Jump to content

Flyers almost traded JVR for Harding


Guest brelic

Recommended Posts

According to this article, the Flyers almost traded JVR for Josh Harding in 2009. Management was pissed that he chose to play an extra year in college, and as always, the Flyers needed goaltending.

Minnesota refused the trade, apparently.

We signed Ray Emery instead.

http://phillysportsd...d-van-riemsdyk/

Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk wasn’t always the budding star power forward and offensive load-bearer for the team that drafted him second overall in 2007.

He was once a potential college problem in the eyes of general manager Paul Holmgren. And according to the Edmonton Journal on Sunday, rumor has it van Riemsdyk was nearly moved for a goalie because of it.

If true, the Flyers lucked out.

Although Harding, who is buried behind starter Niklas Backstrom, is 6-2 this season with a 2.10 goals-against-average, the 27-year-old backup is a talented but unproven goaltender. Harding has yet to make his presence felt as an NHL starter since being drafted in the second round by the Wild in 2003. He missed the 2010-11 season with a knee injury and has played less than 100 games in seven seasons.

On the other side, van Riemsdyk is still on his incline and a key cog in the Flyers’ future, coming off a 40-point sophomore season. He has eight goals and eights assists in 20 games this year and has yet to hit his productive stride. Van Riemsdyk has game-changing ability, but it might not have been something the Flyers picked up on right away.

While the rumor is unsubstantiated and impossible to prove at this stage, it does fall in line with the facts. In 2009, after van Riemsdyk played two years at the University of New Hampshire, the Flyers tried desperately to get him to go pro after his sophomore year — claiming he wasn’t being challenged at the NCAA level. That offseason, the Flyers were indeed shopping creatively for a goaltender. They found one in unrestricted free-agent Ray Emery.

After failing to get van Riemsdyk out of college following his freshman season, frustration built up, as Holmgren didn’t seem prepared to watch his prize draft pick’s development stall any further.

“The environment he’s in now, it might be time for him to move on (from college),” Holmgren told The Hockey News in Jan. 2009. “We tried to get him to come out last summer, and he thought he was better off going back, and we said, ‘That’s fine. We’ll support your decision.’ But I still think he would have been better off if he came out last year.”

Van Riemsdyk, much to the chagrin of the Flyers organization, deliberated on the decision despite heavy pressure from Holmgren, who also needed an NHL goalie. However, shrugging aside his want to bring UNH a National Championship, van Riemsdyk ultimately decided to go pro — a decision that handled the wrong way, could have killed his future in Philly and changed the direction of the Flyers immensely.

Edited by brelic
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"According to this article, the Flyers almost traded JVR for Josh Harding in 2009. Management was pissed that he chose to play an extra year in college, and as always, the Flyers needed goaltending.

Minnesota refused the trade, apparently.

We signed Ray Emery instead."

****, I thought you meant Tonya.

She'd have livened things up. A few belts from a steel rod would slow down some of these pesky opposition forwards.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"According to this article, the Flyers almost traded JVR for Josh Harding in 2009. Management was pissed that he chose to play an extra year in college, and as always, the Flyers needed goaltending.

Minnesota refused the trade, apparently.

We signed Ray Emery instead."

****, I thought you meant Tonya.

She'd have livened things up. A few belts from a steel rod would slow down some of these pesky opposition forwards.

LOL, how sad is that she would have more spunk than Bryz??

I miss the crazy days of Hextall.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did the Homster happen to all the times Nick Fotiu kicked his butt? Fotiu formerly worked with the New York city sanitation dept.prior to becoming a Ranger. Homer liked to hit him in the fist with his head. Lets see him lie his way out of that one.He'll probably say he had a virus.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only problem I have with that article is "they signed Emery instead" god that was a terrible move by Homer.

emery was solid before he got that degenerative bone thing... that's the kind of sh!t no one can foresee. emery was a gamble that didn't work out, but it's not like he got here and stunk the joint up . he was unlucky

Link to comment
Share on other sites

emery was solid before he got that degenerative bone thing... that's the kind of sh!t no one can foresee. emery was a gamble that didn't work out, but it's not like he got here and stunk the joint up . he was unlucky

Exactly. Emery actually was the last goalie to inspire confidence from the skaters.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've had it with gamling to our roster. Emery did ok but with his personality it was a risk anyway. I dont remember him being solid but ok.

Ottawa slander. He was just fine in Philly, if not actually a nice guy to fans. He grew up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...