The framework of the rumored deal that has the Flyers sending winger James van Riemsdyk to the Toronto Maple Leafs for physical defenseman Luke Schenn, makes financial and positional sense for each team.
But solid theory is about where that rumor stalls.
According to TSN’s connected trade-breaker, Darren Dreger, the Flyers and Leafs have had conversations involving a move and that Leafs general manager Brian Burke deeply covets van Riemsdyk for his size and potential.
Filed under 2009-10 season
Rumors, speculation and amateur attempts at general managing have become a staple of every NHL offseason. While ideas become somewhat intriguing during a summer of disappointment and vacant of real news, rumor mongering is typically unreliable and in some cases, annoying.
So when the scuttlebutt broke from Twitter on Monday night that New York-based news hound Incarcerated Bobclaimed the Toronto Maple Leafs and Flyers are in “serious discussions involving Jeff Carter,” there was a spark of curiosity and rightfully very few true believers. Just another Carter trade rumor.
However, there is one overlooked nugget in Bob’s proposed deal that is hard to ignore. The formula actually makes sense.
Filed under 2011 offseason
VOORHEES, N.J. — To put it softly, Kris Versteeg’s short time in Philadelphia could have gone better. However, there may have been a reason behind the gritty forward’s lack of tenacity late in season and in the playoffs.
Philly Sports Daily learned on Monday that Versteeg will undergo surgery on his abdominal area during the offseason. The injury is suspected to be a sports hernia.
“I’m going to get the body fixed up right now,” he said, “do the surgery, recover and get ready for next season.”
Filed under 2010-11 Playoffs
According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie on Monday, the Flyers have traded a 2011 first and third-round pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs for forward Kris Versteeg.
Considered a solid two-way forward, Versteeg, who has 14 goals and 21 assists in 53 games this season with Toronto, gives the Flyers’ already deep lineup even more potency. The Alberta-native will likely take the place of Nik Zherdev or Andreas Nodl as a top-nine winger. With little cap space and next to no young talent coming through the prospect pipeline, this move solidifies the Flyers’ intention of going boom or bust to bring home the Stanley Cup in 2011.
Filed under 2009-10 season
The Flyers have officially released their 2010-11 preseason schedule.
After opening training camp at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, N.J. on Sept. 17, the Flyers will play eight preseason games starting at home against the New Jersey Devils on Sept. 21 at the Wells Fargo Centre.
Filed under 2009-10 season
In last night’s 4-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in London, Ontario, the Flyers chased the puck and achieved very little offensively. This, matched with Tuesday’s lifeless 3-1 loss to Detroit, has some of the Flyers’ brass unnerved.
“I think (Toronto) outworked us to be quite honest with you and that’s somewhat disturbing from a Flyers’ standpoint,” Flyers’ General Manager Paul Holmgren told the Fan 590 in Toronto. “Obviously (Toronto) has a lot of guys fighting for a spot and they had a lot of fight and spirit last night.”
Filed under 2009-10 season, preseason
After a 3-1 loss to Detroit at Joe Louis Arena on Wednesday, the Flyers bused to London, Ontario to take the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. The sold out game will be shown on the NHL network, however the Maple Leafs are holding back most of their tough guys, while the Flyers sit Chris Pronger, Scott Hartnell, Simon Gagne and Ray Emery. Other Flyers’ scratches will be declared at game time.
Filed under preseason
For the past five years, the Flyers have hosted a special preseason game at the Comcast-Spectacor owned John Labatt Centre in London, ON. But they have never seen a draw like this.
“They were gone within minutes,” said Brian Green, a JLC box office manager. “Six people had to be turned away.”
Out of the 8,000 available seats for the Sept. 17 contest against the Maple Leafs, 4,000 were for sale. And people from the surrounding area lined up by the hundreds to get their hands on them.
London, located about two hours south-west of Toronto, has a hotbed of Leaf and general hockey fans. The town also includes one of the more popular Canadian Junior teams, the London Knights.
“Whenever it’s any Canadian team, tickets do go very quickly,” Green said.
And they said a second team wouldn’t work in Ontario.
Filed under 2009-10 season, preseason
Unlike the bad luck Flyers in 2007, the New York Islanders were the worst team in the NHL and justifiably received the first overall selection in the 2009 NHL entry draft. The lottery selection went into action Tuesday at Scotiabank place in Ottawa.
The Islanders were followed by the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Colorado Avalanche, for number two and three. New York is expected to take hyped up forward John Tavares, but knowing Islanders’ General Manager Garth Snow, trading down is always an option. One team very interested in moving up to get Tavares is Toronto, which holds the seventh pick.
“We’ll immediately attempt to move up,” said Leafs’ General Manager Brian Burke. in published reports. “We’re going to talk to everyone between us and the first pick and see what the landscape is.”
The rumor is that anyone on the Leafs’ roster besides defenseman Luke Schenn is on the table.
“No player is untradeable,” said Burke. “Wayne Gretzky got traded.”
If Toronto can’t move up to grab Tavares, it is very possible they will go after forward Brayden Schenn, the scrappy little brother of Luke. Brayden is considered a possible top-5 pick.
But no matter how the draft plays out, one thing is for sure — the Isles will be getting better.
A entire list is as follows…
| 1 | New York Islanders | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Tampa Bay Lightning | ||
| 3 | Colorado Avalanche | ||
| 4 | Atlanta Thrashers | ||
| 5 | Los Angeles Kings | ||
| 6 | Phoenix Coyotes | ||
| 7 | Toronto Maple Leafs | ||
| 8 | Dallas Stars | ||
| 9 | Ottawa Senators | ||
| 10 | Edmonton Oilers | ||
| 11 | Nashville Predators | ||
| 12 | Minnesota Wild | ||
| 13 | Buffalo Sabres | ||
| 14 | Florida Panthers |
Filed under Prospects, Stanley Cup Playoffs
Phila.Bright 