Flyers Deal Hamhuis’ Rights to Pens; Inquire about Nabokov
NHLHS Philadelphia Flyers Correspondent David Strehle takes a look at the Flyers decision to move the rights to pending UFA defenseman Dan Hamhuis to the Atlantic Division rival Pittsburgh Penguins and the rumors that Paul Holmgren is talking about acquiring the rights to one of the top pending UFA goaltenders, Evgeni Nabokov.
For the Philadelphia Flyers, NHL Entry Draft day is usually a very busy time. Last year GM Paul Holmgren pulled the trigger on the Chris Pronger deal with the Anaheim Ducks, and the previous year moved forward R.J. Umberger to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a first round pick (Luca Sbisa, who ended up being dealt to Anaheim in the Pronger trade).
Yesterday was much different. It was a day full of rumors and conflicting reports from well-connected, much-respected members of the hockey media community regarding the status of Holmgren’s contract talks with impending UFA defenseman Dan Hamhuis, acquired a week ago today from the Nashville Predators for defenseman Ryan Parent.
The first word of the day that made the rounds was from a Vancouver sports radio broadcast. The report was that analyst Pierre McGuire was reporting that the Flyers and Hamhuis’ agent were very close to signing a four-year, $20 million pact.
This was a strange rumor, as talk had been that Hamhuis’ camp was searching for a four-year, $16 million deal.
As no announcement of a deal was made, Tim Panaccio of the CSN-Philly.com reported that Hamhuis’ rights would not be dealt at the Entry Draft, and that if no deal was reached by next week, only then would Holmgren consider dealing those rights.
After a few hours of nothing new being reported on a contract agreement, word came from TSN analyst Bob McKenzie that the Flyers and Hamhuis were not close at all on any deal. McKenzie said he was actually hearing that the Vancouver Canucks may be interested in dealing for Hamhuis’ rights.
But after Vancouver traded for Florida Panther defenseman Keith Ballard just prior to the commencement of the Draft, it was obvious that they were not going to make any deals to acquire Hamhuis’ rights.
There were reports early on that Holmgren had been in discussions with Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ray Shero, and later with San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson. As Pittsburgh’s draft spot at number 20 was approaching, there was speculation that Holmgren was attempting to acquire the pick.
But as Shero picked center Beau Bennett with that selection, it appeared that the Flyers would not be making a move at all on the day.
Just as the first round reached its conclusion, it was announced that Philadelphia had traded Hamhuis’ rights to arch-rival and divisional foe Pittsburgh for a third round selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
The deal makes sense for the Penguins. They are about to lose number one defenseman Sergei Gonchar to unrestricted free agency, as Shero does not want to give the 36-year-old rearguard a guaranteed third year on any new deal.
The deal also makes sense for Hamhuis. One of the biggest sticking points reported between Hamhuis and the Flyers was that Hamhuis was worried about his role with the club, should he sign. With Pronger and Matt Carle being the first defensive pairing and the second consisting of Kimmo Timonen and (RFA) Braydon Coburn, it appears Hamhuis had reservations about just how much quality playing time he would receive with the Orange-and-Black.
One of the remedies for that situation that was rumored was Holmgren moving Coburn upon signing Hamhuis. But that is now a moot point.
From a Flyers’ perspective, the choice to move Hamhuis to a destination of such a key enemy is a curious one, at best.
Not only do the teams play each other six times during the regular season, but Philadelphia has also lost to Pittsburgh in the playoffs in two of the past three years. With Jaroslav Halak and the Montreal Canadiens doing the Flyers a big favor by unceremoniously dispatching the reigning Stanley Cup Champions in this past postseason, the team was spared a potential meeting with the Penguins for a third year in a row.
There were reports that several teams had made offers for Hamhuis’ rights, but Pittsburgh’s offer was the best. Wouldn’t it have been a wiser decision for Holmgren to take a little less and keep “Hammer” out of a position to possibly do damage to his own team’s cause in the very near future?
Flyers to Acquire Rights to Nabokov?
There has been much talk about the direction that Holmgren will go in his quest to fill the vacant Philly crease for the 2010-11 season.
Reports earlier in the week had Flyers’ GM talking to Michael Leighton’s agent, Mike Liut, about a possible re-signing of the pending unrestricted free agent netminder. The train of thought is that Leighton would be brought in as a backup to whomever Holmgren acquires as his starter. But that option may not be so attractive for Leighton, as he showed a lot in the starting role since his acquisition by the Flyers.
Reports also surfaced this past week that Holmgren will show great interest in UFA Marty Turco next Thursday.
After the conclusion of round one of the Draft last night, word was that Holmgren had spoken to Sharks’ GM Wilson about trading for the rights to pending unrestricted free agent Evgeni Nabokov. The goaltender will turn 35 years old next month, and even though he has never had tremendous success in the postseason, Nabby has won 40+ games in each of the past three regular seasons.
Something could come of this on the second day of the Draft on Saturday, as there is now only five full days until free agency officially gets under way.
And as we saw with the Hamhuis situation, it is not always an easy task to get a deal done in such a short period of time.
David Strehle
NHLHS Flyers Correspondent / NHL Writer
dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @PhilaDAVEia
