Flyers stand pat
The Flyers ended up staying pat at the NHL's trade deadline.
Flyers stand pat
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Rumors were flying, goalies were coming and players were going.
And in the end, as the 3 o’clock NHL trade deadline passed today, the Flyers did not pull the trigger on any deals.
The Flyers flip-flopped back-and-forth throughout the day, focusing on acquiring both a goalie and depth forwards and defensemen.
Ultimately, the Flyers were hamstrung by not having high draft picks or top-end prospects to trade and just $2.625 million in available salary cap space.
Some of the names discussed at various points today include Tomas Vokoun, Dwayne Roloson and Dan Hamhuis.
In the end, Vokoun, Roloson and Hamhuis all stuck with their current teams.
"All of the players we were interested in ended up staying with their current teams," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said. "First we looked for guys who could make our team better and then we started to look for small pieces here and there."
Holmgren added that the salary cap was "never a stumbling block" for the Flyers, with space for an approximate full-season hit of $2.625 million.
Wednesday's trade deadline was one of the most boring in recent memory: 25 trades involving 42 players and 19 draft picks with none of them involving marquee players. Last year's deadline featured 45 trades.
Biggest winners: Washington, Phoenix and Pittsburgh. Buffalo also added to their team.
Other teams to not make a move: Detroit, San Jose, Los Angeles and Montreal.
"I still believe that once you get into the playoffs," Holmgren said, "anything can happen."
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter (http://twitter.com/DNFlyers).
Comments (69)
The reason they did not make a deal is that Holmgren has butchered the salary cap and used up everything in the farm system to continue to band-aid the organization. Seriously, did anyone think that Ray Emery was the answer? That will be a scab that no band-aid can cover for years to come. Get a freakin' goaltender....ML is o.k. but not the answer for the future. Good job Homer....dope.— BlueHen56- Maybe MickD should be the GM. Well said.— Jabey
- Now we get to see Hartnell and his dumb penalties kill it for us in the playoffs. Woohoo, can't wait. Thanks Homer, you lived up to your name again. Why don't you go re-sign Emery before his surgery and be sure to give him a 10 yr extension and a NTC thrown in.— Kanayd
- Dump HArtnell, Briere, Coburn and Carle!! They Suck!!!! The best player on the flyers tonight was the new guy they got a month ago!!— sawgrass
- Get used to seeing this team on the ice because they are going to be out there for the next two months and all of next year. They currently have 11 NHL forwards and 4 NHL defensement signed for next year and pretty much no goalie (Boucher is signged) After giving Parent and Coburn modest raises (and probably no movement clauses) the flyers will have about 4 million left to sign a goalie. Anyone who thinks they can sign Hamhuis or a decent goalie is in complete denial. When Carter becomes a free agent he's going to want a lot of money and he'll be walking because Gagne, Hartnell, and Briere are still under contract with no movement clauses. If anyone has any clue how the Flyers look any different next year let me know.— epbowls
- Pittsburgh and Washington got better.
- Snipes. Too bad my previos lengthy follow up was lost in internet hell. But please spare me the stats, and bring on the Cups, ok? Do you really think we can beat the Caps, and the Pens, and even make the finals? We are taking turns bringing up guys from the minors to play as our 6th d-man. I love what Leighton has done thus far, and hope it holds thru the playoffs. But I see him leaving out too may fat rebounds. Yeah, and the Pens were out of the playoffs until the end of last year. Do you think they care about the reg. season? You will see what happens in the playoffs. AGAIN, I hope they prove me wrong. Too many disappointing years to expect anything different at this point. Oh, did you say we were losing to the mighty Panthers? Check this stat: we are five points away from NOT MAKING THE PLAYOFFS.— Scott B.
- Scot B: You are an embarassment of a Flyers fan. The Flyers have the 6th highest goals per game average in the NHL, a whopping .03 of a goal per game behind the allegedly offensively stellar Pens. They have the 4th highest rated powerplay in the NHL, 20 spots ahead of the Pens. Goaltending? Leighton has been a complete stud. The Flyers have been on a roll. I like us exactly how we are. Go Flyers!
- Minutes before the Panther game....I will eat my words if Carcillo keeps complementing the first line. I thought for sure the Flyers needed an "all-star" winger there. Go get 'em Danny, for I would have no problem doing it!— bigphillydad
- Holmgren's quote to end the piece doesn't sound like someone who's confident of his team's chances. It's not that he's wrong, but it's not the kind of thing that someone who expects to win says. You build a team so that you make the things happen.— roadtriptoday
- LOL at the Devils comments. Isn't that the team we just beat twice in a row? Playoffs are all about lightning in a bottle. Who says Leights doesn't have it in him? I'm not saying it's gonna happen but I'm also saying it CAN happen. Fact is we didn't have picks and players to play the trading game this year. Another fact is that the trading game doesn't mean squat if you play up to your potential.— vafan
- I find the Holmgren bashing pretty funny. He gets criticized for trading away draft picks for players, then gets criticized for not adding a star. Kovalchuk is a rental player that turned down 10 million a season, and New Jersey gave up a blue chip prospect along with draft picks, and some capable NHL talent. The Flyers mix of youth and veteran is perfect. I would have hated to see JVR or Giroux traded for someone who would be gone in a couple months.— Hexy4GM
- I like the team the way it is. I don't see any glaring weakness, aside from unproven goaltending. The Detroit Red Wings have won cups with average goaltending, and I still believe that if there is a problem, Boucher can step up his game. As far as the guy who is complaining about Carcillo for Upshall...I'd make that trade every time. Upshall makes $1.5 million (twice what Carcillo makes) and would not play on the top 2 lines in Philly.— Hexy4GM
- This all reminds me of the year Leclair was hurt all season ... "our deadline move is getting Johnny back healthy". Wonder what happened that season? The first thing this team needs is some good scouting, there's a reason the Pens, Devils and Caps can just keep plugging in cheap talent around the core.— jcu123
- i hope we can win with the guys we got. lets face it tho, pittsburgh improved their D, New Jersey has kovalev(like they even needed him), and we got a couple journeymen defensemen. we made room by putting emery on injured reserve but we did nothing. remember 04 when we got amonte and alexei zhamnov at the trade deadline? o yea we were a goal or two from the stanley cup finals...— theeman
- We need a new GM. There is no overarching plan, except trade draft picks and young guys for guys over the hill whose contracts we'll be paying long after the players lose their effectiveness. you gfill in the names. In between, we fire the coaches as if it is their fault. This team doesn't have the make up to win a cup. The Flyers are still my favorite team in town, because hockey rules. But I'm happy baseball season is starting so when the Flyers go down in the first or second round yet again, I can switch the channel and hide my hurt and disappointment from myself. They don't have the goaltending. They don't have the scoring punch. It is ashame, becuase their fan base is so loyal. We deserve better. The Flyers spend the money; it is on the wrong guys.— Scott B.
- We have no room for any extra forwards. Who would you move? I like our balance and depth. And we should not give up on Coburn, he's still in his early 20s!!!— dahlster
- Devils, Penguins both better than us. Holmgren has NOT done a good job. At least he didnt trade another young FWd for an old Defenseman or ANOTHER goon like the last 2 yrs— Nezhy
- Once again, Holmgren fails to improve this team at the trading deadline. It is extremely disappointing. All 5 teams currently ahead of the Flyers in the standings were able to make deals to improve their respective team's chances in the playoffs. Holmgren did not, and now tries to explain this failure by claiming he likes his team's chemistry. This is nothing more than a post hac justification for his inability to get a deal done. Even the Phoenix Coyotes made significant trades today to improve a team that no one this past summer was even sure would be in existence this season!!! Under Holmgren's watch, several underperforming players now have the benefit of ntc's that provided little flexibility in making a deal today, despite having almost 3 million dollars of cap space with which to work. With that type of cap space, a deal should have been made. I am contacting the Flyers to cancel my playoff tickets. Comcast needs to clean house, not only with the Sixers but with the Flyers as well. Poor management has doomed both of these teams to nothing better than mediocrity over the next several years.— racerboy
- The Flyers really weren't in a position to make a move at this time. My concern is the play of Hartnell. He needs to stop being such a head case and just play. Hopefully now that the team is doing better overall he will stop feeling pressured. The defense was a little lax last night but it should tighten up. While I hope they'll do well in the playoffs I am realistic. I'll just say they have a chance if all the stars are alined in their favor. That's all any team can hope for.— LCBline
- Hey, it could have been worse. They could have traded away a bunch of young players to Atlanta for Chris Chelios...— Phantoms9805
- Flyers were wise not to give up anything of value for rental players. They can get Himhius for NOTHING over the summer. With or w/o him, the Flyers were not good enough to win this year. Now they need to go out over the summer and sign a big time goalie. Did I hear Luongo was a free agent this summer?— Tar Heel 1
- MICKDONAHUE: they don't have a farm to trade anymore. It's criminal that Holmgrem rewarded Richards with Pylora as his top first line winger to open the season. We have ONE defensemen playing for the team that we drafted out of 6. I love the Pronger deal and love Betts / Lappy for 4th line roles. The jury is out until we hit the playoffs, but chemistry is a HUGE part of the NHL, like the NBA, and unlike most other sports. A hockey team with chemistry can do serious damage.— MichaelZoe
- i hate to say it, but the bottom line is that management realizes there is simply no way they can win a cup this year with this group of guys (unless Pittsburgh's bus crashes into Washington's bus on an icy road somewhere) and so they just figured why do something for the sake of doing it? no player they could have gotten would have had an amazing impact on the team's chances this year. watch them, hope they make the playoffs, watch them win 3 or 4 games and enjoy the beach this summer. then, cut and paste this comment next March...— daddytc
Lavvy has the boys rolling pretty well right now. Let's see how these 6 weeks go. This is Leighton's first real chance at starting for an extended time, and you can't argue with the results. He's been nothing if not steady, perhaps bordering on great. The numbers don't lie. Are we seeing a guy finally getting a real chance and running with it, ala Craig Anderson? Maybe so. Time will tell. Let's get Flyered up! Oh yeah....the FLA GM has major cahoona's, I'll give him that, asking for Jeff Carter for Vokoun! Jeez, what was he thinking??- I agree with Mick— ChrisM
- I think we drop Ratche's salary after this year that should clear up some money. 3-4 M. We have more than enough scoring (on paper) What's really needed iis for them to keep buying into the system, skate hard for 60 minutes every game and limit the opportunities against. Leighton is solid enough and shouldn't have to stand on his head in order for us to win games. If we don't do those things, it really doesn't matter who's on the team, we wouldn't win anyway. Everyone here's seem much more talented team miss the playoffs or be eliminated in the 1st round. You want a Blowdoor? Where was he last year? MarcAndre fleury? He was hot last year...barely average this year. Miller seems to be this years golden boy... Who knows.maybe we have a sleeper or 2.. JVR? Gags, Last year Briere got hot... 60 minutes every night...— dedhed
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I for 1 am glad we didn't mortgage any more of the future, especially on a goalie. Let's go Leighton.— potus- This management group is hockey challenged!! WOW! What a bunch of BOZOS!!! Q— quigly46
- sick of Scottie Upshall chatter...really...hey, Scottie Upshall is out with a torn ACL...out indefinitely...Carcillo scored last night. I'm done with it. Looks like a good trade now huh? Move on.
- Yo, aezoll - I absolutely see the Flyers beating the Pens or Devils in the first round. Will it happen? Stay tuned, that's why they play the games.— vafan
- I'll be at the game tonight in Sunrise wearing my black 3rd jersey. My GF will be wearing her LeClaire autographed white and my son will be wearing his #16 Clarke orange throw back. All our colors will be represented.. Haven't missed a Flyers game down here since the Panthers startd in 93". 21/2 hrs to face off and I'm stoked... Let's Go Flyers CLAPCLAP..CLAPCLAPCLAP— dedhed
- It's a shame, Flyers fans know almost as little about hockey as the philly sports broadcasters do. I swear, I think all these posts come from Eagles fans. Any player available that would have actually made this team better, simply, would have cost the Flyers too much...which is why most of these players are still with their original teams, their GM's were looking to rob someone. The Flyers are very deep compared to any other team in the NHL. It won't come down to goaltending...it comes down to the Flyers grit and depth versus star power.— IcyGrail.com
- Does anyone see this team being able to best Washington in a Best of 7? No. Pittsburgh? No. New Jersey? Basically, management held pat on a team of underachievers that stands no chance of a Cup. So what's the goal? Qualify? Win one round? We're foolish to think that "all of a sudden" (sorry Stewie Griffin) everything is going to kick in and the Flyers will be a legitimate Cup contender this year.— aezoll
- Pronger trade sunk the Flyers!
- Without Upshall this team is done!!— OMIGODEAGLES
- Yo, Richie - the "you're my guys" speech from Homer will ring a little hollow now that the deadline has passed. That's all I'm sayin'. It wasn't a speech for last night's game, more of a speech for the next 22 games.— vafan
- Im not happy that they didnt pursue a Dman...but i think our offensive lineup has turned into a tight group and making a trade would ruin the chemistry Lavi has instilled.— SuPrimeau
- Sometimes the best moves are no moves at all! They seem to be getting their act together so lets hope they can ride a hot streak through the playoffs!— gottaloveit
- The fact is Washington who was already #1 in the East (and by a long shot)just strengthened themselves; they certainally didn't hurt themselves. Then Pittsburg, in my opinion made the most improvement with there acqusitions today and New Jersy made moves previously along with today that made thrm much better. Then there's my beloved Flyers. I realize about all the problems they had with a lack of draft picks and the other problems they had, but I am having a hard time believeing that they were unable to do something to improve themselves. It almost looks like to me that after they saw what the other teams did above them they said theres no way we can compete with those trades in our situation and decided to just stand pat.
- VAFan - I don't understand what that would have accomplished? Maybe they would've beaten the Lightning 9-2 instead of just 7-2. He could always give the "you guys are my guys going forward" talk now that he hasn't made any moves. Besides, there are so many closed door meetings that nobody knows if this has or is going to happen or not.— richards4captain18
- Dr Monday- I did see Sbisa (spell his name right) in the Olympics. Did you see the guy we got for him actually win a medal, a gold one at that?— richards4captain18
- The only thing I would have liked more than Homer not doing anything at the deadline would have been announcing to the team that he's not gonna do anything at the deadline. He could've given a speech for the ages to his players in The Room. There was such a small chance of any deal being made I think it would've been worth the risk. I know if a deal fell into Homer's lap he woulda been screwed by making the statement but I think he lost an opportunity to inspire his team. Either way, glad to have this team making a playoff push and I'll root for whomever is wearing orange and black.— vafan
- No-trade contracts and other mistakes have hamstrung Holmgren, but if Leighton turns out to be special Holmgren will suddenly become shrewd in everyone's eyes. They've swapped coaches. With the exception of Emery, who everyone considered a gamble anyway, they have pretty much the same team that was picked as a favorite to win the Cup at the start of the year. So it's up to the players. If the top six forwards and top 4 D can't pick it up then it's not the GM or coach at fault. They must have one of the best records in the league over the last 20-25 games. Picking up another D or winger would have been great but I like the idea of seeing what the team that was put together off-season can do.— roadtriptoday
- The Flyers have a team in place to win games. They finally have a real coach with an actual system and an identity. They have played very well the last 25 games, and the last 5 it seems like it's all coming together. Gagne may have broken out of his coma after that OT goal against NJ, Carter is on fire, Richards feels like he's skating against junior players after the Olympics, and the line of JVR, Giroux, and Asham I think is our best line. We don't need to rely on our star players to kill penalties, and we have a goalie that doesn't lose his team games. I'd have loved to add a winger like Lee Stempniak for late picks and maybe Darrol Powe, but this team is built to win now. Sure I'm very optimistic when it comes to this team, but let's drop the gloom and doom that hasn't happened yet and actaully watch the rest of the season. If you want to hate, go to the Sixer's articles.— richards4captain18
- no picks, no cap room. sucks.— bobbyd24
- My wallet will be standing pat as well. The flyers expect you to invest thousands of dollars in playoff tickets upfront yet they obviously dont think they can contend this year or else they would have made a move. This team needs help and everyone can see this.— Crosbysucks
- Simon Gagne will rebound and be the GREAT player he has been in the past. Not trading him was a very good idea.— fiyabear
- What I think you meant "was one of the most boring in recent memory" for the league...for the Flyer's it has been boring every year since Clarke. Too many no trade clauses and long term deals for 20 goal scorers that get paid to score 40. Again we sit and watch the teams above us in the standings use the deadline to get better while we are forced to watch with our hands tied. Also a team that can't get a consistent season out of a goalie... and come February have no number 1...and resort to riding the hottest of the back-ups. BTW...where did our draft picks go, I know one went packaged with Scotty Upshall for Dan Carcillo. BTW, did you see our first round pick Luca Spiza in the olympics?— drmonday
- how soon people forget...this team was last in league a few years back...Holmgren did a nice job getting us back in the running...and for the last time......Upshall is no longer a flyers....get over it— LongtimeFan3
- Flyers stink .— Anthony77
- Nothing wrong with standing pat. They weren't going to make any moves that were going to make a significant enough dent in a Cup run anyway.— OMIGODEAGLES
- I miss the no cap days...— JesseH
- Spot on mickd!— JohnnyN
- Spot on mickd!— JohnnyN
- Homer painted himself into a corner with nothing to trade. He's given away a ton of picks already and that will hurt for years to come.— BobbyD
- May want to proof your stuff there - Los Angeles made a move as did Detroit...guess checking the actual moves was a lot to ask huh?— Favorthabold
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- This was the best news Flyers fans could hope for, no more quick fixes and sell the farm moves. Now they need to go out and play their best and see how far they can go. I personally don't see them getting any further than the 2nd round, with a first round ouster a strong possiblility. Nevertheless, they were not going to get any further by making a useless trade at the deadline. Now Homer needs to figure a way to improve this team in the offseason by unloading some salary and giving us more flexibility to make moves going forward.— MICKDONAHUE
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- Get used to this for the next few years the way the team is strapped with salary cap.— ericg610
- how's that 2nd round pick for Carcillo looking? and we gave them upshall...— rothstein12
- I would have liked to see Hamhuis, especially if we could have gotten rid of Coburn in the process, but I'm definitely glad we didn't get stuck with Roloson. I'm even glad we stuck with Leighton instead of Vokoun, especially if we had to give up any current roster players for him, except Coburn. The idea of Carter for Vokoun is just a joke, but I wouldn't even give up any of our other players except Coburn. I'm OK with them standing pat.— mbrown3
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- The Flyers were smart to stand pat. They should have made the announcement earlier, because there was no way they should have done anything anyway. We are deep in the F, deep enough in D, and Leighton may be the next Bernie Parent for all I know. Now, go Flyers!— NickFotiu4HOF
- Well, at least we have the draft to look forward to.......DOH!!!— FlyFifty8
- Seems like everyone in the Atlantic got better and the flyers stand pat. It's not going to get any better until you can get rid of bad contracts like Gagne and Bierre. Without there contracts............— Big Bog
- Washington added D. Pitts added D and O. Devils added D. The boys on the Flyers better thank their lucky striped they didn't end up in Carolina or Columbus. NOW GO GET'EM AND BRING THE CUP HOME!— MichaelZoe
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