Remaining free agents

[Draven]

There is still one free agent left who I think the Flyers might have interest in, and IF healthy, could be a real asset to this team, Chris Drury.

It's a huge question mark as to whether or not he is healthy, and even if he is, his days of being a big time scorer are over. That being said, with a very young group of forwards, adding a true leader like Drury to that group could be beneficial. Drury also brings a lot of other intangibles this team could use: the ability to play wing or center, penalty killing, faceoffs, etc. There is also the Briere connection.

With Carter and Richards gone (along with the departures of Lupul and Upshall over the last couple of years) the locker room is clearly in the hands of a small veteran contingency of Pronger, Timonen, and Briere. Adding a proven leader and stanley cup winner like Chris Drury to that mix could have long lasting effects for the growth both on and off the ice for the young group of forwards we have, as well as helping to transition Claude Giroux into the next young superstar/ leader in this league.

If Drury's medicals check out and he is willing to come here on a one yearc deal for around 1.5 million, I would be all for it. In addition to everything mentioned above, it would also enable Talbot to slot onto the fourth line and give the Flyers an excellent option to move up to the top 9 WHEN injuries hit.

Beyond Drury there isn't a single UFA remaining that I have serious interest in the Flyers signing to a guaranteed deal, but if Drury signs elsewhere I would have some interest in one or two of the following players getting a camp tryout:

John Madden - Leadership, PK skills, grit, scored 12 goals last season.
Brendan Morrison - Madden with less grit and more offense/skill.
Mike Grier - Big physical winger at his best on the PK and in physical games.
Kyle Wellwood - Versatile player who can score goals and produce on the PP.
Steve Bernier - Total recclamation project who is still a bit intriguing.

[broadstreet12]

I have the same feeling about drury. One of my child hood favorites but he would bring pk and faceoff strength. I would also be interested in going after either ryan callahan or dubinsky (seeing as the rangers may not be able to afford them)

[ABRO]

`
There has been a lot of posting about Drury and Zherdev over a number of different threads. Some posters want them, some do not.

It's good to re-focus on Drury here in this thread.

This is fun - speculating adding another player. But, are we all forgetting that there is no room on the Forward roster:

Hartnell - Briere - Voracek
vanRiemsdyk - Giroux - Jagr
Talbot - Schenn - Simmonds
Rinaldo/Sestito - Betts - Nodl


Some want to move Talbot to the 4th line to make room for another 3rd line forward such as Drury.

But, as discussed earlier, Talbot was not signed, at a Cap Hit of 1.8 M, to be moved to the 4th line with the minimal even-strength 4th line minutes.

His unique skills fit the 3rd line role, especially with Schenn at his side.

That final 4th line spot is for a "tough-guy". The old heavy weight "enforcer" role is phased out across the league. But a "tough-guy" that can aggitate, fight, and contribute in other ways is needed.

From an "asset" standpoint, and from a Cap standpoint, most likely we will see Rinaldo or Sestito in that 4th line role. Look for Rinaldo, IMO.

And, forcing Talbot to the 4th line, and carrying Rinaldo or Sestito as the 13th forward, doesn't work on several levels. To be discussed.

Point - no room for adding Zherdev or Drury.


Yes, it ruins our fun and much of our posting, but this Flyers team may be set - - except, unless, the block-buster breaks. Then there will be noteable changes.


As some have posted, this team, at forward, has an excellent balance of:

1) veterans and young players (5 and 7)

2) skill players (Briere, Giroux, Schenn, vanRiemsdyk, Jagr, Voracek)

3) goal scorers (8 potential 20+)

4) set-up, assist players (Briere, Giroux, Schenn, vanRiemsdyk, Voracek)

5) hard forecheckers (Giroux, Hartnell, Talbot, Simmonds, Nodl)

6) power-forwards (size) (Hartnell, vanRiemsdyk, Jagr, Voracek, Simmonds)

7) muckers and grinders (size) (Hartnell, Jagr, Voracek, Simmonds)

8) back-checkers with good defensive responsibility (Giroux, Betts, vanRiemsdyk, Talbot, Simmonds, Nodl)

9) leadership (Briere, Betts, Talbot, Jagr). Defence leadership adds Pronger and Timonen.


And they will score goals. It will be exciting.

A timely repeat of the probable goal scoring:

Last season the Flyers were 3rd in the NHL in Goals Scored with 256, behind Detroit (257) and league leader Vancouver (258).

Not including the peripheral players (like 4th liners which will tend to cancel-out), here is the comparison of estimated goals lost and estimated goals gained with this new team:

Hartnell - Briere - Voracek
vanRiemsdyk - Giroux - Jagr
Talbot - Schenn - Simmonds
Rinaldo/Sestito - Betts - Nodl

Carle - Pronger
Timonen - Coburn
Bartulis - Meszaros
Lilja

Bryzgalov
Bobrovsky


Goals Lost

40 Carter
25 Richards
20 Leino
16 Zherdev
07 Versteeg

108 Total Goals Lost


Goals Gained

25 Jagr (maybe 30)
20 Voracek, will have much better line-mates – Giroux and JVR
20 Simmonds, with line-mates Schenn and Talbot
20 Schenn, hardest to predict in his rookie season, but can be prolific
12 Talbot, playing with Schenn

05 Giroux additional, from 25 to 30
09 vanRiemsdyk additional, from 21 (75 games) to 30
05 Defencemen additional with Power Play greatly improved

116 Total Goals Gained


This team will be very good in the goal scoring department. No need to worry.

No need to speculate on needing another forward for scoring purposes or veteran leadership purposes.

Don't need Zherdev or Drury, IMO.

This Flyers' team may be in the NHL top 3 in "goals" again.


Help - if I'm missing something or am wrong on some things.


`

[broadstreet12]

No those scoring numbers look good to me. Thats the same basic layout i have. I am one of the group that could see talbot or drury swapping 3rd and 4th line duties

[ABRO]

No those scoring numbers look good to me. Thats the same basic layout i have. I am one of the group that could see talbot or drury swapping 3rd and 4th line duties

If you like the scoring numbers, then why do you want Drury?

Who would you take off the roster to fit in Drury?


`

[crzyhawk]

Schenn to the AHL to work on his game. His board work needs help, and frankly, I think that a year playing top 6 minutes in the AHL will be good for him regardless.

[phillyeaglesman]

Schenn to the AHL to work on his game. His board work needs help, and frankly, I think that a year playing top 6 minutes in the AHL will be good for him regardless.

the kid is too good to play in the AHL. Juniors is a higher level of competition, and he killed it in juniors.

he'll be bored in the AHL. he needs to play at the NHL level.


you can't burry this kid in the minors. it's not like another year in the minors is all of a sudden gonna make him come up 2 years from now and absolutely kill it in the NHL. a year in the AHL isn't gonna turn him into a superstar right away.

the kid needs to play against people that are as good or better than him to get better and reach his full potential. the earlier that starts, the better off he'll be, and the earlier he'll reach that potential.

[Dark Donnie]

I would not be surprised at all if they added Drury. Sounds like Betts could have a move to W with hs shoulder issues. I could see Drury or Talbot sliding into that 4th line C role. This is all based off that Drury is actually healthy.

[Ace23]

The thing with Talbot is we signed Lappy two years ago for the same purpose, and we paid him a significant salary to do so ($1.167M) at a time when the cap was $56.8M (according to capgeek). That's about 2.06% of the available cap spent on a "glue guy" who was to play fourth line minutes.

Talbot's $1.75M salary cap hit with an upper limit of $64.3M is still well within that percentage-of-cap allocation range at 2.70%. It's certainly more, but that's probably a product of the overpaying frenzy that rocked the hockey world on July 1.

My point is that Talbot is being compensated at roughly the same clip (when adjusted for league inflation) as Lappy, who was asked to play a fourth line role.

The other thing to mention here is that fourth line minutes on this Flyers team are a lot different than fourth line minutes on many other clubs due to the club's reliance on depth. Often times, Flyer "fourth liners" will see almost 13 minutes a game (or more)--look at Betts and Powe from last season.

I certainly think its possible for the team to sign another winger/center and rotate in Rinaldo/Sestito on an as-needed basis.

The Flyers should want upward mobility on the fourth line anyway--having a guy in Talbot that can jump up to the first or second or third line for a game to give a guy like Jagr or Giroux or Briere a night off isn't the worst thing in the world. By having Talbot on the fourth line, you can make those types of moves with minimal loss of continuity.

[Giroux 4 MVP]

yeah no i in no way shape or form see drury either healthy nor on on the flyers

[joshwbfantasy]

I'd rather have McCabe. Dude still has a cannon of a shot and we lack a solid 6th D-man. Why not bring him in if we can get him for cheap?

[Giroux 4 MVP]

cause he woudlnt be a 6 th dman, he would be either 4 or 5 and i believe he wants one last pay day at 5 mil

[Draven]

JVR - Giroux - Jagr
Hartnell - Briere - Voracek
Drury - Schenn - Simmonds
Talbot - Betts - Nodl
Shelley OR Sestito

There is plenty of room for Chris Drury and adding him isn't about how many goals he does or does not add to the lineup. It's about adding leadership, and a veteran forward to a young core who can bring a number of intangibles to the roster (versatility, PK skills, faceoff skills, etc).

Furthermore, while I am fine with Max Talbot playing in the top 9 for stretches, I am a bit unsure of him being penciled in for the top 9 with a hypothetical fully healthy lineup. Injuries will hit, and Talbot is excellent in the role of fourth liner/10th forward where he can move around the lineup based on whether or not there are injuries at the time.

[TimCirino]

Okay first off, the Flyers have more than enough veterans present to influence the younger players. I keep noticing the argument that if Drury comes in, which is of course very doubtful, that it would not be for scoring but rather for leadership. This is nonsense. You think Holmgren is going to take a chance with Drury because of "leadership skills"? No way.

I still absolutely think he can produce if paired up on a good line so I am not knocking anyone for wanting him. Drury is the best available option at the moment (yes, if healthy) and after that I don't see anyone worth persuing.

I don't see picking up any of the other names on that list as a viable solution to anything. I really do hope that Jagr suprises us with a very productive season because I am very skeptical at the moment.

[ABRO]

`
NHL free agency

July 14, 2011


Alex Kovalev leads list of leftovers; Boston Bruins need wingers


Craig Custance
Sporting News


The NHL’s free-agent season was a sprint. There were teams with money and plenty of players rushing to cash in.

Now, as the summer pace slows down, there are still a few holes to fill and players available via trade or free agency.

Here’s a breakdown of what remains:

INTRIGUING OPTIONS ON THE FREE AGENT MARKET

Alex Kovalev, forward. First, let’s put the Kovalev retirement rumors to bed. “He’s not retiring,” Kovalev’s agent Scott Greenspun told Sporting News. “He plans to play.” He’s coming off a 16-goal season split between the Senators and Penguins. In the right situation, Kovalev is probably still capable of scoring 20 goals. which is one of the reasons he’s still drawing interest at 38 years old. “We’ve had some discussions with teams,” Greenspun said. “He’s going to take his time and make sure it’s a good situation.”

Bryan McCabe, defenseman. He’s the best option remaining on the market for teams who need offensive help from the blue line. He’d be a solid signing late in the free-agency game and is capable of contributing on the power play while logging 20 minutes. In 67 games last year with the Rangers and Panthers, McCabe had seven goals and 21 assists.

Scott Hannan, defenseman. Like McCabe, Hannan isn’t the defenseman he once was, but he’s still a reliable option for team looking for a veteran presence. He settled into his role with the Capitals after coming over in a midseason deal with Colorado. He provides size and an edge but must be willing to take a pay cut from the $4.5 million he earned last season.

Ray Emery, goalie. Emery is caught in a numbers crunch right now. He may be the only game-changer left on the market, but there isn’t a starting goalie job available. “We’re looking for an opportunity that fits Ray. We’d like to see him compete,” his agent J.P. Barry told Sporting News. That opportunity may not present itself for a while. “The best approach for Ray, if nothing changes, is be patient and be the guy who comes in (later) and helps the team,” Barry said. He did exactly that last season with the Ducks, going 7-2 with a 2.28 goals-against average and .926 save percentage with Jonas Hiller out of the lineup at the end of the season.

HOLES THAT NEED TO BE FILLED

Bruins winger. Mark Recchi retired, Michael Ryder left for Dallas and the Stanley Cup champs now could use some scoring help on the wing. It wouldn’t hurt to add a veteran to fill the void created by Recchi’s retirement, but that’s not an easy task. “There’s no way I can replace Rex,” GM Peter Chiarelli said.

Rangers veteran defenseman. Even with the addition of Brad Richards, the Rangers could use additional scoring up front, but a more pressing need would be a veteran on defense. The current group of defensemen is talented, but young. Marc Staal is 24. Ryan McDonagh is 22. Dan Girardi is 27. McCabe was the only regular older than 30 last season.

Red Wings backup goalie. A decision on the future of veteran goalie Chris Osgood is expected this week. Osgood’s preference would be to stay in Detroit, but GM Ken Holland may like his other options better, including free agent Ty Conklin. Regardless of who it is, the Red Wings have little interest in spending much on goaltending behind Jimmy Howard, so whoever fills this hole must be willing to work cheap.

Predators goal-scoring. Last year, GM David Poile uncovered Sergei Kostitsyn in a deal with Montreal that led to a 23-goal season from the talented forward. Poile could use another one of those trades. Kostitsyn and Hornqvist (21 goals) were the only Predators to score over 20 goals last season.

Islanders salary. According to CapGeek.com, the Islanders are still more than $10 million away from reaching the salary cap floor. GM Garth Snow tried again in free agency to be aggressive but didn’t have any luck landing a big name. The best route for Snow is to add salary and talent through a summer trade or two.

Kings winger. It’s already been a good offseason for Dean Lombardi and the Kings, who landed Mike Richards in a deal with the Flyers and Simon Gagne as a free agent. But Lombardi isn’t finished. With the subtractions of Ryan Smyth and Wayne Simmonds, along with the uncertainty of exactly what Dustin Penner brings to the table, Los Angeles could use another winger to play with Richards and Anze Koptar. Lombardi continues to work the phones.


http://aol.sportingnews.com/nhl/feed...uins-need-wing


`