In June, natural gas tycoon Terry Pegula acquired the Buffalo Sabres. Pegula promptly promised his fans that the Sabres would be aggressive in the offseason. Following the expensive acquisitions of defenseman Christian Ehrhoff and forward Ville Leino, the Sabres’ faithful certainly cannot label Mr. Pegula as “stingy.” The Sabres’ roster currently consists of 14 forwards, 7 defenseman, and 2 goaltenders. Perfect, right? Pegula’s brain trust now needs to shed roughly $3.5 million in order to be in compliance with the 2011-2012 cap figure of $64.3 million.
In looking at the acquisitions, the Sabres are clearly trying to increase offensive productivity.

Ville Leino scored the overtime winner in Game 6 for the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2011 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The Flyers unceremoniously routed the Sabres in Game 7, 5-2. In 81 games with the Flyers last season, Leino recorded 19 goals and 53 points in 81 games with a stout shooting percentage of 16.2%. The 27 year old native of Finland exploded for 21 points in 19 playoff games in the Flyers’ run to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2010 and added 5 points in 11 playoff contests (7 against the Sabres, 4 against Bruins) in the 2011 playoffs. Prior to his trade to the Flyers in 2010, Leino struggled to stay out of head coach Mike Babcock’s doghouse in Detroit. He put up 7 points in 42 games in the 2009-2010 campaign and operated at a -10. The knock on Leino has been his 190 pound frame and his inability to protect the puck. Leino displayed a determined attitude with hard drives to and around the net, particularly in the 2010 playoffs. Despite his point production, his detractors noted that he was much more rested than many of his playoff foes due to the fact that Leino dressed for only 13 regular season games for the Flyers to close out the 2010 season. Pegula is certainly paying a premium for a player who has yet to crack the 20 goal plateau in the NHL with a heavily front loaded 6 year, $27 million contract.

The Sabres made a splash prior to July 1st by procuring the rights to free agent defenseman Christian Ehrhoff from the New York Islanders (who had acquired Ehrhoff’s rights from the Vancouver Canucks 1 day prior). The 29 year old German native adds another offensively-gifted weapon to a Sabres’ blueline which already boasts the likes of veteran Robyn Regehr and youngsters Tyler Myers and Marc-Andre Gragnani (restricted free agent), who impressed in the 2011 playoffs. Ehrhoff battled through a shoulder injury in the 2011 playoffs and his defense suffered as he posted an abysmal -13 rating while collecting 12 points. In the 2010-2011 regular season, Ehrhoff tallied 50 points, a career high which tied him for 7th among defensemen. Ehrhoff should help the Sabres’ power play, which ranked 9th in efficiency last season with a 19.4% success rate.

Before being able to compete in the NHL in the 2011-2012 season, Pegula and his brain trust, led by general manager Darcy Regier, need to shed over $3.5 million of cap space. In recent weeks, there have been persistent rumors that the Vancouver Canucks are trying to acquire secondary scoring and have looked to the Sabres as a potential trade partner. Is the streaky Drew Stafford expendable with a cap hit of $4 million? Are the Canucks looking for a versatile, veteran forward like Jochen Hecht ($3.525 cap hit)? If the Canucks and Sabres were to complete a two team deal which would leave both teams cap compliant, the Canucks would need to make a secondary move as they are only $2.637 million under the cap. At any rate, Pegula’s spending has now put the Sabres in a position where they will probably need to shed the salary of a core forward.
_______________________________________________________________
You may reach the author with hip checks, blind side hits, and eye gouging on Twitter @Gordsie.

By David Strehle
NHL Hot Stove Creative Editor

As GM  Paul Holmgren alluded to yesterday at a press conference to introduce new goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov to the local Philly media, it has been an off-season of major changes for his Philadelphia Flyers.

“I know it’s been a bit of a whirlwind of a summer around here,” he said in what could only be described as an understatement.

Gone are 11 players from the roster at the end of the postseason, including:

• Seven forwards (Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Ville Leino, Nikolay Zherdev, Kris Versteeg, Darroll Powe, Dan Carcillo).
• Three of the Flyers’ top five regular season scorers (Carter, Richards, Leino).
• The team’s captain (Richards), and top regular season goal-scorer (Carter).
• The only goaltender to win a playoff game for the Flyers (Brian Boucher).

As you can see these were not just minor tweeks, by any stretch of the imagination.  But it was clear, especially over the last three months of play, that something was horribly wrong with the very makeup of the team.

Claude Giroux, James van Riemsdyk, Danny Briere, and Scott Hartnell still remain in Philadelphia’s stable of forwards, which has been one of the deepest in the league over the past five seasons. 

So deep, in fact, that Holmgren has sacrificed many over the last four summers in order to address his squad’s needs in other areas.  In addition to the recent departures, others include Simon Gagne, R.J. Umberger, Scottie Upshall, Joffrey Lupul, Mike Knuble, and Steve Downie.

With the additions of Jaromir Jagr, Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, and highly-touted rookie Brayden Schenn, offense may not end up being a problem at all for the club.

The Real Problem – And For a Long Time

As a matter of fact, one of the most-glaring problems in Philadelphia reared its ugly head in the postseason.  It’s an issue that Holmgren – and Bob Clarke before him, as well as his predecessor, Russ Farwell - had failed to address for the better part of the last two decades.

It’s no secret within hockey circles that over the above-mentioned time frame, the Flyers’ goaltending has been their Achilles heel. 

While Clarke consistently iced an All-Star lineup of forwards throughout his tenure, the backstops he got to man the goal crease were perpetually suspect.

There were no workhorses in place to tend the Philly cage, which led to what amounted to band-aid moves with aging goalies brought in to try and plug the hole in the dam.  Sean Burke, Jeff Hackett, and John Vanbiesbrouck all took their turns as “the answer”, with each experiment failing miserably. 

Although the best of those three trials, Vanbiesbrouck’s acquisition was perhaps the most frustrating.  He was the “more economical option” when it was clear that Curtis Joseph was the supremely better choice at the time. 

Compounding the annoyance level for Flyers’ fans was that this all occurred when money was not nearly as much of a concern as it is now.  Ed Snider made it clear to his GM that no player that could help his team bring the Stanley Cup back to Philadelphia was too pricey.  There also was no salary cap in place at the time to constrain Clarke from making those necessary additions.

Holmgren attempted to get a net minder that he thought could be a bonafide number one guy when he picked up Martin Biron from the Buffalo Sabres at the 2007 trade deadline.  Biron had backed up started Ryan Miller as Buffalo made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in consecutive years.

Biron and backup Antero Niittymaki would provide the Flyers with a stable tandem as they got back on track in making the playoffs, but in the end could not get the club over the hump and to their desired final destination.

After a trip to the Finals with Michael Leighton and Boucher in 2010, and a red-hot start this past regular season with rookie Sergei Bobrovsky added to the mix, the team stumbled badly after the calendar turned to 2011.

Rock Bottom

It’s funny how hockey can often times emulate life.  Sometimes you just have to hit a low point before you can see what is necessary to make the required improvements.

One of the lasting memories of the past postseason for Flyers’ faithful is the three-goalie rotation that head coach Peter Laviolette was forced to employ.  As each goalie took their turn and came up short, Laviolette’s juggling act became a sideshow.

This was an absolute rock bottom moment for the Flyers.

Snider was both infuriated and embarrassed at the Flyers’ ineptitude in net when they finally imploded in a sweep at the hands of the Boston Bruins.  It was then that he promised the issue would be resolved during the summer, as he was perfectly blunt and equally clear regarding his off-season intentions in an interview with the Inquirer:

“So either one of the goalies we have has to step up in training camp, or we have to make improvements to make sure it happens.  But we are never going to go through the goalie issues we’ve gone through in the last couple of years again.”

Though he had said it, there was a zero percent likelihood that the organization would sit on their hands long enough to find out if one of the existing goaltenders would “step up in training camp”.

It was obvious that they would make a big move, and it didn’t take very long for Holmgren to take action. 

Like a Cool Bryz

Photo Credit: Zack Hill / Philadelphia Flyers PR

Just one month after being bounced from the postseason dance, the Flyers acquired the negotiating rights to Bryzgalov.

It was apparent to GM Don Maloney that the pending unrestricted free agent had no intentions of re-signing with the Phoenix Coyotes.

Maloney’s comments in the Coyotes’ press release following the trade gave everyone all that was needed to understand the rationale as to why he dealt his Vezina Trophy candidate:

“After several discussions with Ilya and his agent, it became very clear to us that we were not in a position to sign Ilya to a long-term contract.  We will now focus our efforts on adding another goaltender to our roster for the upcoming season.”

Even though the Flyers only had to give up a minor-league player (Matt Clackson) and two draft choices in exchange for Bryzgalov, it was still somewhat of a risky move for Holmgren.  He knew the money it would take to lock up the all-world netminder to a long-term deal would likely mean the need to subtract salary in other areas.

That happened on June 23rd, on a day that shook Philadelphia almost as much as the earthquake that registered 5.9 on the Richter Scale earlier this week.

Shortly after completing the trades of two of their most-popular players - Carter was sent to the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Richards to the Los Angeles Kings - Holmgren had freed up enough cap space to announce the signing of Bryzgalov to a 9-year, $51 million pact.

Philadelphia finally had its franchise goaltender, and quite possibly the final missing ingredient in their quest in returning to championship glory.  The club did not repeat history in opting for a cheaper alternative (Tomas Vokoun) as they had with Vanbiesbrouck in 1998.  This time they had secured the best goalie available.

Goal is One and the Same

Right off the bat at yesterday’s press conference, Bryzgalov said he was interested in playing in Philadelphia because it seemed like a perfect fit.

“It’s a team with a rich history,” he explained.  “The team always puts in front of them the highest goal…to win the Cup.  That’s what this game is all about.  That’s all that matters.”

Bryzgalov was, however, impressed by the turnout of media contingent at the event, as compared to say, Phoenix.  “There’s much more of you here, and you look better,” he joked. 

He has heard about the tough Philly media and the pressure that comes along with playing the most important position in one of the most hockey-crazed cities in the world.

“Sorry guys, it’s you (the media)”, he said as he laughed.  “You put the pressure on us and create the pressure around the team.  It depends on how you can handle it.  I think I can handle it.  I know what I have to do.  I know when I play bad, and I know what I have to do to fix it.”

But he’s not worried about any outside forces placed upon him by the media.  “I put pressure on myself,” he reasoned.  “I know my job, and I know what I have to do.”

Even with the deluge outside as rain beat on the roof of the Flyers’ practice facility, the 31-year-old says he feels pretty comfortable and is already getting adjusted to the area.

“It reminds me of Russia a little bit,” he said of the City of Brotherly Love.  He spoke of the beautiful sites he’s already seen in the Rittenhouse Square park area (yes, the guys at Puck Daddy probably loved that he made mention of that).

It always struck me as so ironic that the Flyers won back-to-back Stanley Cups on the strength of legendary goaltending perfomances by one Bernard Marcel Parent in 1974 and 1975, yet neglected their crease for decades thereafter. 

And it would seem to be the ultimate irony if a Russian netminder were to lead Philadelphia back to the Promised Land, what with the infamous game the Flyers played in February of 1976 in which the Soviets left the ice because of their rough treatment by the Broad Street Bullies.  The contest fueled a sometimes bitter rivalry that began in 1972 with the Summit Series, and bad blood was felt by many throughout the years of the Cold War.

Bryzgalov after he won the Cup with Pronger and the rest of the 2007 Anaheim Ducks. (Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons)

Not to mention Rocky Balboa’s tilt with Ivan Drago.

Sometimes the list of ingredients don’t always appear to make the most sense as you read a label.  But as long as the finished product is a success, that’s all that really matters.

The club has tried so many other concoctions and just have not gotten the correct mixture.

That is exactly what Snider, Peter Luukko, Holmgren, Laviolette, and the rest of the Flyers’ heiracrchy is hoping is the case with the 2011-12 version of the Philadelphia Flyers. 

There is much to question and some relative unknowns heading into the upcoming season, and much will depend on the health of defensemen Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen.  But the team takes on an increased appearance of a Cup contender with Bryzgalov between the pipes.

If you have any comments or questions, you can email the author at dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter – @David_Strehle

By David Strehle
NHL Hot Stove Creative Editor

Fans of the Buffalo Sabres should circle February 22nd, 2011 on their calendars as one of the most important dates in their beloved team’s history.  It was on that blustery winter day in Western New York that the Sabres were given a new lease on life when Terry Pegula became owner of the franchise.

The Back Story

Previous owner Tom Golisano had seemingly reached the end of providing positives for hockey in the Buffalo area.  As much as he had helped rescue the club from the dire straights that the Rigas family had left the Sabres, he seemed much more entralled with his political aspirations.  His self-funded political campaigns for Governor of New York were reported to have cost the billionaire, who made his fortune by founding the Paychex payroll-processing company in excess of $50 million alone in 2002, the same year he purchased controlling interest in the Sabres.

Buffalo had experienced a steady progression of improvement during Golisano’s first four years as owner.  The culmination of his time at the Sabres helm came with 110 and 113-point seasons in 2005-06 and 2006-07, respectively, in which the team would go on to lose in the Eastern Conference Finals in both postseasons.

A third trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in franchise history – the first two being in 1975 and 1999 - looked to be just on the horizon.

But Golisano tightened the purse strings on the budget in which GM Darcy Regier was permitted to work.  In turn, Buffalo allowed team leaders Danny Briere and Chris Drury – their respective number one and three leading scorers from the year prior – to walk away via free agency in the summer of 2007.

The Sabres point totals dropped to the low-90′s in the next two campaigns, in which they also missed the playoffs in both seasons.

It didn’t help matters the following year, either when All-Star defenseman Brian Campbell – who was slated to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2008 – was dealt to the San Jose Sharks just prior to the trade deadline.

There were the ridiculous cuts to the club’s scouting department, to save

As pointed out by CBC’s Elliotte Friedman in a piece he did in February on Golisano’s cost-cutting measures, the Sabres lost a wealth of hockey knowledge from their hockey operations and scouting department during Golisano’s time:

Director of Pro Scouting Terry Martin, who helped make the decision to acquire Daniel Briere, bolted for Colorado in 2006.  Director of Amateur Scouting Jim Benning (now in Boston) and assistant general Manager Larry Carriere (Montreal) left in 2004. 

For almost a decade, the Sabres found a later-round gem in the NHL draft.  There was Brian Campbell (6th round, 1997), Ales Kotalik (6th, 1998), Ryan Miller (5th, 1999), Paul Gaustad (7th, 2000), Dennis Wideman (8th, 2002) and Patrick Kaleta (6th, 2004).  Since then, nothing much, although it’s too soon to evaluate recent selections.

These were acquisitions that just could not be duplicated via Golisano’s alternative use of “video-only scouting”, and the former owner’s excuse to Friedman when interviewed spoke volumes:

“These scouts are traveling all over the world.  All these expenses, could they accomplish a lot more staying in one place with the use of video?  And they believe they can.  If somebody interprets that as not being progressive and being regressive, that’s too bad.  But we think we’re far more efficient and have a much better scouting organization than we did three years ago.”

A message was being sent to the players, and that was if they wanted to score big pay days, they would have to do so in another NHL city.  The team didn’t appear willing to spend the money to keep the core of players together that had gotten them so close to a berth in the Cup Finals, and fears arose as to other stars following a similar path out of town when their time came for new contracts.

Regier was able, however, to re-sign All-World goaltender Ryan Miller to a 5-year contract extension worth over $31 million prior to the 2009-10 season.

It was indeed a step in the right direction, but much more would be needed to get Buffalo back to the point they were in the spring of 2007.

Enter Pegula

“Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres’ reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup“, Pegula proudly proclaimed on that February day during the press conference to announce the sale of the team.

Even though the same had been said by previous ownership, it was just lip service.  But there is good reason to believe that he was genuinely sincere.  You see Pegula not only owns the Sabres, he’s also a huge fan.  There is nothing that he desires more than to see his team skating around the ice taking turns hoisting Lord Stanley high above their heads as the calendar hits June next year.

The fourth owner in franchise history made a great move in retaining his GM (Regier) and head coach, Lindy Ruff.  The pair both joined the franchise in 1997 and proved in prior years that when given the financial framework to succeed, that they could do so.

Ruff, the longest-tenured NHL coach, has had to get the most out of the least provided for him for much of his 14 seasons with the Sabres.  Ruff has survived for as long as he has by using a basic formula that seems to work.  His teams protect their goaltenders - in his early years with Dominik Hasek, and then Ryan Miller after “The Dominator” - with a staunch defense and timely, opportunistic scoring.

Pegula with Rene Robert, Richard Martin, and Perreault from late-February. Within three weeks time, Martin would tragically pass away in a car accident. (Photo Credit: Rick Stewart / Getty Images)

Pegula also knows the importance of history, and to make sure to keep a link with the players of the past.

In addition to having current Buffalo skaters with him at the press conference, he also had faces from the past at his side.  He was even getting choked up when looking at a certain legend.

“I’m going to try not to look this way too much,” Pegula said of Sabres’ Hall-of-Fame centerman Gilbert Perreault, who was sitting to the new owner’s right.

His fondness for the Sabres took flight in the mid-1970′s, when the famed French Connection Line of Rene Robert, Richard Martin, and Perreault was wreaking havoc on NHL goaltending.

It’s obvious that the team is his absolute passion.

He’s a billionaire who built his wealth in the natural gas business, and isn’t looking to make any additional fortune through his hockey club - the way Golisano reportedly had.  Two statements Pegula made to the press that day stand out in that regard:

“If I want to make some money, I’ll go drill a gas well.”

“We’ll put the pedal to the metal as capably as we can.  I don’t know if it’s wise to spend to the cap every year.  But we’re not in this to save money, that’s for sure.”

The Moves

Pegula’s actions since his acquisition of the franchise speak even louder than his words as a testament to his aspirations in building a legitimate Cup-contender.

First, Regier worked out a deal in which Buffalo sent defenseman Chris Butler and smallish center Paul Byron to the Calgary Flames for rugged defenseman Robyn Regehr and former-Sabre winger Ales Kotalik.

Regier explained his mindset regarding the move in an interview on the NHL Network:

“We  have a lot of young D in our system.  We’ve drafted a lot of defencemen and they’re developing, and as they come up they need that guidance.  I think with Jordan Leopold and Robyn Regehr, players with a little more experience, a little bit of understanding and a stabilizing influence as well as leadership, it’s critical to the young defenceman’s development.”

The next pick up would also bolster the club’s blue line, when Regier shipped a fourth-round choice in the 2012 draft to the New York Islanders for the rights to pending UFA rear guard Christian Ehrhoff.  The Isles had acquired Ehrhoff’s rights from the Vancouver Canucks a day earlier, but it was apparent that they were not going to be able to sign him before July 1st.

On the eve of free agency, Regier and Ehrhoff’s agent, Rick Curran, hammered out a massive 10-year, $40 million pact.  Ehrhoff, 29, came very close to winning a Stanley Cup in June with runner-up Vancouver, and feels Buffalo will have a real chance at making a run of their own.

“My goal is to win the Stanley Cup,” the seven-year veteran said in a statement released by the organization.  ”And after the offer I received from Buffalo, I believe this is the best place to make it happen.”

With the addition of Regehr and Ehrhoff to a unit that already includes gargantuan youngster Tyler Myers, Leopold, Andrej Sekera, Mike Weber, Shaone Morrisonn, and the recently re-signed Marc-Andre Gragnani, Buffalo looks to have one of the deepest stables of rear guards in the NHL.

Coupled with excellent netminders in Miller and his recently re-signed back up Jhonas Enroth – as well as a group of forwards that are painfully conscious of their responsibilities in their own end - the Sabres appear to have the makings of one of the league’s stingiest squads in protecting their own net.

And there should be plenty of offense for Buffalo to succeed.

When it became apparent that center Brad Richards would likely sign with the New York Rangers, Regier inked another of the bigger named UFA forwards on July 1st when he reeled in former-Philadelphia Flyer Ville Leino with a 6-year, $27 million deal.  The 27-year-old Finn may just be a perfect fit on the right side of the club’s top line with Derek Roy at center and Tomas Vanek on the left.

The Buffalo GM explained the importance that was placed on signing the free agent winger:

“We felt very strongly about Ville, and we felt that it was important to make sure we didn’t allow a quality player like him to slip by us.  He was someone we identified early and moved him to the top of the list.”

Leino would seem to be able to be plugged right into the spot, being a deft puckhandler and tireless worker in the corners.  He may also see power play time, as his ability to come away from the corners with the puck and his passing skills could come in handy with Vanek setting up shop in his office in front of the opposing goalies.

He has also evolved into a clutch playoff performer, as the Sabres know all too well.  Leino’s overtime goal in Buffalo in Game 6 of the first round on Easter Sunday saved the Flyers from elimination at the hands of the Sabres.  The Orange-and-Black went on to take the deciding Game 7 back in Philadelphia two nights later, a game in which Leino scored again.  He ended the series with three goals and four points.  Leino’s thoughts after his signing were interesting:

“It was a tough series and, to be honest with you, I think they deserved to win.  I was looking at their roster earlier on, and I think they made some good additions.  I think we’ll have a good chance to win next year.”

And after the contract ordeal he went through in Philly – where he was going to be signed to a long-term deal shortly after Jeff Carter inked a 5-year extension, but never came to fruition – it was understandably imperative from Leino’s point of view to be locked into a secure situation.

“I wanted to focus on hockey and forget about everything else, contracts, everything.”

The team is hoping that two younger wingers who experienced breakout seasons last year – Drew Stafford (25 years old; 31 goals, 52 points in just 62 games) and Tyler Ennis (21 years old, 20 goals, 49 points) - can continue their rapid development.

With such complimentary firepower up front as former 43-goal scorer Brad Boyes, former 34-goal scorer Jason Pominville, workhorse centerman Paul Gaustad, crafty mighty mite Nathan Gerbe, the pesky Patrick Kaleta, along with Jochen Hecht and Cody McCormick, this looks to be the deepest group of Buffalo forwards in the last five years.

Of course, health will play a major part in just how well the Sabres are able to perform this season.  But then again, that’s the case for 29 other NHL teams, as well.

There is a feeling that something special is about to occur with the hockey team in Western New York; the same sort of feeling when the natives of the area sense a snowstorm is about to hit.

It’s almost unstoppable.

And it’s no coincidence that the positive vibes began once Pegula took over the club’s ownership.  He made a promise to the people of Buffalo that he would do everything in his power to bring a championship to the city, and he has backed up the talk with the bold moves made in improving the club’s roster over the summer.

If you have any comments or questions, you can email the author at dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter – @David_Strehle

By David Strehle
NHL Hot Stove Creative Editor

Chris Pronger of the Philadelphia Flyers held a conference call today.  The defenseman, who continues rehabilitation from off-season back surgery, discusses his rehab;  his expectations as to how many games he would like to play this season (surprising, to say the least); his take on GM Paul Holmgren’s overhaul of the Orange-and-Black and the new personnel, as well as some of the young rising stars on the roster; and even has his usual game of cat and mouse with reporters on some questions.  The following is the transcript of the conference call:

Photo courtesy of jbehindtheglass.com

Q:  How are you feeling and what’s going on?

Pronger:  ”I’m doing ok.  I am starting to feel a little bit better and do a little bit more in the gym.  I was cleared to start riding the bike a little bit harder, but have yet to be cleared to start lifting weights though.”

Q: What is a daily routine like for you now compared to what it should be like?

Pronger:  “I usually get into the gym and walk on the treadmill for 10 minutes and then I ride the bike for anywhere between 30 – 40 minutes, and have over the last couple weeks slowly started to increase the wattage or tension on the bike, and I am starting to get up there.  I get a pretty good sweat now and my heart rate gets up there so I am starting to get fairly close to where I would probably ride at.  I have yet to begin doing sprint work or anything like that.  From there I go into some core work for probably another 30 minutes, and work on my back and my core and everything I need to do to tighten up to work on my back rehab.  And then depending on the day I’ll go do legs or I’ll do some light shoulder work. ”

Q: What concerns you the most right now, where you have to be in terms of training camp?

Pronger:  “Well, that would be strength.  I haven’t lifted a weight in the last six months, so that would be the answer to your question of what haven’t I done, well, obviously lift weights.  Strength, for my position and the way I play, is critical.  So I’ve got to gain my strength back before I begin skating.”

Q: The team made a lot of moves in the off-season, obviously, and you lost a lot of goals.  What is your feeling on the makeover?  Do you like the moves that were made?

Pronger:  “I think the biggest thing, (when) you look at offensive production and things of that nature, I think you need to look at projections and where guys are going to take their game with increased ice time, increased power play time, things of that nature.  Obviously, with the addition of (Jaromir) Jagr, you’re hopefully going to get 50 or 60 points out of him.  (Claude Giroux), who knows where he takes his game to.  (James van Riemsdyk) scratched the surface last year in the playoffs and hopefully he comes back and is able to take his game to the next level.  Wayne Simmonds can come in and provide 15 or 20 goals on the wing.  (Jakub) Voracek coming in, he should be able to supply some offense.  We lose a lot in (Mike Richards) and (Jeff Carter) and (Ville Leino) but I think you gain some of that back through the improved play and increased ice time, power play and what not for those other guys I mentioned. And then really the style of play.  We don’t want to be in shootouts.  We don’t want to play in games that are 8-7.  We want to be able to rely on our goaltender and our defense, which is where we’re built, and our youth up front, get skating, get physical, get in on the play and create turnovers and things of that nature.”

Q: Getting back to your back, where are you now compared to where you usually are this time of year?  Do you see yourself trying to speed up the process or are you going to take it slower and whenever you get on the ice, you get on the ice?

Pronger:  “I’m not going to speed up the process one bit. It’s going to go how it goes.  Normally at this time of year I would have already had 2 months of strength training.  I usually start kind of curtailing that a little bit and do more cardio.  Now I have been doing all cardio and no lifting, so it’s kind of a little bit backwards.  I need to obviously do a lot of lifting to get my body back to where it needs to be and the shape it needs to be to be able to play an 82 game schedule, and 25 – 30 minutes a game, the way I play.”

Q: Realistically when do you think you will be able to be on the ice?

Pronger:  “Well I could use the same line I have used a couple times but I won’t.  I don’t know.  I haven’t started lifting weights yet so I don’t know how my body is going to respond and what kind of strength I am going to have and all the rest of that.  Until I get to the gym and start lifting weights I really couldn’t tell you.”

Q: Have you been told when you can start lifting weights?

Pronger:  “I was told by the hand doctor I could lift in another week, possibly.”

Q: Is the lifting weight problem the hand or the back or a combination of both?

Pronger:  “No, it would be the hand.”

Q: You did say 82 games.  Is that a possibility, or a remote possibility, you could be ready on opening day?

Pronger:  “Again, I don’t know.  The goal is to be ready for Game 1 of the regular season.  I am starting to progress.  I think Homer (Flyers’ GM Paul Holmgren) talked maybe last week about I was in seeing the doctor about a week and a half ago and I was kind of cleared then to progress my cardio and things like that, and grab light weights and do some shoulder work and stuff like that.  Once I get cleared, I can start getting into a full lifting program and all the rest of that.  Again, it’s how my body reacts and how I feel that dictates when I start to skate and where we go from there.”

Q: Do you have pain now?

Pronger:  “Just sitting here talking to you guys, I have no pain.  Other than my brain.”

Q: Are you confident the problem has been fixed?

Pronger:  “I am.  I am, yeah. I hope so.  That is the idea when you have these surgeries, that it’ll be fixed for good.  But we do play a physical game and you know, we’ll see, but as I’ve said I am starting to feel a little bit better.  You start rounding the corner, you’re able to ride the bike a little bit harder, you start to feel a little bit better about yourself, and you start get your energy level back and those sorts of things.  You start to really kind of push yourself in the gym a little bit more, and as I said, once I start lifting weights I’ll be able to push myself even harder and see how I react and feel.”

Q: Could you talk about (Ilya) Bryzgalov a little bit and what he does with the defense especially.  Are you excited to play in front of him?

Pronger:  “Yeah, I am.  I’ve seen him kind of mature over the last five or six years since I was with him in Anaheim, and you know he’s kind of taken his game to the next level, and how he’s played in Phoenix and kind of carried their team to the playoffs.  I think we play a very similar defensive style as they did there, very tight defensively, and I’d like to think we play pretty sound defensively as well.  I don’t think he’s going to be getting 35-40 shots a night, but you know, 20 – 25 shots a night.  He is just going to have to stay sharp and stay focused.  If he plays the way he did in Phoenix we’lll certainly be pleased.”

Q: How healed up is your hand?

Pronger:  “My hand I guess would be about 80% healed, maybe 85% healed.  I had the plate removed, so I’m just waiting for the screw holes to fill in.”

Q: You seem to be the main recruiter.  What do you tell the guys coming on to a new team with so much turnover?

Pronger:  “Well, I only talked to one guy.  I talked to guys after the trade, so I wouldn’t say I recruited them.   But I speak about the ownership and the management and the coaching staff and about the players that are with the team, and talk about what the coach has been selling, what he’s preaching.  You know, obviously Mr. (Ed) Snider, what he has done for this team speaks for itself and the moves that Homer’s made, and Lavi’s coaching.  You just talk about the personnel.  Jagr was over in Europe for the past three years so he hasn’t seen van Riemsdyk or Giroux, he hasn’t seen some of these guys.  So you just talk about what type of players they are and about the defense we have and how we play.  He obviously knows Bryz.  Really I was just answering his questions.  He was just trying to make up his mind and he had a decision to make and he had a lot of questions to be answered, and I just answered them for him.”

Q: Physically how do you feel and how much do you have left in the tank?

Pronger:  “Again, I don’t really know that you could say I was breaking down, with broken bones and being hit by pucks and all the rest of that.  Those are all the things that can sometimes be avoided.  Perhaps now I may not block as many shots.  I may just get out of the way and let our million dollar goaltender stop those things.”

Q: I guess I am just asking what your durability is?

Pronger:  “Well, if I’m going off of last year I guess I would call myself a band aid.  But I’ve got many other years where you could say I wasn’t a band aid.  Sometimes you just have years where things don’t go your way.  It was a quick turnaround last year.  I played hurt in the playoffs and had surgery, and was kind of set back in my training, and for whatever reason I had a couple bad breaks along the way and then the back came in.  I don’t really know what happened with my back, if it was just a ticking time bomb or what.  I don’t think anyone really knows how they hurt their back.  I would like to think I’m past all of this, but again, we’ll see how I react once I start lifting weights and pushing myself a little bit harder.”

Q: Did that make it even more important to take your time with this?  I am sure you talked to other players who have gone through some things like this and the remedy is to take your time.

Pronger:  “Yeah, I think all along I have told Homer, I told Lavi (head coach Peter Laviolette), I told you guys and anyone that’s asked that I’m gonna take my time and make sure I was doing everything that was necessary rehab-wise and what not.  Whether it be rest or recuperation or whatever it is, to make sure whatever injuries I did have last year were going to be healed up and fully healed and allow me to be healthy whenever it was that I started skating and began playing again, that I was going to be able to go 100% and not look back.”

Q: Do you think as much time as you missed last year might have re-energized you?

Pronger:  “Sometimes it can.  You have to use the time wisely.  For the first little while I couldn’t do anything because of my back, for the first 6 weeks anyway.  Everything else to recover as well – where you’re not running the bike, lifting weights, and doing all the rest of the stuff that normally you’re already back doing.  You’re able to allow your body to hopefully fully recover.  I like to think that taking that much time off will allow me to fully heal up and recover and be able to play another 82 game season.”

* Special thanks to Flyers’ Manager of Broadcasting and Media Services Brian Smith for the transcript.

If you have any comments or questions, you can email the author at dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter – @David_Strehle

By David Strehle
NHL Hot Stove Creative Editor

Over the course of a long summer, there is usually a shortage of hockey-related issues to contemplate as the calendar slowly marches into late-July.  But in Philadelphia, there never seems to be a lack of hockey banter.

Photo by Jim McIsaac / Getty Images

When Paul Holmgren traded Mike Richards to the Los Angeles Kings on June 23rd, the move created more than just a hole at center.

It left the Philadelphia Flyers without a captain.

Questions about Richards’ leadership abilities circulated as the club struggled down the stretch, and gained momentum after the Flyers were swept out of the postseason in round two by the Boston Bruins.  Most of the talk was generated from Philly-area mainstream media members but in retrospect, there was obviously fire to go along with the smoke.

Looking forward there are really three obvious candidates for the open position, and one other that has been mentioned to get a look at filling the vacancy.

In no particular order, the candidates are as follows, with their respective resumes attached:

Copyright David Strehle 2010

Chris Pronger:  6′ 6″, 220-pound defenseman, turns 37 in early-October.

The upside of the “C” being given to Pronger:  One of the most-respected and accomplished players on the Philadelphia roster.  Prior to the recently-completed postseason, Pronger had made the Stanley Cup Finals in three of the previous five years – pulling off feat the feat with three different organizations (Edmonton Oilers 2006 – loss in 7 games; Anaheim Ducks in 2007 – win in 5 games; Flyers in 2009 – loss in 6 games).

Already one of the most vocal leaders on the club, Pronger was one of the few Flyers to call out teammates when the team was in their late-season tailspin.  He doesn’t care what he has to say, all he wants is to win.  And he has proven in each city that he has called home that he is an integral part of turning a franchise into a winner.

1,154 NHL regular season games, 156 goals, 686 points, 1,580 PIMs.  173 playoff contests, 26 goals, 121 points, 326 PIMs.

Maybe more important in the numbers game is to contrast his two postseasons in Philly to show his value to the Flyers.  In his first playoff appearance with the club, Pronger played in all 23 games.  He scored four goals and posted 18 points, was a +5, and recorded 36 PIMs.  Not so coincidently, Philadelphia made its first trip to the Cup Finals since 1997.

Unfortunately for the Flyers, Pronger’s injury-plagued 2010-11 campaign continued into the postseason.  He saw limited action in just three games, picking up just one assist, posting  -3 rating, and sitting in the sin bin for four minutes.  As Pronger goes, so go the Orange-and-Black, and after Philly pulled out a Game 7 first round with the Buffalo Sabres, they wouldn’t win a game in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Boston.

He has twice captained NHL teams with the St. Louis Blues and the Ducks.

The downside of the “C” being given to Pronger:  When healthy and in the lineup, he is one of the most-feared competitors in the entire NHL, but that was a big “if” this past season.  Pronger missed 32 games with three major injuries and resultant surgeries.

He underwent back surgery following the club’s playoff exit, and likely will not be ready for the start of the 2011-12 regular season.

There’s no doubting that the above-mentioned amount of NHL contests and with the physical nature in which Pronger has played those games and the amount of minutes he has logged – in addition to the international play for Team Canada through the years – have taken a toll on his body.

If the pattern continues for the club’s defensive anchor, it could end up being a detriment if Pronger is named captain but perpetually on the shelf.

Kimmo Timonen:  5′ 10″, 194 pounds, turns 37 in mid-March.

Copyright David Strehle 2011

The upside of the “C” being given to Timonen:  The smooth-skating defenseman has defied all odds and had a pretty decent career.  Timonen wasn’t drafted until the 10th-round selection (250th overall) in the 1993 draft by of the Los Angeles Kings before being dealt to Nashville in late 1998.

Both Timonen and Scott Hartnell prepared to test unrestricted free agency following the 2006-07 season.  Timonen had just been named captain of the team and proceeded to record career highs in both assists and points.  Preds’ GM David Poile knew that he would not be able to sign either Timonen or Hartnell, so he traded the duo’s negotiating rights to Holmgren.  The Flyers promptly re-signed both to long-term deals shortly after the trade.

Timonen has been one of the best Flyers’ defenders in franchise history since his arrival.  In 321 games with the team, he has 23 goals, 163 points, and is a +28.  The 163 points rank him 12th all-time among blue liners in franchise history.  With a typical Timonen regular season, he could move into the top-five.

Timonen is a blue collar rear guard who hates to lose, and his disdain of the way the team played down the stretch was evident in the locker room most nights following tough-to-swallow defeats.

The downside of the “C” being given to Timonen:  All the positives are not to say that Timonen isn’t wearing down, much like Pronger.  The native of Kuopio, Finland has also played a ton of hockey during his playing days – 894 NHL regular season contests, and an additional 69 in the postseason.  And he has logged major minutes in most of those battles.  Timonen missed seven games in his first two seasons with the Flyers, but has seen action in all 164 over the last two campaigns.

Even though putting up good numbers last year – six goals, 37 points, +11, only 36 PIMs – there was a noticeable drop off in his game.  The physical nature of the rough-and-tumble wars saw Timonen playing through injuries for a lot of the year.

As a matter of fact, since his career high of 55 points in the ’06-’07 season, Timonen has seen his offensive production gradually diminish each year (44 in ’07-’08, 43 in ’08-’09, 39 in ’09-’10, and 37 last year).

Danny Briere:  5′ 10″, 179 pounds, turns 34 on opening night when Philadelphia visits Boston on October 6th.

Copyright David Strehle 2010

The upside of the “C” being given to Briere:  One of the biggest bright spots in Philadelphia over the past 15 months has been the play of center-turned-winger-turned-center Danny Briere.

Despite putting up some decent numbers during his early time here after being signed as an UFA in the summer of 2007, Briere really hadn’t shown his true value to the team until the 2009 postseason.  After being returned to his natural center position, the former Sabres’ co-captain posted 12 goals and 30 points in a 23-game march to the finals.  His point total led all NHL playoff scorers and set a Flyers’ franchise record for a single postseason.

He carried that momentum over to last year with stellar play during the regular season, scoring a career-high 34 times and posting a career-best +20 rating.  Briere went on to score seven goals in 11 games in the playoffs, and along with James van Riemsdyk, was one of the driving forces behind the club’s first-round triumph over Buffalo.

The rise in Briere’s play also coincided with his placement on a line between Hartnell and Ville Leino.  The trio had been the team’s most consistent offensive producers since the beginning of the 2009 playoffs, so it will be interesting to see what affect the departure of Leino to Buffalo via free agency will have on Briere’s play.

Briere plays an emotional game and is usually quiet when off the ice, but his Easter Sunday locker room speech in Philly’s potential-elimination Game 6 in Buffalo may have increased his standing in team leadership.  With the Flyers in a no-tomorrow-if-we-lose situation and trailing after two periods, the fiery ex-Sabre reportedly peeled the paint off of the locker room walls with his words to his teammates.  The team rallied to tie the game in the third and win it in overtime.

Briere also had scored two goals earlier that afternoon, then picked up a goal and an assist two nights later in the series-deciding Game 7.  He not only talks the talk, he backs it up by walking the walk.

The downside of the “C” being given to Briere:  There are not a whole lot of glaring weaknesses in Briere’s game.  One thing the coaching staff would love to see is for him to shed the propensity for taking bad / undisciplined / lazy stick penalties, especially late in tight games.

Being one of the club’s smaller players, Briere often times seems to take a good deal of punishment that goes unnoticed by the officials.

But they do not seem to miss many of his retaliations.

A wildcard in any speculation is none other than rising star center Claude Giroux.  Many in the Philadelphia area have brought up his name since Richards’ exit, citing the fact that Giroux basically was the on-ice leader for much of the year, especially in the latter stages.

Photo courtesy of jbehindtheglass.com

The meteoric rise of the 5′ 11″, 172 pound native of Hearst, Ontario was unrelenting during the 2010-11 campaign, as Giroux went on to lead the Flyers with 76 points, including 25 goals.  But his effectiveness went far beyond the dazzling offensive wizardry, as he also established a physical element to his game.

The diminutive Giroux threw his weight around on many occasions with some huge, clean highlight-reel hits in support of a teammate who had been drilled earlier in the game.  At other times he did the same by standing up for himself when larger players tried to shut him down through intimidation.

Giroux possesses far more offensive talent and upper-end scoring potential than Richards, who was thrust into a primary scoring role as the Flyers’ top-line center.  Philly pushed Richards into the captaincy at the same age that Giroux coincidentally is now, 23.

There is no doubt that at the rate of development being shown by Giroux, he will one day wear the captain’s “C” in Philadelphia.  But that day should come later rather than sooner, and management should learn from the Richards-era and their rush to create the organization’s “next Bobby Clarke“.

Another option is readily available.  The team could choose to go with co-captains, much the same way Buffalo did a few seasons ago with the combo of Briere and Chris Drury.

Conclusion

There really is no wrong choice here for the Flyers, and any “downsides” listed for the players (except that of forcing Giroux too early) truly are rather insignificant.

The team is blessed with a strong core of leadership, some of which have won the Cup in the past.  The group as a whole will be able to be more vocal with Richards’ departure.  There was talk in the last few seasons of veterans needing to watch out for “stepping on toes” by speaking out, and that shouldn’t be an issue now.

There should be further help in this area with the addition of Jaromir Jagr, another player who has won Cups in the past.  There was an instant backlash from Flyer Nation to the signing of a player who had been a previous arch-rival, but he still has enough game left and abilities to lead the way with the growing amount of youngsters on the roster.

It would appear that Pronger would have the inside track for the vacant captaincy.  There were murmurs before the shocking trade of Richards that the outspoken defenseman could replace him in the position even if Richards had remained with the team.

With the situation being somewhat clouded by Pronger’s injury status, I am still expecting the hulking blue liner to be named captain of his third different club.

Back in May, I did an article on the Flyers’ perpetual search for a number one netminder and the possible candidates.  In that poll, an overwhelming majority (62%) voted for Ilya Bryzgalov as the answer to Philly’s age old question mark.  Make your feelings known on the Flyers’ captaincy here:

If you have any comments or questions, you can email the author at dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter – @David_Strehle

By David Strehle
NHL Hot Stove Creative Editor

It has been quiet in Philadelphia following a flurry of major personnel changes.  But it would seem that Flyers GM Paul Holmgren is still attempting to find creative ways to add a missing piece to the complex puzzle that is his hockey club.

When looking at the current Flyers roster, much of what is necessary to succeed in the playoffs appears to be in place:

• For the first time in years, the goaltending spot is a point of strength with the addition of Ilya Bryzgalov.
• The defense should be in good shape – that is as long as defensive stalwarts Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen remain healthy.

It would seem that if the cast of forwards provided for head coach Peter Laviolette’s use remains the same, the club may find times when goals could be hard to come by when the 2011-12 season commences.

This has been an area that Philadelphia has thrived in recent years.  Last season the team led the entire Eastern Conference in goals scored with 259, with only the Vancouver Canucks (262) and Detroit Red Wings (261) netting more during the regular season.

As a matter of fact, a balanced offensive attack has been a trademark of the success the Flyers have enjoyed over the course of the past four campaigns:

• The club boasted eight players with double-digit goals during the 2007-08 season – Danny Briere 31, Jeff Carter and Mike Knuble 29 each, Mike Richards 28, Scott Hartnell 24, Joffrey Lupul 20, Scottie Upshall 14, R.J. Umberger 13.
• The club had seven players with double-digit goals during the 2008-09 campaign - Carter 46, Simon Gagne 34, Richards and Hartnell with 30 each, Knuble 27, Lupul 25, Briere 11.
• The club produced a staggering 10 players with double-digit goals two seasons ago - Carter 33, Richards 31, Briere 26, Gagne 17, Claude Giroux 15, James van Riemsdyk 15, Hartnell 14, Dan Carcillo 12, Arron Asham and Pronger 10 each.
• The club saw nine players with double-digit goals last year – Carter 36, Briere 34, Giroux 25, Hartnell 24, Richards 23, van Riemsdyk 21, Ville Leino 19, Nik Zherdev 16, Andreas Nodl 11.

There were 34 times that players donning the Orange-and-Black have scored 10 or more times in a season over the past four years, with 17 unique Flyers accomplishing the feat. 

Of those 17, only six (Briere, Hartnell, Giroux, van Riemsdyk, Pronger, and Nodl) remain as Flyers.

Holmgren has had a steady turnover in his supporting cast of forwards in previous years, dealing scorers for help in other areas in which the team was deficient.

Carter and Richards combined for 59 goals last season.  When you add in the 35 contributed by Leino and Zherdev, that’s 94 goals – or more than 36% of Philadelphia’s total offensive output in the 2010-11 campaign - that will need to be replaced.

Briere is now the leader among active Flyers on the franchise’s goal-scoring list with just 102 – or 29th all-time in club history.

For fans of Philly hockey looking to leap off the Walt Whitman Bridge, it’s important to remember that all is not lost:

• The performance given last season by Giroux should be of the utmost importance.  Not only with the 25 goals and 76 points, but also the physical nature in which he played, as well as the leadership exhibited during the year.  There is no doubt that the development of the 23-year-old native of Hearst, Ontario into what appears to be an elite-level centerman made it an easier decision to move Richards.  Giroux appears destined to be wearing the captain’s “C” at some point in the not-too-distant future.
• Speaking of the evolution of one player’s game being a catalyst for the exit of another, van Riemsdyk’s emergence down the stretch of the regular season and playoffs may have been the deciding factor for Holmgren to trade Carter.  The 22-year-old Middletown, New Jersey-native appears to have taken the next step in becoming the power forward the Flyers brass envisioned upon selecting him second-overall in the 2007 draft.  He broke the 20-goal mark for the first time last year, and netted another seven in 11 postseason contests.  The 6′ 3″, 200-pounder reminded many of a young John LeClair in the process.
• Of the new faces acquired by Holmgren this summer, Jaromir Jagr has the best track record of scoring goals.  Even at 39 years old, Jagr should provide a big boost to the Flyers offense, as well as the club’s power play, which was awful last season.  Jagr’s last NHL season was three years ago, in which he scored 25 goals and posted 71 points.
• Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek have proven they can score goals with their previous teams.  Both Simmonds and Voracek have each scored 30 goals over the last two seasons, and should provide a nice compliment to the bigger scorers.  Plus, the two should each have a much-increased role with the Flyers this season over their prior clubs.
• Brayden Schenn could prove to be a wildcard.  Only having played in 9 career NHL contests, the 19-year-old has yet to score a regular season goal.  Holmgren had high praise for Schenn after the recently-completed rookie / development camp.  “He’s probably the best player outside of the NHL that’s not playing,” Holmgren told NHL.com.  ”He’s a tremendous young player and I look forward to seeing him over the next number of years in our organization.”  He did prove to be one of the best players in the development camp, but the true test will come at training camp with the regulars.

While there are no doubts here that Steven Stamkos will eventually re-sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning, you cannot help but get the feeling this is still the central focus of Holmgren’s attention.

Owner Jeffrey Vinik and GM Steve Yzerman have done a remarkable job in rebuilding the entire Tampa Bay organization.  They have gotten the Bolts to the point of not only regaining respectability that had been lost in previous seasons, they also tranformed the team into a Stanley Cup contender.  A 1-0 loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the conference finals is proof-positive.

And all of that was accomplished within a period of just over a year.

The very thought of Stamkos wearing any other uniform than that which is adorned with a Lightning bolt on the crest is extremely hard to fathom.  He is a huge part of both Tampa’s present and future.  

Yzerman has to know that not keeping the super-sniper in the fold would send the wrong message to those who have finally begun to believe in the direction of the franchise.

Holmgren is waiting for something, that is quite apparent.  A couple of Philadelphia beat writers let it slip on July 1st that the Flyers had come to an agreement with defenseman Braydon Coburn – who stood to be an unrestricted free agent next summer – on “a two-year contract extension for in the neighborhood of $8 million”. 

Today is July 13th, and no official announcement has been made by the team.  With the intricacies of the CBA, there could be reasons for the delay.

Teams are permitted to be up to 10% over the cap limit during the offseason, as long as they are cap compliant by the start of the regular season.  With Coburn’s extension, that cap hit doesn’t begin until the 2012-13 campaign. 

But there is something called “tagging”, and that is that a club cannot be above the current upper cap number for the next season.  According to CapGeek, the Flyers have just over $1.5 million in space with 22 players signed for the upcoming season.  But they have in excess of $17.25 million with 15 players under contract for 2012-13.  Coburn’s deal would put those numbers at 16 players inked and more than $13.25 million with which to work.

Throw in the fact that Holmgren has the task of working on an extension for van Riemsdyk - whose $1,654,166 entry-level deal expires after the upcoming year, which would make him a restricted free agent next summer – and that $13.25 million could dwindle very rapidly.

So it could just be that the team wants to save the news of the Coburn deal for the dog days of August, when all of the free agent frenzy has completely died down and any kind of hockey news is more than welcomed.

Or it could mean that Holmgren still has his designs set on something else, and needs to wait until the scenario plays out.

___________________________________________

Pronger speaks on TSN Radio

Pronger was on TSN Radio 1050 with Scott MacArthur and Jamie McLennan (“Mac and Noodles”) today, discussing pertinent topics regarding the team’s current offseason of change.

Outspoken as always, the defenseman poked fun at McLennan for joining “the dark side” (aka “the media”), as MacArthur put it.  Aside from talking about his invite to McLennan – who was a groomsman in Pronger’s wedding, which is about to hit the 10-year mark - to join a select few guests in Las Vegas, Pronger addressed some interesting topics during the show.

On Holmgren’s moves over the summer:

“With the way we exited the playoffs last year, and our owner coming out and asking to get a goalie, that puts a little bit of cash restraints on the team with respect to the salary cap.  Moves have to be made.  In order to free up money, you have to give up good players, and we obviously did that in both Mike (Richards) and Jeff (Carter).

“But also in return for those guys, we got a lot younger, a little bigger up front, and a little more gritty.  I think that was something we were missing in the playoffs.  As we all know,, grit seems to show up real well in the playoffs.  So hopefully we’ve strengthened ourselves, not only in goal, but also up front with a few more physical players (Simmonds, Voracek, Schenn).   

Both of those guys (Richards and Carter) are obviously going to be sorely missed.  They were a big part of the Flyers for a number of years, and hopefully we don’t miss them too much this year.”

On the acquisition of Bryzgalov and the possibility of added confidence with an elite netminder in goal:

“You’re not worried about the puck going toward the net, you’re not worried about having to block every single shot.  In fact, you’re probably getting out of the way of them so he (Bryzgalov) can just stand in front, stop them, direct them to somewhere you can get the puck, break out, and get on the attack.

“Obviously I played with Bryz in Anaheim and he’s a very athletic goalie, a guy who will compete and give you his best each and every night, as his statistics show you over his last three years in Phoenix.

“I’m certainly hoping he’s the answer, hoping he lives up to the billing, because I’ve seen what he can do when he’s hot, and he’s definitely a great goalie.”

On his injuries and if he may be ready for training camp:

“I’m still probably 3 to 3 1/2 weeks away from being able to train hard.  I’m still just walking on the tread mill, light bike riding.  The back doctor wanted me (to have) 12 weeks of really not doing a whole lot to allow that back area to scar up and then fully heal up before I start torquing and pushing on it hard.

“So I would say I’m quite a bit behing where I would be training-wise and working out-wise.  Whether I’m at camp or not, I don’t know that yet, it’s still early to tell.  I would guess I would not be starting camp just for the mere fact that I haven’t been able to work out at all yet.  I’m skinny to begin with and now I’m really skinny! (laughing)”

On player movement in the NHL this offseason:

“As you see the cap go up – I think it went up $5 million or whatever the real, full number was – the teams at the bottom end needed to drag their cap number up.  They’re forced to spend up to a certain number (lower cap limit is $48.3 million).  A number of teams had a whole host of contracts expiring. 

Take Florida for example.  They remade their whole team.  They’ll have a whole pile of new players and you’re going to see fans in the stands with scorecards trying to figure out who’s who, and attach numbers to names and all the rest of that.

Because there’s a number of teams that have kind of remade their whole team and identities, I think those teams that are near the bottom that have been doing that, I think it’s exciting for those fans and speaks to the parity that’s in our game right now.”

On the possibility of a lockout after the upcoming season:

“I think  I’m fairly educated in what the league is probably going to try to do (laughs).  I’ve gone through it a couple of times now already with the lockout in ’94 and the last one in ’05, but to be honest with you, I’ve been so busy with all my injuries and trying to get healthy and all the rest of that, other than our fall meeting that we’ve had with (NHLPA head) Don Fehr, I haven’t had a chance to get to any other meetings.  I would say I’m not as astute as I probably will be once the season starts and start trying to figure out where the league may take this next CBA and what exactly they’re going to want or wish for.

“So we can only speculate and guess, which is what you two do to death, I’m sure (laughing).”  [EDITOR'S NOTE:  So do not feel badly, Tim Panaccio!]

On his accomplishments and what keeps him going other than his love for the game:

“Not only that, but your competitiveness.  You want to win, you want to get back to the top and hold the Stanley Cup.  Go through that year of blood, sweat, and tears with your teammates.  Accomplishing something that very few people have an opportunity to do.

“Hopefully the rest of the summer goes well and I continue to get healthy and things go in the right direction for me there.  We’ve made a number of changes to the team this year.  I’m very happy with where we’re at and hopefully we can grow as a team and continue to get better through the course of the year.

“I think that was one of the things that got us last year.  We got off to a really good start after that long grind in the playoffs the previous year, whether we hit a wall or whatever half way through the year after Christmas, we just didn’t seem to get any better.  We didn’t continue to push ourselves.  For whatever reason, it’s almost like our development got stunted and we almost got worse. 

“As teams were getting better, we almost got worse, and that, in my opinion, was our downfall.

“I’m looking forward to this year and as we know every year is different.  Whether you’re with a new team or the same team, it’s always a fresh page.  Teams always make one or two changes.  It’s a chance for you to build on what you’ve done in years prior, and also to continue to grow as a team and teammates. 

“You see the guys out there every day that you bleed for, block shots for, you fight for, you hit for, you pass the puck to, you score goals for and all the things that encompass a hockey game.

“That’s what brings you back, the comaraderie, and that time in the locker room.  As Jamie (retired McLennan) I’m sure will tell you, the thing that guys miss most isn’t the game, isn’t playing the game.  It’s the bond the guys have in the locker room and all the fun you have while getting ready to go out and sacrifice for each other.”

If you have any comments or questions, you can email the author at dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter – @David_Strehle

As the weekend starts to wind down, the opening days of what is now known as Free Agency Frenzy have come and gone. Players were moved and contracts were inked, insuring that the upcoming season will be great for the Pacific Division. Who came out on top? Many could say the Los Angeles Kings did.

It was well-known that the Kings would be making some big moves in the free agent market with over $16 million in cap space. The surprise came when it was revealed who the Kings were making their move for. Apparently not wanting to settle for just one Richards, the Kings put all their pucks in one net and made their pitch to the jewel of this year’s free agency market, Brad Richards.

It seems that everyone in the Kings management took a trip to Toronto in order to  meet with Richards and his agent. Now, when I say everyone, I mean pretty much everyone but Bailey. The CEO of AEG, Tim Leiweke, General Manager Dean Lombardi, Head-Coach Terry Murray, and Assistant Coaches John Stevens & Jamie Kompon were just a few of the visitors Richards met with during the two-hour presentation. Leiweke told Rich Hammond of LA Kings Insider, that this pitch was probably the greatest in Kings history.

“This is the best effort I’ve ever seen, in chasing a player for the Kings. That’s for sure. They were very impressed with the video, and I’m hoping one day we will share the video. We had a lot of people help us and a lot of people speak on our behalf. Some of the people who spoke on our behalf shocked Brad and his agents, and they will shock our fans a little bit, the help that we got here. So this was a good L.A. effort. L.A. showed well here, and I’m proud of the job we did.”

The video Leiweke referred to included the likes of the Great One, Wayne Gretzky, Lakers All-Star Kobe Bryant, Kings’ Right-Winger Justin Williams, and even the newly acquired Mike Richards. The fact that Mike Richards appeared in a pitch video already should silence the critics on the topic of his motivation. Sadly, Brad Richards decided to sign with the New York Rangers, wishing to be near his parents and returning to a coach he won a cup with. Panic started to set in across Los Angeles as many fans began thinking their Kings had entered into another “Kovalchuk Drama.” In reality, going all-in on Richards can be seen as a great move by the Kings.

The Kings seemingly ignored the rest of the free agents in hopes of signing Richards and while they came out empty-handed, they came out ahead. The first day of the free agent frenzy saw many players signing overpriced contracts. Did the Kings inadvertently save themselves from overpaying for talent like Erik Cole, Ville Leino, and Scottie Upshall? By not signing these players to inflated contracts, the Kings left themselves flexibility in cap space to sign talent and not worry about signing their own talent like Drew Doughty.  Who would the Kings sign if the top picks are already taken? Let’s just say Lombardi had a trick up his sleeve.

Photo Via Jim Cristantiello

Shortly after Richards decided to sign with the Rangers, the Kings signed Tampa Bay Lightning Left-Winger Simon Gagne to a two-year, $7 million contract. The 31-year-old winger will add a great boost to the Kings offense as he is a two-time 40 goal scorer and is no stranger to the playoffs. While many question his health and ability to play a full season, Gagne says he feels great and is looking forward to camp in September. Another perk to signing Gagne is that in a way, he won’t be a stranger to the team. The skilled winger should fit in nicely considering he will be reunited with former teammates in Richards & Williams. Gagne will also get to say hello again to Murray & Stevens, playing for both of them during his time with the Philadelphia Flyers. If Gagne can stay healthy, the Kings now have a formidable top-six.

The weekend wasn’t all exciting signings for the Kings however. Fans bid farewell to two more Kings as Michal Handzus and Alexei Ponikarovsky signed with other teams.

It should be no surprise to hear Ponikarovsky didn’t resign with the Kings. After finding himself misused and often in the dog house with Murray, Ponikarovsky signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Many fans are finding it harder to swallow the news of Handzus’ departure however. While the third-line center was commonly seen as too slow, Handzus was a key component to the success of the Kings’ penalty-kill. Goaltender Jonathan Quick jokingly mentioned Handzus’s departure on Twitter:

“San Jose’s PK got better today, I think zus blocked more shot than I did this year, best of luck this year.”

Nicknamed “Zeus” by the fans and his teammates, he will be missed on the “PK” for sure. To make it sting worse, Handzus ended up signing a two-year, $2.5 million-a-year contract with Pacific Division rivals, the San Jose Sharks. It was expected that Handzus would sign with another team unless he was willing to take a massive cut in pay. His role has been seen as replaced with the improved play of Trevor Lewis and the addition of Richards was the final push. However many fans were left with a wounded feeling and asking, “why the Sharks?!”

With these recent moves, it is clear that Lombardi is pushing the Kings to make a serious run at the cup this season. Gone are the players that were deemed slow and bulky. The roster now looks stacked with talent and the view from the kingdom is looking extremely nice. It should be noted that there is still work to do though.

Doughty must be re-signed. Doughty will be re-signed. The rumors of Doughty being traded or taken by an offer-sheet grow with each passing day that he isn’t signed, but fans need to realize it is crazy to think the Kings would let him go. That would be like Tampa Bay letting go of Steven Stamkos. It won’t happen. Once Doughty is re-signed, the other Kings’ RFA’s will be resigned and the Kings will move on. Move on to where?

Looking at the free agent pool as it stands now, there aren’t many blockbuster deals left out there. Only time will tell if Lombardi has another trick up his sleeve. The Kings still need to fill a few holes at wing positions but there is no telling if that filler will arrive via prospect or trade. Either way, it is a good time to be a King.

Chris Van Deusen
NHLHS Los Angeles Kings Correspondent
Twitter – TheCrazyWhls

By David Strehle
NHL Hot Stove Creative Editor

The following information is supplemental to the articles posted earlier regarding the free agent moves by the Philadelphia Flyers today – the transcript of a conference call with Flyers’ GM Paul Holmgren on the issues from a very busy day:

Bruce Bennett / Getty Images North America

Q: What went into the Jagr signing?

“Well, obviously it sort of just started innocently yesterday.  I just sent a text to Petr Svoboda, his agent, who also represents Jake Voracek, and I didn’t know who was involved.  I read over the last few days it was just Detroit and Pittsburgh were the teams, so I just sent him a text about if Jaromir would have interest in playing for Philadelphia and it just kind of went from there, and culminated today with our signing of him.  So we’re excited to have Jaromir.  He’s going to bring a lot of leadership and we still believe he’s a guy that’s capable of putting up a fair amount of points.  We’re excited to have him.”

Q: How do you envision Jaromir fitting into your system, and did you consult Peter Laviolette?

“Well, Peter knows guys we’re talking about for sure.  Jaromir Jagr is one of the better players at the cycle game that there is in the game.  He’s a big strong guy who can really control the puck in the offensive zone, and he’s a big body in front of the net too.  He’s still a good player, and people forget, I think because he’s been away from the NHL for three years, that he’s been playing and been playing at a fairly high level.  [At the World Championships], our guys who saw him there thought he was – well, he was one of the better forwards, he was named to the All-Star team at the World Championships.  We think can play at this level.  We know he can.  And we believe he can still put up a lot of points.  So we’re certainly excited to have him.“

Q: Was there any concern about his age?

“You know what, I think Jaromir – he’s always been a very gifted player.  I think that goes without saying.  I think over the last few years he’s really taken on an approach where fitness is a real big thing with him.  I know at the World Championships, whenever they finished a game, he spent the next two hours working out hard.  I know Chris Pronger and Danny Briere, some of our players have talked to him, and he’s real big in training now and looking after himself and making sure he can still play at a high level.  We talked to Peter Laviolette, he wanted to know how our practices were, do we practice a lot, what types of practices do we go through.  [He said] I need to be on the ice, honing my skills and working on things, so I think all those things were a positive for us.”

Q: Are you interested in Brad Richards?

“Well, for sure.  Whether we’re in it or not, that’d be a tough one for us to do now.”

Q: Do you feel like you’re done?

“We still have a little flexibility.  I don’t know.  You never know what could come up.”

Q: At what point did you bow out on Leino and decide it was going to be too expensive?

“Well, just over the course of time [unintelligible] on a lot of these guys that we had down in terms of wingers.  I don’t need to really mention any names, but you look at the guys that are signed, we felt all along that it was going to be higher than we really wanted to go.  In terms of Ville, I spent a lot of time talking to Ville’s agent yesterday and quite a bit of time talking to him this morning.  I think the sense for us was that Ville was going to get multiple opportunities to get a lot more than we were prepared to offer him.  So I guess it went up to probably 11:45, when it got to that point, he was going to take a look.  Bill Vito did make a call back to me and told me kind of where it was at some point later on.  I think Ville had a lot of offers in that range, maybe even some higher than that.  I think Ville was really good for us, and we wish him all the best.  I’m happy for him.”

Q: Would you have still been interested in Jagr if you were able to get Ville at a number you wanted?

“That would have been tough.”

Q: When you traded Versteeg, was that to open some cap space or did you think someone else was available?

“You mean when we made the trade?  Yeah, it gives us flexibility.  We have some younger guys here that we want to take a look at, but it also leaves the door open for maybe something else.  Right now we’re in a spot where we have a little flexibility.  We signed Matt Read back in the spring and he’s a guy that we really think highly of, and obviously Sean Couturier – we’re anxious to see how he does this upcoming week at our development camp, and be able to spend some time with him.  So right now we have some flexibility for some of our young guys that we’re really high on, and also doesn’t close the door on maybe doing something else.  Once the first wave is over with and everybody kind of goes crazy, things settle in.  There are still some players who are unsigned, and the price might drop on those players, is there something that might come up that’s really attractive to us, we don’t know.  We don’t know what tomorrow’s going to bring, or even later tonight, for that matter.”

Q: Do you think Brad Richards will decide sometime tomorrow?

“I really don’t know.  I’ve talked to his agent a few times.  I think they’re just going to take their time.  As far as I know they’re still listening to a few teams.  So I don’t know where that all sits.  There’s a lot of teams that are waiting around to see if they can add a player of that caliber.”

Q: How much did the Flyers scout in the KHL and who did you have at the World Championships, and how much input did they have for you on Jagr?

“We have a guy that scouts full-time in the KHL, and all three of our European guys scouted him heavily at the World Championships, or watched his team play a lot.  We got feedback from those guys, and from talking to Jaromir, from watching him our guys believe that he can still play at a high level.  The one thing that he’s really excited about is something that we pitched, is that we do have a younger group and a guy who’s kind of been there, done that, and he was excited about that.  I know some of the other teams he was talking to are good teams, and I think he picked us, and that’s exciting to me.”

Q: By signing Talbot, does that mean you don’t think Schenn will be on the team this year?

“Not at all.  Maxime Talbot is a guy who can play left wing, he can play center, he’s a useful guy who can move up and down your lineup.  I think we all witnessed that in Pittsburgh.  You probably called him a [pain] a few times too in Pittsburgh, but now he’s on our team.  He’s got a lot of qualities that Ian Laperriere has.  I think more than anything, he’ll [be good] for Brayden [Schenn].  Maybe he’s a guy who can play with Brayden, or Sean Couturier down the road.  It’s not closing the door on anyone.  I think he’s going to help in involving the young kids that we have high hopes for.”

Q: So if someone had to move to wing between Schenn and Talbot, it would be Talbot?

“Yes.”

Q: What is the status of Wayne Simmonds?

“Well, we’re continuing to talk.  Fair to say we are close.”

Q: Was there any discussion today internally or with other teams about Sergei Bobrovsky?

“No, there wasn’t.”

Q: Did you identify Talbot all along or did other dominos fall?

“He’s a guy that we identified right away.  Jaromir, because of coming from the KHL, we could do a lot of work prior to noon.  We identified Max as one of the first calls that we made.”

Q: Is Simon Gagne still on your radar?

“I talked to Bob Sauve a couple times.  I think he’s still in the feeling-out process.  There’s probably interest from both sides.  We’ll see how it goes.  I’m not sure what level he’ll be at, but he’s certainly a guy we’re willing to talk about.”

Q: How much of this was keeping flexibility with the cap with Leino vs. Jagr?

“Well, certainly I’ve got to say it was probably part of the equation.  It certainly does give us flexibility down the road.”

Q: Can you talk about Andreas Lilja, and was there any discussion on Sean O’Donnell?

“I didn’t talk to Sean.  I knew he had interest in coming back here, and just in talking to Chris Pronger and some of the other guys, Danny Briere, I knew that Sean wanted to play again and he was a guy that if things fell through with Andreas, he was probably a place to call, but it would have been too late because he signed pretty quickly with Chicago.  Andreas is obviously a little bit younger than Sean, they’re both very competitive players.  I don’t think Andreas does the fighting that Sean does but he’s a good penalty killer and a good stay-at-home guy.  He’d be a good fit, whether it’s with Erik Gustafsson or Oskars Bartulis or Andrej Meszaros, I think he’s a guy that could play with any of those guys in a penalty-killing role.  He’s a steady guy who’s very competitive, and obviously he’s a big body.”

Q: Anything else tonight?

“I’m still in the office.”

Q: Is Lilja a guy you see as a 6^th or 7^th (defenseman)?

“I think he’s going to play a lot of games for us.  You need a lot of defensemen over the course of 82 games.  He’s one of the guys we picked and we’re excited to have him on our team because of the experience he brings from winning the Stanley Cup when he was in Detroit and the number of years he’s played.  He’s a useful guy and we’re happy we were able to get him.”

Q: Do you still have a specific need identified?

“We’re still looking around.  You just never know.  As I said earlier, the first wave I think is over.  Now you get the second tier wave.  Whether it starts today or tomorrow, I don’t know.  But I’m going to hang around for a while, anyway.”

If you have any comments or questions, you can email the author at dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter – @David_Strehle

By David Strehle
NHL Hot Stove Creative Editor

Kris Versteeg’s brief time in Philadelphia came to an expected and abrupt end this afternoon, when he and his $3.083 million contract were sent to the Florida Panthers for two draft picks.  The Flyers acquired a second round pick in the 2012 or 2013 NHL Entry Draft (Florida’s choice), and a third-rounder in 2013.

Bruce Bennett / Getty Images North America

So ends weeks of speculation that Paul Holmgren would deal Versteeg to Florida, since the Panthers’ GM is Dale Tallon, the man who originally drafted Versteeg when he was in the same position with the Chicago Blackhawks.

The 25-year-old right wing was brought to Philadelphia in hopes of finding a productive winger to play alongside recently departed center Mike Richards.  But the two never developed chemistry, and Versteeg finished the 27 games with the Flyers with just seven goals and 11 points.

Since winning the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2010, this will be Versteeg’s third team.  He was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs last summer when Chicago had to dump a massive amount of salary in order to remain cap-compliant.

The cost to bring Versteeg to Philly were first-and-third round picks in the just completed draft.

As mentioned yesterday in a piece regarding the teams that were well below the cap floor, Florida entered the day as the club with the NHL’s lowest payroll.  With the knowledge that the Cats were approximately $24 million short of the $48 lower limit, it is no surprise that Tallon went on a shopping spree.  He not only added Versteeg, he also added forwards Scottie Upshall and Tomas Fleischmann, defenseman Ed Jovanovski, and goaltender Jose’ Theodore.

Quite a different problem from one summer to the next for Tallon, as it was a heck of a day of free-spending in South Florida.

Leino Signs With Sabres

It was feared by many fans that the Flyers wouldn’t be able to re-sign popular winger Ville Leino because of cap constraints.  Today, that fear was realized, as Leino signed a 6-year, $27 million deal with the Buffalo Sabres.

Nick Laham / Getty Images North America

Watching Leino blossom over the past year and a half since his acquisition from the Detroit Red Wings was something to behold.  Prior to coming to the Flyers, he had scored just nine goals.

He had his breakout moment in the 2010 postseason when placed on a line with Scott Hartnell and Danny Briere.  The three found an immediate symmetry together and propelled the team on an improbable run to the Cup Finals.

Leino follows a long line of other ex-Flyers out of town over the past week:  Richards, Jeff Carter, Sean O’Donnell, Versteeg, Brian Boucher.

If you have any comments or questions, you can email the author at dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter – @David_Strehle

 

By David Strehle
NHL Hot Stove Creative Editor

The 2011 free agent season began at noon today, and as has been the case so often in the past, the Philadelphia Flyers were one of the teams to make some noise early on in the process.

AP Photo

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

After NHL clubs made several minor signings, GM Paul Holmgren’s signing of 39-year-old winger Jaromir Jagr was announced through the Flyers’ official Twitter account.  The terms of Jagr’s deal were one-year, $3.3 million.

The native of Kladno of the Czech Republic has scored 646 goals and posted 1,599 points in 1,273 NHL games over 18 seasons.  

Jagr won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in his first two years in the league, and had his best offensive season with the Pens during the 1995-96 campaign, when he scored 62 goals and added 87 assists for 149 points.

He last played in the NHL for the New York Rangers during the 2007-08 season, and has been a member of Omsk Avangard of the KHL for the past three years.  He was the club’s leading scorer in two of those three seasons.

Jagr made his desire known that he wanted to return to the NHL and had talks with the Penguins and Detroit Red Wings.  But just prior to the opening of the free agency period at noon, Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero made the announcement that he was pulling his contract offer off the table.  Detroit soon followed suit in pulling their interest in the UFA.

After adding young forwards Jakub Voracek (21), Brayden Schenn (19), and Wayne Simmonds (22) last week via the Carter and Richards trades, Holmgren went the other direction with the signing of Jagr.  But at 39, Jagr still has an elite skill-set.

Head coach Peter Laviolette will have options with how to employ Jagr.  He could have the 6′ 2″, 240-pound winger slide into Ville Leino’s spot on the right side of the Scott Hartnell-Danny Briere line, or he could have him on the right wing on the James van Riemsdyk-Claude Giroux line.

He has superior balance, especially while controlling the puck and holding off a defender.  He is much like Leino in that sense, but a step above.  Leino priced himself out of Philly with a reported demand for a $4 million per year pact.

One thing is for sure, though.  You should definitely expect to see Jagr on the Flyers’ power play unit, which was woeful last season.  The one-time arch rival of the Flyers will likely help the man advantage become more productive.

Voracek Signed

Jim Rinaldi / Icon SMI

Voracek, who came over from the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Carter deal, agreed to a one-year, $2.25 million contract.  The 6′ 2″, 214-pound winger will likely play on the right side of whichever line on which Jagr does not end up.

Also a native of Kladno, Czech Republic, Voracek has scored 39 goals and posted 134 points in 241 NHL games, all in Columbus.  Last season, he scored 14 goals and racked up 46 points.

Defenseman Lilja Signed

As UFA defenseman Sean O’Donnell signed with the Chicago Blackhawks early-on in the afternoon, Holmgren opted for 35-year-old rear guard Andreas Lilja.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 6′ 3″, 230-pound defender brings size to the club, and will likely be either a sixth or seventh defenseman for the Flyers.

A native of Helsingborg, Sweden, Lilja played in 52 games with the Anaheim Ducks last season.  He scored one goal and posted seven points, while amassing a terrible -15 rating.

Lilja won the Stanley Cup while playing for the Detroit Red Wings.

If you have any comments or questions, you can email the author at dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter – @David_Strehle