Kukkonen Placed on Waivers (CSNPhilly)
However, Kukkonen is expected to play tonight against Pittsburgh, and will be the Flyers' 4th line Center. He is eligible to play for the Flyers until he clears waivers.
The Flyers are still expected to hear back from free agent forward Brendan Shanahan, and the Kukkonen move is expected to hear some cap room in the event Shanahan decides to sign with the club.
They acquired 6'0" 205 lbs defenseman Matt Carle and San Jose's third round pick from Tampa Bay for defensemen Steve Eminger, forward Steve Downie, and Tampa Bay's original fourth round pick.
“Matt Carle is a good young defenseman and we are thrilled to add a player with his abilities to our roster,” said Holmgren in making the announcement. “He will add skill and speed to our lineup and should fit in great with our team.”
“I also would like to thank Steve Eminger and Steve Downie for their professionalism as players here and we wish them nothing but the best in the future.” [Flyers.com]
Early into the draft night, the Flyers traded the rights to R.J. Umberger to Columbus for the 19th pick overall. It was a move the Flyers clearly needed to make because of the salary cap. They basically had to pick Carter or Umberger and they chose Carter, which is the right decision. Well, we think they chose Carter, but they have declined everything about signing him.
With the 19th pick, the Flyers drafted Luca Sbisa, an offensive-minded defenseman who can also play forward at time. It has been said that he doesn't make too many mistakes in his own zone. He was the 10th defenseman drafted at the time. Central Scouting had this to say:
Strengths: Luca is a poised and, sometimes, too poised a defenseman. One would say that a lot of times his calmness with the puck is misinterpreted as either slowness or laziness; that's not the case with Luca. He is a smart player who moves the puck at the right time and carries the puck correctly, supports the rush and is adjusting very well to the North American game."Pogo will go into greater detail discussing all of the Flyers picks after the draft is complete.
Areas to improve: "He needs continued adjustment to the North American game, he isn't afraid under a forecheck but sometimes under a hard forecheck of one or two players of the opposition, he will tend to throw the puck away too early. As much as the poise comes in to play with the puck on his stick, when the puck isn't on his stick I think that will be an area that will get better with time."
Steve is a player we’ve always liked," said Holmgren. "He’s a former teammate of Mike Richards in Kitchener, so we those two have a connection. He’s still just 25 years old. I don’t believe he’s reached his peak yet and still has a ways to go. We think he’s going to be a nice fit."I'm really not a big fan of the trade.
According to Sportsnet.ca, The Flyers have resigned restricted free agent centerman, Jeff Carter to a 3 year deal believed to be worth no less than $15 million.
Sources are telling Sportsnet that Carter has agreed to a three-year deal with the Philadelphia Flyers that is believed to pay him no less than $15 million.Well, at least we know that one of our restricted free agents will be back. However, with little cap space left, I'm almost positive that R.J. Umberger will not return to the team unless Paul Holmgren starts creating some more financial magic. The buyout of Derian Hatcher or his retirement is starting to look more and more set in stone. The Flyers definitely need to sign Randy Jones because they're very thin at the blue line.
Should the deal be completed, the Flyers remove the risk of Carter -- a Group 2 free agent on July 1st -- getting any offer sheets from teams wanting to scoop up the Flyers centre.
According to Bill Meltzer of HockeyBuzz, Flyers forward Sami Kapanen has retired from the NHL and signed with a team in the Finnish Elite League.
A report in Kuopio-based newspaper Savon Sanomat quoted Kapanen as saying that he informed the Flyers yesterday of his decision. Kapanen confirmed the report via email today.Kapanen was scheduled to make $1.25 million next season and his retirement gives the Flyers much needed cap space.
"It's true. I'm retiring from the NHL and planning to play for KalPa in Finland. ...I will miss the Flyers but it's time to move on," wrote Kapanen.
The Flyers expect to begin their offseason rather quickly, regarding their restricted free agents: Jeff Carter, Randy Jones, and R.J. Umberger. In the upcoming week, Paul Holmgren and Peter Lukko will partake in a meeting discussing in depth what changed need to be made. [Philadelphia Inquirer]
First and foremost, the Flyers need to attempt to sign Jeff Carter, a player that could draw at least $5 million per season. Teams could over Group II offer sheets, along with Umberger, from other teams. If a team offers 4.6-5.89 million per year, the Flyers will receive 2 first round picks, a second round pick, and a third round pick. If teams offer more than 5.89 million, the Flyers would receive 4 first round picks as compensation. Anything under 4.6 million per year, the Flyers would likely match in a heartbeat. Jeff Carter turns 24 on January 1st.
Second, the Flyers should sign Randy Jones. Jones was one of the Flyers better defenseman in the playoffs. Jones will not command high level money, but if they can lock him up long-term now, it could be very valuable as he continues to develop into a top 4 defenseman. Jones turns 27 later this year, so he still has some youth on his side. He is also a RFA, so teams can attempt to sign him to an offer sheet, but no one will drastically over pay for him. He has taken a little while to develop.
Third, the Flyers should attempt to sign R.J. Umberger, who like Carter is a Group 2 free-agent. Umberger excelled against Montreal in the playoffs, but he's always been a gritty centerman, who can score with the right linemates. Umberger is more valuable on the penalty kill and playing against other teams bigger forwards. Umberger has been a very good defensive forward for the Flyers and the team needs to keep a guy like Umberger because they are a little weak defensively. Umberger also has very deceptive speed and does a decent job of finding the open man. He had 37 assists during the regular season. If the Flyers do sign Umberger and Carter, I'd expect Richards to move up to the top line to center Gagne and Briere, which would be an absolutely amazing first line. The Flyers are very deep at the forward position.
The team also needs to sign an enforcer, whether it be RFA Riley Cote or someone else.
If these three things happen, I could see the lines looking like this (if Gagne is healthy)
Gagne Richards Briere
Hartnell Carter Giroux
Upshall Umberger Lupul
Cote Downie Knuble
Knuble on the 4th line? Shocking, but that's just because of their depth. Knuble will still be on the PP units in front of the net. Now looking at the defenseman, we'd have this:
Timonen Coburn
Jones Hatcher (if he doesn't retire)
Parent Kukkonen
Parent's offseason is likely going to be the most important for the Flyers. I'd expect or hope Braydon Coburn would take Parent under his wing with his amazing offseason conditioning program. If Parent improves drastically he may become that 4th defenseman the Flyers are looking for.There is a silver lining here," Luukko said. "Yes, we lost to Pittsburgh. But here was a young man [Parent] who got a chance to play very meaningful minutes and games. That will be tremendous experience for him going into training camp
Parent did very well in his three game opportunity during the playoffs. Parent was also the one who remained in the lineup over Jaroslav Modry.We began looking today at the options we have," Luukko said. "Where do we go with our cap money, and what do we do with trades and re-signings, etc.? In many cases, it is combinations. When you have draft picks, cap room and players, you have options for trades and free agency signings and such. You can create options as you see fit if you are creative.
The Flyers have to attempt to work their magic this year to stay under the salary cap because they will have some relief next year when some larger contracts come off the payroll. If the Flyers do have the space after doing at least the first two things, they may look to sign a quick defenseman and accept the compensation they receive from Umberger.
What do you think the Flyers should do, feel free to comment.
The Flyers were absolutely destroyed in game 5, losing decisively 6-0. 6 to fucking nothing. I don't even know what to say. Unprepared? Scared? Terrible on the road? You're about to be eliminated and the best effort they could show up with today is a 6-0 defeat. The defense was awfully terrible and the penalty kill continued to struggle/look absolutely pathetic on the road during the series. The Penguins had a coach that remained vocal throughout the series and continually remained vocal today. The Flyers had a coach who rarely moved his lips except for when he put a piece of gum in his mouth after every goal to fight his nervousness.
Okay, there's my rant. Now onto the positives. The Flyers brass will have all season to evaluate the team and to make a plan. Regardless of their bad play this series and losing 4-1 to the Penguins, you have to think fatigue set in and the Flyers just no longer had it. They looked completely outplayed through much of the series and much of the credit goes to Pittsburgh. There were positives, however. The Flyers are young enough and they're built to improve and dominate in the future. The team currently puts out 15 former first round picks and they have a nice mix of veterans and young kids. Their core of centermen in Richards, Carter, and Umberger are all 26 and under, though both Carter and Umberger are restricted free agents. The Flyers also have a number of young defensemen to move forward with Kimmo Timonen in Braydon Coburn, Randy Jones, and Ryan Parent. Those four defensemen will be part of the Flyers top-2 pairings for years to come. And oh yeah, Simon Gagne returns next year. The Flyers also have wingers Claude Giroux (Quebec league MVP) and JVR waiting in the wings.
The Flyers will compete next year, but they need to find a way to be more consistent throughout the year. Winning 7 straight and then losing 4 straight is not good hockey even if it turns out to be a positive record in the end. It makes luck or the way the puck bounces a bigger factor in their season. Congratulations to the Flyers even if they finally met their match. Throw out the conspiracies, they were not real. The Flyers were outplayed and it had nothing to do with the Flyers wanting to promote Sidney Crosby. We may hate him here in Philadelphia, but he is still a phenomenal talent. The Flyers defeated the streaking Capitals with Ovechkin and they beat the last Canadian team standing in Montreal. Clap your hands for your team. I know the loss hurts, but there is a lot to be proud about. Next year is less than five months away.
Update: Kimmo Timonen will play according to NBC.
Kimmo Timonen skated solo yesterday at practice and remains hopeful that he will be able to play in Game 5 tomorrow. [Daily News]
Kimmo is one of the best puck-moving defensemen in the league," Flyers goalie Martin Biron said yesterday. "He's good, and he's even better on the ice when you don't notice him, because he does the little things right all the time. He makes guys think twice. It's no secret he's an All Star. There's fans around the league that have probably never noticed him, but when you play against him or you play with him, that's when you appreciate his full value. I think that our defensive corps really looks at the way he plays, to be able to settle the game, and settle our emotions or anything out there."Timonen's addition to the lineup; however, may not mean the removal of Ryan "Bernie" Parent. Parent played in games 3 and 4 and he has played extremely well and better than his counterpats, Lasse Kukkonen and Jaroslav Modry. Parent has been able to make the simple plays as well as making the passes to move the puck up the ice. Parent played well alongside of Jason Smith and allowed Smith to lay some hits because Parent is such a stay at home defender. Parent is your standard defensive-defenseman, which is what they need right now.
Flyers continued to dominate the Atlanta Thrashers today and gave themselves just a little bit of breathing room. 58 seconds into the game we had an "Oh no not again" moment when Chris Thorbun scored. Mike Richards answered back a little of 6 minutes later with a goal of his own, and after that it was all Flyers...and Kari Lehtonen. Flyers took a season high 47 shots on goal and scored only 3. Goals by Carter and, a beautiful goal by Vinny Prospal, set up by a very nice defensive play by rookie defender Ryan Parent. Tense moments in the final minute of the game when the Flyers decided to break down in their own zone and gave up a goal to Kovalchuck with 30 seconds left, and then left him wide open for a shot with about 2 seconds left, but goaltender Antero Niittymaki made maybe the best save of the season, and quite possibly one of the most important saves of his career.
I really wouldn't worry about the fact we took 47 shots on Lehtonen and only scored 3, as he likes to show why he was drafted so high, yet most of the time he shows why it is a bad idea to rush a young goaltender in the NHL, tonight it was the former.
The Flyers currently hold a 2 point lead over the Washington Capitals, and a 3 point lead over the Buffalo Sabres.
Pogo's 3 stars
1. Vinny Prospal
2. Antero Niittymaki
3. Jeff Carter
Unsung Heros Offense/Defense
Joffrey Lupul, and Ryan Parent.
Prospal currently has 29 goals and 57 points through 62 games. The thirty-three year old centered the line of he Lecavalier and St. Louis.
Picard is a 22-year old defenseman who was a third-round pick by the Flyers in 2003. He is a restricted free agent in the off-season and he became expendable with the signing of Kimmo Timonen and the emergence of Braydon Coburn, Randy Jones, and Ryan Parent. Picard was second on the Phantoms in scoring with 38 points (8 goals, 30 assists) in 53 games.
Prospal on his return to the team who drafted him:
"It is something that I kind of expected - not to go to Philadelphia - but being traded," Prospal said in a release. "My name has been mentioned all around the paper and there has been a lot of rumours. They had a decision to make and they basically dealt me away.I'd expect Prospal to likely play alongside Briere and Umberger until Mike Richards and Joffrey Lupul return."I am glad that I am going to an organization that I already have been involved with. Philadelphia is a great place to play because they have awesome fans and I was drafted by Philadelphia, so I am basically coming back to where I started."
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