Boucher, Laperriere join Flyers; Knuble signs with Caps
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Boucher, Laperriere join Flyers; Knuble signs with Caps
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Flyers made a quick strike in the free-agent market Wednesday, signing goalie Brian Boucher and feisty right winger Ian "Lappy" Laperriere.
Boucher's two-year deal is believed to be for $1.85 million, a cap hit of $925,000 per season.
Boucher, 32, was the Flyers' No. 1 pick in the 1995 draft. He was superb as a backup in San Jose last season, going 12-6-3 with a 2.18 GAA and a .917 save percentage.
He's the perfect fit as the backup to unpredictable Ray Emery.
Laperriere, 35, signed a three-year contract for a reported $3.5 million ($1.17 million per season); he collected seven goals, 12 assists and 163 penalty minutes with Colorado last season.
The Flyers, who would like to add a center who is adept at winning faceoffs, are about $2.4 million under the cap.
The Flyers will find it difficult to replace the combined 52 goals scored last season by Mike Knuble and Joffrey Lupul.
General manager Paul Holmgren said the Flyers are trying to add another forward to make up for the offensive losses.
At this point, the Flyers are much strong defensively than last season, but the offense has taken a hit. Holmgren is hopeful that having Danny Briere (injured most of last year) and Claude Giroux (who began last year with the Phantoms) for a full season will dull the losses of Knuble and Lupul.
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It's official: Knuble's four-year career as a Flyer is over.
The right winger signed a two-year deal with the Washington Capitals Wednesday for a reported $5.6 million.
Knuble, who will turn 37 on Saturday, became an unrestricted free agent at noon Wednesday. The Flyers at first were offering a one-year deal filled with incentives, but Holmgren said last night they had later offered Knuble a two-year contract.
Last season, Knuble made $2.8 million and scored 27 goals. His presence on the power play _ and in front of the net _ will be severely missed, but the cap-strapped Flyers could not match the Caps' offer.
In the first four hours of the free-agency period, 21 players had signed, including former Flyer Donald "Broadway" Brashear (Rangers).
The Flyers had been high on Florida goalie Craig Anderson, but he signed with Colorado.
Comment removed.
Nice pickup with Lappy!! Finally someone who will win face offs.— Clarkeisgod- Add another member of "I hate Sean Avery Fan Club" in Ian Laperrere. The fans in LA and Denver loved him, he will be a favorite here. Wonder what he will say to Hartnell now since there teamates? If anyhone remembers the cover of the hockey news had Hartnell knocking him out.— cote32
- How many wingers are on the roster now?— HandNik
Bouch will be the starter by thanksgiving. Knuble is getting the same salary in Washington that he was in Philly, guess he wasn't game for a loyalty discount. He'll be a loss for the team, Hartnell is too much of a target for the refs to do the same job in front of the net.— Pelti- The knock against Briere isn't his production, when he's on he contributes, but he also can't play defense. He looked a lot better than he actually is playing with Buffalo under a "bettman bump", just like Gomez will undoubtedly "return to form" playing for a team bettman loves in montreal.— Pelti
- Clarke is still clueless as a GM— bvl390
- What do you mean Mike Knuble is a cancer???? what kind of crack are you smoking??— cote32
- Shame to lose Knuble, but he barely gave us a chance to match the Caps offer. He'll be missed, but he probably would get less ice time next season with more of Giroux and possibly JVR coming on. Glad to see Boucher back. It's not like there were any top tier, no-brainer choice goalies out there even if we had big bucks to spend. I think Emery and Boucher will do better than Biron and Nitty no matter what.— The K Man
- Knuble wasn't a cancer in the locker room. He was non-existent, actually. That's what makes Pronger worth more than his on-ice skills, we need a vet who's not afraid to kick Richards and Carter in the nads and get them to stop sleepwalking on the ice. Whatever he loses due to age, he'll make up for in forcing the young guys to play better.— The K Man
- ian who??? and it's a new NHL stop signing people with 100+ pen. minutes. flyers don't need to toughen up anymore, they need to get faster when will we learn this?— Stanley Cup
- would rather have Knuble than Pronger. The Flyers will be lucky to make the playoffs. This is a step backwards not forward. Briere and Pronger are the cinder blocks that will drag the Flyers to the bottom of the Atlantic Division— NitnyLion
- Well, at least I can dig out my Boucher jersey and put it to use again. Honestly, not a bad move to resove the backup goalie situation. I gotta wonder though: Do the Flyers hold the NHL record for the most ex-players brought back? I'm willing to bet they do.— riles1875
- seasonasdad - laperriere was not signed to replace mike knuble. if you truly believe that is the case then you shouldn't be calling yourself a hockey fan. Lappy was picked up for grit and to win faceoffs. riley cote better pack his suitcase because he is done here— jsavino
- Laperriere was not signed as a replacement for Knuble. He is a guy that has the heart that this team was missing last year. Having 15 twenty goal scorers is cute, but it never translated to a Cup. I don't think any of us will miss Knuble's inability to score in the playoffs.— mikerainey82
