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Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Jul 10, 2007
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Both Richards and Carter did step it up this season. They will be a top (5) 1-2 punch at center in the NHL for the next 7-10 years. The Flyers need to dump the salaries of some aging players. Smith, Dowd, Modry, and Prospal are all unrestricted free agents and will not be retained by the Flyers. Carter and Jones are locks to be resigned as restricted free agents. Umberger is iffy. I like Umberger but I fear the Flyers will not offer enough for him to stay. I say the Flyers make a legitimate offer and let him walk when some team makes a crazy offer. The Flyers would recieve draft picks as compensation. The Flyers need to move Hatcher (3.5mil) and Knuble (2.9mil) before they can even dream of signing Brian Campbell. Gagne should be given the benefit of the doubt during training camp. If he is able to play next season this team will be awesome. If not, they will have cap space to make a move similar to the Prospal move this season. If they trade him for scraps (due to his injury) and he goes to another team and plays like 2005-2007 Gagne the Flyers will look foolish. I also would like to see an upgrade in goal. I love Biron but I do not feel he is an elite goalie. He needs to have a dominant team around him to be successful most of the time. He was fantastic against the Habs and still gave up a bunch of goals. We will see what happens in the next few months though.
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Reputation:99
Level:Superstar
Since:Sep 5, 2006
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the problem is carter and richards came into the draft with a ton of hype. yes, you are right that only a handful of players can score over 40 goals. why ? has everyone gotten soft? can no one score anymore? is the defensive trap and goalies that tough to say "30 goals is ok now for a forward to score" ??? i say NO!
If Gagne is deemed healthy and can take it hit - then by all means keep him. he's under contract. BUT - if he gets hit 1 time and then is out for a prolonged period - i say trade him asap! don't allow him to get hit and be on the shelf on and off for over a yr like lindros and premeiu!
i am 50-50 on all the other moves mentioned. i don't care either way. just don't give someone 5+ mil if they can't score! and 20 goals is not enough - so now you know who i mean!
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Reputation:95
Level:Superstar
Since:Jul 14, 2007
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Unfortunately mickel, i heard John Stevens on 610 today and he said they found their number one goalie during the playoffs in Marty. I do think Carter has the potential to put up between 40 and 50, remember he hit 29 while playing poorly for two thirds of the season. His shot is also Lightning quick, so i think he will break out completely next year. As for Richards, he is an amazing leader who plays two way hockey and fights for 60 minutes every game. He came out of nowhere to become an all-star and one of the more feared players in the league that teams actually have to game plan for. He's not the flashiest and may never get huge goal amounts, but his assist totals should be very high and he only has room to improve at age 23, just like Carter at 23.
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Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Jul 10, 2007
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I agree Richards and Carter will only get better. 5mil for either one of those guys is a bargain starting next season. I would not mind seeing Hartnell get moved to save money but then I feel the forwards would be to soft. Hartnell is a big guy. Something I feel we lack a little at forward. Upshall, Downie, Kapanen, Thoresen, Briere, and even Richards are small physically. I liked the Caps fourth line. They punished the Flyers cause they were big. I would like the fourth line to be a little more imposing but still have some skill. I also heard yesterday on COmcast Philly that Umberger has the choice to go to arbitration. This might help the Flyers because the arbitrator will decide how much money he makes if he decides to go this route. That will give the Flyers another year to evaluate if he is someone they want to keep.
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Reputation:91
Level:All-Star
Since:Mar 19, 2008
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After signing Carter and possibly Umberger, I don't they will have enough money to sign Brian Campell. It would be nice but I don't think the cap room will be there. I think they should look at Wade Redden, he's a FA and on his way with the Senators. He's a smart player and can move the puck with skill. Would be nice to see him on the blue line next year. I think Hatcher is going to retire. He was having his knee drained of fluid daily this postseason. The same goes with Jason Smith. He played with two seperated shoulders this playoffs. Both those guys are warriors but I think time has caught up to them.
Claude Giroux will more than likely be playing on this team next year. It's hard to ignore his point total this season in juniors and more importantly in the playoffs. JVR (because I don't want to spell his last name) has opted to go back to University of New Hampshire next season. He was a couple years away anyway so it's good that he'll be playing competitve hockey this upcoming season.
It will be interesting to see how Simon Gagne comes back. If he's is back to his 40 goal form it will be a breath of fresh air (and wins) that could stop this team from having 10 game losing skids that almost ruined their season. Yes - Scott Hartnell is overpaid for sure but I don't see them moving him anywhere.
I know Stevens has said that Marty will be their goalie come fall but they need to start looking around for better options in the future. Biron played great this postseason but his contract ends after next year. What if he goes back to being the average goalie we know? (I likely outcome) What do you do then?
All that being said, Homer has some work cut out for himself. First thing first -- SIGN CARTER NOW.
Go Flyboys.
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Reputation:98
Level:Superstar
Since:Sep 4, 2006
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I do really like Umberger, but if his signing prevents us from having the cap room to improve the defense then I say let him go. I'll admit that Brian Campbell is just a name to me, I haven't really seen enough of him to say that we need him here, but if he's the guy then bring him to Philly. We all saw how much you lose when one of your top defensemen goes down, much less two of them, so depth and talent on the blue line has to be a priority. Umberger brings a lot but I think it's easier to replace what a second/third line winger gives you than it is to find a top quality defenseman.
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Reputation:98
Level:Superstar
Since:Aug 19, 2006
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Here's my take on what they do in the off season...
First off, I see the chances of them signing Brian Campbell as VERY SLIM. I just do not see them having the money to sign him after securing Carter, Jones, & maybe Umberger. Who I do see them possibly going after is the UFA John-Michael Liles from Colorado. He made 1.5 last year and will get about 2-2.5 this year as opposed to Campbell's 6-7.
We're losing Smith's contract of 2 mil and I would not be surprised at all to see Hatcher and Kapanen retiring, so that would be roughly another 5 mil freed up. Figure that would account for Carter's raise. Jones should get about 1-1.25. Umberger is the wildcard here. Someone needs to help me with this, but I think we also had 3.1 of Primeau's contract on the books plus another mil for the players bought out.
I'd say if someone gives him a ridiculous contract, let him go and get the picks. This could actually be the scenario for Jeff Carter as well if he's not resigned before 7/1. I heard that there are A LOT of teams looking at signing him, for BIG money. I'd hate to see him go, but you might be able to sign another ufa centerman for a year or two until Van Reimsdyk is ready to play. Heard that he's going back to UNH for another year, which I think is a great move.
Figure right now, your list of forwards and defensemen are:
FORWARDS for sure: Richards, Briere, Gagne,Hartnell (I like this guy and expect big things from him next year!), Knuble, Lupul, Upshaw, Giroux, Downie, Thoresen, Cote, and the iffy's Carter, Umberger, & Dowd.
DEFENSEMEN: Timonen, Coburn, Kukkonen, Parent, Jones. The last few spots could be between Hatcher, Liles (if they can sign him), Rathje (HAHAHA!), and I see an outside chance that Oskars Bartulis making the team as the 7th D-man.
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Reputation:72
Level:Pro
Since:May 19, 2008
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Here's an off-season decision for Flyers management. How about you bring back Ben Eager????????????? I'd really enjoy seeing Gary Roberts kick the CRAP out of him again and again!!!!! GO PENS ! WWGRD?
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Reputation:83
Level:All-Star
Since:Feb 15, 2008
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