Flyers in contract discussions with Arron Asham

Just when you thought he was gone, the Flyers might be pulling him back in. According to John Boruk of CSN, the Flyers have entered contract talks with unrestricted free agent forward Arron Asham, who many thought was going to be an ex-Flyer after the team signed Jody Shelley on July 1st. While Asham made $640,000 last season with the Flyers, he's looking for a raise and has been in contact with several teams, including the Sharks, Kings and Coyotes.

That the Flyers are suddenly interested in bringing back Asham is somewhat curious. Given that the Flyers already signed Shelley for just over a million a season, he seemed like the logical choice to replace Asham's grit but not his skill. Well, as much skill as Asham provided with his 10 goals. What the discussions with Asham could signal, though, is that the Flyers have soured on the idea of bringing back restricted free agent Dan Carcillo, who filed for arbitration and is looking to make a million bucks next season. The Flyers might be thinking that if they are going to spend a million bucks, they might as well give it to Asham.

No matter how this shakes out, I can't see the Flyers carrying three "grit" forwards like Shelley, Carcillo and Asham; there simply isn't enough skill there to play them all. With Shelley already on the roster, that means the Flyers are going to choose between whatever arbitration brings with Carcillo or trying to convince Asham to spurn other suitors and come back to Philly. Of course, as they are making that choice, there is still that little matter of clearing some salary space. Things on the Simon Gagne trade front have been a little too quiet if you ask me.....

Flyers sign tough guy Jody Shelley

In their first head-scratching move of the day, the Flyers have signed forward Jody Shelley to a 3 year deal worth 1.1 million dollars per season. Shelley, a 9 year NHL veteran, is a physical player that loves to drop the gloves every chance he gets. He doesn't do anything offensively, having scored just 49 points in 538 career games with the Blue Jackets, Sharks and Rangers in his career.

Why the Flyers felt the need to add another tough guy to the mix and why they had to give him over a million dollars per year is beyond me. With no real skills besides being physical, Shelley doesn't bring enough to the table to be anything more than a 4th line player who gets just a few minutes of ice time per game.

With Shelley brought in, Arron Asham's days as a Flyer are over. Joining Asham on the list of former Flyers might be restricted free agent Dan Carcillo, who could be the odd man out with Shelley taking over as enforcer. Although Carcillo does have considerably more skill than Shelley, there simply might not be enough room on the team for another agitator.

The Flyers are now dangerously close to the cap and still need to sign at least two more forwards. Everything appears to be setting up for a trade to clear some cap space.

List of injured Flyers, now nine deep, continues to grow

Okay, now this is just beyond ridiculous. The injury bug that has hit the Flyers this season has gotten completely out of control and has now inflicted over a third of the roster. The fact that the Flyers are even in second place in the Atlantic Division is a testament to just how deep and talented this team really is.

On Monday, GM Paul Holmgren went through the litany of injuries that the Flyers are dealing with, outlining the NINE players that are currently banged up. The latest major injuries are to winger Joffrey Lupul and goaltender Antero Niittymaki. Lupul is dealing with an abdominal pull and Niitty has a pulled groin and both players have been placed on Injured Reserve. Both figure to be out for about two weeks.

Adding to those latest injuries is news that Claude Giroux, Arron Asham, Josh Gratton, Darroll Powe and Jonathon Kalinski are all out with injuries. Giroux has a concussion and is day to day. Asham is dealing with a knee sprain but figures to return soon. Out with an abdominal injury is Gratton while Powe is dealing with a hip injury. Finally, Kalinski will be out the longest of this group as he was in the hospital getting blood drained from his left thigh. Look for him to be back in a week or so.

On top of all of these injuries, star players Simon Gagne and Danny Briere are still dealing with their own health issues. Gagne figures to try to play through the pain of his left shoulder but Briere will remain out for at least another week as he continues to recover from his groin injury.

All of these injuries leave the Flyers seriously thin at forward. With 7(!!) forwards likely out for the next game, several defensemen will continue to be forced to play offense. While the Flyers have called up Andreas Nodl to fill one of the forward spots and Simon Gagne will attempt to suit up, that still leaves three vacated forward spots. Luca Sbisa and Lasse Kukkonen are two likely candidates to move to the forward positions but the club is still one forward short. Goaltender Scott Munroe was called up from the Phantoms to replace Niittymaki in net so perhaps he could try his hand on the wings.

I have never before seen a hockey team have this many injuries. Luckily for the Flyers, key players like Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Mike Knuble are still healthy along with their entire defensive unit. There is enough talent in this group to keep the team afloat for the next few weeks but it will be difficult for them to remain atop the Atlantic Division.

The best thing for the Flyers right now will be to finish up this road trip and head home and start healing up. None of these players are expected to be out for the entire season so the team should be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Let's hope that light isn't a train that will run into the rest of the players and knock them all out with injuries.

Arron Asham signed by the Flyers

Arron Asham, a 205 pound tough guy who played for the New Jersey Devils last season, signed a one year contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. As of now, the Flyers have not announced the value of the contract, but it will push the Flyers even further over the salary cap. Asham did earn 700,000 last season, so he likely signed for somewhere close to a million dollars.

Asham is your typical agitator, doing whatever it takes to get under the opponents skin. He is the type of guy everyone hates unless he is playing for your team. He is not a strong offensive player, scoring a total of 135 points in 498 career games in the NHL. Asham started his career with the Canadiens and has since played with the Islanders and the Devils.

I question this move by the Flyers because it seems a bit redundant. The Flyers just re-signed Riley Cote to a three year deal and then they decide to bring in yet another tough guy? Is there really room in the new NHL for a team to carry two agitators? I also wonder how well Cote and Asham will get along, considering they have been in a few scraps in the past:



*Update: Asham actually signed a two year deal with the Flyers, worth 640,000 per year. Seems about right.