Bill Guerin working out with Flyers, hopes for tryout offer

Just when you thought the Flyers roster was set, we might have a late addition to the team: veteran Bill Guerin is working out in Philly and it sounds like he's hoping to get a tryout invite to training camp. Guerin, an 18 year veteran who has played for 8 teams in the NHL, put up decent numbers playing with Sidney Crosby on the Penguins last year, including 21 goals and 24 assists. The Penguins let him go, however, so the 39 year old Guerin is now hoping to stick on with the Flyers.

Whether the Flyers have room for him is another question. Sure, a veteran presence like Guerin would be nice to have in the locker room, but if he is signed by the Flyers, it will have to be at the expense of someone on their roster, likely Dan Carcillo. While there would be no harm in giving Guerin a training camp invite, the Flyers will have to figure out if Guerin has enough left in the tank to be a quality third line winger before they sign him to a contract. Given his age, one would think that Guerin is too old but when you see someone like Mark Recchi still producing at age 42, you can't assume that he's too old to contribute.

Signing Guerin would be a solid move if he proves himself in training camp. Adding a veteran, Cup-winning presence to the mix is always a good thing as long as he can be a solid contributor on the ice. As long as Guerin signs for a reasonable contract, if he can out-perform Dan Carcillo, he deserves a roster spot on the Flyers.

Flyers sign Dan Carcillo to one year contract

Being over the salary cap isn't stopping the Flyers from signing players: restricted free agent Dan Carcillo has signed a one year contract worth 1.075 million to remain with the team. Agreeing to a contract at this time means that the Flyers have avoided arbitration with Carcillo. This contract is a small raise from the near 900,000 Carcillo made last year and will make him a restricted free agent again after next season.

The Flyers are now about 2.5 million dollars above the cap and they still have to sign restricted free agent Darroll Powe. There has been very little talk of on the Simon Gagne trade front, which could mean something is imminent or it could mean that nothing is going on. Moving Gagne's 5.25 million dollar salary would give the Flyers about 2 million dollars after signing Powe to add one more piece to the team.

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.....

Carcillo files for salary arbitration

With the Flyers less than a million dollars away from the salary cap and still needing to sign another forward or two, they are going to have to get creative as they fill out the remainder of their roster. With the team still intending to sign restricted free agents Darroll Powe and Daniel Carcillo, the Flyers are going to have to move some salary off the books to make room.

Carcillo, who made $937,500 last year, has filed for salary arbitration. After having one of the more productive offensive seasons of his career, you can bet Carcillo will be looking for a bit of a raise. Seeing as the Flyers gave Jody Shelley over a million bucks, Carcillo has a good case for making at least that much. Arbitration hearings are held from July 20th to August 4th. The Flyers will likely be talking with Carcillo up until that point in an effort to avoid arbitration.

Darroll Powe has not filed for arbitration but I would expect him to get a contract offer somewhere slightly above the $520,000 he made last year.

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.

Carcillo (!?) wins Game 3 in overtime for Flyers

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The NHL playoffs are all about unlikely heroes. If you want to make a deep run in the playoffs, you need your role players to step up and make big plays and score huge goals. Sure, you have the stars on the ice to put your team in a position to win but, more often then not, it's a third or fourth line forward that comes through in the clutch.

Enter Dan Carcillo, Flyers pest. Despite playing just over 7 minutes in Game 3 against the Devils, Carcillo found time to pick up a penalty, take a dive, log an assist and, oh yeah, net the game winning goal 3 minutes into overtime. With the game tied at 2 in the extra period, the Flyers took advantage of a penalty drawn by Claude Giroux to set up for a rare overtime power play. As the power play wore off, Mike Richards fired a shot from the side of the net that Carcillo eventually slammed home to give the Flyers a 2-1 series lead.

After the two teams traded goals in the first two periods, the Flyers outplayed the Devils in the third, coming up with chance after chance as they outshot New Jersey 12-3 in the period. Only the sparkling play of Martin Brodeur in net kept the Devils from losing in regulation as he turned aside every seemingly perfect chance the Flyers set up. The rest of the Devils never stepped up, however, as they failed to generate any kind of offense to support the great game they got from their goaltender.

The officials should be under some serious scrutiny after the way they called Game 3. The players weren't allowed to play at all as the refs called every last possible infraction in the book, causing a parade of Flyers and Devils to go to the box all game long. The 30 minutes of penalties called by the officials led to an inordinate number of power plays for each team, with the Devils capitalizing on 2 of their 8 PP's and the Flyers scoring on 1 of their 5 PP's. I'm all for the refs calling a fair game but, come on, this is the playoffs! The refs shouldn't be the ones dictating how the game is played, it should be the players. As this series gets longer, things are only going to get rougher as the players get more annoyed with one another; if the refs continue to call every minor action there won't be any players left on the ice.

The Flyers continue to prove they are the better team in this series. Offensively, the Devils don't have any punch unless they have an extra attacker on the ice. Defensively, Jersey has been forced to rely on Brodeur to bail them out time and again. Just about the only thing that could hold the Flyers back from moving on to the next round is themselves. All complaints about the officials aside, if Philly doesn't adjust how they play to match how the refs are calling the game, they are going to penalize themselves right out of the playoffs. Of course, if they keep getting big plays from guys like Dan Carcillo, there isn't a team in the league that can slow them down.

Guest Post: a frustrated Flyers fan gets a few things off his chest

Guest Poster Mark Trible has had enough. Here are his thoughts on the frustrating Flyers:

"It's frustrating and it has to change."

Above are the words of Flyers captain Mike Richards, and I can’t say that I don’t agree. I also can’t say that Flyers fans across the globe haven’t repeated the same sentiments frequently in the last 365 days. What we as a fan base are facing is Groundhog Day, only around 300 miles southeast of Punxsutawney. This is a reoccurring theme, going hand in hand with the repetition of quotes from El Capitan. At what point do we say we’ve had enough? Well, I’ve had enough. Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t had enough to cut ties with the team (I’m a glutton for punishment), but I’ve had enough to write a blog post! I still hold some belief in this team, and hell, I may even believe they can win a playoff series. However, playoff series’ aren’t going to cut it in Philadelphia unless three or four are won. Without further adieu, here are the things that I am absolutely tired of watching night in, and night out…

Lack of a collective heartbeat: The Flyers only have the identification of a ‘team’ because they all wear the same color sweaters. While it is true that there are leaders on the team (most notably Kimmo and Prongs), it seems as if the boys in orange are never on the same page. Point the finger at Lavy, Richie, or whoever else you feel is the problem. All I know is that finding the heart and soul of this team is as easy as finding which way John Stevens is looking.

Continuous effort on the offensive end: I don’t buy into the idea that the Flyers don’t have talent on the offensive side of the ice. In fact, I think the team is extremely talented. However, when talent and effort don’t meet somewhere in the middle, there is little success to be had. Richie isn’t the most outstanding offensive forward in the game, but he gives you all he’s got. Gagne, JVR and even CARCILLO exert a ton of energy on their shifts and skate hard, dump hard, chase hard, crash the net hard. As joyful as I would be to express nothing but satisfaction with these three there are problems with each one. Gagne is old, JVR is young, and Carcillo isn’t very talented. With that being the case, players like Hartnell and Briere have no more excuses to use. I’m sick of them. I’m sick of Hartnell falling down every time he attempts to mount a scoring chance, I’m sick of Briere going to the box every game for high-sticking and hooking. Most of all, I’m sick of having those two erratic forwards on the same line. Can anyone explain why Hartnell should be on a better line than JVR? I sure as hell can’t. Although I didn’t mention Powe, Asham, Lappy and Betts (due in large part to their lack of offensive ability), at least they do their jobs and show the same type of continuous effort night in and night out.

Braydon Coburn: Mr. Turnstile himself. With the current goaltending situation (or lack thereof), our defense has to be excellent. Coburn is about as excellent as Ovechkin is clean. Clean looks at the goal because Braydon is searching for his jock at the blue line are unacceptable and continue to occur night in and night out. I’ve got news for fellow Flyers fans, Boucher isn’t stealing the team any games anytime soon. He can be consistent and good enough for the team to win, but the defense has to protect him as much as possible.

Lack of passion: Effort and passion is not the same thing. But one certainly is the antecedent to the other. When I watched the Atlanta game on Sunday and the Ottawa game the other night, I saw a bunch of individuals who looked ready for summer vacation. I didn’t see hunger. I didn’t see the will to be the best. I didn’t see a team that is attempting to rectify the choke of last year’s stretch run. I saw no spark. Going through the motions is understandable in November. But in March? Not so much.

Lack of ACCOUNTABILITY: I know much has been made of this matter in reference to ‘oh captain our captain’, but there is more than enough to go around. After every game, we hear the same questions asked to the players, and the same responses are given. “Well, we need to show more urgency.” Or “We can’t be complacent with where we are, a lot of teams are hungry and clawing for the playoffs.” Insert whatever other clichés you’ve heard over course of the season. Why doesn’t anyone say, “It is MY responsibility to get this thing going.”? After the Ottawa game, Prongs said his piece about how the team needs to win games down the stretch, Richie said “It’s frustrating when guys aren’t playing their hardest”, Carcillo blamed the refs, Boosh blamed the refs, Lavy blamed the refs. GROW UP. Someone raise their hand and take some freaking accountability! The referees aren’t going to right this ship. It’s up to the bodies in the locker room. Take some initiative damn it!

Where do we go from here Flyers fans? I’m not sure, but I know I’m not going anywhere. The team can play like bums again tonight against the Wild (pick a name with an s on the end would ya?), and they’ll still be my bums. Things have been bad lately but it’s not too late to turn it around for a playoff run, and that’s what I’m hoping. Although, unless the previously mentioned problems aren’t fixed, look forward to an early offseason….full of watching Sidney Crosby highlights.

Follow Mark on Twitter (@Mtrible) for more great Flyers and Eagles thoughts.

Flyers pound Rangers on scoreboard, with fists

(Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)

Sure, I could spend plenty of time analyzing why the Flyers beat the Rangers, 2-0, in a game that they dominated throughout, but why would you want to read that when you can watch the Flyers pummel the Rangers in two of the fights from the game.

First, Dan Carcillo crushed Marian Gaborik:

Then, Scott Hartnell beat down Sean Avery:

The Carcillo/Gaborik fight caused plenty of whining from Rangers fans, players, coaches and media as they blamed Carcillo for attacking Gaborik, a known non-fighter in the NHL. Watching the clip, however, it's obvious that Gaborik was the aggressor and dropped the gloves first, and once you drop the gloves, the fight is on and if you get beat up, that's too bad. The Rangers have gone as far to say they want revenge on Carcillo next time the two teams meet up. I'm sure Carcillo and the Flyers will be ready.

As for the game itself, the most notable thing that happened was Ray Emery looking sharp for the first time since returning from injury. Emery notched his second shutout of the season and looks like he is ready to completely take over the number one goalie spot from Michael Leighton. Having Emery returning to form would really help the Flyers as they continue to inch towards a playoff spot.

Penguins, Fleury push Flyers to the brink of elimination

(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

The NHL playoffs are all about goaltending. The team that has the hottest goaltender always wins, no matter how well the other teams plays. Such was the case tonight as the Flyers completely outplayed the Penguins, yet lost 3-1 because Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stood on his head all night. The loss pushes the Flyers to a 3-1 series hole and puts them in a near impossible uphill climb.

The Flyers out shot the Penguins 46-26 and had 8 power play chances but just couldn't get anything past Fleury. After a scoreless first period, Pittsburgh scored two goals (one of them a very questionable goal by Sidney Crosby) in the second and then sat back and let the Flyers attack. The Flyers were finally able to solve Fleury midway through the third period when Dan Carcillo notched a rare goal which brought the fans out of their seats for the remainder of the game. The Flyers had chance after chance as time ticked away but couldn't get anything past Fleury and eventually gave up an empty net goal that iced the game.

This loss likely signals the end of the Flyers season. There is little chance the Flyers can win three straight games against a Penguins team that is so evenly matched with Philly. On top of that, two of the last three games are in Pittsburgh, so the Flyers are basically toast. It will be a disappointing quick exit out of the playoffs for the Flyers, especially after the run they made last season. I will write more later in the offseason about what changes the Flyers should make, but it's clear that they need to do something to shake up this inconsistent group.

For today, however, tip your cap to Marc-Andre Fleury. As much as we all hate him, he had a tremendous game for the Penguins. There really wasn't anything the Flyers could have done to change the outcome of Game Four.

Carcillo out for the Flyers, Sbisa in?

The late Game One outburst, where the Flyers racked up 21 penalty minutes in the final 20 seconds against the Penguins, will cost the Flyers a player. Dan Carcillo, who nailed Max Talbot in the back of the head in the final seconds of the game, will be suspended for Game Two against the Penguins. In a play that didn't draw a penalty, Carcillo hit Talbot in the head with his stick. Carcillo is denying that his stick hit Talbot in the head, instead claiming that is was his hand, but either way it was an unnecessary play in the waning seconds of a 4-1 loss.

I'll let you be the judge as to whether the play deserves a suspension:


The Flyers have a few options for replacing Carcillo in the lineup. The most likely choice would be having defenseman Luca Sbisa suit up and play on the wing with the 4th line, although the Flyers could also re-call someone like Andreas Nodl for a game. Playing Sbisa on the wing, or even as a 7th defenseman, seems like a good idea just to get the rookie some playoff experience.

As for Carcillo, I still can't believe the Flyers gave up Scottie Upshall AND a second round pick to get this guy. I know the move was made to clear up salary space but Carcillo has been a completely useless player. He is an agitator, but the team already has plenty of that kind of player. He takes dumb penalties and puts the team on the penalty kill, really doing more harm than good. Scottie Upshall was also an agitator but he would get under the other teams skin with his grit and hustle. That trade may go down as one of the worst in Flyers history.

Flyers trade Upshall, get worse at the Deadline

Most contending teams in the NHL use the Trade Deadline as a time to improve their team by adding players that can help them make a run at the Stanley Cup. The Flyers are usually one of the more aggressive teams at the Deadline but this season they were hindered because they were right up against the salary cap. Philly still made a couple of moves, unfortunately, it leaves the team worse than they were a day before.

The Flyers made a pair of trades today: they acquired winger Dan Carcillo from the Phoenix Coyotes for Scottie Upshall and a 2nd round pick and they also acquired defenseman Kyle McLaren from the Sharks for a 6th round pick. Both moves are head scratchers and make it seem like the Flyers had another deal in the works that didn't pan out.

The Upshall trade is especially frustrating. While not a top line player, Scottie Upshall is a ball of energy on the ice and he's a perfect third line player. Carcillo is also a hard-nosed player, but he is much slower than Upshall and is pretty much just a hockey goon who leads the NHL in penalty minutes with 174. At first glance, this trade is ridiculous because the Flyers essentially traded a 3rd line player for a 4th line player, and threw in a 2nd round pick on top of that.

However, there was more behind this move than that. By moving Upshall, who makes 1.2 million, and getting Carcillo, who makes 900,000, the Flyers freed up some cap space so they can have some wiggle room to move players up and down when injuries occur. This move keeps the Flyers from having to send Claude Giroux down again if they need another defenseman.

On top of creating more cap space, the Flyers were also happy to get anything for Upshall, who is a restricted free agent at the end of the year and was likely to sign elsewhere. The Flyers wouldn't have had enough cap space to give Upshall a decent contract offer.

The second move of the day for the Flyers also raises more questions. McLaren is a big, strong defenseman who was a good player in his prime. Unfortunately, he has spent the entire season in the AHL and has a 2.5 million dollar contract. The Flyers will have McLaren report to the Phantoms and it's very likely that he will never play a game with the big club. If the Flyers do choose to call up McLaren at some point, he would have to pass through waivers and then the team would have to figure out a way to shed some salary. McLaren could be on the Flyers playoff roster, but he is essentially emergency depth should one of the top 6 defenseman go down.

There were rumors after the deadline that the Flyers had another trade in the works, but it looks like those talks fell through. It seems like GM Paul Holmgren took a step to clear away some salary for another trade but couldn't quite pull it off. There was plenty of speculation about Jay Bouwmeester coming to Philly, but it never materialized.

The sad fact now is that the Flyers team that takes the ice for the next game isn't as good as the Flyers team that played against Boston on Tuesday. Philly was forced to make a move to give the team more flexibility, it's just too bad that it had to take losing a solid player. While you can't fault Holmgren for making these moves today, you can blame Homer for getting the Flyers in this salary mess in the first place. He tried to play a game with the salary cap and he failed. That's especially clear when you look at the list of Flyers that have been jettisoned since the return of Daniel Briere: Glen Metropolit, Ossi Vaananen and Scottie Upshall. Essentially, those three players were traded for Dan Carcillo, and that's depressing. While none of those guys are top line players, you need some of those bit players to help the team when you make a Stanley Cup run.

The Flyers were fortunate to be able to keep their core of young players on the team but only time will tell if they will get enough support from the few remaining role players to make another run deep into the playoffs.