Posted: Thursday, September 16, 2010, 12:24 PM | 38 comments |
 

5 things to watch in Flyers' camp
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With training camp set to begin with physicals Friday, here are five things to watch:

1. WILL GUERIN MAKE IT?
The Flyers signed veteran free agent Bill Guerin to a tryout contract on Monday but he is free to leave at any point during camp to sign with another team. Will Guerin, who turns 40 in November, carve out a spot for himself on the roster? His arrival could mean the waiving of Darroll Powe or Dan Carcillo. Plus, a contract would need to find under the salary cap. There are few downsides to a player fresh off a 45-point season with 426 career goals and 20 seasons worth of experience.

2. DEFENSIVE BATTLES
Yes, the Flyers were lucky that their top four defensemen of Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Matt Carle and Braydon Coburn missed just a combined three games last season. But they can't afford to keep eight defensemen on the active roster. Will they keep unreliable Oskars Bartulis? Or waive Bartulis to the Phantoms and keep NHL vets Matt Walker ($1.7 million salary, acquired for Simon Gagne) and Sean O'Donnell ($1.3 million salary, free agent).

3. CAN BOBROVSKY BACKUP?
Will Sergei Bobrovsky show enough in training camp - his first real introduction to pro hockey in North America - to warrant consideration for the backup spot. He will undoubtedly see action in the preseason, giving the 22-year-old Russian with a $1.75 million contract a chance to win the job.

4. MESZAROS THE MAIN MAN
When the Flyers acquired Andrej Meszaros from Tampa Bay in exchange for a draft pick on July 1, the price seemed cheap. We forgot about his 4-year, $4 million per contract that came with it. Meszaros could be awful expensive for a third or fourth defensemen, unless he plays more like a top pair player he once appeared to be.

5. ZHERDEV: PART II
This will be Nikolai Zherdev's second crack at the NHL: after five seasons with Columbus and the Rangers, he spent last year in Russia's KHL. The gifted scorer and former first round pick is just 24 and has bested 50 points in a season three out of five times. He has questions surrounding his commitment to defense and his work ethic in both games and practices.

Honorable Mention: Chris Pronger's health, the continued development of James van Riemsdyk and Claude Giroux, the questionable addition of Jody Shelley and Ville Leino's return from playoff superstardom.


Check out our complete Flyers training camp preview in Friday's Daily News. 
Posted by Frank Seravalli @ 12:24 PM  Permalink | 38 comments
38
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:41 PM, 09/16/2010
    Dan Carcillo should never have been re-signed. Plain and simple. Second, Jody Shelley should never have been signed, at all! RE-signing Aaron Asham would have negated ANY "need" to sign this guy. Third, Guerin should be signed right away; no need for a "tryout" for a guy with 20 yrs. of experience and Stanley Cup wins!!
    — KG071
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:48 PM, 09/16/2010
    Really? Who the heck is going to be our goalie isn't a question? How can the Flyers consistenly not have a top goalie...how many years have to go by before we get it?
    — Kingzummo
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:55 PM, 09/16/2010
    They need to waive whoever they need to and get Guerin under contract. Powe, Carcillo, Walker, Bartulis, I don't care who it is, it just needs to be done.
    — beagle29
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:59 PM, 09/16/2010
    Trade Carter for picks and they'll have room for Guerin, both on Richards' line and with the cap. He's leaving next year anyway.
    — HandNik
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:03 PM, 09/16/2010
    Carcillo will be traded. Guerin will be on the team. Bobrovski will be a stud goalie in less then 2 years. Stop crying. Boucher will not be on the team. watch how much money they free up to sign giroux during the season so they dont lose him to a team that can offer him more.
    — fman727
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:47 PM, 09/16/2010
    Nice work by you, Frank, as always. Very insightful coverage Best wishes for another great season on the Flyers beat.
    — doconnor4431
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:47 PM, 09/16/2010
    Nice work by you, Frank, as always. Very insightful coverage Best wishes for another great season on the Flyers beat.
    — doconnor4431
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:47 PM, 09/16/2010
    Nice work by you, Frank, as always. Very insightful coverage Best wishes for another great season on the Flyers beat.
    — doconnor4431
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:49 PM, 09/16/2010
    Carcillo is horrible, and the fact that we are even questioning him being on the team is a joke. Let him, Powe, Walker, and Bartulis go. They all stink and none of them would make any significant difference on this team. Sign Guerin and pray that our goalies are not aweful. We should be top to the division at the very least. Another long playoff should lead to a second consecutive trip to the big dance!!
    — yescadog
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:52 PM, 09/16/2010
    I agree that Guerin needs to stay, and think that Carcillo should be the one to go. I also agree with KG071 that he never should have been re-signed, Asham should have, and that Shelley is a waste of money. He scored 2 goals last year, both against the Flyers, so by extension, likely won't score at all this year (barring the dreaded "own goal"!).
    — uncle meat
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:04 PM, 09/16/2010
    I will watch to see how often Scott Hartnell falls down!!
    — egmetzjr
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:11 PM, 09/16/2010
    I agree with above comments regarding Asham over Carcillo & Shelley, Sign Guerin. Trade Carter for.......oh, I don't know. But bring back Upshall & Umberger somehow. Move Carter and Hartnell.
    — glennwilson
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:20 PM, 09/16/2010
    bunch of dopes. powe is a good 4th line player. very good PK'er and defensive forward who is signed to a very cap-friendly contract. carcillo needs to go. we have no use for him now with shelley.
    — The Boston Strangler
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:23 PM, 09/16/2010
    My God, you people are morons:

    Kingzummo-Chicago didn't have a top goalie, neither did Montreal. Three of the final four teams didn't and the one supposed "top" goalie Nabokov is playing in Russia.

    beagle29 & yescadog-Powe does not stink and is valuable on the PK and and as a 4th line fore checker, Walker is a 7th defensman, and Bartulis is young.

    HandNik-You're a moron. Trade Carter for draft picks? That's so stupid you should should not try to think for about a week. If you were going to trade Carter, why wouldn't you wait for the trade deadline. Frank, it has to be hard dealing with idiots all day.

    — Philly_has_a_Lack_of_sanity
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:32 PM, 09/16/2010
    Walker at 1.7MM is ridiculous. Waive him and bring in Guerin.
    — Mr. Chubby


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About Frank Seravalli
Frank Seravalli is in his fourth year with the Daily News and third season covering the Flyers. He started at the Daily News as an intern writing about the boozing legends of the Lincoln Financial Field lots and hasn't left. Since joining the Flyers beat, he has covered everything from the Winter Classic to the Stanley Cup Final and everything in between. Prior to joining the Daily News, the Bucks County native did a large amount of freelance work for local media outlets, covering high schools, colleges and all four of Philly's major sports teams. He resides in Center City. E-mail Frank at seravaf@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter @DNFlyers.

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