual bedfellows but, this offseason, they could be a match. Washington has goaltending depth and a right-handed offensive defenseman, both rumored to be available. The Flyers have a surplus of centers and an alleged need for goaltending. …
Flyers’ offseason surgery roster revealed
No less than eight Flyers, including captain Mike Richards, have at least the possibility of surgery if not the spectre of actual repairs, looming in the offseason, according to club general manager Paul Holmgren. Holmgren revealed the news during his end-of-season news conference and said Richards, who has been bothered by a wrist injury since training camp, will need to have surgery done. Holmgren also revealed that four additional players will have a date with the surgeon’s table: defenseman Andrej Meszaros (wrist); forwards Kris Versteeg (stomach muscle) and Blair Betts (finger) along with goaltender Michael Leighton (hip). Forwards Jeff Carter and Scott Hartnell will be evaluated further to see if …
In case you missed it: Useful insights from Bill Meltzer
Not long after the Flyers’ 2011 season came to a close, Bill Meltzer revealed some useful bits of information on Twitter that are simply too important not to point out. In case you missed it, here they are: Too many Flyers failed to compete. There were also egos that got a little out of control this season. Too many guys more worried about their ice time than winning, too many guys who wanted the easy way out. There’s a lot of blame to go around. I think some of the offseason moves will answer the questions as to which players …
Boucher Comes Up Big, Flyers Win 4-2
When a player gets injured, somebody has an opportunity to step up and fill in. Tonight, that somebody was Nikolay Zherdev. Stepping in for Andreas Nodl, Zherdev netted the game-winning goal in a Flyers’ 4-2 win in Game 3 which gave the visitors a 2-1 series lead. Jeff Carter and Kimmo Timonen also hit the net as Philly snapped a five-game playoff losing streak in upstate New York. Nathan Gerbe and Drew Stafford scored, Marc-Andre Gragnani picked up two assists and Ryan Miller had 22 saves on 25 shots for Buffalo in the loss. One of the Flyers’ biggest weaknesses so far in the …