Flyers trade 'not imminent'
UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- On the heels of our Frequent Flyers post on Wednesday about the Flyers possibly pursuing a trade with the Maple Leafs, the rumors appear to be gaining momentum.
Flyers trade 'not imminent'
UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- On the heels of our Frequent Flyers post on Wednesday about the Flyers possibly pursuing a trade with the Maple Leafs, the rumors appear to be gaining momentum.
Two organizational sources confirmed what TSN’s Darren Dreger reported on their ‘Insider Trading’ show on Thursday night, that Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren and Leafs general manager Brian Burke have indeed spoken about a potential trade.
At this point, sources say no formal offer has been made for any player.
Dreger subsequently reported that Luke Schenn, the brother of Flyers forward Brayden Schenn, has not been offered to any team in a trade. That does not, however, mean that Schenn is off the market.
As of last night, however, it appeared that no deal was imminent.
Interestingly, Burke joined The Fan 590 AM in Toronto on Wednesday and confirmed that he does have a possible trade boiling on the burner. Burke also said he would not be against “trading a 22-year-old of one position for a 22-year-old of another position.”
It just so happens that James van Riemsdyk, who signed a 6-year, $25.5 million contract extension last summer, and Schenn are same age (22) as the number mentioned by Burke. Whether that was pure coincidence or a top-of-mind comment is anyone's guess.
Van Riemsdyk has battled through various injuries but, all considered, has largely put up disappointing numbers with 11 goals and 11 assists in 37 games. Van Riemsdyk is on-pace to eclipse last season’s point total by just 4.
Schenn was asked about any potential trade on Thursday in Toronto.
“In the three and a half years that I’ve been here, there has been a few rumors about trades that were going to happen,” Schenn told reporters in Toronto. “They come up every year somehow. It doesn’t really mean much. They’re just rumors and I’m happy being here in Toronto.”
We reported on Wednesday that Flyers director of player development Don Luce was spotted at the Air Canada Centre for the third time in as many weeks. Luce also spent a solid chunk of time in Toronto before the Flyers acquired Kris Versteeg last Valentine’s Day.
Right now, it appears that the Flyers - who will likely make some sort of trade for defensive depth before the Feb. 27 trade deadline - appear to have their sights set on Nashville’s Ryan Suter, who is in the final year of his deal. The Flyers will get an up-close look at Suter this weekend in Tennesee.
Carolina’s Tim Gleason, as we reported last month, is also a name on the Flyers’ list. Gleason, also a pending UFA, will likely be a hot commodity at the deadline at a much cheaper price than bother Suter and Schenn.
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT: There were a total of 12 rookies selected by the NHL’s hockey operations department last Thursday to send to Ottawa for the Rookie Skills competition. Sean Couturier, 19, is 11th in points among rookies. There are 19 rookies with more assists than him. His offensive numbers are not flashy.
Yet, Couturier was still selected to head to Ottawa, a tip of the cap to the completeness of Couturier’s suave game. Just one rookie, Ottawa’s own Jared Cowen, has played more minutes shorthanded than Couturier. He is third in plus/minus rating and fourth in faceoff win percentage.
Matt Read, 25, will join Couturier in Ottawa for the skills competition, where they will be participating in the same drills as the bonafide All-Stars on international television. Read is tied for the league lead in goals among rookies.
“I think it’s great,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “You get to go to an event with the best players in the league. It’s well deserved. We’ve used these guys in [big] roles all year and we count on them and trust them. Not only do we recognize their talent, but it looks like other people do, as well.”
Both Couturier and Read have come a long way in the last calendar year. With Drummondville in the QMJHL, he was just finally getting adjusted to the season after a slow start because of mononucleosis. Read was in his senior season at Minnesota’s Bemidji State.
Couturier said on Thursday that he still sometimes doesn’t believe he’s in the NHL. Read said he would have told his friends to “get real” if they would have predicted this.
“Actually, I got a text from Claude Giroux after practice with ‘congratulations,’” Read said. “I said, ‘for what, what are you talking about?’ I’m still shocked I’m going."
SUSPENSION COMING? Islanders defenseman Steve Staios might not want to answer his phone on Friday. He may be getting a call from NHL director of player safety, Brendan Shanahan, for his dirty hit on Max Talbot.
Video of the hit is below.
With 4:31 to play, Talbot was blindsided by Staios when he turned around after receiving the puck along the boards.
Talbot, 27, was slow to get up and needed assistance getting to the bench. Video replay shows that Staios’ first connection with Talbot was to the head. Talbot did finish the game but said afterward that he had no inkling the hit was coming. He did not seem like himself post-game.
“I had zero idea, none at all,” Talbot said. “That’s what we’re trying to stop in the NHL, shots like that head shot. I had no time to react. I felt like the point of contact was my head. I didn’t the replay or anything, but from what I felt, it was a pretty dangerous hit. But we’ll see what they say.”
There was no penalty called on the play by either official, referees Francois St. Laurent or Steve Kozari, which riled up the Flyers’ bench.
“When I saw it live, I didn’t like it,” Laviolette said. “At the time, the observation [from the referees] was that it was a full-body contact.”
SOUTHERN COMFORT: Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timonen were traded to the Flyers in June, 2007. They played a combined 1,009 games in a Predators sweater. Yet, in a scheduling quirk, the Flyers have been back there once in the last 5 seasons. Saturday (8 o’clock start) will be their second matchup.
Last time, on March 16, 2009, a Predators fan greeted Hartnell outside the arena with a life-size cardboard cutout, which Hartnell proudly autographed and posed for a picture... with himself, himself and the fan.
The Flyers have never lost in regulation in Nashville (2-0-2-2) in the franchise’s 14-year history there.
STAT WATCH: Speaking of Timonen, here’s a random stat: Timonen has a better points-per-game rate (0.512) over his career than forward James van Riemsdyk (0.510).
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers
Poll: Should Hartnell have been invited to the All-Star Game?
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Philly57 is right on if Bryz was the real thing you should be able to have 3 pairs of Oscar Bartulis in front of him and not have too bad a record— whilly- I agree. Bryz is being so badly outplayed by Bob and they have the same defenses in front of them. That is why Bryz is a bust so far. He was brought in to steal some games in the clutch. Some other posters have we lowered the bar so far as to say "less goals will be scored if the defense was better." Thank you captain obvious. — chris_r
- The Flyers needed a goalie, badly, and signed the top free agent available. Anyone who thinks that was a bad idea is dumb. No one likes a Monday morning quarterback! As for JVR, he dominated last year in the playoffs if he was that terrible, Toronto wouldn't want him. I also don't want Luke Schenn. He can barely get minutes on Toronto's average defensive group. Why do we want another Lilja or Matt Walker? If we are trying to replace future hall of famer Chris Pronger, then a 5th dman isn't getting it done. We need someone who plays on the PP, logs tough minutes against top lines... not a hack.— macd41144
- RUMORS!— fman727
- We are the 3rd youngest team in NHL... FYI— fman727
- Lavy is lost. Who is going to get killed before he dresses some toughness. By toughness, I don't mean Rinaldo. Atleast they're winning. Mark my words though, someone is going to hurt Giroux or Jagr.— HulkHogan
- Sharp at least tried when he was a flyer.....you can't teach heart..JVR is similar to Carter in that respect, but at least Carter put 30plus in a year to make up for it....— philly thug
- philly57, not sure what team you are watching, but it isn't this Flyers team. Our defense has been AWFUL. Turnovers, bad passes, not clearing out the crease, not outletting the puck properly, always being caught out of position and/or covering the wrong guy OR nobody at all. Occasionally both of these goalies have stolen games (like the two this week against EC teams #14 and #15), but for the most part, these goalies have been getting shelled as a direct result of the ineffective play of the blueline...with the exception of Timonen and sometimes Mez, these guys all look lost out there more often than not. There isn't a goalie in the league other than a streaking Tim Thomas or Lundquist who would look any better behind this defense's play right now. And even those two get burned when their D breaks down. Trust me: picking up a top-pair defenseman would go a LONG way toward fixing the goaltending issues of this team.— Americanitis
- What the Flyers need is the ability to win more games in the way that they did in Carolina and against the NYI. Hard fought, grinded out 2-1 or 3-2 wins. Although their play was sloppy last night Bob did what Bryz is supposed to be doing, stealing games and making big saves when the defense breaks down in front of him. That said adding a solid, not flashy, DMAN like Schenn of Gleason would be a solid and smart move for the Flyers to help eliminate some of those mistakes. For the price they would have to pay and moves to clear cap space I really don’t see Weber or Sutter coming to Philly. JVR has not been a factor at all this season. He has put up points and looked solid at times but is unwilling to use his size and play the game physically. The Flyers would be able to make a straight up trade for Schenn or Gleason for JVR and I think that is exactly what they should do.— uscg60
- Trading JVR now is selling low. If you get a top-line defenseman, fine, but for a 4 or 5 like Luke Schenn?? That makes me throw up in my mouth a little.— willthethrill11
- The blue line isn't bad as it stands - but it's not going to contain the elite teams either. Add to that - very important - the centers are weak defensively. Briere is non existent in the defensive end and Giroux (like Briere) is too small to handle defensive responsibilities. The D needs attention but I would not trade JVR at this time for Schenn.........get closer to the deadline you'll get more options on the market. We're not going to challenge for a cup this year so JVR should be retained.— Northcountry
- this would be an absolutely moronic time to trade JVR. his value is so low right now because he's been hurt all year. you don't give up on a guy who is hurt. especially when you aren't going to get the value he is truly worth. people are low on him right now. lower than his true potential.— Ryan
- Wouldn't want to be Homer now. Trade JVR? Bob? Dont wanna see anyone go thats young and on the rise. JVR is not 100% and still contributes. Remmber Versteeg last year? Could have/ almost lost JVR in that deal. See how Gus does. We are in the thick of the hunt now , albeit banged up too, and holding our own. Have patience, play better Defence with the lead, and see what shakes over the next month. Lotsa teams will have needs and lotsa UFA's out there. If Bryz stopped a couple of goals or if we didn't turn them over we wouldn't be having this conversation. I really don't wanna watch JVR become the next Sharpe, Williams, or Fedetenko while we have an aging acquisition on our bench. This team is very, very good considering: it is a young team, totally revamped from last year, and they have gelled much better and faster than ANYONE in the hockey world predicted they would. ........Good luck Homer! wouldntwanabeya! Go FLYERS! P.S. hope to see sestito on the ice for the next Islanders game haha!— Pocono Phlyer
- No way would I give up on JVR so fast. With Couturier and Talbot able to play good minutes at center, I'd dangle Schenn to get us that defenseman we need..I'd also dangle Byrzgalov too and see if anyone would be interested. Bobrovsky is younger and better than Byrz and we can always use Leighton as our backup. I hate the thought of being stuck with Bryz for 8 more years.— bradco
- Trading JVR right now is lunacy especially for just Schenn, news flash Luke Schenn is a 4-5 defenseman, Brayden is the better of the two brothers, by far. If anything I'd be dangling Hartnell hoping that his goal outburst has raised his value enough to get us a really good d-man and to shed his salary, you put JVR where hartsy is right now and you would get very similar if not even better production, it's all about being on a line with giroux.— mdb20
