Well, I’ve returned this Friday without many news items to comment on, and no breaking news items to report.

So…

We’re gonna do this Weird Al style…  and Polka your eyes out.

Amongst a ton of other details regarding the questioned contracts of Illya Kovalchuk, Marc Savard, Roberto Luongo, and Marion Hossa, there is some good news about the extension Chris Pronger received last season.

The NHL has announced that no changes will be made to the contract, leaving the Flyers and Pronger out of the ongoing circus.

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/devils/nhl_will_play_hardball_over_ilya_yS6vN4hMKN88KdA5LaSpDN

While I’m happy that official word has been released that Prongs’ contract is safe… To be completely honest – I never expected anything to become of all the contracts that had already been allowed to pass.  I believe the league’s decision to “re-examine” those old contracts was their way of letting the masses – as well as Kovy and the Devils – know that they were serious when they said this kind of crap will no longer fly.

Had the league actually decided to mess with those other contracts on top of the Kovy contract – it would have been a big credibility hit to the league.

Kudos for them for finally putting their foot down on the issue…

But, yes…  the Kovy saga still rolls on.

Hey, look – it’s September.

Visits to the in-laws generally rank low on most husbands’ lists of fun things to do, so veteran forward Bill Guerin decided it was the right time to hit the ice.

Guerin was in Medford, N.J., visiting his father-in-law when he wanted to find some place to skate. The best available place, however, happened to be in nearby Voorhees, at the Philadelphia Flyers’ practice site, which sparked reports that Guerin, a free agent, was attempting to earn a tryout invitation with the Flyers.

Guerin, however, said the only thing he wanted was some ice time; that it happened to be at the Flyers’ home was irrelevant.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=536712&cmpid=rss-Feature%20Stories

Well, for the sake of being PC…  we’ll use a more safe-for-work vocabulary:

Hogwash!

Personally, I don’t believe for a second that Guerin just happened to pop in and skate around with the boys.  If that really were the case – why the heck would it make it to the NHL.com front page and the philadelphiaflyers.com front page?  I mean – this was posted as a news story after all.

We all know as fans, that the Flyers site doesn’t usually post on any kind of rumors of any kind on the front page – no matter how good the source is.  So, is this just a feel-good howabout-that story?

I cannot say for sure, but I don’t believe it was as simple as they say it was.  Guerin goes on to say that he did need/want a place to skate, so he had his agent talk to Homer about making it happen.

So, wait…

Guerin needed his agent to get him said “informal” skate put together?  An agent talking to a GM for an informal skate…

Sounds fishy to me.

The Flyers look to be a better team than they showed in the regular season, but are they as good as their trip to the Stanley Cup Final might indicate?

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=536017

This one might just be me overreacting a little bit, but it still gets under my skin.

I do NOT believe the Flyers need to prove a THING to the rest of the league, their fans, or anyone for that matter.

The giant brass ones they showed in pulling together at the end of the year to nab their playoff spot and throughout the postseason to get themselves within 2 wins of Lord Stanley’s cup is proof enough for me, and should be plenty for everyone else out there.

The saying holds true in sports just as much as it does in real life:

True colors show when under pressure.

For the sake of not letting this rant get out of control – I will simply say that I do not believe that this team needs to prove anything to anyone.  Hopefully the experiences that each of them went through will pull them closer together for this coming season – and the hockey gods will grant them a smoother ride through the coming 82 games.

So, now that you’ve had a taste of Polkarama – I will end this blog with some solid wishes that everyone had a great summer.  However, I am glad that training camp and preseason games are right around the corner.  Swimming is great – and bikinis are fantastic… but a season without hockey is just not cool.

In the words of Gene Hart…

Good night, and good hockey.

-Eddie Harbuzinski Jr.

According to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the NHL has decided to accept the contract extension agreed upon last summer between the Flyers and star defenseman Chris Pronger.

Pronger’s contract was called into question a couple weeks ago during arbitration of the first Illya Kovalchuk contract dispute.  The arbitrator specifically mentioned Pronger, Marion Hossa of the Blackhawks, Roberto Luongo of the Canucks, and Marc Savard of the Bruins as being beneficiaries of front-loaded contracts that were expressly designed to circumvent the league’s salary cap structure.

The acceptance (or re-acceptance) of the contract provides a deep sigh of relief for anyone who had even an ounce of concern for the Flyers’ cap management strategy going forward.  A rejection of the current contract extension would have meant that Pronger would have suddenly been thrust right back into the UFA pool, despite already having a 1 year old agreement in place that was to last out the rest of his career.  Philly is already nailed firmly to the salary cap ceiling, and a forced restructuring of a major contract like Pronger’s could have spelled disaster for GM Paul Holmgren and the Flyers’ capologists.

Can you imagine the Flyers trying to rebuild Pronger’s contract in a way that would have kept him in Philly until retirement while avoiding an increase in their cap liability?  It would have been nearly impossible.  That scenario would have likely forced Homer’s hand to drop even more salary via a trade or assignment to the AHL.

Scary thought.  Fortunately, it’s a thought that no longer needs much consideration.

There are very few players on rival teams that I personally would find appealing wearing the Orange and Black.  This doesn’t mean that these specific players aren’t talented, it just means that their success against Philadelphia has turned me so strongly against them that I don’t know if I could ever root for them if the situation of one of these particular players joining the Flyers ever presented itself.

The above statement generally applies to nearly every player on the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, and New York Rangers.  I don’t take my “hatred” of any players on the Islanders seriously.  Yet.

However, there are the select few individuals who I can honestly say I don’t really dislike, and instead just view them as having the misfortune of playing for a team I don’t particularly care for.

Bill Guerin is one of these individuals.

And, wouldn’t you know it: Billy G was skating around the VirtuaHealth Flyers SkateZone in Vorhees, NJ today for a little off-season conditioning.  He did so in Flyers gear, according to CSNPhilly.com’s Tim Panaccio.  He did so, according to The Sporting News‘ Craig Custance, with the intention of “just skating” and that he “was not hoping for a tryout.”

An ex-Penguin just skating? In Flyers gear?  Hmm.

Obviously, none of us know any actual dialogue that may or may not have taken place between Guerin’s agent, Bob Murray, and Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren.  However, that will hardly stop us from speculating.  As fans, bloggers, and writers alike, the sighting of Guerin in the Philadelphia area is a positive sight.  It goes without saying that the intangibles Bill Guerin brings to a hockey team are immeasurable.  He’s won two Stanley Cups (1995 with New Jersey and 2009 with Pittsburgh) and has been at one point the holder of the title: “The NHL’s fastest skater.”

Of course, Guerin is 39 now, and will be 40 come November, and while that is a concern, it’s certainly not something that should keep Guerin out of the Flyers’ thought process when it comes to the 2010-2011 season.

No, that, my friends, is the salary cap.

The same salary cap that, at this time has the likes of Dan Carcillo and Jody Shelley as cash recipients under it as members of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Frank Seravalli, of the Philadelphia Daily News, suggested on Twitter today that the Flyers could sign Guerin for $1 million this season, and make room for him on the roster by sending Darroll Powe down to the minors.  Personally, I love the idea of bringing in a veteran presence like Guerin on such a cheap price tag and I certainly think it’s possible.  What I don’t love, however, is that he would take Powe’s spot.  Darroll Powe proved himself to be a capable fourth line player on this Flyers team last season and also proved that he has intangibles: the man can kill penalties.  If Guerin were to join the Flyers, they would have one helluva scary top nine set of forwards: Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Claude Giroux, Danny Briere, Scott Hartnell, Ville Leino, James van Riemsdyk, Nikolai Zherdev, and, of course, Mr. Guerin.  However, with Ian Laperriere and Blair Betts (when he returns from injury) both locks for the fourth unit, that would leave Dan Carcillo, Jody Shelley, and Powe duking it out between a roster spot and a spot in the press box.

In my opinion, the Shelley signing looks dumber everyday.  You suck up the cap hit and either waive him at some point in the season or just make him a consistent healthy scratch, and put Carcillo up in the press box with him.  I’d give Powe that twelfth forward slot.  With Guerin in the line-up, you add another element.  He likely would join Claude Giroux and JVR on the third line, giving Giroux’s finesse a veteran mind to work with, and allowing JVR to have a mentor of sorts to show him how the power forward plays the National Hockey League game.

On top of those positives, Guerin also supplies another able body on the powerplay, a unit that was deadly at times to begin with last season.  Sure, the age is a factor – I made note of that earlier – but it is hard for me to believe that there is a better option if the Flyers are so inclined to bring in a veteran winger who can provide leadership and help this team out.

This is all dependent upon Guerin actually being signed by the Flyers, but who can blame anybody for being excited?

What do you guys think?  Will Guerin be back in Vorhees in three weeks time for Flyers training camp?

Despite all the hollering that went on around Flyers circles as the start of free agency came and went, GM Paul Holmgren has managed to remake the Flyers roster without essentially blowing it up.  Alot of new faces and a couple tough departures later,  the Flyers may in fact be in better position to challenge for the Cup than they were just a few weeks ago.

Although it is a bitter pill for nearly all Flyers fans, Simon Gagne is gone.  That is going to take some serious getting used to.  But as a result, the spotlight is going to shine brighter and hotter on a number of Flyers.

In fact, every section of the Flyers’ roster is going to be under greater scrutiny this coming season than it has in a long, long time.  And not just for the obvious reasons.  Yes, the Flyers were a mere 2 wins from a Cup Championship.  That in itself tends to ratchet up the pressure.  As great as this past spring’s playoff run was (and make no mistake, it was incredible), it left some bitter tastes as weaknesses were exploited in the Finals.  There’s nothing like getting so close to the Promised Land of hockey and just falling short.  But essentially every area (except goaltending) has undergone some notable change.

But beside the natural, aforementioned pressure on the team as a whole, there will also be a ton of pressure placed on individual players.  There are a number of Flyers who were not expected to be on the roster next season, underperformed last season, showed great potential and promise, or have to live up to the contracts they were handed this offseason.

So, which Philadelphia Flyer is going to be under the most pressure in 2010-11?

Click here to cast your vote!!!

Jody Shelley

Even though he has yet to play a single minute as a Flyer, Shelley has already been tagged as a pariah of sorts.  Shelley’s role is clear.  He’s here to crack skulls.  And while that would normally lend itself to some level of respect amongst the Flyers faithful, there are two aspects of Shelley’s signing that are problematic.  First, the addition of a dedicated enforcer would seem to be unnecessary considering that both Ian Laperriere and Dan Carcillo are returning and capable of handling the fisticuffs when duty calls.  Second, Shelley carries a $1.1M price tag…money thought by many to have been better saved or applied to the top shelf goaltender so many were clamoring for.  Fair or not, Shelley is going to have his work cut out for him to justify his presence on the Flyers’ roster.  Who knows…just getting into the lineup on a regular basis may prove difficult considering that Riley Cote was a healthy scratch for most of last season.  Does Shelley offer anything more than Cote could besides a greater ability to whoop ass?  His numbers say no.  We shall see.

Michael Leighton

“Leights” finds himself in both the most exciting yet nerve wracking scenario of his roller coaster career.  Two remarkable runs as the Flyers starter last season, including the final stretch to the cusp of a championship, have afforded the late-blooming Leighton the confidence of the Flyers organization and the chance to secure his first undisputed starter’s job.  Even while much of the Flyers fanbase was collectively pumping their fist in the air demanding a proven elite goaltender, GM Paul Holmgren held firm and resigned Leighton to a new 2 year, $3.1M contract.  But the onus is on Leighton to prove that he deserves the job and can make people forget the soft goal that clinched the Stanley Cup for the Chicago Blackhawks.  He will have plenty of competition as journeyman Brian Boucher (who had his own stretch of playoff brilliance), Johan Backlund, as well as prospects Joacim Ericsson and Sergei Bobrovsky will be attempting to challenge for a spot when training camp rolls around.

Claude Giroux

As one of the most promising young talents to come through the Flyers organization in years, the expectations for Claude Giroux are enormous.  He has shown that he can be one of the most potent weapons the Flyers have, especially during the last playoff run when he was second in Flyers playoff goals with 10.  However, a hot and cold regular season had many wondering if he could really put it together and get up to the pace of the game over the long haul.  Now, with two full NHL seasons under his belt, Giroux will be looked to to provide that breakout year and put more  goals on the board.  The bulk of the goals lost with the departures of Joffrey Lupul and Mike Knuble in the summer of 2009 were never actually replaced.  And now with Simon Gagne leaving for the Tampa Bay Lightning, the need for consistent goal scoring will be even greater.  Time for “Gee-Roo” to put those Peter Forsberg-like puck handling and play-making abilities to greater use.

Scott Hartnell

The struggles of Scott Hartnell during the course of last season were nearly as well publicized as the BP oil spill.  Every beat writer and blogger in Flyerdom was stunned not only with the lack of points production from the multi-faceted winger, but also with his seeming inability to avoid bad penalties at the worst of times.  The result was a tidal wave of trade rumors and speculation that the Flyers would be seeking to convince Hartnell to waive his no trade clause so they could shed his $4.2M cap hit.  As it turns out, Hartnell was rumored to be having some personal off-ice issues.  Fortunately for the Flyers, those issues were also rumored to have been cleared up in time for the playoffs, where Hartnell suddenly became the force Flyers fans expect.  It will now be up to Hartnell to put his personal past behind him and produce a bounce-back season the likes of which will keep him from once again turning into trade rumor fodder.

Nikolai Zherdev

Zherdev may be the most intriguing off season move made by the Flyers.  After a one year trip to the KHL, Zherdev has returned to North America by signing a one year, $2M contract with the Flyers.  Widely touted as a smart move, it also poses the highest risk and highest potential reward.  Zherdev’s explosive offensive abilities are no secret, but he also brings with him a reputed questionable work ethic.  We all know just how well that will go over with Sgt. Laviolette, and one would have to assume that Zherdev was also made well aware of it before putting pen to paper.  But what Zherdev may not be aware of is the fact that his contract is preceived by many to be the reason Simon Gagne was pushed out the door.  The only way Zherdev is going to be able to put those Gagne loyalists at ease is to locate the twine and do it often.

Braydon Coburn

As one of the Flyers’ top 4 defensemen almost since his acquisition in 2007, the talented 25 year old Coburn has had alot on his plate.  In the 2008-09 season, Coburn was actually considered to be the Flyers #2 as he played alongside regular partner Kimmo Timonen.  But the pickup of Chris Pronger at the 2009 draft effectively pushed him back to the second pairing as the Flyers did not want to break up the chemistry between him and Timonen.  The reduction in responsibility and minutes would have seemingly given Coburn the room he needed to mature his game and learn from a veteran like Pronger, who has a comparable size and frame.  However, Coburn struggled through much of the season and did so while losing much of the physical edge he had displayed through the previous year.  Speculation grew regarding his contract status over the summer, but he and the Flyers avoided arbitration by inking a new 2 year, $6.4M contract.  Now, with his potential transformation from young talent to top tier defenseman just over the horizon, Coburn needs to validate the confidence the Flyers have shown in him.

Jeff Carter

As the centerpiece of the most talked-about Flyers trade scenario of the past year, there is undoubtedly going to be alot of pressure on Carter.  Despite his 108 goals over the last 3 seasons, Carter was thought to be the likeliest candidate for a salary dump, mainly based on his lack of a no trade clause and his often frustrating inconsistency.  No one can deny that Carter has a terrific scorer’s touch, however, his defensive game lacks and his lackluster followup play in front of the net easily denies him another 10-15 goals each year.  His inability to produce during the postseason has also become an issue.   His 12 playoff goals in the last three playoff years have been a sore spot at times when the Flyers were looking for a scoring catalyst.  Also, considering that many Flyers fans would have preferred to part ways with Carter than Simon Gagne, many will be looking for Carter to be a monster in 2010-11 to justify the preference Paul Holmgren showed him over the 10 year fan favorite.

Danny Briere

As the most salary cap-expensive player on the Flyers roster, Briere will face alot of scrutiny as long as he wears orange and black.  However, his injury history and respectable-but-not-earth-shattering regular season offensive numbers have made him a target, especially during offensive slumps.  The logjam at center also caused Briere to spend much of last season on the wing, where his weak backchecking stuck out like a sore thumb on many a night.  However, Briere does have something going for him…his playoff production.  The injury to Jeff Carter in the 1st round against NJ gave Briere a chance to return to center, and as a result, there were many hockey writers who believed that Briere should have received the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP despite the Flyers’ loss.  He also may have made a case for the honor back in 2008 had the Flyers gotten past the Penguins in the ECF’s.  This coming season, it is unclear whether or not Briere will get to work the middle again as the riches at center remain.  But in either case, Briere is going to have to work through and earn his top dollar contract.  Showing up for the playoffs alone will not be enough.

Ville Leino

As one of the biggest and most welcome surprises of the Flyers’ 2010 postseason, Ville Leino has earned himself alot of admirers and even more eager observers.  Leino set a Flyers playoff record for points by a rookie with 21, shattering the previous record of 15 set by Brian Propp in 1980.  That number also tied him for the all-time NHL record set by Dino Ciccarelli back in 1981.  And that all happened after sitting out the first 4 games of the ECQF against the Devils.  However, through just more than a year in the NHL, the 26 year old Leino has had a tough time staying in the lineup during the regular season.  Leino was a healthy scratch for weeks on end with the Red Wings before being dealt to the Flyers, where he sat for an additional month before finally getting to dress.   He was in and out of the lineup again until Jeff Carter was injured in the first round of the playoffs.  But once the spotlight shined brightest, Leino was amongst the most dangerous people on the ice every night.  The challenge for him this coming season will be to live up to that performance and show an ability to maintain a high level of play all year long.  Leino has more experience than the average sophomore, so the learning curve is much shorter.

James van Riemsdyk

As the 2nd overall draft pick back in 2007, JVR’s arrival had been eagerly awaited.  Finally, his rookie season came, but the excitement was tempered by an inconsistent and rocky performance.  Much of the difficulties can and should be attributed to the tall order of adjusting to the level of NHL play and the length of the season.  After all, his prior season included just 43 total games between the University of New Hampshire and the Phantoms.  This season, he played in 78 regular season games for the Flyers, and 21 playoff games.  However, he was a healthy scratch in 2 of the Flyers Cup Finals games because it was rather clear that he was in over his head.  Even so, van Riemsdyk showed enormous potential at times.  After adding some strength and muscle in this offseason, hopes are high that he will be able to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump.  The skill set is there and it is deep.  It is up to JVR to now make the leap and help Flyers fans forget that if it hadn’t been for the draft lottery, the Flyers would be watching Patrick Kane in a Flyers jersey instead.

Image provided by @FlyerGuy18 on Twitter

So ever since the acquisition of Nikolai Zherdev, we all knew someone on the Flyers was on the move. Eventually, it came down to Simon Gagne, the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers playoff hero. For weeks now, we were wondering when is this trade going to happen? Who/ what are we going to get? Posting on my twitter/ facebook account, I had suggested that nothing would happen until Kovalchuk was signed. It turns out I was right. A few minor trades/ signings happened right after this announcement, however; the big trade (if you can call it a big trade) was Gagne to Tampa.

When I read we have received an 8^th defenseman and a 4^th round pick from Tampa for Gagne, I was absolutely devastated. It felt like I was punched in the stomach. We all knew he was unfortunately on the chopping block, but to give up so much for so little is truly frustrating. I doubt Matt Walker will have much playing time. In fact, I’m sure we’ll only see him if one of our top six goes down for a long period of time. Bartulis has a better chance playing than Walker. Okay, maybe I overreacted on that one but, but you get my point. I don’t see why we needed an 8^th defenseman. Young prospects and earlier picks would have been great. Although we are looking to build a team now, they still would have been better than picking up Walker.

Now for some other issues that need to be dealt with. Although for some it may not be an issue, for me it is. It looks like our goaltending situation is in place for the 2010/ 2011 season for Leighton and Boucher. Don’t get me wrong; they both have played very well last seasons, yet both had their downs. I personally think if Leighton does not perform very well, or if he gets put on the shelf due to an injury, the Flyers season will immediately come to an end unless we sign/ trade for a true number one goaltender. Lets face it; Boucher is not by any means a starting goaltender. This all came down to the signing of Zherdev, and the trade for Meszaros. We could have easily not signed them, kept Gagne, and possibly have signed Turco, still being under the cam and able to resign Carcillo and Powe. Right now, it seems the only option is to resign Powe and it looks like we may have a complete team for 2010/ 2011, as the Flyers will not be able to do anything else.

If our team stays the same, and we do re-sign Powe (or even if we don’t, our lines would probably not change much) this looks like our lineup for the 2010/ 2011 season:

Zherdev – Richards – Giroux
Hartnell – Briere – Leino
JVR – Carter – Carcillo/ Powe
Lappy – Betts – Shelley/ Carcillo
–
Pronger/ Carle
Timonen/ Sean O’Donnell
Coburn/ Meszaros
Bartulis (7^th) Walker (??)
–
Leighton / Boucher

So all in all, we don’t have a terrible team, but it had the potential to be very lethal this upcoming season. Some very poor management decisions we’re obviously made, and nothing can be done about it now. Right now our only hope is that the chemistry will be there, all while our team being healthy at the same time!

Keep your stick on the ice,
Ryan Smith

–

Website: http://RJNSmith.com
Twitter: @RJNSmith
Facebook: http://facebook.com/RJNSmith
Email/ Personal contact: ryan@rjnsmith.com

All the speculation yesterday during the last few active hours of the opening day of NHL free agency about Simon Gagne’s future in Philly may end up coming to fruition.

According to multiple sources, it has been confirmed today that Gagne has agreed to waive his No Trade Clause.

A heartbreaking proposition for some (like me), but still a necessary and sensible move to some others.

I have to admit… I’m a bit of a sentimentalist where this story is concerned.  Gagne is the longest tenured Flyer in a generation, and with good reason.  Yes, his production has fluctuated over the years, and injuries have been an issue at times.  But Gagne was one of the most eagerly anticipated rookies to arrive with the Flyers back in 1999, and has been a fan favorite right from the start.  He has always been a class act, never caused a locker room rift, and makes himself as available for the media as he possibly can.

But besides all the nice guy talk, he is generally a consistent performer.  He has had 3 seasons with 30 or more goals, and 5 seasons with 25 or more.  And of the seasons where he scored fewer than 25 goals, 3 of the 5 were significantly shortened by injury.  He is also a steady defensive forward, who often does not get the credit or recognition he deserves for his willingness to fight for possession along the boards.

So why would Flyers GM Paul Holmgren be seriously considering trading him?

There’s the obvious answer… salary.  Gagne has one year left on his existing contract at a $5.25 million cap hit.  With the moves the Flyers made on Day One of the UFA Madness, they are now about a half million dollars over the salary cap, and are going to have to move a high priced player one way or another to get breathing room.

Perhaps Holmgren has gotten the idea that Gagne is likely to test the UFA market next summer?  This sounds highly improbable because of the way the Gagne has spoken of the city in past contract negotiations, but you never know what is being said or suggested behind closed doors.  If this were the case, however unlikely it might be, it’s tough to blame Homer for trying to be proactive.

The popular target for a salary dump where the fans are concerned has been Jeff Carter.  Carter is also going into the final year of his contract, and will have a $5 million cap hit.  Questions about Carter’s determination have hounded him for the last couple of years, and that certainly won’t further endear him to the fans if Gagne is in fact moved instead of Carter.

But the overwhelming feeling amongst the fans is that if Gagne is moved, there had better be a big return coming back to Philly.  Flyers fans are not going to take kindly to losing one of their favorite sons if it ends up being little more than a salary dump. And the residual demands from yesterday will still carry over… get a solid #1 goaltender or a very promising young goalie that we can look forward to seeing in the net for years to come.

Evgeni Nabokov and Marty Turco remain on the market.  The Bruins are still interested in moving Tim Thomas.  The rumors of a trade that would bring Kings’ goalie prospect and possible future superstar Jonathan Bernier to Philly persist.  Will one of the most emotional trades in Flyers history result in one of these goalies coming to the City of Brotherly Love?

We shall see.

While the Flyers’ need for a top gun goaltender has been very well publicized since…well…forever, never has it been more flamboyantly flaunted than it is right now.

Flyers GM Paul Holmgren’s challenge his offseason was clear. But to this point, he has been unsuccessful in getting anything significant accomplished. Outside of gaining early negotiating rights to Evgeni Nabakov and Marty Turco, there has been little to get excited about.

However, the man Homer needs to get a hold of could be sitting right under his nose.

Dan Ellis, the current Nashville Predator and soon-to-be unrestricted free agent, sizes up as what could be the perfect balance of starter experience and affordable cap damage.

The only reason Ellis did not finish the season as Nashville’s #1 was because of the outstanding emergence of youngster Pekka Rinne, who has since been pegged as the Preds starter through a contract extension.

Ellis has been left to test the Free Agent market on July 1. However, he is likely to come in a lot cheaper than the Nabokovs and Turcos. Conventional wisdom says Ellis could be had around $2-2.5M, which could also leave a nice chunk o’ money sitting around if Homer would also like to grab that 5th Dman spot he had originally had set aside for Dan Hamhuis.

Age is also a big plus for Ellis, who is still just 29 years old with plenty of prime years ahead if him. This is probably the biggest knock on guys like Nabokov, Turco, and Thomas who are all into their late 30′s, and don’t represent a long term goaltending solution.

Perhaps it is time for Homer to get a hold of Ellis now rather than waiting til July 1st when his price is sure to increase. Ellis has expressed his interest in going to a contender with a solid defense.

Time to hold him to it, Homer. He might have deserved to be regarded as better than your Plan D all along anyway.

Join the Forum Discussion Thread!

If this keeps up, Paul Holmgren is going to get a complex. It seems that all of his advances these days are only met with rejection.

First, it was Dan Hamhuis. Then, according to reports, Evgeni Nabokov said “let’s wait awhile and see what happens in July.” Now, Marty Turco has reportedly rejected the idea of an early verbal contract deal with the Flyers.

Looks like Home-Boy can’t get a date.

Today, news came out the Paul Holmgren had received permission from the Dallas Stars to speak with their long-time starting goalie ahead of start of free agency on July 1st. Unfortunately for Holmgren and fans who support the idea of a veteran #1 goalie in Philly, Turco decided to take the same route as those before him. He will opt to hold off for free agency to seek a bigger payday.

The deal Holmgren floated to Turco was reportedly for $6 million over 3 seasons. Not very surprising that Turco would decline the offer though, as Turco could almost certainly take in more than that once his hits the open market.

So Plans A, B, and C have fallen through. Where does Homer go from here? Of course, just because all three of the previous attempts have fallen short doesnt mean that Homer can’t make an honest effort on or after July 1st to prove that Philly is the place to be. But we can now reasonably assume what Holmgren is prepared to pay for a goalie. With that said, it would appear that for goaltenders, Dan Ellis or Chris Mason are next on the list.

Join the Forum Discussion Thread!