RonJeremy

We would hope teams arent going to keep giving out stupid contracts, but theres always a stupid desperate team out there to ruin our plans. Had we signed Leino during the season ,we would have had him for 2 million, once he hit the open market, Buffalo grossly overpaid for him. Look at Montreal, they just took on that loser Kaberle to go along with Gomez's horrible contract, so the stupidity continues, and defensemen are a top commodity. Of course I wouldnt make a trade for either Webber or Suter, unless I know that he will sign. Most of our deals we have made the guys have signed with us..Timmo, Hartnell, Bryz. The only guy that didnt sign with us was Hamhuis, becase he wanted to go to his hometown. Obviously our GM must be in talks with Carles agent, so we will get an idea of what he is looking for, and then we will know our options. I would think that Suter or Webber would love to come to a top orginazation like the Flyers. we really better start planning on life without Pronger. I know he is virtually irre[lacable, but the closest guy to Pronger is Webber, unless you know of a cheaper young Pronger in the making? No matter how well our dmen are playing, none can be considered a top 2 guy, so we need a top guy no matter what.

Aziz, I know you love Carle, and Im not arguing with your stats on him. My assumption is, if Carle continues having this great season, and with the shortage of dmen in the league, I wouldnt be surprised to see his agent shoot for a big contract, so I would think Carle is looking for a big increase. Why become an UFA jsut to make an extra million, I think he will shoot for a big raise. So my argument is this... if Carle becomes an UFA ,some team could come in and make Carle a big offer ,that we cant match, and then we get nothing for Carle or, if we sign Carle for 5 or 6 million, that pretty much eliminates us from pursuing Webber or Suter. So I would attempt to trade Carle at the deadline and acquire Suter or Webber also at the deadline, so then ,Suter or Webber replace Pronger and Gustafsson repalces Carle. I honestly dont think Pronger is coming back. So I think we are a better team with Gustafsson and Webber than we are with Carle and an injured old Pronger who probably isnt coming back, or if he does, will surely be injured again.

p.s. giving an 8 year, 8million dollar contract to a proven 26 year old stud like Webber, is much different than giving a long term big deal to a 35 year old Pronger like we did or 2 young underachivers like Carter and Richards. i dont think mant Flyer fans wil complain

we couldnt even win one game las yr

Well, im sure we would try and work out a contract first, before we agreed to a trade, just like we did with Timmo and Hartnell. Would you rather pay Webber 8 million Carle 6 million? I cant see Suter getting more than 6 million... do you have any other dmen in mind? I dont think moving Carle for a good young player and packaging that with Schenn and maybe another pick for Webber as giving up too much. If Nashville wants something unreasonable ,thenyou look elsewhere. We have to get a stud, look at Timmos age, and if he gets hurt ,we are toast

Carle and Mezzaros have stepped up their games,Bourdon has been solid and brings a physical edge, Timmo has been great and Coburn also looks good. Before we go getting too excited we have to realize a few things... Even when Prongs was in,we still needed another dman with PP skills, no one else we have has any PP QB skills. Timmo and Carle can pass,but neither has a shot Timmo is 38, he is going to burn our with all the minutes he is playing and as the season goes on and he wears out ,we will get worse on defense No matter how well our other guys look, none are a #1 or #2 dman and nobody back there is much of a goal scorer Carle is an UFA who is having a career year,so he will be looking for a nice raise, is he worth the 6 million he will be looking for? You know once he gets a new deal, he will revert back to the old Carle. Our defense was somewhere around 15 or 16th overall, so from the looks of it we need help ,with our without Pronger Are we going to stand pat and sit around waiting for a 38 yr old who has been injured for 2 years straight? I would almost guarantee Pronger is finished and even if he comes back, with the stlye he plays, how long will it take before he has another injury ? This is the perfect oppurtunity to make a move , so many of us have talked about being stuck with an aging injury prone dman and an impossible contract, this could be a blessing in disguise. I think the best move is to try and trade for either Webber or Suter, if you take Prongers contract out and put him on LTI and we dont re-sign Carle , thats the more than enough $$ for Webber. Would you rather have Carle and pay him 6 million and hope to have an injury prone 38 year old Pronger back or would you rather have a 26 year old stud Webber and replace Carle with Gustafsson, and Bourdon stays as the 6th guy. So you trade Carle at the deadline for a first rounder or a good young player and then you package that player/pick with Schenn and one more piece for Webber. Schenn is good, but he hasnt played at all ,so its not like we will miss him. If we cant get Webber, then you try for Suter, but you give up less. Whether we like t or not, we have to act as if Pronger is gone for good, and in order to get a #1 or #2 dman ,Schenn will have to be the centerpiece of any trade....

One guy i always like from the Canes is Tim Gleason, he plays a physical game.

In order to get a dman like Suter, Schenn would have to be traded. If its Webbber, then its Schenn and a whole lot more. The only other option is to try to trade Briere and have Schenn take his spot at center. Of course Briere has a huge contract is an older player, and has a NTC, so it would be tought to get him to go to Nashville. The other move is to look for a solid dman , rahter than a star, then we wouldnt have to give up as much. I thought that Cody Franson had potential, Toronto got him from Nashville for nothing...

Why would we trade Hartnell ? He is having a huge season, especially for two grossly overpaid failures like Kaberle or Gomez. Whoever wrote that article is a ttoal moron.

Bourdon really looks good, he is playing 13 minutes a game or so, and has played sound defense, and thrown some big hits. They say he has a big point shot, so once he has gained more experience, we should try him on the PP

Malkin looks like SHREK

We need to shore up our defense if we expect to go anywhere in the playoffs. When Pronger comes back things should improve, if they dont we have to think about improving the D. Of course if Bryzgalocv would stop letting in bad goals that would help too. Why is it over the last 20 years our goalies continually give up cheap goals..

Nothing wrong withdeveloping Bourdon and some of our dmen, only problem is none of our dmen project as top 3 guys,and our top 2 guys are fading fast. Somehow, some way, we have to get some top 2 defensive talent and the only way I see it happening is by a trade. Unless we draft the next Ray Bourque, highly unlikely when your picking at the bottom most every year.

Reply to jammers post.... I agree the Bourdon has looked good and plays a much needed physical game and should get a good amount of ice time while Prongs is out. You said you wouldnt give up future assets for a defensive upgrade... What about trading from a source of strength our offense, to upgrade the defense. Bourdon at best is a #4, more likely a 5th or 6th defenseman. Pronger is a # 1 guy, who is breaking down and old. Pronger is our PP QB ,best defensively and most physical, so Bourdoncanhelp in one area, but we still need a true #1 guy soon. So if we could get a top young dman for a top young forward like Schenn, would you do it? I like Schenn and would love to keep him, but being realistic, we are not going toget a top 2 young dman without giving up something of equal value. The problem we face is our 2 best dmen are also our oldest, any dman we draft wont be NHL ready for 2 years or so and most dmen dont make much of an impact until their second or third year in the league. The Flyers have not had much luck in drafting dmen and we dont get to pick all that high in the draft either.

Two posts... The Rangers have no forwards as it is, they have good young defensemen to offer. If we offer Schenn as the centerpiece along with simmond and something else, how can the Rangers top that? I dont see anaheim dumping Ryans 5 million dollar contract for Briere who makes similar $$ and is ten years older. I think they are looking to rebuild with youth and lower contracts.

I will take it back a few years.....we draft Jagr instead of Ricci, we keep Forsberg and all those players and picks, instead of trading for Lindros. We have a line of Forsberg Jagr and Le Clair.... WE PROBABLY WIN THE CUP

What about Schenn, Simmonds and a pick for Ryan. Ryan is a right wing, he replaces Simmonds. Then we have to dump salary. So its going to have to be a multi team deal or something. Hartnell's value is at an all time high, but the Ducks wont want him, so he would have to be moved to another team, for another winger , who is young and cheap . Of course we need defense more than anything, but Holmgren said there isnt many dmen around.

Yes that trade still burns me up to this day. Emminger was not even in Washingtons future plans, they were going to dump him, he was a fill in player for them. Holmgren gives up a first rounder, and they pick Carlson a big righthanded dman with PP skills, something we could certainly use right now.

I agree thats what we need the most, but Ryan was bornto be a Flyer, just wish we could have gotten him ...

We have been after Bobby Ryan for years and now he is available, too bad he wasnt avaialble in the offseason, maybe we could have dumped Carter for him. What do you think of giving up Schenn, Simmonds and a second rounder for Ryan? I know we need defense more than anything ,epecially with Pronger injured again, but this might be our only shot at Ryan, who the Flyers have coveted for years.

He will get healthy again in a month..........for how long before the next injury. This is something that has to be faced sooner or later. Pronger cant be counted on to be healthy all of the time and he is our only threat on the PP as well. Cap space needs to be cleared to get another dman, then we better do it. Pronger is old and breaking down,and we need another dman, not only as insurance for Pronger but for the immediate and the future. Do we want to take a chance that Pronger gets hurt at year end ,so we can get knocked out in the first round again?

Suter is an UFA, and Weber is an RFA with one year left after this year, their goalie Renne, is also an UFA. Nashville cannot afford to pay those guys,so one defenseman has to go. If Nashville re-signs Suter, then they have no $$ for Webber, so my guess is they dump Suter and try to re-sign Webber. So I think Suter is avaialble ,unless someone makes a huge offer of 3 or 4 players for Webber. I know Bogosian re-signed, but I did hear he was being shopped, I dont really know what Winnipeg needs and if we can fil lthat need , but The flyers need to trade from our strenght ,which is offense and look for a team that has excess defense. NAshville is one of those teams..

Id target Suter from Nashville who is an UFA, Id ask about Weber RFA, Nasville will obviously try to keep one of them. Maybe Zac Bogosian from Winnipeg, he was rumored to be available. There are some other teams that have good young dmen , Ottawa, Columbus and PHX. I wouldnt trade JVR, The only young prospect that will get us a blue chip dman is Schenn. I wouldnt trade him for Suter, since he is an UFA, and we can possibly target him in the offseason, or trade draft picks for him and pre-empt the other teams, like we did in the Timmo /Hartnell deals. The only way I trade Schenn is for a young dman who is as highly rated but has played in the NHL . Winnipeg supposedly was shopping Bogosian, what would it take to land him

Someone suggested trading Briere, that might be a good idea, Schenn can step in as the second line center. The only problem with Briere is his contract and limited trade clause . The other option is trading a guy like Schenn for an equally highly rated young dman, Or trading Bob for a dman. Maybe Nashville gives us Suter who is an UFA, or maybe a guy like Zac Bogosian on Winnipeg.

Pronger is injured again, so we are going to have to make a trade. We cant afford to go a full month with, Bourdon, Marshall or Matt Walker, if he clears waivers. Holmgren needs to realize we rely too much on Pronger and and Timmo and they are both old and Prongs is starting to break down. The question is , who is avaialble and at what price. i hope Holmgren doesnt get strong armed and overpay for some typical old washed up stiff. We need a young top 2 or 3 dman, not only for now ,but for the future, since its obvious we cant rely on Pronger to play a full season any more.