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Flyers System Inventory: Defensemen

I would like to spend the next several weeks examining the Flyers farm system to take stock of what type of prospects they actually have so we can look for areas of strength and need. This will help give us an idea of what they need to focus on in future drafts. We kick it off this week by taking a look at the defensemen on the farm. Pros (AHL/ECHL): Marc-Andre Bourdon , 22, drafted 3rd round of 2008 entry draft. 2011-2012:  45gp  4g  3a  7pts  +4  (NHL) Bourdon was an offensive defenseman in juniors, but settled into a defensive …

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Bourdon, Laughton signed

At least one more puzzle to the Flyers defensive picture has been solved, as restricted free agent blueliner Marc-Andre Bourdon was signed to a multi-year contract extension reported to be for two years with an average annual value of $612,500 per season. That’s a significant down-grade from his initial entry-level deal whose cap hit was $875,000 according to NHLNumbers.com. Bourdon, who will turn 23 on September 17, missed time last season due to a concussion. Still, he made an impression during several call-ups, totaling four goals and seven points in 45 games for Philadelphia. In addition, first-round selection Scott Laughton …

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Flyers Faithful’s 10 top Flyers prospects

I’ve decided to take a more traditional look  prospects this year instead of grading them with the help of NHLE because goalies and defenders are undervalued with NHLE. I decided to evaluate them mainly on three criteria: 1) NHL ceiling 2) Likelihood of reaching ceiling 3) Proximity to NHL “NHL ceiling” is essentially a prospect’s maximum potential, but not everyone reaches their ceiling. I tend to prefer younger, higher ceiling prospects, but it’s important to factor in whether they are likely to reach that ceiling or not. So a player with a low ceiling — but a higher potential — …

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CBA 101: Offseason Salary Cap

During the offseason, the upper limit of the salary is temporarily raised by 10 percent so that teams have the ability to manage their rosters with a little more freedom. Many people turn a blind eye to this fact and solely look at the real upper limit of $70.2 million; often times already putting players out of their minds that are unlikely to play with the team that season. However, in the case of a team like the Flyers, this temporary upper limit can sometimes be a concern. From the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Section 50.5 (c)(ii)(B): Nevertheless, in order to …

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On a lockout, the offseason, and more

After the Minnesota Wild signed both Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, a trend became apparent: small-market teams were spending big money while traditional big spenders remained relatively quiet. At first, this seemed to be because teams like the Flyers and Rangers were not only making big bids for the aforementioned All-Stars but were also tied up in trade talks for Rick Nash and Bobby Ryan. Now that the Collective Bargaining Agreement talks are underway, one has to wonder if the owners of big-market teams kept GMs on a short leash to see how the negotiations played out. Last offseason, many …

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Flyers face decisions with crowded blue line

As I’m sure you are now aware, yesterday the Flyers signed Bruno Gervais to a two-year contract with a cap hit of $825k. That fact in itself isn’t too terrible. The guy is 27 years old, right handed (which must be Homer’s #1 requirement this offseason), and played over 14 minutes a night last season with Tampa Bay. In fact, he had two seasons with the Islanders where he averaged over 20 minutes a night. So the guy is probably a relatively adequate third pairing guy, that comes at a good price. However, that isn’t the problem. As Bill Meltzer …

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Atlantic Watch: 4/4-4/10

The Flyers finished their 2011-12 regular season with a pair of games that didn’t have any kind of effect on the standings, as they beat the Buffalo Sabres and lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s those same Penguins that the Flyers will play in the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which starts tonight. Philly’s final home game of the regular season was also their final win, as they beat the visiting Sabres 2-1 on Thursday night. Ville Leino may have had a disappointing year, but he recorded his eighth of the year and second against the Flyers in the second period …

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Flyers Beat Sabres, Begin Playoffs At Pittsburgh

For the second straight season, the Flyers had a hand in ending the Buffalo Sabres’ hopes to win the Stanley Cup, as Philadelphia beat the Northeast Division club 2-1 tonight at the Wells Fargo Center. Matt Read produced the game-winning goal late in the third period, while Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 25-of-26 shots for his first win since March 24. Read carried the puck through the neutral zone and blew by Robyn Regehr at the Sabres’ blue line before he headed towards Ryan Miller all alone. As he moved left-to-right, Read remembered Miller’s poke check from earlier in the contest and released a shot before …

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Atlantic Watch: 3/28-4/3

In their four-game schedule this week, the Flyers posted a record of 2-1-1 and picked up what might be there most intense victory of the 2011-2012 regular season with their win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday. It’s those same Pens that the Flyers trail by three points for fourth in the conference and the chance for home-ice advantage in the clubs’ first-round playoff series. The Orange and Black still have a shot for fourth, but they’ll need to beat a team fighting for their playoff lives along with the Pens this week. The Broad Street Bullies started off the week with …

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Rangers Score Four In First Period, Sweep Flyers With 5-3 Win

A four-goal first period for the New York Rangers helped them hold on for a 5-3 win over the Flyers tonight at the Wells Fargo Center. Five different players scored for New York, while Henrik Lundqvist picked up his career-best 39th win of the season — six of them coming at the expense of the Orange and Black. “The last 15 minutes of the first period wasn’t good at all,” Kimmo Timonen said. “A couple of bad breakdowns in the defensive end. The start wasn’t that bad.” Ryan McDonagh, Brian Boyle, Artem Anisimov lit the lamp in the opening 20 …

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