Flyers' new defenseman adds experience
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Flyers' new defenseman adds experience
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
OK, so he's not Dion Phaneuf.
But Lukas Krajicek, the player the Flyers signed as a free agent late Saturday night, WILL give the team some much-needed depth on defense.
He was cheap _ according to a source, he signed for about $650,000, which will be prorated for the final 29 games _ and he fits under the Flyers' salary cap. Phaneuf ($4.1 million cap hit), who was traded from Calgary to Toronto Sunday, wouldn't fit.
Krajicek, 26, had played with Tampa Bay this season before being demoted to the AHL. He had one assist in 23 games with the Lightning this season.
In 301 career games with Florida, Vancouver and Tampa, he had 10 goals, 70 points, a minus-20 rating and 231 penalty minutes. Krajicek is a former No. 1 pick (24th overall in 2001) with Florida.
Defensemen Danny Syvret and Ryan Parent are injured, causing the Flyers to seek more depth.
Look for Krajicek to replace Ole-Kristian Tollefsen in the lineup, probably on Monday night in Calgary. He is much quicker than the injury-prone Tollefsen, and he could be paired with rookie Oskars Bartulis.
After Sunday's practice, coach Peter Laviolette wasn't ready to name his starting goalie for Monday. Ray Emery has started the last seven games.
Calgary has struggled mightily, losing nine of its last 10, but the Flames could be invigorated by Sunday's seven-player deal with Toronto. Calgary sent all-star defenseman Phaneuf, forward Fredrik Sjostroma prospect to the Maple Leafs for forwards Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan and Jamal Mayers and defenseman Ian White.
Comments (24)
This is one of the all time conference changing moves, isn't it? Never heard of this guy and with the exception of this morning's announcement, I doubt that we ever will again, until he is released when another big announcement will take place.— Mark1npt- This is one of the all time conference changing moves, isn't it? Never heard of this guy and with the exception of this morning's announcement, I doubt that we ever will again, until he is released when another big announcement will take place.— Mark1npt
thanks for your 1npt Mark.— potus- 231 penalty minutes, 70 points. still living in the 70s— pointgiven28
- Maybe you have never heard of him cause you don;t follow hockey ? Other than the Bolts, he has played with the Panthers and Canucks. He is not a top dman but he is a decent-sized, solid defensive dman who can handle the puck and make that pass out of the zone. He will not compete for the top 4 spots, but he will be more than able to take over #5 or 6. Will this solve the Flyers problems, no, but it will help out the struggling 5-6 pairing.— bsbullie
- It's a move to help with depth, and he'll be enjoying upstate NY as soon as Parent and Svyet are healthy.— pizano13
- Parent is a bust. Whether its the injury causing his poor play, only time will tell. I also don't see him really coming back with any real strength this year. Plus, back injuries like this aren't necessarily fixable. There is the outside chance he will never be right.— bsbullie
- Love it ... Flyers add a guy that couldn't play on the worst team in the NHL. Meanwhile the Maple Leafs trade for Giguere and Phaneuf.— jcu123
Lets see, we have one of our starting D-men lost to injury, and our seventh d-man went down. Our 8th and 9th defenders on the depth chart are playing every game. This guy isn't here to challege Pronger or Timonen for the top spot, he's here because he's better than OK Tollefsen.— Pelti- pointgiven28 / BSbullie: wrong again, both of you. his total were over 300+ games, not a season. no, i follow hockey and this guy is a nobody, but like OKT is a non-factor. scap heap pickups because Holmgrem is a bad judge of talents (and our scouts) and he is a terrible Cap manager. Jay McKee would have been an excellent addition, but no, he'll enjoy another run for the Cup with the Pens. disgrace.— MichaelZoe
- Parent is still too young to be declared a bust. He has a lot of raw talent. He is being hurt by the Flyers' inability to develop defensemen. I can't even think of a quality defensemen develped by the Flyers system.— AreaMan
- How about Chris Therien Areaman.— Danno
- therian?oh yea he was a big tough offensive defenseman,lol— soliteryman
- Danno was kidding, at least hopefully he was for his sake. AreaMan is right. We never develop dmen. Hopefully that is changing with guys like Marshall and Rathcuk in the system. Clarke really blew it after the lockout when the signed Hatcher and Rathje and gave away Markov (who had a very good season in 05-06). They could have had guys like Rafalski and Teppo Numminen for 6 mill combined. Who knows what could have happened with Pitkanen if he had a fellow countryman on D in Teppo there to guide him along. The 05-06 forwards with a Desjardins/Rafalski/Teppo/Markov led defense would have been an pretty good team.— duffers
- the Flyers will not make the playoffs— BHite15
- The Flyers dealt Ratchuck in the deal for Stefan Legein, I believe.— mesigmond
- I don't care how we do it, but sometime before I die I would like to see us get a right handed defenseman with a shot to tell my grandkids about. I really don't care if he can do anything else, just as long as he can shoot the puck— the Guffaw
- I don't know what ANYONE is complaining about. He cost us no current Flyer and is almost free. He was a number one pick so SOMEONE at SOME POINT saw him as someone with some potential. Maybe coach can keep him in check a little allowing him to develop more as a player. "duffers" is right, though - Clarkie blew it with the Markov deal. Then again, this is the same guy who traded for Adam Oates...— Exiled Flyers Fan
Comment removed.- FACT: he is another over-rated first round pick by a lousy team who couldn't cut in the NHL with the Panthers, couldn't handle playing the AHL, walked out on his team, and is a poor excuse for a 6th or 7th D Man on a win that was picked to win the Cup.— MichaelZoe
- Comment removed.
- MichaelZoe: you never give Holmgren any props. He brought us Timonen and Pronger, arguably both in the top 15 defensemen in the NHL. He also brought Carle, who has been decent, and Coburn, who everyone thought was awesome prior to his unanticipated drop off this year. He has brought in scorers in Briere, Knuble, Lupul, and Hartnell, and some character heart guys in Lappy, Betts, and Carcillo. He has unloaded some wastes of life ...too many to count, and had to give up some good players and overspend for others. It is a day in the life of a general manager. It is easy for any of us to sit here and say this trade or that trade should have been made, we overpaid, etc., but managing the cap is a very difficult task and I applaud Homer's efforts to manipulate the system to get us the best talent (remember the NHL investigation into the Pronger signing?). Considering this team was dead last in the NHL a couple of seasons ago, and were predicted to win the Cup this year, well, that pretty much makes my case that Homer has done a solid job. Don't be the typical complaining Philly fan... you generally make intelligent comments and can do better than that.
- Pretty much anyone is better than Bartulis and/or OKT, so i am happy with this signing as a plug for a leaking 5-6 pairing. I agree with the comments about developing d-men, but i am sure glad we ditched Sbisa, who was way overhyped here. He may end up being a solid player, but Anaheim (24th in the league in goals allowed per game), demoted him to the minors after less than 10 games (add in Lupul's injury-plagued season, and the move for Pronger is looking brilliant). Imagine this defense WITHOUT Pronger and with Sbisa instead....now THAT is scary.
- Enough about Krajicek. There are like 4 repetitive articles/blogs about him. Sam, did you get in touch with the NHL to find out how they could disallow that goal on Sunday? Also, since Holmer inquired about Phaneuf and nothing was mentioned here, I'd be surprised if you could break any stories on if any movement will happen before the roster freeze.— HandNik
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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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