brelic Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 http://flyers.nhl.com/club/blogpost.htm?id=20903 VOORHEES, N.J. – When the Flyers released their opening night roster yesterday, it was noticeably light with only 21 players listed. Teams are allowed to carry 23 players on their roster at any one time, so there appeared to be some certainty that they would make another roster move or two before opening night. And that happened Tuesday. The Flyers signed defenseman Hal Gill to a one-year contract worth $700,000, making him the eighth defenseman on the roster. They also recalled forward Adam Hall from the Phantoms, making him the 13th forward. Gill’s signing is the most interesting news though. In camp on a professional tryout contract, Gill, 38, impressed the Flyers enough to beat out Bruno Gervais and Oliver Lauridsen for a roster spot. This leaves the Flyers with a glut of NHL defensemen, as most teams carry seven, not eight rearguards, which means the situation could change in the near future. However, it puts the Flyers in a more comfortable position defensively from a depth perspective than it’s been in the past. With Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn, Luke Schenn, Mark Streit, and Nicklas Grossmann locked in as the top five on the blue line, having Erik Gustafsson, Andrej Meszaros and now Gill on the NHL roster and then four defensemen on the Adirondack Phantoms with NHL experience (Gervais, Lauridsen, Brandon Manning and Matt Konan) plus a well-regarded prospect in Mark Alt - and having all 13 defensemen healthy - leaves the team feeling much better about itself when it comes to its defense. As for Gill, he was considered a long shot when he was brought into camp, as the Flyers didn’t appear to have room for him, but he was able to win a job using his veteran guile. Gill is positionally sound and is able to smartly force rushing forwards to the outside into lower percentage areas. He also is a big-bodied, net-front presence who can clear the line of sight for the goalies and isn’t afraid to put his 6-foot, 8-inch frame in front of oncoming shots. In the past five seasons, Gill has blocked exactly 500 shots as a member of the Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators. The Flyers also like what he brings to the locker room as a veteran presence and his leadership qualities. Gill has served in the leadership group in each of his stops in the NHL. All told, Gill is entering his 17th NHL season and the Flyers will be his sixth team having previously played for Boston, Toronto and Pittsburgh as well as Montreal and Nashville. He has played in 1,102 regular season games and an additional 110 playoff games. He went to the Stanley Cup Finals twice with the Penguins, winning the Cup in 2009. Never considered an offensive player, Gill has just 36 goals and 148 assists for 184 points in his career. He has also compiled 960 career penalty minutes. Check back later today for more on Gill signing with the team after practice. To contact Anthony SanFilippo email asanfilippo@comcast-spectacor.com or follow him on Twitter @AnthonySan37 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howie58 Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Greetings: Thanks for the post. This is a tough one to assess. 700K is not much. But what does it say about perceived value of the youngins? It's one thing to say they need more seasoning. But this may have a different signal. Sometimes I think Homer and colleagues like big, hulking defenders. It's almost as if "The New NHL" is something they give lip service to while longing for another Barry Ashbee. Peace, Howie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samifan Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 I am sure Homer is upset that he couldn't give Gill a longer term contract with a full NMC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishjim Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 I like this guys take on hall gill OrangeAndBlackPack.com In terms of the Gill signing, some people couldn't care less because the man's an 8th defenseman that costs us almost League minimum, but considering how tight our cap situation is on a monthly basis, every expense added draws my attention. With that said, there are two ways to look at this acquisition... For starters, I am not a fan of Gill's. I don't believe he's a solid safety valve, even for being a veteran. The man's an overgrown houseplant, but he comes at 125K cap dollars less than Gervais and will barely be used through the schedule (knock on wood, barring injury). I take comfort in knowing Meszaros is our 7th d-man.... that's actually a pretty impressive look at our blueline depth. The second way to look at this is.... Holmgren's only done this to himself. He's forced himself to sign a player like Gill at $700K from all the earlier years of overpaying players and distributing NMC/NTC's like they were acid tabs at a Grateful Dead concert. (Holmgren's Acid Tabs, awesome name for a band, btw) Either way, I judge this as an annoyance. We have immovable contracts on deck, and because of those, our management is forced to play a finite hand at this proverbial poker table. Let's just keep hoping our defense stays healthy. Please, God, stay healthy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murraycraven Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Th Cup is ours! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillygrump Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 At this point I'm just happy he didn't cost us a 2nd round pick. Man, Hal Gill is on this team. This defense is doomed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murraycraven Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 (edited) In one signing this defense became older AND s--l--o--w--e--r... never thought it was possible with this group but leave it to Homer... Edited October 1, 2013 by murraycraven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murraycraven Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 I retract my statement... I fell much better signing Gill to a one yr deal at the minumum in comparison the the 8 yr deal for Kessel.... SMH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brelic Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 We have the most expensive defense in the NHL, we have 8 on our roster, 10 with NHL contracts. And would anyone put the *performance* of our team defense any higher than 20th? Just look at those salaries: Timonen - $6M Streit - $5.25M Coburn - $4.5M Meszaros - $4M Schenn - $3.6M Grossman - $3.5M Gus - $1M Gill - $700K TOTAL - $28.5M Pronger - $4.9M Bourdon - $612.5K TOTAL including injured guys with NHL contracts - $34.1M The salary cap is $64M, so we have 45% of our cap tied up in our 6 starting defensemen. It's 53% when you include Pronger and Bourdon. And we can't exclude Pronger, because his salary will be an issue for the next 4 seasons that requires roster manipulation and puts us at a disadvantage in the summer when his full hit counts. Does anyone here think we're getting good value for money? EDIT; Just looked at Chicago's defense. There is no universe in which Streit should be getting paid like Duncan Keith. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canoli Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 yeah I did not like the Streit signing at all, rather work Gus into the lineup full-time. Streit is no Timonen but he's paid almost as much. on the upside the guy can keep his cool pretty well under pressure and our breakouts should be noticeably improved this year over last year. (of course "over last year" just about everything had better be greatly improved!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
off_the_post Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 I would have rather had huskins from what I saw last season. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsterix Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 I'm genuinly happy for Gill. I have learned to appreciate him as a player and as a leader during his stay with the Habs. Make sure you follow him on Twitter, he sometimes comes up with some funny tweets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilldoc Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 (edited) I have argued against Gill from the very beginning. Though this is a 1 yr deal only and is the bare minimum at 700K. I just don't get the fascination Homer has with this guy. He IS 35+ and slow. So how do the young guys get experience if Homer keeps signing older vets. ( I thought we were past that stage) On the bright side...he did not cost us a 2nd rounder and he has no NMC/NTC! EDIT: compliments of DGG pointing out to me how very dyslexic I am in typing! I can't even spell Gill! ( and I make the disclosure, I have had NO alcohol in my system.....YET!) Edited October 1, 2013 by pilldoc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaGreatGazoo Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 I have argued against Hill from the very beginning. Though this is a 1 yr deal only and is the bare minimum at 700K. I just don't get the fascination Homer has with this guy. He IS 35+ and slow. So how do the young guys get experience if Homer keeps signing older vets. ( I thought we were past that stage) On the bright side...he did not cost us a 2nd rounder and he has no NMC/NTC! The Flyers signed Al Hill? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilldoc Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 The Flyers signed Al Hill? LOL...been a long day! Stike #1 against me and the season hasn't even begun yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam1986 Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Homer is a joke! I know Snider is behind many ala Jerry Jones and Al Davis. So boys and I know Hexy is next GM but a full cleaning is needed. Outside coach who teaches d upgrades in many areas. As I always say a Flyers Fan for life! Go Flyers Go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radoran Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Worst case scenario: They rest Timo/Streit for "maintenance days" on occasion, play Gill as the 6th - or that injury forces him into the lineup Best case: Homer trades him for a less-than-$700K draft pick to a team looking for "veteran guile" For Gill, he's on the roster of a team that always tries to compete for the Stanley Cup. If things break "his way" (which,unfortunately, means injury to teammates) he gets playing time here. Or he gets dealt to a team that needs him to play immediately (a la Kent Huskins). To wit, I would rather have had Huskins or Lauridsen unless they manage to poach a pick for Gill, who likely has more value than a Huskins. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Quigster Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 On the Gill signing, I bet Kadri will be happy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimKerrFan12 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 I actually don't mind the signing. I figure Homer has a lot more hockey knowledge then I do. I find folks on here tend to blow some things out of proportion. Just my opinion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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