Flyers claim surprised Boynton off waivers
Daily News Flyers blog
Flyers claim surprised Boynton off waivers
The Flyers have gone to the waiver wire to try and bolster their banged up defense.
On Saturday morning, the Flyers claimed defenseman Nick Boynton off waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks. Boynton, 32, a veteran journeyman, has played 595 NHL games.
"Nick is a right shot defenseman that will bring experience and depth to our team," Paul Holmgren said.
Boynton will not be available to play for the Flyers tonight in Ottawa. Rookie defenseman Erik Gustafsson is expected to make his NHL debut in place of an injured Chris Pronger.
With Gustafsson on the roster, Holmgren was forced to send forward James van Riemsdyk down to Adirondack to make room to add Boynton. That means that van Riemsdyk, who went to Ottawa with the Flyers on Friday, cannot play tonight against the Senators.
"Just for today," Holmgren said in a text message about van Riemsdyk's status.
By default, that means that Nik Zherdev will play against Ottawa after sitting out the last 7 games as a healthy scratch. Van Riemsdyk, along with Claude Giroux, Sergei Bobrovsky and Andreas Nodl, are the only players Holmgren has the flexibility to send to the AHL and back without risk of losing them on waivers.
With Boynton healthy, he can take Gustafsson's spot on the roster, which would clear room for Van Riemsdyk to be brought back.
By claiming Boynton off waivers, the Flyers are responsible to pay the prorated remainder of his $500,000 salary, which is $118,280. To put his salary in perspective, Boynton earns $100,000 less this year than Oskars Bartulis.
Boynton was a small part of the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup team last season, playing in just 3 playoff games and another 7 games in the regular season. He did play in the clinching Game 6 for Chicago at the Wells Fargo Center.
"I couldn't be happier," Boynton said Saturday. "I was a little shocked and didn't realize that I was put on waivers until late last night, but I couldn't ask to be coming to a better team or organization. I've been around the league for a while and I hope to bring that experience, try to work hard and play solid defense and chip in with whatever the team needs."
Boynton will wear No. 24 with the Flyers.
He has been a healthy scratch in 18 of the Blackhawks’ last 22 games, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, but has collected 1 goal and 7 assists in 41 games this season. He came to Chicago via a trade from Anaheim last season.
Interestingly, Boynton played his first full professional season under Flyers coach Peter Laviolette with the AHL's Providence Bruins.
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I think JVR will be fine with this...He knows it only for a game. I also think this is a great depth pickup for very little cost.
They can send JVR down for the weekend to make a roster spot without risking him through waivers/re-entry. Nodl has likely been sent down and back too many times to do it again. If they send Zherdev down he has to clear re-entry if called back up. So, they send JVR down for one game, and see what the renewed Zherdev does in this game. JVR will be back on Monday and Gustaffson will be a Phantom. I think Boynton was a cheap pick-up for a guy that has NHL and playoff experience.— DocGonzo- #24 first worn by Larry Zeidel. I remember it like it was yesterday.— krammar
- If they didn't make a trade and we ended up short on defensemen in the playoffs, then Holmgren didn't prepare properly and he'd be ripped...So he makes the move and some moron has to complain for the hell of it. Silly...Nice move— ericyshel
- JVR will miss 1 game, big deal. They now have a veteran defenseman in the fold again. Homer has got to be a top 3 gm in the NHL. I don't think that another move is needed but if they make 1 I'm excited to see what Homer does. Can't wait to see what Z does tonight.— dj.curly
- jvr stinks, second pick in the draft? whiff— tooltime
People do not appreciate Nodl's contribution to the team effort enough. This guy always jumps after the puck, wins puck battles, is defensively responsible, has a great work ethic and good discipline, and is an occasional offensive producer at a low price. Getting Boynton is perfectly alright as an insurance against piling injuries. Good job by Homer!- The people trashing JVR as a "whiff" don't have a clue. Look at the top 10 picks from that draft. Kane is a fantastic player, but after that, JVR is the best of the rest. Gagner and Voracek have played reasonably well the past two years, but JVR is currently performing better than them and has a higher ceiling. The rest of the players taken in the top 10 have not established themselves in the league. Everybody knew that JVR would require some development when he was drafted, and he's still only 21. Nobody in their right mind expected him to score 40 goals this year. Give him some time to develop, as he's already shown flashes of his very high potential.— Mike P
- Anyone who remembers Sami Kapanen playing defense against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 knows why this move was made.— Kev H
- Great move, seriously. Can't have enough experience at D. Boynton is replacing Bartulis, in effect. Thank you Oskars, you'll be missed.— hallux
- Nice to see the affected individual players not complaining about these pick-ups (Leino, JVR). This is beginning to look a lot like a team that is all about solidarity of purpose, the overall group and the CUP.— Ticogringomike
- guys, do some of you actually read the articles? JVR is in Ottowa with the Flyers. He has "officially" been sent to AHL for 1 day to make room, until he is recalled tomorrow. All it means is "hey JVR, go relax in the luxury box tonight!" He will suit back up tomorrow
Hey, my wife is thinking of putting me on waivers. If she does, maybe the Flyers will claim me. I'm a right-hand shot and I can play D.- The reason JVR was sent down was simple. He was odd man out. They couldn't send Giroux or Bob down, they are too important. They want to light a fire under zherdev since we are stuck with him and he showed some effort in practice so he stayed. And the reason it was JVR to go over Nodl is pretty obvious if you know anything about the game of hockey. We have plenty of healthy goal scorers, but we probably lost pronger and definitely betts for this game. That means we are short of penalty killers. Nodl is one of the teams better penalty killers, hence he stays.
As for boynton, he is someone who the flyers have sought after before. He isn't great, but he's better than most minor leaguers that have little or no experience. With walker and bartulis both gone, we needed something. A veteran cup winner for only around $100K and nothing else who will be gone next season is a great pickup. But I think holmgren isn't done dealing yet.— kodi69
