Flyers lose out on DeKeyser
Daily News Flyers blog
Flyers lose out on DeKeyser
In the end, the lure of the hometown winged wheel was too sweet.
Undrafted free agent defenseman Dan DeKeyser, who decided to not return to Western Michigan for his senior season, has agreed to terms with the Detroit Red Wings, according to multiple reports.
The Flyers were seriously interested in adding DeKeyser. Chairman Ed Snider was among the Flyers’ brass to personally pitch Philadelphia to the Detroit native on Wednesday at an hour-long meeting in Toronto. The last free agent Snider personally persued was goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov in 2011.
As far as entry-level contracts go, almost every team in the DeKeyser sweeptstakes was on an even playing field, since there is a maximum salary of $925,000. Performance-based bonuses could have pushed the figure even higher than that.
DeKeyser, 23, was publicly linked to Detroit, Edmonton, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, Nashville and many others. Nearly all 30 teams made some kind of inquiry to Newport Sports Group agent Don Meehan about his client. DeKeyser is a mature, 6-foot-3 agile puck mover.
The Flyers had been pursuing DeKeyser since at least last spring, when he flirted with a decision of possibly leaving school after only two seasons. Even in a down season, when the Flyers likely offered an immediate spot in their battered NHL lineup, it wasn’t enough to sway DeKeyser away from the Wings.
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detroit redwings or the philadelphia flyers. hmm..........no brainer.— tmq- I am upset.. Very upset I knew Wings had him in training camp but come on.. Throw money at him, do whatever it takes. We have nothing in the AHL. Homer destroyed Phantoms wiht his constant trades.— Nitroglycerin
- The guy is from Detroit and the Flyers never really had a chance to sign him unless Detroit walked away. Just move on.— zeke128
- lost season, what's next, roof blowing off the Spectrum?— bemused
The issue is that Philly's crime rate wasn't high enough and the city government not corrupt enough for his liking. I mean, Philly ranks pretty highly on both fronts, but Detroit is on a different level.- Or maybe, and I don't want to sound too over the top here, given that all 30 teams could only offer a maximum amount that a kid who grew up rooting for the Red Wings, maybe, just maybe, wanted to play for his home team? Or is that too much common sense?— pizano13
- I'm sure this guy was impressed by talking to Snider.— easy
- Flyers magic not good enough— shawnmac
- He could have chosen Columbus or the Flyers,a difficult choice, but took the homie instead. What a shock.— 4thand10
- No talented prospect or big time free agent wants to sign with an organization not dedicated to wining. If snider really cared he would have held Holmgren and lavy accountable by now! Approaching 40 years with no cup, why would any big time player want to play here?— Flyer72
- Absoultly dead on Flyer72 — Race2First
- Kid wants to win...that concept ain't here!— bvl390
- Flyers who?
— slade1955 - Let's face it, DeKeyser wanted to sign with his home town Red Wings all along. That being said, if the money is comparable, why would any big time players agent possibly recommend his free agent client sign with the Flyers? Just look at this team and its minor league affiliate. There's years of rebuiling work to be done here.— Race2First
- haha, is there something we won recently ? we loose everything, season, games, players... maybe we can win draft lotery :)— mvandei
