Flyers' 'D' upgraded, but was money spent wisely?
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Flyers' 'D' upgraded, but was money spent wisely?
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
With Paul Holmgren as the architect, the Flyers reached the Stanley Cup Finals this past season. So there’s no arguing with the general manager’s abilities.
But….
Thursday was a strange, dizzying day in Flyerdom.
The Flyers upgraded their defense considerably and got more physical with the signing of Jody Shelley, but they failed to land a goalie _ basically conceding that Michael Leighton would be their No. 1 _ and, from here, they took a small step backward on offense.
Are they better than the team that lost to Chicago in six Finals games?
Defensively, yes.
By adding promising Andrej Meszaros and veteran Sean O’Donnell to an already top-flight defense, the Flyers have one of the deepest, biggest and best blue lines in the NHL.
But….
You can argue that the Flyers needed more help on offense _ specifically, at right wing _ than on defense.
You can argue that the Flyers would have been fine with O’Donnell _ who, at 38, was still effective last season, averaging nearly 19 minutes a game and registering a plus-14 rating for Los Angeles _ and Oskars Bartulis as the third defensive pairing. They could have used the money they will pay Meszaros (a four-year deal for $4 million per season) on a right wing like Colby Armstrong. Armstrong, a hard-nosed sort who scored 15 goals for Atlanta last season, signed a three-year free-agent deal with Toronto for $3 million per season.
Right wing was an albatross for the Flyers last season as they never did replace the combined 52 goals scored the previous season by Mike Knuble and Joffrey Lupul.
And with the addition of Shelley (two goals last season), it appears the Flyers will not re-sign feisty right winger Arron Asham (10 goals), whose game rose in the playoffs.
Perhaps Holmgren, who in a few years has molded the Flyers from worst-in-the-NHL to Stanley Cup finalist, has another move up his sleeve for a right winger. If not, defense will be the team’s calling card in 2010-11.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but one wonders if the correct needs were addressed.
Your thoughts?
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The Flyers have just $577,738 of cap space and still must sign restricted free agents Dan Carcillo and Darroll Powe. The cap space will jump to about $1.1 million with the expected departure of Riley Cote.
The Flyers have the lowest amount of available cap space in the league, according to capgeek.com. But Chicago is in much worse shape; the Blackhawks have about $3.6 of cap space but only have 14 players under contract. The Flyers have signed 21 players.
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Frank, my thoughts are there is more to come and it is premature to judge (remember everyone scratching their heads at giving Pitts a crack at Hamhuis....Homer clearly knew what he was doing there). I still see a real possiblity that Carter gets moved. He just does not seem like the protypical Flyer to me, and I question his fit in the organization. I wouldn't be surprised to watch us waive goodbye to Carter in exchange for a stud winger and a future pick.- Whoops, i meant Sam, sorry about that!
- Carter is still young and hopefully has a bright future. We have 4 solid centers - Richards, Carter, Leino and Betts. Move one of them to RW, end of story. I don't think it's a smart move to trade Carter. Remember that he scored 33 goals during the season - you don't just throw that away because he had a bad postseason after he came back from a broken foot. He deserves another shot.— therev
- I'd trade Gagne . . for draft picks . . saves 5 mil . sign a better goalie . . sign Carcillo . . and they'd still have enough to get a RW . . Then Flyers would have a really tough team . .that can still score .. with really good D . . .— ingy9
- Leino plays on the wing therev. The flyers have an overhaul of centers: Richards, Carter, Briere, Giroux & Betts. Briere proved he's a better player at his natural position, Carter can't play the wing, Giroux is too dynamic in open ice to move him to the wing and Richards plays best in the middle (we all seen what happened in the playoffs when he played out of position). So who goes? My money is on Carter, purely for the fact that the Flyers will NOT be able to resign him after next season; he's also a proven playoff stiff. I read in the espn rumors that the Flyers are trying to trade Gagne so yes, I agree Homer has something else brewing.— the sichee-ation
- I am hopeful that Giroux and Leino bring their playoff productivity into next season, and Hartnell stays on track and continues to improve under Laviolette. I also look forward to Carter getting a full year under Coach L as well - I think it will do him a world of good. If these things fall into place, our balanced goal scoring should rebound to where it was 2 seasons ago.— CTL
- Volchenkov signed for similar money to Meszaros, with a rival no less, and is a much better player. Shelley for Asham (or Carcillo) is a major downgrade. Same old nothing in net. I like the D upgrade, but it's not enough. Better and more cap savvy moves seem to have been available. Best D in the world isn't going to save Leighton from being Leighton.— thrilladelf
- If Flyers trade Carter . . it will be for a stud goalie . . maybe one of the Kings goalies . . and a scoring RW . . i'd still trade Gagne first . . Gag's is not getting any younger .. and flyers could really use his 5 mil. / thing is gagne has a no trade clause . . he'd have to wave . .— ingy9
- we don't need carcillo and shelley. drop carcillo. i like carter but you can get a lot for him based on his age and contract. i would still go after that goalie. you can get that for him. add a young goalie to compete with leighton and this team will be tough to beat.
- Who cares if they spent wisely or not? It's Comcast's money and they have plenty of it.— 1republican
- The problem with Carter is that he is streaky and lacks an authoritative presence. Giroux and Leino are both much tougher on offense and defense. Remember, it was Marion Hossa who physically beat up on the Flyers in the Finals. If this team is built on solid defense, I am not sure that Carter fits with the team any longer.
- yeah, sorry, meant briere at center instead of Leino...— therev
- Why would a team trade for Gagne at this point in his career?
- ingy9 - The kings will not trade one of their goalies for Carter. If they would, it would've happened at the draft. They want Giroux and the Flyers are unwilling to part and rightfully so. Kings are also trying to make a run at Kovelchuk, if they get their player, they are most likely done making moves as he is going to command big time money (probably like Hossa's contract).— the sichee-ation
- I agree with the post above that Carter should be traded for a stud RW and a prospect. I really believe that a great blue line can hide an avg goalie. The team would take a hit if Carter was traded for a goalie. The flyers really haven't replaced Knuble and Lupul (upshall wasn't too bad when he was on the flyers too). If the team was able to capitalize on their scoring chances in the finals then they would have been raising the cup and we wouldn't be talking about the goalie situation.— therev
