APP ONLY: Seravalli's Mailbag 1/11/11
Each week, we will answer questions from Flyers fans about the latest happenings regarding the team. To submit your question, e-mail seravaf@phillynews.com.
Frank,
Regarding your article on Monday, about Paul Holmgren looking to upgrade, how about Kris Versteeg from Toronto? The Maple Leafs are shopping him around like he's a new iPhone.
-Mike Gardner
Mike,
Unfortunately, I haven't heard the same thing. Kris Versteeg is one of the truly gifted players in the league, but it seems like he hasn't been able to put it all together. And besides, I think he is a player that Brian Burke would like to build around with Phil Kessel in Toronto. Versteeg, 24, has 12 goals and 19 assists in 40 games this year. He would undoubtedly make a difference. But he is not a pending unrestricted free agent, which would make him so attractive, as he signed a 3-year, $9.25 million deal after two summers ago with Chicago before winning the Cup. He would just be another salary the Flyers would have to jockey in the offseason.
-Frank
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Frank,
Longtime West Coast Flyers fan here (since 1971). Although born and raised in Modesto,California I am a big hockey fan who grew up playing the sport and coaching youth hockey at our local rink back in the '70s and '80s, I even played college hockey albeit club hockey at Fresno State in the late '70s, so I feel my resume with hockey is somewhat strong. My idea for the new NHL All-Star game format would be to tweak this new format a little bit. I like the idea of the so called top two players in the league picking sides so to speak but, what if you had serious hockey fans (2) each year pick the teams? And obviously I would love to be one of them but the general public may not be interested in watching a team picked by "Joe Blow" so why not have two celebrities who are die hard hockey fans as all-star game coaches and they pick the team with say a former NHL player as a consultant. My first two choices would be Dennis Leary to pick and coach the east conference with say Cam Neely as his adviser and Kurt Russell to pick and coach the west conference with say Luc Robitaille as his adviser. Both of these celebs are huge hockey fans and have been connected to the game for quite awhile. I am sure there are other celebs who are just as deserving but Leary and Russell have earned their chance.
-Bill Scheuber
Turlow, Calif.
Bill,
That's an interesting proposal. I don't know how I feel about the new All-Star Game format, personally. To me, it sounds a little bit gimmicky, like a bad event that is just being further cheapened by crappy ideas. But I'm not sold on that yet. I want to see how it plays out. It will be interesting to see who the two captains are that will be deciding the teams. I'm imagining one will be Sidney Crosby. The other could be Jonathan Toews or even Alex Ovechkin. But will they pick friends? Or are they trying to win? How does the player who is picked last react? I don't think have a fan or even celebrity would do it much good in terms of publicity. The fans already had their say in the fan voting - and frankly, I don't really care who the celebrities want to see on the ice. We play to see them on the big screen, they can pay to see the All-Star Game. They don't need to extend their hand asking for more publicity. That's just my view.
-Frank
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Frank,
With the Flyers apparently missing out on a deal for Jamie Langenbrunner, do you think there is a chance that they could get Trent Hunter from the Islanders? I've been thinking for a while that the Flyers need another big forward to go along with Scott Hartnell and Hunter would make a lot of sense. Michael Leighton could be used as trade bait now that Dwayne Roloson has been dealt to Tampa Bay. What do you think?
-Brian McAdams
Brian,
I'm not exactly certain the Flyers would be interested in a guy like Trent Hunter. His salary is certainly manageable, at $2 million, but I don't think the Flyers want a guy that has an additional two seasons remaining on his deal. While Hunter's stats are decent, he has never been a winner at the NHL level since he's always played with the Islanders. I wonder how not winning for so long effects how you approach the game on a daily basis. Hunter's also had some injury questions with just 4 points in 17 games this year.
-Frank
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