A farewell to Carcillo?
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
A farewell to Carcillo?
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
When the Flyers acquired Dan Carcillo from Phoenix in 2009 for Scottie Upshall and a second-round draft pick in 2011, general manager Paul Holmgren said the feisty winger would be a popular player.
"The fans," Holmgren said at the time, "are going to love him."
It hasn’t quite happened.
Oh, Carcillo has had some bright (and never dull) moments, and he has attracted his share of supporters, but….
In a philly.com survey of about 4,400 fans (through Tuesday), 67.4 percent said they wanted to see Carcillo go.
Because of his carefree personality on the ice, Carcillo is frequently misunderstood. He cares about results more than most of his teammates. That’s why he was crying between the first and second period of Game 4 of the conference semifinals against Boston on May 6.
Carcillo felt he had let his teammates down, drawing a first-period cross-checking penalty that was converted into a power-play goal that gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead.
After that period, a frustrated Carcillo also screamed at the officials _ and on Tuesday he was given a two-game suspension that will be served at the start of the 2011-12 season.
Will he be serving the suspension with the Flyers or with another NHL team?
The Flyers are undecided about whether to re-sign the potential restricted free agent.
I can understand both sides.
Carcillo, 26, brings much-needed energy to the Flyers with his hustling play.
Then again, his penchant for bad penalties _ which improved a bit under coach Peter Laviolette _ has proved costly.
It figures to cost a little over $1 million to re-sign the player affectionately known as “Car Bomb.” Is that too much for a player who dropped in goals (12 to 4), points (22 to 6), plus-minus ratings (plus-5 to minus-14) and time on ice (11:15 per game to 7:46 ) from 2009-10 to 2010-11?
Probably.
If Carcillo isn’t re-signed, his work ethic and passion for the game will be remembered fondly _ at least by the “other” 32.6 percent who voted in our survey.
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The Flyers signed free-agent goalie Niko Hovinen, a 6-foot-7, 200-pounder, to a entry-level contract on Tuesday. Hovinen is an intriguing 23-year-old prospect who had decent stats (2.59 GAA, .921 save percentage) for a lowly Finnish team last season.
“I’ve seen him for a few years,” Holmgren said. “He’s very athletic for his size, and obviously he covers a lot of the net.”
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I'm not sure that the "fans" who want to see him go are legit. Why would so many people want to watch a heart player leave a team that could use a little more heart? I will say, he has a target on his back, but if he would stop trying to draw penalties with the exaggerated head toss, maybe that would be the beginning of the end of the referees' prejudices against him. We let Steve Downie go for the same reasons - would the same 67% say that he's of no use as well?— Hockey Al
he sucks— MPatt24- didn't vote on the survey but he's about 15th on my list of Flyers that should be gone next year. Didn't hit the highs that most of them did in 1st half of the season; but was one of the few positives - energy/effort-wise down the stretch. Does suck that he's forever on probation with the refs.— raoool
- we need quick minded skill players. No more big slow thinking players. Get a real goalie too.— phillyfan19335
- Comment removed.
- Love to see Carcillo take it into the steel cage with that execrable excuse for a human being Colin Campbell.— Claudio Vernight
- Carcillo does have have passion for the game, but I'd rather see them re-sign Leino.— SirEdward
- no biggie if hes gone....energy players are a dime a dozen. They will just get another one, maybe one who doesnt take stupid penalties so often— Big D phillies fan
I loved the energy and passion he brought. But, with his reputation and over-acting, he seldom gets calls for the penalties against him. He then seems to to lose his cool a bit trying to get even. He's got to realize the ref's will not give him a break. It'll be tough to see him go. Flyers seem to need more of his passion, energy and heart.— Ryley- Crying? There's no crying in hockey!— drunk13
- Bad trade giving up Upshall to get him. I know it was for cap reasons but that could have been handled better. Useless player who doesn't distract players on the other team (only fires them up to play harder) and takes dumb penalties. He's earned his rep from the refs and I don't feel one bit sorry for him. He singlehandedly woke the Penguins bench up with a dumb fight in 2009 playoffs game 6 when Flyers were up 3-0 in the game and began the downfall of that game and finished the season off for the Flyers. Hopefully he's gone, and good riddance to him.— cnova000
Carcillo Lost in space sorry!— Kevinmac- Always wanted Carcillo to be the "poor man's Tocchet" that Gretsky said he would be. He's a wanna be but not a poor man's. I liked him a bit but ultimately replaceable.
— 40 - Move on.— otown philly fan
