Turco to Philly?
With Kari Lehtonen being sent to Dallas on Tuesday from Atlanta, does that mean Marty Turco will be heading to Philadelphia?
Turco to Philly?
NEWARK, N.J. – Before a flake of snow could accumulate on the ground in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, the internet was brimming with a flurry of Flyers rumors.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t about Ray Emery and his injury concerns.
Rather, it was about another goaltender: the Dallas Stars’ Marty Turco, who quickly became a trending topic on Twitter.
Turco officially became expendable by the Stars on Tuesday when they acquired Kari Lehtonen from Atlanta for defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy and a 4th round pick. The deal was finalized late Tuesday night.
Turco’s name, though, has been connected with the Flyers in the rumor mill for weeks.
Rogers Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos was the first to report on Tuesday that the Flyers are at the top of the list for Turco, helping fuel the frenzy.
That potential move could be interesting, given Ray Emery’s current health situation and Michael Leighton’s experience in the NHL playoffs – coupled with the fact that Turco will be an unrestricted free agent come July 1.
But here’s why Turco coming to Philadelphia is more than a long shot:
1. Salary - Turco’s cap hit is $5.7 million. That means the Flyers would need to sacrifice about $5.2 million in salary in a trade with the Stars just to fit him under the cap this season.
To recap, the Flyers’ list of no-trade or no-movement clauses: Simon Gagne, Danny Briere and Kimmo Timonen.
2. Playoff history: Is Marty Turco the goaltender that the Flyers think will put them over the top? Turco holds a bunch of Stars records (wins, shutouts, games played) and a modern NHL record (1.72 GAA in a season, 2002-03) but his success has never converted to the playoffs. Since Turco became Dallas’ full-time starter in 2002-03, the Stars have gone to the playoffs every year but one. Those trips have included four first round exits and one trip the Western Conference Semifinals.
The Flyers went that far with Marty Biron in 2007-08. He walked as a free agent last July.
3. The short-term: Do the Flyers want to sacrifice a potential impact player for their playoff run in order to acquire Turco, who wouldn’t be guaranteed to be Flyers’ property come 2010-11?
That’s the same dilemma this franchise faced when weighing Ilya Kovalchuk.
4. The long-term: If the Flyers do acquire Turco, is he definitely the Flyers’ long-term solution? A change in scenery may do Turco some good. While his stats have never been horrible, this season hasn’t been his best in Dallas.
But if the Flyers trade a decent piece or two to acquire him – and are willing to lock him up for a few years – they need to be sure he is the right piece.
It’s important to keep in mind that Turco turns 35 in August when thinking long-term.
Chew on this: Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren is on the record last week, saying the Flyers don’t have any interest in Turco. Then again, Holmgren insisted the Flyers didn’t have any interest in Kovalchuk.
We know he was involved in some way in those trades talks. How much? We’ll never know.
The same applies for this situation. But I’d bet Holmgren will be on the horn with Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk at some point on Wednesday just to check in.
For now, Nieuwendyk told the Dallas Morning News on Tuesday that “it’s still [Turco’s] net” and he will stick with three goalies for now.
Nieuwendyk’s hand was forced, really, as Lehtonen was the only young and unproven goaltender that was available for a reasonable price. The Stars were set to enter the offseason with four goalies as unrestricted free agents.
Just three points out of a playoff spot, is Lehtonen – who hasn’t played a game this season – the Stars’ goalie for their playoff push? That’s not the Flyers’ problem. But if he isn’t, will the Stars hang on to Turco and let him walk in July?
Before push can come to shove, Holmgren needs to make a few decisions:
-Does Emery require surgery on his hip? If so, does he need it now or can he finish the season? Not fully healthy, does he give the Flyers their best chance to win?
-Is Emery the Flyers’ goaltender of the future?
-Does Emery’s health have any impact on whether the Flyers would be interested in Turco?
The heat is on: the NHL roster freeze sets in on Friday night at midnight and lasts until Feb. 28 – when the Olympics end. After that, Holmgren will have just four days to talk shop until the NHL’s trade deadline on March 3 at 3 p.m.
The clock is ticking.
For an update on any possible weather-related changes to the Flyers’ game in New Jersey on Wednesday night, stay tuned to Frequent Flyers and Frank Seravalli’s Twitter at http://twitter.com/DNFlyers.
As long as the defense remains strong in front of him, leave Leighton in goal and Boosh as backup.— boris
Comment removed.- 36 years. Yes Turco is the answer. Give me a break! Instead of getting a scoring winger for the Richards line these numbskulls put Carcillo there. They have spent more time making room for goons and playing dump and chase hockey for decades while the Islanders, Rangers, Devils, and Penquins have all one cups. They need three lines that can score. Instead they replaced Knuble and Lupul with Carcillo. Gagne won't shoot the puck or even get into scoring position while he's trying to find his scoring touch. Injuries aside I am sick of Gagne, Hartnell and Briere and their tired excuses.— LCBline
- Comment removed.
- The Flyers are going nowhere, and its not because of the snow.— Anthony77
- LCBline, in case you didn't realize this, Carcillo has 2 more goals than Gagne does this season. Danny's making about 4.5 mil less. He's one of the few players that actually shows up every night. He has a shooting % of over 10, Gagne's is 6.1. He actually hits people. He deserves to be on the top line more than Gagne does. If not for the Rangers, Gags would have 3 goals. He's not a 1'st or 2'nd line player anymore. I'd rather see Pyorala in there. Nothing wrong with our goalies either, even Brodeur loses when his team doesn't score.— hero
- LCBline: "They need three lines that can score." Hmmm... we had the most balanced offense in the league last year, were inconsistent all season, and lost in the first round of the playoffs. Try again. "Instead they replaced Knuble and Lupul with Carcillo." Hmmm... last i checked, Lupul was replaced by Pronger, who (despite a noticeable absence of physical play) has been solid all year on D, brings the best out of Carle, and is having a great offensive season. Losing Knuble definitely hurt, but it freed up money to get Betts and Lappy (and a good amount left over to spare), and those two have been key contributors off the stat sheet all year. You can't have an entire team of multi-million dollar players, sorry, that's the NHL.
- HERO, Nice, very nice! Love Carcillo! take him bfore gagne any day. I was at the game the other night, and gagne was suppose to go on the ice, but, he wasnt ready, and was putting his equipment on as play started. Where the hell is this guys head at? Or heart for that matter— PEFF
- Neebo and everyone else talking about how the problem on this team is a lack of offense, you do realize the Flyers are tied for 8th in the NHL in goals per game and have the 4th best power play, right? Hell, they are averaging only .17 of a goal less per game than the mighty Penguins, with all that team's alleged offensive talent. If our offense is sooooo bad, what does that say about the 22 teams behind us in offensve production?
- Leighton is our starter. He has had a bad game, or two, but has been solid for the most part. Hopefully, these line changes continue to produce goals and we stop losing games 1-0 / 2-0. Any move for a defense man or goalie just wouldn't make sense.— phoreverphilly
- Hero: I like Carcillo a lot, but your comparison isn't really fair comparing goals for the season between him and Gagne. Carcillo has played in 20 more games than Gagne, which makes the numbers closer than you and i both know they would be otherwise. Moreover, Gagne has triple the assists of Carcillo, despite the discrepency in games played. Gagne put up stellar numbers last year and has been hurt pretty much this entire season. Give the guy a break... he's earned it. If he flops next year, i'm with you 100%, but i think Gagne still has a lot of upside left.
- I like Leighton in goal. He proves to be a good goalie.— z03mbm
- I have an idea! Let's go back in time and NOT TRADE Nitty. He was the best goaltender we've had in years and that dummy John Stevens was too blind to see it. He never gave him a fair shake at a few back-to-back starts. We don't need more goaltenders so why even write about it. We need scoring. GET RID OF GAGNE! He's garbage…send him to New Jersey with the rest of the trash.— springfish
- Comment removed.
- Some of you freak on Homer 'cause some dude writes about a possible trade? Let's be clear - Paul Holmgren did not write this article nor has Paul Holmgren confirmed the subject of this article. Now, if you want to disagree with the author of this article, flame away.— vafan
