James van Riemsdyk thanks Flyers fans
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James van Riemsdyk thanks Flyers fans
Former Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk, who was traded to Toronto for Luke Schenn on Saturday, thanked Flyers fans with a message via Twitter today.
This is the first time he will play for a team other than the Flyers in his NHL career.
"Would like to thank everyone in Philly for the support over the past few years. Met a lot of great people and made some great memories. Very excited to start the next chapter in Toronto. Really looking forward to it."
Van Riemsdyk also did a conference call with Toronto area media on Saturday night after the deal. He referenced having grown up a New York Yankees fan in North Jersey and referred to the Maple Leafs as the Yankees of the NHL.
“Obviously there’s some mixed emotions because the Philadelphia organization has treated me well... But at the same time, going to play in Toronto is really exciting for me," he said, according to the Toronto Globe and Mail. "The tradition they have there, the city, the fans, it’s all unbelievable. Growing up a big time Yankees fan, it’s kind of like playing for the New York Yankees of the NHL. I’m definitely looking forward to getting everything going.”
On being traded: “You’ve got to kind of be prepared for anything and there’s never really that big of a surprise. You kind of hear some of the rumours going on and you kind of wonder so it’s not like I was completely blindsided by everything here.
On things not working out with the Flyers: “Ideally I think anytime anyone gets drafted they want to picture things perfectly. You imagine playing there your whole career and winning a few Cups and that but that’s obviously not the way things always work out.”
That's how it's done... class act.— ICDogg- Obviously he's seen the track record of Flyers going to other teams and winning Cups. Of course he's elated he was traded. Now he has a chance, too.— Mark1npt
- Good luck JVR. Although we got a very good player in return, hope we don't regret trading you down the road.— mortt1956
- Like Van Riemsdyk as a player but calling the Make Believes the Yanks of the NHL is more than seriously delusional for a 22 year old. Double your age and the Leafs still haven't won a title in that expanded time frame. The Leafs are closer to the Blue Jackets than the Yankees when it comes to comparables.— Claudio Vernight
- Can he hit a baseball or pitch???— dogman5
- Good luck in Toronto JVR— flyfightinbullies
- Knucklehead Toronto fans are pulling a Don Cherry and griping that the team is becoming "too American." Most Leaf fans are a bunch of clowns.— Repubrebirth
- Oh no.. Toronto wins the cup next year...— softballdude
- I wis JVR well and will miss the guy who shined in the 2011 playoffs (heck, I missed THAT guy this past season!). However, I know he's got to establish good will in his new home, but aren't the Canadians more akin to the Yankees than the Leafs?— mebphila
- Yes,the Montreal Canadiens aare more akin to the Yankees than the Leafs, good of you to bring it up !!! — mean mean pride,mean mean pride.
- I'm disapointed in the trade, but even more disapointed in the lack of coverage by the Philly media.
lots of good info and evaluations from a toronto perspective available on line, but the philly guys kind of dropped the ball.
For instance I would have liked to have seen JvR's response as more than a tweet or reprinted from a Toronto paper.
I'd have liked to have seen the question raised as to whether the seeming difference of opinion between Holmgren and JvR as to the nature and course of treatment of his injury caused tension which may have led to this trade, or how JvR's leaving might have just raised the price of bringing back Jagr and could wipe out the potential cap savings of this move, ...or a list of the Flyers extrordinarily successful run of first round draft picks, and how Couturier and Giroux are all that are left of them etc.
...There was a lot more to be written here.— andyd - That mainly because our media is a joke. They have a better time siring the pot with the failing phillies. If they can't turn good news to bad somehow, they will not cover it. There isn't a whole lot of bad angles with this deal, no picks to question, no sour response's from players. Its a simple one for one deal. What kind of trouble can our S-Bag media turn a good deal into? nothing. The world thinks we the fans are hostile, when in fact, our media coverage hounds players and teams until they are falling apart. I'd like to see once someone give the sillies a little slack for being as good as they were. Get off their back for two weeks and see if it loosens the team up. These guys are railing Manuel when last year he was our lord and savior. We are just as stupid to read into all this non sense...
— azguz - And thank you JVR, for not insisting on a no trade clause. We needed defensive help, so hopefully this will do it. Good luck, kid, that's the NHL.— snipesmorris
- Good to see you around again snipes...let's see what happens
with free agency...then let's go !!!— mean mean pride,mean mean pride. - A player has to be 27 to have a NMC. JVR could have insisted all he wanted to, but the NHL would have rejected the contract. — sklandog
