Flyers acquire defenseman Chris Pronger

It was pretty well known that the Flyers wanted to bring in a defenseman this offseason to shore up their blueline, and it looks like they have succeeded in doing just that. The Flyers, who were thought to be heavy on the trail of Jay Bouwmeester of the Florida Panthers, changed gears and instead have traded for Chris Pronger of the Anaheim Ducks, getting him for Joffrey Lupul, Luca Sbisa and two first round draft picks ('09 and '10).

Pronger, 34, is a 15 year NHL veteran and an elite-level defenseman. Pronger, a former MVP and Norris Trophy winner, is getting up there in years, but he huge and is an extremely good checker who still produced last season for the Ducks. He is under contract for one more season, set to make 6.25 million dollars. Given what it took to get him, the Flyers will likely try to re-sign Pronger for a few more years.

The Flyers paid a big price to get Pronger, possibly too much. Losing Lupul isn't a huge blow, although he is only 25 and his best years are ahead of him. Lupul was also going to make 4.25 million dollars for the next 4 seasons, a pretty big price for a guy who will get about 25 goals for you. Trading Luca Sbisa is a big gamble, since he is only 19 and showed some definite promise last season. Sbisa still has a long way to go, but if he develops into a star NHL player, this deal will not look good down the road. Losing the first round picks also hurt, but they will both likely be late in the first and the NHL Draft can be such a crapshoot, anyway.

Welcome to the Flyers, Chris Pronger. He will instantly become a fan favorite by the way he plays. He is a big hitter who drop the gloves when needed. Let's hope he is worth the big price the Flyers had to pay to get him.

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, still lacking consistency, allow Rangers to clinch playoff spot

(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

With the NCAA tournament, the beginning of the baseball season and lots of offseason football news, people have likely forgotten that the Flyers are about to begin another playoff run. Entering today, the Flyers had just three games left to play, all against New York teams. While they have already clinched the playoffs, the Flyers are still fighting for the home ice advantage in the first round.

They faced off with the Rangers today and a couple of fluky goals and some lackluster play led to a 2-1 loss to New York. The win clinched a playoff spot for the Rangers, but it didn't hurt the Flyers since the Hurricanes, who are tied with Philly for the 4th spot in the East, also lost. The Flyers have a game in hand over the Hurricanes, so they still control their destiny for home-ice.

Tonight's effort against the Rangers was yet another game where the Flyers didn't bring their "A" game for 60 minutes and were forced to scramble at the end to try to tie up the game. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist had a hell of a game as he stopped 37 shots and basically willed New York to the win.

The Flyers also made an odd roster move today, signing Colgate defenseman David Sloane to a tryout contract and sticking him directly into the lineup against the Rangers. He is a Philly native who the Flyers brought in under emergency recall conditions to replace Ryan Parent in the lineup. The Flyers couldn't bring up the usual defensemen they call up in this situations, like Danny Syvret or Nate Guenin, due to salary cap issues. Being forced to play a guy like Sloane at this time of the year really speaks to how little depth the Flyers have and how restricted they are with the salary cap.

In other news, Luca Sbisa has finished his junior season and will play for the Phantoms. There is no word yet as to whether he will join the Flyers for the playoffs.

The Flyers seem to be stumbling their way into the playoffs, not the kind of thing they want to be doing if they want to make a playoff run like last season. While it seems pretty likely they will end up with the 4th seed in the East, it's hard to have a lot of confidence in the team when their defense is in shambles and their offense isn't consistent from game to game. Let's hope they have been saving their best hockey for the months of April and May or we could be headed for a quick playoff exit.

Flyers send Sbisa back to juniors

19 year-old Flyers defenseman Luca Sbisa made the team out of training camp because the Flyers was decimated by injuries. He stayed with the club because he proved he belonged. Unfortunately, as the injured players got healthy and returned to the ice, Sbisa saw his playing time dwindle until he found himself a healthy scratch on a regular basis.

Determing that the young defenseman is better of getting lots of ice team than rotting away on the bench, the Flyers sent Sbisa back to his junior club, the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League, a move that ends his NHL season. Sbisa's final stats don't look all that impressive as he notched 7 points, all assists, in 39 games and had a plus/minus of -6. The mere fact that he was in the NHL at all this season is the real story with Sbisa. He was drafted 19th overall by the Flyers in the 2008 draft and seized an opportunity to make the NHL after injuries to defensemen Randy Jones and Ryan Parent left a roster spot open.

Sbisa still has plenty to work on before he can be considered a top 4 defenseman. He is excellent with the puck and can make solid passes but he needs to work on being stronger both with and without the puck. There were many instances where Sbisa simply got pushed aside but luckily he's only a kid and the strength should come in due time.

The Flyers made the right choice in sending Sbisa down and letting him get some much needed ice time. He will truly be a man among boys in the juniors so at the very least he will gain a ton of confidence heading into the 2009 Flyers training camp where he will be a lock to make the team.

Good luck in the WHL, Sbisa, we can't wait to see you back with the big club.

Briere is back....in the minors

Danny Briere, who has been out since early December with a groin injury, will make his return to the ice, only it won't be with the Flyers. Instead, the Flyers have assigned Briere to the Phantoms for a two game conditioning assignment. Briere will play on Wednesday and Friday for the Phantoms as he tries to get back to full strength.

The real reason Briere is playing for the Phantoms is the Flyers want to buy themselves some time as they figure out how to clear cap space for the return of the most expensive player on the team. The Flyers will have to clear a few million in order to make room for Briere, and that will likely take a couple of moves to get done. The Flyers could make a trade to shed salary, with guys like Joffrey Lupul or Mike Knuble being the likely candidates to go, or they will have to send several players back to the minors, like Andreas Nodl and Lasse Kukkonen.

One other move that seems destined to happen is Luca Sbisa will be sent back to his junior team. The 18 year old defenseman has had a solid season with the Flyers, but, since the return of Randy Jones, Sbisa has been caught up in a numbers game and hasn't played consistently. The best thing for the development of the young defenseman is to get as much ice time as possible and if he isn't playing for the Flyers, he needs to go somewhere else. He has more than earned his spot with the Flyers but, unfortunately, there's just no room for him right now.

With the way the Flyers are playing right now, it's too bad they have to shake up the roster at all. Luckily, any time you add a guy like Briere to the mix, you are making your team a whole lot better.

Flyers remain winless after overtime loss to Pittsburgh

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

The Flyers played their best game of the season on Tuesday night against the Penguins, unfortunately the results were pretty much the same as they have been all season. Philly lost 3-2 in overtime when Pascal Dupuis netted the game winner with 10.8 seconds left in the overtime period. The Flyers did earn their first point of the season with the tie but, 3 games into the season, they still have yet to earn a win.

There were several positives for the Flyers tonight:

*Simon Gagne scored on a deflection goal. He has 3 goals in 3 games so far this season and appears fully back. His line with Mike Richards and Danny Briere continues to look good shift after shift.

*Luca Sbisa logged a ton of quality minutes on the power play and in crucial overtime situations. Sbisa is the real deal and hopefully the Flyers have seen enough to keep him around all season.

*Despite not looking great on the final goal, Antero Niittymaki played well in net, making 25 saves. The other two goals weren't his fault.

*Riley Cote also had a great fight in the game against Eric Godard. It was a nice long bout with no clear winner. Video below:


The Flyers also had their share of negatives:

*The power play failed to capitalize on 6 chances. They had some good puck movement at times but they couldn't bury the puck.

*Too many penalties. The Flyers had 17 penalty minutes and found themselves on the penalty kill 6 times. You are playing with fire when you give the Pens that many chances, fortunately Pittsburgh only scored once with the man advantage.

*Does Joffrey Lupul know the season has started? The guy signed a huge deal this offseason and he has barely come to play so far this year, notching zero points and a -2 rating.

The Flyers continue on the road this week with games against the Avalanche and Sharks. They need to find a way to get out of this skid they are in because they are already in a huge 9 point hole behind the undefeated Rangers in the Atlantic Division. The season is still very young but the Flyers could sure use a win, and fast.

Flyers opening game roster set: Sbisa makes team

The Flyers have set their opening day roster. There are two surprises, one being that 18 year old Luca Sbisa made the team and other is the return of Antero Niittymaki to the Flyers roster.

Sbisa made the club partly due to injuries to Randy Jones and Ryan Parent's upcoming surgery and partly due to how well he played in the preseason. The Flyers have the option of keeping Sbisa up to 9 games before he must return to his junior team or he must stay with the team the whole season. He is not eligible to play with the Phantoms at all this season due to his young age.

Niittymaki has been dealing with injuries and wasn't expected to be ready at the start of the season, but he is on the opening night roster and the Flyers will go with 3 goalies. Niitty appeared healthy as he led the Phantoms to a win over the Flyers, but the team is keeping J.S. Aubin around as insurance, at least for now. As soon as Niittymaki is healthy, Aubin will be dropped into the minors.

There really aren't any other surprises on the roster:

Forwards (12): Arron Asham, Danny Briere, Jeff Carter, Riley Cote, Steve Downie, Simon Gagne, Scott Hartnell, Mike Knuble, Joffrey Lupul, Glen Metropolit, Mike Richards, Scottie Upshall

Defensemen (7): Braydon Coburn, Steve Eminger, Randy Jones, Lasse Kukkonen, Luca Sbisa, Kimmo Timonen, Ossi Vannanen

Goalies (3): J.S. Aubin, Martin Biron, Antero Niittymaki

Flyers defenseman Ryan Parent out 12 to 14 weeks, door open for Sbisa?

The Flyers season kicks off on Saturday against the New York Rangers but the Flyers have already received some bad news on the injury front. Ryan Parent, a young defenseman who was expected to slide into the Flyers lineup this season, will have surgery to repair a torn labrum that he suffered earlier in the preseason. Parent will miss 12 to 14 weeks, putting his return sometime around the All Star break. Parent played 22 regular games with the Flyers last season and 4 playoff games and appeared poised to take on a bigger role with the club. He's still only 21 so the Flyers are smart to be cautious with him and look out for his long-term health.

With the loss of Parent, it appears more and more likely that 18 year-old first round pick Luca Sbisa will make the team coming out of camp. Sbisa has looked impressive in the preseason and certainly doesn't look like an 18 year-old out on the ice. The situation with Sbisa is tricky for the Flyers because, with his young age, if he doesn't play with the big club he has to play with a junior team. He can't play for the Phantoms. And, if Sbisa starts the season with the Flyers and plays in 10 games, he must stay with the club for the entire season and can't be returned to a junior team. I would bet that the Flyers start the season with Sbisa on the club and see how he does for a few games and then re-assess if they should send him down and call up someone else from the Phantoms, like Danny Syvret who the Flyers just sent down today. If Sbisa doesn't play much with the Flyers anyway he should just get sent down and we'll see him again next year when he can take on a bigger role.

Flyers continue dealing, acquire defenseman Eminger from Washington

The Flyers continue to make moves to shore up their defense on Draft Day. First, the Flyers traded R.J. Umberger to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a pair of draft picks. Then, with the 19th pick in the draft the Flyers picked up defenseman Luca Sbisa. Finally, the Flyers traded their original first round pick, 27th overall, to the Washington Captials for defenseman Steve Eminger and the 84th pick in the draft.

Sbisa has decent size (6'1'', 190) and described as a good puck mover, much in the mold of Mark Streit of the Montreal Canadiens. He's from Switzerland and was believed to be amongst the top 12 North American players in the draft. For more on Sbisa, click here for his profile from Hockeysfuture.com.

For more immediate help, the Flyers acquired Steve Eminger. Eminger, 24, is a restricted free agent who was the 12th overall selection by the Washington Capitals back in 2002. He has spent parts of the last 5 seasons in the NHL, accumulating 6 goals and 37 assists to go with a plus/minus of -44. He is coming off a season where he dealt with an ankle injury that limited his playing time and he was a healthy scratch for a number of games, but he did see solid ice time when the Capitals played the Flyers in the first round, even scoring a goal in the fourth game of the series. Eminger is a puck-moving defensman, something the Flyers desperately need. He often played on the power play in Washington, and can lead the rush out of the zone. Eminger clearly is a talented player who needed a fresh start and the Flyers are prepared to give him one.

So, to sum up the day, the Flyers lost R.J. Umberger and a 4th round pick but added Steve Eminger, Luca Sbisa and two 3rd rounders. The Flyers dealt away from a position of strength to pick up their biggest need: defense. Eminger still has to be signed, but he will likely sign for a little over a million bucks, his salary last season, so the Flyers should still have room to maneuver under the cap to add more pieces.

The Flyers continue to shift and mold their team, adding players that fill in the holes from last years squad. Eminger isn't the top flight defenseman we hoped the Flyers would add, but he will certainly be a 4th or 5th d-man. GM Paul Holmgren clearly has some more moves up his sleeve, it will be interesting to see what else he can pull off to improve the team.