Obviously comfortable with their roster, the Flyers were mostly spectators during today's NHL Trade Deadline, making just one minor deal. While fans expecting a big addition were disappointed, with their recent additions of Kris Versteeg and Nick Boynton, the Flyers already had taken care of their need for depth so there really wasn't much else the team needed to do.
The one player they did acquire was LW Tom Sestito, who was brought over from Columbus for fellow minor leaguers Greg Moore and Michael Chaput. While he is huge (6 foot 5, 209 pounds), Sestito is nothing more than minor league depth and doesn't figure to get any playing time with the Flyers this season unless there are a bad string of injuries. Sestito, who has already been assigned to the Phantoms, is known as a physical player who likes to mix it up but doesn't have much skill, so he sounds like a perfect future 4th wing Flyer.
While the Flyers left around 2 million dollars of cap space on the table, they should be commended for not shaking up the team just to make a deal. With most of their minor league assets and draft picks already shipped out in other trades, if the Flyers wanted to get something done, they likely would have had to move someone from the NHL roster. Not wanting to upset the chemistry of the best team in the Eastern Conference, Paul Holmgren wisely chose to stand pat. With their big move to get Versteeg a few weeks back, the Flyers are banking on already having all the pieces in place to make a deep run into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
I gotta say, as a lifelong Vancouver native and Canucks fan who's also been raised with a dad who's taught him to love the Flyers... I've never been so excited for a Cup as I am this year.
ReplyDeleteIt'll be a war.
The Canucks and Flyers certainly are the favorites...but anyone who watched the playoffs last year knows that it's a long road to the Finals. Should Vancouver and Philly get there, though, you're right, it's going to be one hell of a series!
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