Grossman Signs Extension

[ryguy553]

As good as Mez was last year, he was kind of lousy even when healthy this season. It's mostly cap crunch though, at least for me. I'd much rather keep Carle, and Mez is the only trade candidate on the blue line that makes any sense.

Why do you want to keep the turnover machine? He coughs the puck up constantly. Mez is a physical, reliable presence when healthy I wouldn't like that decision. Like someone else said I think part o Mez's struggles have been nagging health problems this year. That said I wouldn't mind getting a bit younger and trading Mez in a package for Luke Schenn.

[WoodandNails]

What are the chances we let Kubina and Carle walk and fill their spots with in-house candidates (preferably Gus and Bartulis, not Bourdon)?

I know it's not like Homer to let cap room go unspent, but we could definitely survive with that corps.

[Randall Stevens]

Lets take a peek into next season for a moment before we focus on the playoffs.....

Flyers Top 4 D Pairing

Coburn + Grossmann
Timonen + Pronger/Suter (if we can sign him)

Lets not even bother with mentioning Pronger. With how his recovery is going, I'd be thrilled if the guy can ever live a normal life again.

[Randall Stevens]

What are the chances we let Kubina and Carle walk and fill their spots with in-house candidates (preferably Gus and Bartulis, not Bourdon)?

I know it's not like Homer to let cap room go unspent, but we could definitely survive with that corps.

I think the odds are decent. I personally don't like having 2 young guys learning the NHL game at the same time. But one of them will probably be an in-house replacement for Mez in a couple years

When you look at veteran FA's to fill a depth spot, I think Kubina is far better then Lilja or Odonnell. The best thing for this team is him taking a low salary.

[TheRuckus]

Why do you want to keep the turnover machine? He coughs the puck up constantly. Mez is a physical, reliable presence when healthy I wouldn't like that decision. Like someone else said I think part o Mez's struggles have been nagging health problems this year. That said I wouldn't mind getting a bit younger and trading Mez in a package for Luke Schenn.

Clearly you didn't bother to read any of those articles I posted...not that I'm surprised.

Carle has fewer giveaways this season than (among others): Chara, Yandle, Karlsson, Bieksa, Boyle, Seabrook, and your boy Schenn (who led the league in turnovers last season, by the way).

Carle handles the puck a lot. When you spend a lot of time with the puck, turnovers are going to happen, and they're going to be noticed more. It's common sense. Obviously guys like Chara, Yandle, etc. are not terrible players. They simply spend a lot of time with the puck. Same goes for Carle.

You don't have to constantly hit guys to be a good defenseman. Most fans are oblivious to this, especially in Philly. Carle doesn't play a physical game, so the average Flyers fan thinks he sucks. Never mind the fact that he does pretty much everything else well, and is both durable and consistent, two things that can't really be said of Meszaros.

[ryguy553]

I think the odds are decent. I personally don't like having 2 young guys learning the NHL game at the same time. But one of them will probably be an in-house replacement for Mez in a couple years

When you look at veteran FA's to fill a depth spot, I think Kubina is far better then Lilja or Odonnell. The best thing for this team is him taking a low salary.

There are plenty of 5th/6th defenseman type players that are going to be available in free agency why have you narrowed it down to Kubina, Lilja, or Odonnell?

[ryguy553]

Clearly you didn't bother to read any of those articles I posted...not that I'm surprised.

Carle has fewer giveaways this season than (among others): Chara, Yandle, Karlsson, Bieksa, Boyle, Seabrook, and your boy Schenn (who led the league in turnovers last season, by the way).

Carle handles the puck a lot. When you spend a lot of time with the puck, turnovers are going to happen, and they're going to be noticed more. It's common sense. Obviously guys like Chara, Yandle, etc. are not terrible players. They simply spend a lot of time with the puck. Same goes for Carle.

You don't have to constantly hit guys to be a good defenseman. Most fans are oblivious to this, especially in Philly. Carle doesn't play a physical game, so the average Flyers fan thinks he sucks. Never mind the fact that he does pretty much everything else well, and is both durable and consistent, two things that can't really be said of Meszaros.

A lot of those stats we're from last season when he was paired with Prongs. I think he really was a product of that pairing personally. He has had a lot of brutal turn overs this year at inopportune times the one against Tampa really comes to my mind at the back of his own net can't have it. He won't be worth what he is commanding either.

[TheRuckus]

At least one of those links demonstrates that after Pronger went down last year, Carle played just as well as he had before. The "he's only good with Pronger" myth has been pretty thoroughly debunked.

This year he hasn't been as good, but what the first of those articles I presented points out is that he spent most of the season (at least up to that point) playing with Bourdon, who has improved lately but is still a liability. For contrast, Suter has played around 85 percent of his ice time with Weber in the four years they've been a pairing.

So maybe Carle is not an elite defenseman, but he certainly is a top-pairing guy, and not anywhere near as bad as he's often made out to be. The Tampa incident was bad, yes, but it's one play in one game. **** happens. Carle's positioning and willingness to block shots more than compensate for his occasional blunder.

As for Carle being worth what he'll command on the open market, that's a fair point, at least in terms of our own cap situation. It may be better in the long run not to re-sign him, given the raises we'll have to hand out in the next few years to Giroux and several other forwards. But I would much rather have Carle at $5M per season (though that's admittedly the low end of what he'll probably be looking for) than Mez at $4M.

[Randall Stevens]

There are plenty of 5th/6th defenseman type players that are going to be available in free agency why have you narrowed it down to Kubina, Lilja, or Odonnell?

just using Lilja and Odonnell as an example of the caliber player you could expect Homer pursuing.

(also, wouldn't surprise me if Lilja is placed on waivers and put in AHL this offseason)

[Randall Stevens]

You don't have to constantly hit guys to be a good defenseman. Most fans are oblivious to this, especially in Philly. Carle doesn't play a physical game, so the average Flyers fan thinks he sucks. Never mind the fact that he does pretty much everything else well, and is both durable and consistent, two things that can't really be said of Meszaros.

you have to constantly use your body *if you want to be a good stay at home defenseman*. Carle is not a physical guy, thats not the role he fills on this team (just like Timonen), which is perfectly fine. But the problem with Carle is his decision making in the offensive zone, especially on the power play. With the niche he fills on a NHL team, he needs to be solid playing the point. And he isn't, which in my opinion is why his salary shouldn't be over 4 million. He's great at skating through the neutral zone, good at pinching and great at joining the rush, good at being is position in his own zone... everything else he's average (in my opinion)

I dont have a problem with his defensive abilities (for a skating defensemen he's pretty solid there), but his offensive instincts are just terrible. Watching him QB the powerplay is almost painful to watch. Thats where a skating defenseman is supposed to be great. (like Erik Karlsson, Mike Green, Kris Letang, etc etc)

[lbz88]

Suter would be nice. But we have some young Dmen that will probably be starting full time next year.

Pronger ?????
Grossmann
Coburn
Timonen
Meszaros
Gustafsson
Bourdon
Bartulis

Kessel might have and outside chance of making the team.

[1908_Cubs]

Lets take a peek into next season for a moment before we focus on the playoffs.....

Flyers Top 4 D Pairing

Coburn + Grossmann
Timonen + Pronger/Suter (if we can sign him)

We probably can't sign Suter. The cap wont be there.

If I understand the rules of LiTR, you can't add a player on LiTR until game 1 of the season. Your team must be cap compliant by a certain date prior to game 1.

That means the Flyers would have to find some $5-$7m to be able to be sent through waivers and then recalled. Which wont happen. I also don't think you're going to be able to dump Briere/Timonen without taking on salary.

Suter's a pipe dream. And a very unobtainable one, if I am reading the rules correctly.

Also, we can't just stash Prongs in the AHL as he was over 35 on his contract signing day - it would only reduce his cap hit by $100,000. This is what's been killing the Rangers with Wade Redden.

The only real chance the Flyers are going to have is with an amnesty clause being added in the new CBA (which I think is a real possibility and I still think it gets done VERY quickly when needed). You can also thank Bryz for having a fantastic March, as he saved us from having a possible question of "do we cut Byrz or Pronger?"

[Randall Stevens]

starting to wonder if Sutter really only looks so good because he's next to Shea Weber. Honestly I am not that excited about the idea of him coming here.

[1908_Cubs]

starting to wonder if Sutter really only looks so good because he's next to Shea Weber. Honestly I am not that excited about the idea of him coming here.

Suter's sexy as hell, I think he's a vastly underrated Dman based on the above opinion.

I also think that he's a pretty heavy favorite to land in Detroit. My guess is Lidstrom finally hangs them up this year, they need some D and have an asston of cap space. He's also from Wisconsin, it's Wing and Hawk country up there. Im not sure but wouldnt be shocked if he grew up a Wing fan.

[crzyhawk]

I could honestly see us picking up Luke Schenn this offseason. I think his price is going to have come down considerably since Wilson's essentially ruined him, and he'll need a fresh start.