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.
* * * * *
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.
Comments (55)
as somebody said;(laperriere means cote is gone.) How can you not like them getting a solid veteran d-man, with solid leadership. 2 1st rd picks is alot, but we got alot with pronger. ryan dingle isn't a pro yet, but he's 25 and might learn. google-d his name and read two conflicting things. a scouts rating had him at 6.5 out of 10. a third line forward at the pro level. the other talked about him like he was giroux with better face-off skills. i believe the scouting report, ryan's only 5' 10". homer does a good job, look at the facts.— 82tank- if the flyers were concerend about winning more face offs they could have picked up mike zigomanis very cheaply. laperiers adds the grit but like carcillo he takes stupid penalties and provides pathetically little offense.— blueline
- i have no idea why so many of my fellow die hard flyers fans are so whiny this offeseaon. i think they have addressed their biggest most glaring need by acquiring pronger. and emery should be an upgrade over biron who people for some reason always gave a pass for his inconsistent play.— Ryan
I just wonder what the penalty is for going over the cap? The Flyers are one of the "richest" teams in the NHL, so I think they probably can "afford" to go over the cap. Just sayin'- well said Kev; the 3 major free agent players that year were Briere, Drury, & Gomez. If we wouldn't have gotten one of those players Flyer's fans would be self combusting. The Rangers grabbed 2 with overpaying contracts; Briere doesn't come here without the huge contract he got. WE WENT FROM LAST IN THE LEAGUE TO THE EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS!!! Last year Briere despite the injury he still was a point per game player. I think this team was inconsistent, a little soft, and basically on many nights too easy to play against. The oh well lets go get a beer and chase hotties downtown and oh well we'll get them next time attitude of Lupul, Biron, Knuble, Carter, Coach Stevens & even the golden boy: Richards. You can have some laid back players on a team but we had too many. Now you have Pronger,Laperriere, & Emery hopefully it gets the lockeroom charged for a change. I think players will be held accountable, I really only thought Hartnell took the blame for the teams bad play, Hartnell and the goalies. This year Stevens is on a short leash if this team comes out with a how hum attitude; there are'nt going to be many easy games in this division and taking nights off which we know they did last year will cost us home ice again. I'm not saying we would have beaten the Pens. but home ice is key against them for matchups..— phillysportsfan88
- Did the Flyers join a 30 and over league? Speed and youth with some experience added are what wins championships. Not the other way around.— ozey
- So in essence we traded Knuble for Pronger. Emery and Boucher for Nitty and Biron. Cleared up cap space and positioned themselves for a trade. I wouldnt trade Briere, paired w/ Girioux could prove something special. Any word how much Upshall is wanting?(too much for annual 7 goals). At least we got a thrid line winger for him. And considering that Richards, Carter and Jones all needed surgury soon after the season ended proved to me that last year wasnt the year. You have to ask yourselve this question....Does the Pittsburgh series have a differant outcome if the Flyers had Pronger? I think so. I also thought we outplayed them for the most part. The PK killed us. Losing a defensive faceoff was the key. Homer is no dummy, he will get it fixed. ps- was the bad shoulder of Richards part of the problem?— bigphillydad
- I guess that is why you are not a NHL gm kev. WE have too many guys who will not gut it out and go for the puck, while they stand on the side, or behind the net waiting for the puck to pop out so they can slam it home. We need a Shanahan (in his prime) type offensive player. Someone who is not scared to get hit.— PEFF
He wasn't signed to replace Knuble. We signed him to replace Metropolit and win us some faceoff's. He doubles as a center for taking faceoffs. Sounds like Homer's trying to replace Knuble's scoring but we might have to do that from within. Sorry to see Mike go. Nice to see Boocsh again.— flyler
Comment removed.- People...Ian Laperrrier is a FLYER....tough, determined....and a great TEAM guy. Terrific character guy pickup. Kudos Homer!— dri_as_a_bone
- bvl390 - You think that as a GM, Clarke is clueless? Where exactly is he a GM? Clueless are the people here that think the Homer has lost his way. The Flyers finished dead a few years ago and Holmgren brought the team back from the dead. We have some good young players, so skilled vets, and a nasty edge that hasn't existed in a long while, despite the "bullies" tagline. I am disappointed that we couldn't find a way to keep Knuble, but I can understand that things happen. I imagine that the Flyers will be tough to play against this season, and that's something that really hasn't been the case in a while. And with our young core of skilled guys, we should also put up points. Stop bashing the team before the season even begins...
- Win us some faceoffs? Lappierre is a RW. Pointless pickup.— marley66
- If Holmgen thinks this city is willing to step 5 years back in time he'd better start backing his own bags. This team is now older and slower.— LCBline
- Always liked Boucher. Letting Knuble go is okay. The problem with this team isn't "we need more speed", it's "we need more heart". Speed didn't cause the Game 2 and 6 debacles against the Pens. The Pens had the confidence and the heart to win. The Flyers had the talent to win against the Pens both years, they didn't have the heart (and the bounces and the officiating didn't help). And I'm embarrassed as a Flyers fan to say that.— LetsGoFlyers
- Why does everyone keep ragging on Briere's contract when Hartnell's contract is worse considering he might be an idiot?— LetsGoFlyers
- Stop with how are they going to replace the 52 goals they lost. Yes, Flyers had (6) 25+ goal scorers this season, and got knocked out in first round. It didn't even get them home ice advantage. Time to try and improve the D with (2) new goalies along with Pronger. Hopefully Pronger & Laperriere bring their I hate to lose attitude with them. That was certainly not part of last years makeup.— BobbyD
- So now we have Pronger, Lappierre, Hartnell, Carcillo and Cote. For a team who couldn't stay out of the box last year this is an interesting formula. Believe it or not Hartnell scares me the most. We'll sit Carcillo for dumb penalties but Hartnell needs to play with a lot more restraint...especially with this surrounding cast.— ant8817
- Lappiere has 5 career PP goals which hurts, since Knuble posted up in the crease on the PP and picked up some garbage. He also only averages about a shot per game. I'm still just trying to figure out the lines for next season.— HandNik
- Knuble had a knack for stupid minor penalties and missing the net from 3 feet away.Glad he's gone.— FloridaPhillyFan
- Bouch will be the starter soon enough.— FloridaBrian
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- Again I'll say the Snider GMs in both sports are some of the worst in the leagues. The Flyers and Sixers and headed down fast not because of bad luck but because of bad management.— pgcd3
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- nitnylion--stick to football because you obviously don't know anything about hockey---people--please give Briere a chance-he was hurt last year-and if Boucher is our starting goalie by Thanksgiving we are in alot of trouble.
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- What do you mean Mike Knuble is a cancer???? what kind of crack are you smoking??— cote32
- Clarke is still clueless as a GM— bvl390
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- 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
- How many wingers are on the roster now?— HandNik
- 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
- Nice pickup with Lappy!! Finally someone who will win face offs.— Clarkeisgod
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- So tired of hearing about how terrible the Briere deal is. At the time we needed to sign a big free agent to be relevant/competitive again after the worst season in team history - plus the guy was great in '07/'08 (including being our leading point producer in the playoffs) and should have a nice bounceback year next year after being injured. Remember, we didn't have him for most of '08/'09, so all this whining about losing goal scoring (particularly with Lupul) - you'll get that all back and then some with a healthy Briere. Wouldn't be surprised to see him on the wing since we are already strong up the middle (Carter, Richards, Giroux), and whoever the 4th line guy ends up being. Anyway, please, please, please stop whining about Briere's contract. I would pay his salary any day of the week if he is our leading scorer in the playoffs again.— kev
- Ian Lappierre sucks— ChrisM
- Ian Laperriere was signed to replace Knuble— seaonasdad
- we just signed Ian Laperriere. Thats a decent pickup. Win us some faceoffs at least.— antoski
- we just signed Ian Laperriere. Thats a decent pickup. Win us some faceoffs at least.— antoski
- We got Ian Lappierre for 3 yrs 3.5million. he is 35. pointless— fman727
- I wonder where Biron will end up?— catnameddomino
- i agree it's a tough situation and everyone would do this and that different but they never say exactly how. sad to see knuble go but it's all about the money.— yehthatsrite
BOOOOOOOOSCH!!!!!!!! I still remember that one ridiculous save he pulled off in the playoffs against the Devils. the one where he flung himself backwards and just barely deflected the puck with his blocker. Good move for backup goalie.— Hamlin
seaonasdad i agree he is handcuffed but some of that is his own fault. he wanted to make a big slash after the flyers worst season in history and we are paying for it now. i think he might be able to find a replacement for knuble and that would help.- I agree that Homer overpaid for Brier, but I don't think they will miss Knuble. I really wish they had more money. I think Madden would be a great 4th line center.— chasing history
- Holmgren made some great moves when he was first hired but now he seems overmatched trying to manage the salary cap. I hate to say it but the flyers could use someone like joe banner!— ArtieLange
- Nice!!!! Very happy Bouch is back.— flossified
- the problem with our cap is that we don't have a lot of players on rookie contracts like Chicago and some of the others who are spending freely do. That's the price you pay for being in the playoffs every year instead of tanking it like some of the other teams do. Considering how handcuffed he is, Homer is doing all right.— seaonasdad
- Paul H. has not managed the cap well. Signing Danny B. to big contract hurt. The team will miss Knuble on and off the ice.— 76er
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Broad Street Bull is the Inquirer's blog covering the Philadelphia Flyers and the National Hockey League.
Reach Sam at scarchidi@phillynews.com.
Sam Carchidi
Inquirer Staff Writer
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