Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Let the speculation begin: Marty Turco to the Flyers?

Let's make a deal! The Dallas Stars acquired Kari Lehtonen on Tuesday night, meaning they are likely going to trade former starting goaltender Marty Turco. The Flyers, on the other hand, are unsure as to when Ray Emery will be able to return to the ice and could conceivably look to trade for a goalie to take his place. Seems like we have perfect trading partners in the Stars and Flyers, right?

Wrong. Despite the rumors you might be hearing, Turco coming to the Flyers is purely speculation by the media at this point, mostly because it doesn't make any sense. Sure, if Emery is out for the rest of the season, the Flyers might look around for another goaltender, but they already have Michael Leighton doing a pretty solid job in net. Plus, adding Turco and his mammoth salary (5.7 million) to the roster simply doesn't work unless the Flyers trade Danny Briere or Scott Hartnell, two players who have no-trade clauses. Trading Jeff Carter would also work but if the Flyers were unwilling to part with Carter to get a stud like Ilya Kovalchuk, they won't move him to get an old goalie.

Would I like to see the Flyers trade Briere or Hartnell for Turco? Of course, getting rid of either salary would be a great move for the cap-strapped Flyers and getting a quality goalie in return would be a bonus. Will it happen? Nope. Just like the Ilya Kovalchuk rumors from last week, these rumors are completely baseless. The Flyers simply can't afford to add anyone with that kind of salary at this time.

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