Flyers Season thread

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Rumor is that it was either Toronto or the Rangers...

They both suck elephant dong.  Good call, Peter!  Welcome aboard!

[BigEd76]

He was on BDSSP and had nothing but good things to say about the Flyers and the fans....   

[WEST is GOD]

I miss him already. He's so likable, and he's just a cool guy.

[bowzer]

Why did people keep saying I was confusing Lindros with Forsberg, just cause I mentioned concussions and a dad. 

[BigEd76]

Unconfirmed rumor:  Handzus to Edmonton for restricted FA center Marty Reasoner... 

[SD_Eagle5]

Unconfirmed rumor:  Handzus to Edmonton for restricted FA center Marty Reasoner... 

We shouldn't be trying to dump salary after the JR trade, right? That trade would make no sense. 

[PhillyGirl]

Unconfirmed rumor:  Handzus to Edmonton for restricted FA center Marty Reasoner... 

We shouldn't be trying to dump salary after the JR trade, right? That trade would make no sense. 

Yes, we should. We have a bunch of RFAs to sign, SD. And these unconfirmed rumors are apparently false.

[BigEd76]

Cool.  That trade made no sense anyway...

[Seabiscuit36]

Active Flyers pushing the envelope
Story Tools:    Print   Email  XML   
Shawn P. Roarke / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 15 hours ago     



So, the Philadelphia Flyers are the first team to go over the salary cap.

No great shock there, right? All along, it figured to be a three-team race between the Flyers, the New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings — teams that have shown a propensity to spend no matter the sport's economic landscape.
The current incarnation of the Philadelphia Flyers have always used boatloads of cash in the same manner past editions used flurries of fists to develop a swagger and snarl that defined the team's identity as a legitimate contender. Bobby Clarke, a key component of the those championship Broad Street Bullies of the 1970s, has never been shy as the team's current general manager to use the power of the checkbook in an attempt to bludgeon opponents into submission.

What is surprising, however, is the speed with which the Flyers surpassed the salary cap figure of $39 million. After waiting for a whole day of free agency to pass without making a move, Clarke decided to jump into the free-agent pool feet first, not even bothering to take a temperature reading.

Forty-eight hours later, the ultra-aggressive Clarke had completely remade his team, bringing in a trio of rugged defenseman — Derian Hatcher, Mike Rathje and Chris Therien — who should feel right at home in the hard-hitting Eastern Conference. Then, as if that were not enough, he topped that bold stroke with Wednesday evening's acquisition of Peter Forsberg — merely the best center to lace up a pair of skates in the past decade.

Quite the cast of talent he plucked in that tidy little shopping sprees, but the price tag was steep. Those four players cost a cool $13 million against the cap and put the Flyers more than $2 million over the $39 million limit mandated by the CBA.

Not to worry, says Clarke, who had no qualms about shattering the illusion of fiscal conservatism created by the recent ratification of the new owner-friendly CBA.

"We signed (Forsberg) knowing that he puts us over the cap and we will have to trade some guys now," Clarke said in release issued Wednesday night.

And trade he did, sending veteran center Jeremy Roenick and his $4.94 million salary out West to the Los Angeles Kings.

While shipping out the always-controversial JR seems easy enough — especially in conjunction with bringing in Forsberg — it comes with some drawbacks. Roenick has won over a good many of Philadelphia's demanding fans during his three-year run on Broad Street and he is the ultimate competitor. During last season's run to the Eastern Conference Finals, Roenick was one of the team's best players and set a much-needed example by not only playing hurt for much of the postseason, but delivering clutch performances at every turn.

His leadership and personality will be sorely missed by a team that can often take itself too seriously, especially when the stakes rise in the postseason. He is one of those rare athletes that willingly embraces the spotlight and shoulders its responsibilities in an effort to allow teammates the freedom needed to perform at peak levels.

Clarke will most likely have to unload a few other players currently under contract — look for Donald Brashear to be a possible cap casualty, possibly joined by Michal Handzus —as he goes about finding bargain-basement players to surround his superstar core of Forsberg, Simon Gagne, Keith Primeau, Hatcher, Rathje, Eric Desjardins and goalie Robert Esche.

Sure, Clarke is helped by the influx of young, and more importantly, cheap talent he can pluck from his farm team — the American Hockey League champion Philadelphia Phantoms. Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, the unquestioned stars of the Phantoms' success, have already signed entry-level deals to join the parent club. He was also aided by ownerships willingness to torch the cap-heavy contracts of players like Tony Amonte and John LeClair, who had their pockets lined with cash to walk away quietly.

And, like the other teams that have chosen to gorge themselves at this unprecedented buffet of big-name free agents, the euphoria in Philadelphia could be short-lived.

Because of the inherent inflexibility associated with flirting with the upper-limit of the cap, the Flyers could find serious trouble down the road if injuries start chipping away at the team's core.

Because, let's not forget, while Forsberg might be the best center to play the game in the past decade, he is also increasingly susceptible to injury because of the no-quarter-given approach he has toward the game. Four years ago, Forsberg missed an entire season while recovering from spleen and ankle injuries. He has played 75 games or more just three times in his 10-year NHL career.

Last year, he played in just 39 regular-season games while battling a litany of injuries. Often, he has contemplated retirement because of the physical price the sport is exacting on his body. That price will surely be inflated this year, as the Flyers play even more games in the rugged, tight-checking Eastern Conference.

Primeau, meanwhile, missed 28 games last year with one injury after another, including a troublesome head injury late in the year. Desjardins missed the playoffs with a broken arm two years ago, and was also sidelined by back spasms. Hatcher, meanwhile, missed the majority of the 2003-04 after tearing his ACL just weeks into his career as Detroit's big free-agent ticket.

So, it is no stretch to say that Philadelphia's impressive core is showing some cracks. If those fissures remain manageable, the Flyers will no doubt be odds-on favorites to win the Stanley Cup that has somehow eluded their grasp for the past few years. However, if the cracks expand and threaten the foundation of this team, things could get ugly rather quickly — especially without the safety net of available funds to conduct late-season repairs.

[PhillyGirl]

There's always one out there who has to piss on the parade.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

So, Bobby obviously isn't taking Joe Banner's advice.  Oh well.  The Flyers are more fun this way.

[rjs246]

So, Bobby obviously isn't taking Joe Banner's advice.  Oh well.  The Flyers are more fun this way.

Well I don't know about that. They are loading up on draft picks and trading/releasing very popular players for the sake of improving the team... sounds pretty familiar to me.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

True, I guess toying with the top of the cap the first year doesn't mean Clarkey will do it every year.

[rjs246]

The other thing that they're doing is not going hog wild with a player-dump. They are signing veterans and young players to reasonable contracts that will help the team win NOW and in the future. I like this roster and fi we can hang on to Handzus we'll have a championship caliber team in place with a decent number of young stars to keep things going into the future. Not too shabby.

[PhillyGirl]

Simon Gagne signs one-year deal worth $2M