Flyers’ Offseason Recap
NHLHS Philadelphia Flyers Correspondent David Strehle reviews the offseason dealings and probable roster for training camp, set to officially open in Vorhees, NJ on September 17th
After the Philadelphia Flyers’ game six overtime loss clinched the Stanley Cup for the Chicago Blackhawks, GM Paul Holmgren vowed that changes would be made during the course of the offseason.
True to his word, Holmgren added two new faces at forward and three on defense through free agent signings and trades in July.
Here is a breakdown of Homer’s offseason moves:
NEW ARRIVALS:
FORWARDS: Nikolai Zherdev and Jody Shelley (both free agent signings)
DEFENSEMEN: Andrej Meszaros (acquired in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning), Matt Walker (acquired in the Simon Gagne deal with Lightning), and Sean O’Donnell (free agent).
Surprisingly, there was no change made in net. Michael Leighton, an unrestricted free agent at last season’s end, was re-signed to a two-year, $3.1 million pact. Leighton did a fantastic job for the club last season, but Holmgren appeared a little more than ticked off that Leighton when Leighton failed to stop Patrick Kane’s winner from a poor angle in OT.
Most thought that is was almost a guarantee that Holmgren would sign one of the free agent goaltenders, most notably Marty Turco, Evgeni Nabokov, Chris Mason, Dan Ellis, or Antero Niittymaki.
The crease may not be totally resolved for the 2010-11 season just yet, though. After Chicago balked at the $2.75 million award from Antti Niemi’s arbitration hearing, they allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent.
While Holmgren’s assurances that the Flyers have no interest in Niemi, the possibility still lingers. Especially if Niemi remains unsigned after the regular season commences and the team doesn’t perform well in front of Leighton or Brian Boucher. But of course if Holmgren does reconsider and Niemi becomes a target, the domino effect of salary-induced adjustments to the roster will then occur, as the Flyers are within $327,ooo of the upper cap limit (according to CapGeek.com)
DEPARTURES:
FORWARDS: Gagne (traded to Tampa Bay) and Arron Asham (allowed to sign elsewhere as an UFA).
DEFENSEMEN: Ryan Parent (traded to the Nashville Predators), Lukas Krajicek and Danny Syvret (both allowed to sign elsewhere as UFA).
CONCLUSION: Holmgren’s free agent signings meant that someone had to go, and that ended up being Gagne. The 30-year-old winger was the longest-tenured player in Philadelphia sports, but his $5.25 million deal, injury history, and pending free agency after the 2010-11 season made him expendable. And this after his heroics in the Boston Bruins playoff series bolstered a mind-blowing comeback for the Orange-and-Black from 0-3 down.
Taking Gagne’s spot, Zherdev may be just what the team has been lacking. Gagne is a great, two-way forward, always defensively responsible. But he fits the same mold as most of the Philly forwards. Zherdev, in his first year back from the KHL, has the game-breaking speed and offensive talent that has been lacking. With the continued building of the team’s defense and the forwards responsibility in their own end, Zherdev will have the ability to take the occasional offensive gamble. Already having seasons of 27 and 26 goals in the NHL, Zherdev may be in the perfect situation to experience a breakout year.
Shelley brings an element that was missing from the Flyers’ roster the past couple of seasons, a true enforcer. While Asham, Ian Laperriere, Daniel Carcillo can throw ‘em from time-to-time, none of them wear the shield of enforcer. But Philly will lose some offense in the tradeoff, as Asham scored 18 goals in his two seasons in Philadelphia, while Shelley scored just four over the same span.
The defense should be stronger. Holmgren has taken a lot of heat for his acquisition of Meszaros and Walker from the Lightning, as the two make nearly $6 million combined and disappointed greatly in Tampa. And neither will likely be in the top four. Meszaros, 6′ 2″, 223 pounds, should benefit from not having nearly as much pressure and responsibility thrust upon him as he did on a bad Bolts team. Meszaros looks to be a number five defenseman, or if Braydon Coburn falters and plays like he did during the regular season last year, Meszaros could find himself as Kimmo Timonen’s partner on the second pairing.
Walker, at 6′ 3″ and 214 pounds, looks to be the sixth or seventh defenseman, possibly paired with Meszaros. Playing on an up-and-coming Chicago Blackhawks team two seasons ago, Walker had his best NHL season. But on a weaker Lightning team last year, his play suffered. He may have found a better situation in Philly.
O’ Donnell will be a welcomed addition. At 6′ 3″ and 237 pounds, O’ Donnell is another huge body on the Flyers’ blue line. He is another shut down defenseman, and has a history with Chris Pronger. The two were teammates on the 2007 Anaheim Ducks Stanley Cup-winning team. But he will turn 39 in the first couple of weeks of the season, so logging 20 minutes per night during the regular season won’t be in the plans. A third pairing or even spot use as a seventh may be in the offing.
The average size of a Flyers defenseman is now over 6′ 2″ tall and in excess of 212 pounds.
Right now, the roster is looking like this:
Centers: Mike Richards, Claude Giroux, Danny Briere, Blair Betts, Darroll Powe
Right Wing: Zherdev, Jeff Carter, Shelley, Laperriere
Left Wing: Ville Leino, Scott Hartnell, Carcillo, James van Riemsdyk
Defense Pairings: Pronger-Matt Carle, Timonen-Coburn, Meszaros-O’ Donnell/Walker, O’ Donnell/Walker-Bartulis
Goaltending: Leighton, Boucher
Extras: Riley Cote (LW), possibly Mike Testwuide (RW)
David Strehle
NHLHS Flyers Correspondent / NHL Writer
dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @PhilaDAVEia
