Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Flyers bring back Brian Boucher as backup

Brian Boucher is back! The goaltender, who played for the Flyers from 1999 to 2002, signed a 2 year contract with the Flyers worth 1.85 million dollars. Boucher, who has also played for the Coyotes, Flames, Blackhawks, Blue Jackets and Sharks, will backup Ray Emery in net. He played for the Sharks last season, posting a 2.18 goals against average and a .917 save percentage in 22 games.

Boucher is best known in Philly for the being the goaltender when the Flyers made a deep run in the playoffs back in 2000. He should excel as a back-up, although I would be worried if he has to play more than 25 games or so. Should something happen to Emery, like an injury or a mental breakdown, Boucher isn't the answer for the Flyers in net.

The Flyers have now completely overhauled their goaltending situation, replacing Martin Biron and Antero Niittymaki with Emery and Boucher. It's hard to say that the new goalies are actually better than Biron and Niitty, but they certainly come at the right price. The Flyers really need to figure out their long-term situation in net, going year-to-year with cheap veterans isn't a plan that wins Stanley Cups.

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