Hexy27

The good news is that if there is a lockout then we don't need to worry about our defense!

As much as I love Gagne I don't know that he can survive in this division. The Atlantic division is the toughest and most physical in the league. I don't think his body can stand up to those rigors and $3.5M is alot to gamble on someone with his injury history. I really hate saying this but Gagne is not a viable option for this team.

Few players stay with the team that drafted them for their entire career. I'm sure you would see similar stats for the other teams in the league.

@radoran Agreed. I do think Wellwood will have a breakout season though. Time will tell.

@radoran I can't see Voracek on the third line. I think he'll be playing on the top line with Giroux. I think we might see: Hartnell-Giroux-Voracek Simmonds-Briere-Read Schenn-Talbot-Couturier Fedotenko-Wellwood-Sestito/Rinaldo I also think Wellwood has the potential to crack the third line and shift Talbot down to the 4th.

@AndyS It's not just his performance in the finals. The guy is terrible. He has been passed over by every other team in the league yet the Flyers keep coming back for more. We'll have to agree to disagree.

@doom88 Few things actually make me laugh out loud at my desk. Well played, sir!

And why did you not puke this year? I know the name "Leighton" makes me sick to my stomach.

Right now we are down 3 forwards (Jagr, JVR and Voracek). If Voracek is part of the Webber deal who takes those spots? Sure Schenn and Couturier can step it up but there are still 3 vacant forward positions on this roster. Is Harry Z up to the task? Holmstrom? Who do you move up? Who is up to this task? In a perfect world they sign Doan to a reasonable contract and resign Voracek. This is doubtful as the CAP will likely make it difficult. I'll leave it to the "capologists" to figure out this scenario. Let's say Voracek is sent to Nashville. We sign Doan. We still need another forward. JVR wasn't much of an asset last year but Jagr was. Who replaces Jagr in this lineup? Do we depend on our AHL player to fill in at some of the forward positions? That will likely mean a loss of depth.

@canoli I couldn't agree more.

@Pauliking I would really rather we kept Mez. I like the idea of sending Kimmo better since he is a popular player with that fanbase. Sending Kimmo also frees up more cap space.

Let's say we send Nashville a forward and a Dman. The question is who would we send? If it is MAB (hopefully Lilja too) and Read I am ok with it. I just hope it isn't either Cooter or B. Schenn. I'd also rather send Kimmo than MAB but could live with sending MAB. Also I don't think we are in the game for Ryan. Let's say we make the trade above who is left to deal for Ryan? I think they are more likely to sign Doan than trade for Ryan as the price for Ryan maybe too high.

@radoran That is a good breakdown. I just get nervous whenever I see deals that involve so many picks. I am also a little concerned by these long term deals the Flyers have been giving out in recent years: Briere, Richards, Carter, Pronger, Bryz and now Weber. Carter and Richie are gone but they were replaced with Bryz and Weber (and with a higher dollar hit by each). Draft picks are a good way to offset those expensive players and I am a little concerned that it will handcuff us in the future. Someone some day may do this to us when we have a high value RFA (i.e. Giroux) available and we might not have the room to match that offer.

@mojo1917 I have considered that. The Flyers have been at 20 or bellow in the first round for the last few seasons. Still losing 4 first round picks hurts. In the prelockout era with no cap it wasn't as big a deal but now it puts the squeeze on your future. That being said we do have a young core and as long as they can stay consistent they can mask that loss. I guess when put into perspective of losing B. Schenn or Couturier I'd rather give up the picks. Those two have at least proven themselves. I'd like to think Giroux and Couturier are untouchable but Homer has shown us that no one is untouchable. It will be an interesting 7 days for sure. Here's hoping our core group of young players remains largely intact.

I like Weber ALOT but am I the only one nervous about giving up four first round draft picks? I don't like that one bit. I probably would have let Weber sign for a year with Nashville and then gone after him at the trade deadline or sign him as a UFA next summer (and keep the picks). That being said I won't be sad to see him in the O & B. I am just a little nervous about giving up so many picks.

@doom88 You are probably going to end up paying more for Jake in the longrun then. Once a player proves a level of consistency then his price goes up. If he has a season or two scoring 20+ goals and 40+ points then he is going to command more than 3ish million per season. I don't necessarily disagree with you. It is just the price you pay to keep that type of player around.

He has stated a few times this season that at his age he needs to keep moving otherwise he breaks down quickly. I think that may play into his demands for top line minutes. In any case I was surprisingly pleased with his time here (never thought I would ever say that) and wish him well next season...just not against the Flyers!

@TimKerrFan12 When you have someone as delicate as Bryz in net the backup role becomes that much more important. If Bryz implodes at some point or is lost to injury this season do you honestly think Leighton can step in and assume the starting job successfully? Keep in mind every team in the NHL passed on him when he was on waivers. My opinion aside what does that say about the league's opinion of Leighton's abilities?

Off topic: I thought I was the only one who remembered that show!

I really don't want to see us send away either Schenn or Cooter. I like Read but I would be ok if he was in a deal for Nash along with some draft picks. I am more ok with not doing anything at all and keeping this core of young players together.

I realize they are very different (in more ways than just revenue sharing). Of the two CBAs which do you prefer? Personally I think the NFL's CBA makes more sense and I don't see why something like that can't work for the NHL. @ I agree that those policies were put in place to help older players out. It obviously hasn't worked. The thing is when you have a policy that treats a contract differently (based on any factor) from other players it is a double edged sword. I think they are better off just getting rid of the 35+ rule as it serves no purpose other than it makes things more difficult for both the player and organization. I don't know what to do about re-entry waivers. I agree that they are a barrier and keep NHL level players trapped in the AHL. Maybe get rid of waivers all together? That may lead to trouble when a team is trying to shed salary. I don't know what would be the best policy in this regard.

I don't hate Carle but I also don't know that he is worth a $5M cap hit. I feel that given time one of the younger defensemen like MAB could fill his role for far less. I think I'd be ok with Carle at $3.5M-$4M (max) but anything above that is a diminishing return.

I'd like to see some things eradicated like the over 35 rule. I don't believe any other sport treats contracts so differently. I know the intent is to try and keep teams with deeper pockets from signing someone to a 10 year deal only to have the player retire and salary come off the cap but why is that a bad thing? That kind of deal usually goes to talented players who wouldn't want to sign with one of the smaller franchises anyways. Why penalize the more successful organizations? The NFL doesn't do this and there is a high level of competition there. Also players are playing longer now that the game has removed almost all clutching and grabbing. It may become a bigger issue over time. I'd also like to see the waiver system revamped. Currently it is far too complicated for what it is there to provide.

So you basically need to study law before you can even begin to misunderstand the CBA? I wish they could go to a much simpler model. It doesn't seem like the NFL's system is this convoluted.

I think a few people on this thread have stated that the disdain for Leighton does not only come from his poor performance but also from his lack of professionalism. He deceived the organization by hiding the true story behind his health at the time. He signed a two year deal and then revealed that he needed surgery. I don't want someone like this around at all.