More Flyers Trade Rumors

Supposedly, the Flyers are close to pulling off a huge deal involving a major player(s) that would clear much cap space.  It could happen as early as tomorrow.  Speculation will be that it involves Danny Briere, who is being shopped but from what I’ve heard, don’t rule out that it could involve Joffrey Lupul, Scott Hartnell, Randy Jones, or even – brace yourselves – Jeff Carter.

Some have debunked the previously posted rumor of a trade sending Briere to L.A. with the Flyers getting the Kings first round pick in this year’s draft.  The question is why would the Kings want Briere and his huge contract. You could ask that question about any team that would entertain the possibility of trading for Briere.  Consider that the rumored trade would also land Dany Heatley in L.A.  Briere and Heatley have played on the same line in international competition with great results.  Considering that, it might be worth it to the Kings to take a chance on Briere.

Other rumors have Briere going to Toronto with the first round pick for defenseman Thomas Kaberle and the Leafs third rounder.  I like Kaberle, but no way I would do that.  There’s also a three-team rumor with Briere going to Florida, the Flyers getting Kaberle and Toronto’s second rounder and the Leafs getting Florida’s Nathan Horton and the Flyers first rounder.

Trade Rumors: Briere is being Shopped; Ottawa’s Heatley to L.A.?

With a couple of weeks until the NHL Entry Draft on June 26-27, the trade rumors should become more plentiful as the draft gets closer.  The Flyers are obviously trying to shed some salary in the hope of signing or acquiring a free-agent defenseman or two.  They are supposedly very interested in Florida’s Jay Bouwmeester (they almost acquired him at the March trade deadline) and Montreal’s Mike Komisarek has also been mentioned as a possibility.  The Flyers signed goalie Ray Emery instead of re-signing Marty Biron, saving about $3 million.  However, to afford someone like Bouwmeester, they’re going to have to dump more salary. 

The obvious cause of much of the Flyers salary cap woes is the heavy contract of center Danny Briere.  At $6.5 million per season, the Flyers just are not getting the value in return. He was injured for most of the season, did nothing in the playoffs, and his small stature makes you wonder if he can hold up physically over the length of his current contract.  The Flyers had talked to Montreal about Briere, but the latest is that they are no longer interested.  It may be tough to trade him since he has a no-trade clause and the huge contract.

They very latest rumblings are intriguing.  Ottawa’s Dany Heatley has requested a trade.  It looks like there may be a three-team or perhaps four-team trade in the works right now (with the Flyers being the fourth team).  In this scenario, Heatley would be traded to Los Angeles for their first round pick (#5 overall) in this year’s draft. The Flyers would trade Briere to Tampa Bay for Vinny Lecavalier and then immediately trade Lecavalier and perhaps a player off their roster  to Ottawa for the Los Angeles pick.  Tampa would immediately trade Briere to L.A. for defenseman Jack Johnson and perhaps a prospect  and would also receive picks from Ottawa.  (Again, this is contingent on Briere agreeing to go to the Kings).

I think it would be a good move for the Flyers to dump Briere and his huge salary for the #5 pick overall.  This would really give them some space under the cap, they’re already loaded with forwards, and they could use the pick for a very good young player.  In the meantime, they would have money to make a good free agent signing or two.  It should be interesting to see if or how this plays out over the next couple of weeks.

Camp Opens Today

The Flyers open training camp for the much-anticipated 2008-09 season today at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, New Jersey.  Now the off-season moves are pretty much completed and the evaluation begins.  Many fans were disappointed with the lack of a big-name signing over the summer, but salary cap constraints only allowed for a few lesser known names to be added to the roster.  The departure of forward RJ Umberger, also the result of salary cap issues, also was disappointing and this blossoming player will be missed.

Let’s take a look at some of the more significant stories as training camp gets underway:

1. Mike Richards is named Captain. Looks like it’s time for the young forward to take the next step to a leadership position.  The other option was defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who also provides good leadership and was captain in Nashville, but Richards definitely represents the future of the club and it makes sense for him to take on the official designation of team leader.  This will become Richards’ team.

2. Who will be the Top 6 on Defense? With Derian Hatcher placed on injured reserve, Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn, and Randy Jones are the automatic top three.  Ryan Parent, who played well during the Flyers’ playoff run, could step into the top 4 spot with a good camp.  That would leave five players to compete for the last two regular spots: Lasse Kukkonen, new acquisitions Steve Eminger, Ossi Vaananen, Danny Syvret, and veteran Bryan Berard, who was recently signed to a tryout contract.  How well Eminger, Vaananen, and Syvret play and whether Berard can still produce will determine how strong the Flyers’ defense will be this season.  They need to improve greatly in this area and cut down on the number of shots allowed per game.  They just cannot regularly give up 35 or 40 shots per game like last season and expect to improve their point total.

3. Another center moves to the wing. How many times have the Flyers moved a center to the wing?  Seems like this has happened often and not always with good results.  The latest experiment is moving Danny Briere from center to wing with Mike Richards centering him and Simon Gagne.  I like Briere at center (his natural position) because of his size.  I’d hate to see him get banged up along the boards, but the Flyers expect some chemistry with this combination. 

4. Will Gagne return to form? After missing most of last season with a concussion, will Gagne return to the 40 goal-scorer or will he be unable to regain his scoring touch? Will he be overly susceptible to concussions and be knocked out of the lineup again?  The solid return of Gagne is essential if the Flyers are to improve.

5. Consistency! The Flyers must develop into a team that plays consistently well over the course of the season.  Too many ups and downs last year, with a horrid ten game losing streak that almost cost them a playoff appearance. Were they playing over their heads in the first two playoff rounds or is that the team that we can expect to see this season?  50 wins could be an achievable goal if some of the question marks pan out but only if coach John Stevens can get them to play at a consistent level throughout the season.

6. Will Giroux make the team and produce? Claude Giroux, who tore up the QMJHL playoffs last spring, is expected to make the team this season.  He has great goal scoring ability and wonderful potential for the Flyers.  Will he be able to produce at the NHL level? This is another piece that the Flyers will need to jump to the next level.

That’s a fair amount of uncertainty heading into camp but should make for an interesting pre-season and early regular season in Philadelphia.