Polaris922

How hopeful are you he does that in Philly? Lol

We're ALL the best GM's aren't we? Lol

But if it IS his last hurrah... Does he want to be fourth line on a team he feels has the playoffs in its future or a second line center on a team with no chance? That's the balance I suppose. I'm sure he'll take a trade but it has to be somewhere he feels his situation improves. Is that Dallas? I just don't know how he views that.

Jagr was without a team and offered $4.5 million by the Stars. He wasn't already guaranteed it with a NTC on paper.

Actually... Last season we played half a roster of AHL players and still held first most of the year. At one point we had Letang, Martin, Orpik and Scuderi ALL out and used Doumoulin, Pouliot, Depres, Bortuzzo, Maatta and Niskanen for our lineup and won regularly. Engelland is a throw in. I'm really not worried about all this. I WANT Bortuzzo in there. He had a great playoff season. And I want Depres in there. Bylsma was unfair to the kid in my opinion. I sometimes wonder if the hunger the youth movement had in the regular season would've made the difference against the Rangers! Honestly... All this cap fear is much ado about nothing as far as the Pens are concerned. I have complete trust in Botterill. The guy knows numbers. And if the Pens aren't panicking shedding payroll left and right, I'm thinking I'm right not to panic either.

@sarsippius Just thinking out loud!

Unless VLC doesn't wanna go to Dallas...

That's good news thank you. I know Johnston was his coach in Portland and thinks very highly of him.

Now THAT would be great return with your hands tied!

And @Vanflyer Orpik was no longer the #1 P&K guy. I love Brooks but his days here are over unless he takes less than $2 mill to play. He's just not the same player anymore. Niskanen ran the PP because of Letang's injury. Letang and Martin are plenty able to. I think the goal IS to bring Bortuzzo and Depres in full time this season. There is a lot of talk about Pouliot as well but that remains to be seen. Spaling is a $1.5 mill contract. I don't see many of the bottom six hitting the $2 mill mark if any aside from Sutter. I really see no reason to worry. The numbers would be right if you're out there looking for star players, but we have those locked up. It's the interchangeable a we're looking at now. And Rutherford (as much as I don't trust him) seems interested in letting others have a say so Botterill (the numbers guy), Guerin and Fitzgerald are involved. I think we'll be just fine.

There's no doubt Neal needs someone to feed him the puck. Maybe that's why the Preds went after Spezza?

The Pens have $14 million to sign 6 guys with... I don't think we're crying about that. Lol.

I won't argue that. But I think as the player ages and increased risk if injury comes with it. So the question is was that weighed into the decision to make the rule or not? Understanding that risk went along with it.

I don't think I'm getting my point across. When a GM signs a player at that age, they HAVE to consider the ramifications if they get hurt. It's not Holmgren and Pronger specifically, its everyone. Holmgren signed it anyway, so again that's the risk you take. Unfortunately for the Flyers they got snake eyes. So they either LTIR and pay the man or accept the cap hit. A GM HAS to weigh the risk vs cap vs player desires.

@aziz Primeau counted because the Flyers paid him despite his "retiring". If a club does that he counts against the cap, though LTIR takes care of that for cap purposes.

Closer than your Flyers every season except one . I could understand your comment if Crosby & Malkin were 33 or 34... But at 27 that's just plain silly. @doom88 Thank you. Lol

Fleury had a good playoffs this past season so yes our goalie can do just fine. Our defensive corps is way ahead of yours for depth and puck moving capabilities when everyone is healthy. Even losing NIskanen this season, we have plenty of depth there so that won't be an issue. And I strongly disagree that your forwards are ahead of ours. If that were the case, you would have had more offensive numbers than us, which you did not. We had better goals for, goals against, power play... you name it. And that while leading the league in games missed due to injury. We had three or four AHL players on any given night, and you're trying to tell me your forwards are better? Our crippled team finished second in the east and fell just short of another conference final. Our franchise is going to add grit to the lineup and Dupuis will return healthy. Bennett has a season under his belt and the new coach will (hopefully) fix what was broken in Bylsma's system. Johnston seems to favor the run and gun Bylsma got away from, and honestly, that's what our lineup thrives on. Do I think your Flyers are competitive? Sure. I'm not sold on what Hextall has done so far with the Umberger thing, but I refrain from judging yet. But at this point, I still think the Pens have a better lineup through and through. We can revisit it half way through the season and see where we stand. Back to the point though... to even suggest a "window closed" for guys like Malkin and Crosby is just jealousy and spite. It's actually quite silly. The Hawks didn't make it much further this season, did Toews and Kane miss their last opportunity as well?? Good grief...

And if he'd been 33 when he'd signed the contract he'd be retired.

@aziz That's my point. It was just a mistake by Holmgren. My arguing about it is in regards to those individuals who want to blame Bettman or the league like they're somehow being slighted against, when the problem was Holm-grown. And you probably don't recall this, but I'm the guy who pointed out the fact last summer that Pronger's LTIR status really doesn't hurt the team one bit, just messes with his status of retired or not. I don't understand why guys whine about it and try to blame the league which is why I get into these disputes. As for the Pens, we're not in the cap hell a lot of Flyers fans seem to think we're in. I still don't know why that is being said. The cap hike this year more than made up for the raise Letang got. Now Orpik leaves and they trade away Neal. Can we afford to sign NIskanen at what he'll be overpaid? No of course not, but the Pens wouldn't overpay him anyway with the young players coming up the pipeline. @Jmdodgesrt4 If you think Crosby and Malkin are not going to have a chance at more Cups, their window being closed as you put it, you're nuts. They're just coming into their primes. Letang isn't a screwup yet. The guy just set a career high in goals scored playing half a season. The new system Johnston brings in will be right up his alley. The guy is getting $7 million a season, but ask yourself what a Norris trophy candidate gets these days. There are NINE defensemen in the league making over $7 million per year this season. Letang is still young and has a long way to go IF his health holds up. If his health doesn't hold up, there is always the buyout and LTIR route. Either way he doesn't hurt the team too badly, so how is this such a bad contract? I'm thinking we see him as a candidate for the Norris a few more times, and maybe even win one or two before it's all done. @sarsippius The only smug BS I read in this post is from Flyers fans trying to blame the league for Holmgren's lack of reading comprehension. It DID backfire because of his age, because that's the chance ALL of the teams take, and if he hadn't been right up against the 35 rule it wouldn't even be discussed.

@flyercanuck There was a lot if talk about the organization being unhappy with Neal when he threw an elbow (I think it was) in the playoffs after his previous suspension. I know Lemieux had talked to him during his suspension and he'd been playing clean till then, but that moment may very well have punched his ticket.

@Samifan Come to the dark side... @flyercanuck The kid seemed to think it was pretty funny too. Lol

And he might have made a nice setup guy for Neal... Interesting

Steel fog? That's cute in a middle school kind of way Actually you're missing the big difference here. Crosby signed a 12 year extension at the age of 24. The Pens solidified a generational talent for the entire length of his prime in the league. A multiple Art Ross winner, Hart winner, and Lindsay winner. A roll of the dice because a concussion could end it all, but a regular buyout or LTIR are your backup plans. Pronger signed a 7 year extension at age 35... When he was already showing signs of the abuse his body had taken and lost a couple steps. The Flyers signed a man in the twilight of his career to a long term contract to lock him up at big money values while spreading the cap hit out to leave room for other signings. They did almost the exact thing the Devils did to circumvent the salary cap issues, and now it has backfired because if his age. They signed this knowing full well what the rule was, and decided circumventing meant more than the chance of injury. So Holmgren rolled the dice and the franchise is paying the price for it. That's not a slight by Bettman against the Flyers. That's not an unfair thing to have happen because you expose yourself to it knowingly and willingly. So you see, they both rolled the dice, but in trying to save more Homer also risked a lot more. When you risk more, sometimes you lose more. Does it make you happy? Of course not. But is it Bettman's or the league's fault? Absolutely not. And is it 100% fair across the board? Yes, it is.

Not a chance. I heard an interview with Johnston a couple days ago talking about his system. He LOVES the weak side d-man pinching in, and with Letang's skating he's going to be a much bigger factor than in Bylsma's system. Johnston also happens to have been Pouliot's coach and speaks highly if him as a fledgling Letang so he knows what his system is going to do for them. Would take a lot more than JVR to pry him away!

@jammer2 Sounds like we'll see it real soon then. And great line name! Lol @yave1964 Agreed. Good day to be a Ducks fan.