Northeast Sports Discussion

[xzmattzx]

The Flyers have lots of veteran leadership this year.

Flyers have sea of choices on who wears a 'C'


Tuesday, July 3, 2007

By CHUCK GORMLEY
Courier-Post Staff

When the Flyers skated off the ice April 8 with the worst record in the NHL, they were a team of individuals, devoid of strong leadership.

That is likely to change with the additions of Kimmo Timonen, Daniel Briere and Jason Smith, each of whom wore the captains C last season for the Nashville Predators, Buffalo Sabres and Edmonton Oilers.

Flyers coach John Stevens said he has not yet decided on a captain for next year, although veteran wingers Simon Gagne and Sami Kapanen remain strong candidates.

Upon his trade to the Flyers, Timonen said he would decline the captaincy if it was offered to him and Briere, who shared the captaincy in Buffalo with Chris Drury, said he'd let the Flyers decide on their next captain.

In his first full day as a Flyer, Smith said his new team has its share of veteran leaders and that he has not been asked to be the club's next captain.

"It's something I haven't even thought about," Smith said in a conference call on Monday, one day after joining right wing Joffrey Lupul in a trade that sent Joni Pitkanen, Geoff Sanderson and a third-round draft pick to the Oilers. "I'm just going to be happy to put on the jersey."

With 12 NHL seasons under his belt and a reputation for sacrificing his body for his teammates, Smith is the ultimate hockey warrior. Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren called him a throwback whose character and heart define the way he plays the game.

Lupul, who played with Smith just one season in Edmonton, was asked Monday what the Flyers are getting with the 33-year-old defenseman.

"Everything," Lupul said. "He's just a solid hockey player, a solid guy, a great teammate. He was probably the best captain I've ever had. He's tough, sticks up for his teammates, a guy who will do anything to win."

Before the Flyers can consider giving Smith a C they'd likely need to give him a new contract. Smith has one year and $1.96 million remaining on a deal he signed with the Oilers and said Monday he looks forward to staying in Philadelphia beyond next season.

Gagne, who is the longest tenured Flyer with seven seasons in Philadelphia, said Monday he has not been asked to be the team's next captain and would have no problem seeing one of his new teammates become the Flyers next captain.

"They're not just talented players, they bring a lot of leadership, all three of them," Gagne said. "You have to remember we are still a young team and we need that experience."

Smith led the Oilers in blocked shots and hits for the past five seasons and is likely to join the offensive-minded Timonen on the Flyers top defensive unit. Derian Hatcher, who plays a very similar style to Smith, likely will find himself with rookie Braydon Coburn, who was acquired from Atlanta in the Alexei Zhitnik trade.

That would leave Denis Gauthier and Lasse Kukkonen as the Flyers third defense pairing, although there are reports the Flyers are shopping Gauthier and his $2.3 million salary.

While the Flyers are counting on Smith to bring the same leadership he displayed in Edmonton, Lupul is hoping a fresh start can erase a poor season with the Oilers. The seventh pick overall in the 2002 draft (three picks behind Pitkanen), Lupul had a breakout sophomore season in Anaheim two seasons ago with 28 goals in 81 regular season games and another nine goals in 16 playoff games with the Ducks.

He was sent to Edmonton a year ago today in the Chris Pronger trade and never found his scoring touch, finishing the season with 16 goals and a club-worst minus-29. Lupul said he played the best hockey of his life in the 2006 playoffs, but never got untracked with the Oilers.

"Things just didn't seem right from the get-go," he said. "I just couldn't find my niche that made me successful the year before. Then you get frustrated and confidence becomes a factor and everything just snowballed and became a nightmare of a season. I can't wait to get back and try to prove myself again."

Lupul said the change from Anaheim to hockey-crazed Edmonton was also difficult on him.

"It was a lot different going from southern California, where no one really knows hockey too much, to Edmonton, where every person in town basically knows who you are," he said. "It was a bit of a shock going back there.

Lupul is likely to get a shot on the Flyers second or third line, where he'll play alongside either Jeff Carter or Mike Richards.

Smith and Lupul both said the Flyers have a chance to make hockey history by going from worst to first in one season.

"That's the be-all and end-all of playing," Smith said. "I want to have that success and getting a taste of it a couple years ago with Edmonton is something I'll remember for a long time. It makes me that much hungrier to have that childhood dream come true."

Loose pucks: The Flyers would like to add a heavyweight enforcer to their lineup to deal with the likes of Pittsburgh's Georges Laraque and Washington's Donald Brashear. They might be able to fit Derek Boogaard under the salary cap for just under $1 million.

[Sabretooth]

I don't know what to make of Zubrus. He seemed like a good player while with the Sabres, but he was also in a contract year - he has a history of being soft and taking nights off.

Either way, the lengths of these contracts are getting out of hand. Seriously, you might think you're making out with the ability to front-load them, but the more and more there are, the more and more the likelihood of getting toasted in the end of it.

[shovel_ready]

Originally Posted by Sabretooth

Either way, the lengths of these contracts are getting out of hand.

So true! A few overzealous GMs (in tandem with with greedy, shortsighted players) are making smart SHORT TERM maneuvers for their respective teams but will end up getting burned by these hyper-inflated contracts in a few years.

The Sabres will be an above-average team not making 1st place in any category for the foreseeable future but will have enough cap space free to make nimble, stealthy trades/deals when it really counts.

Quinn and Reiger's Drury + Briere fuckup really is due to dicking around months to a year ago. There wasn't much they could have done in the past few weeks without maxing out the team's cap. It seem like right now the the name of the game is wait and see what the current lineup will do then make important trades when needed with a nice cap cushion left over at that time.

With that said, Connolly and Roy (and Gaustad to a lesser extent) are really going to have to step up to the plate as playmakers. Vanek and Pomms will need new leaders to feed them pucks to score. Also, Vanek needs to work on more moves than just standing right in front of the net waiting for a quick pass, bounce, or deflection. Stafford will have to really put bump up his game too. Max can pretty much fend for himself, he just needs to work on his consistency and reflexes. Kotalik's role (until he is traded) will be winning shootouts and providing some bulk on a checking line.

Since it's very likely we won't be signing any UFA in the coming days, the lines will probably look something like this:

Vanek-Roy-Afinogenov (Scoring 1)
Hecht-Connolly-Stafford (Scoring 2)
Pominville-Gaustad-Kotalik (Checking 3)

The 4th line will be more of a revolving cast, with Mair always at center and
Peters, Paille, and Kaleta alternating in and out as checking wingers depending on the staffing needs of the particular game in question.

Defense:
Lydman-Tallinder (duh)
Campbell-Paetsch
Kalinin (until traded) -Spacek (ditto)

This line-up will be average at worst and surprisingly good at best, if these guys can get great chemistry going. My biggest worry is two things:

1. The power play. Without Drury it will be even more abysmal unless Connolly can suddenly get good at his old tricks again.

2. Lack of leadership/experience. This reality will bite the team in the ass next season. Again, developing players are going to have to step up. Expect a key trade to acquire a seasoned veteran who can really rally the team.

[Sabretooth]

I do think once the initial shock wears off, people will realize that this team still does have an excellent supporting cast. It's been their ability to step up when it matters that is largely responsible for the successes they've had in the last few years. That's why, while I'm utterly pissed off about this whole situation (or maybe more appropriately, the situation which led to the current situation), I'm trying not to get angry at the team - to do so is a vote of no confidence in the supporting cast, who (with a few notable exceptions) are damn good in their own right and don't deserve that kind of treatment. Instead the blame rests solely on the shoulders of the FO, in particular Quinn it seems (though Regier certainly doesn't come out smelling like roses, either).

Putting two and two together, with this and his past performance, and we're still wondering why Bass Pro hasn't opened yet?

[WZ1]

I feel bad for all Sabres fans.... although the light at the end of the tunnel is that they did win with both of them out earlier this year.. the Rochester Americans.. i mean Buffalo Sabres basicly killed the Toronto Maple Leafs in one game.... when half of the Sabres was actually active Rochester players.. that being said.. they were playing the Leafs.. Your horrific powerplay will suffer more tho now..

[Sabretooth]

I actually tend to think the PP woes were due to the loss of Scott Arniel. Too much of a coincidence.

Besides which, it can't get any worse, quite frankly.

[jmancuso]

Originally Posted by jmancuso

if there is a demand for discussion about other northeastern NHL teams in addition to the sabres, i will rename this thread to NHL off-season thread but in the meantime, it looks like buffalo is the only one discussed here.

since i see some flyer's discussion, i renamed the thread accordingly.


btw, is esche still with the flyers? i was friends with his older brother (graduated together from high school).

[BuffCity]

well guys, thats the bad news for the Sabres...we have tons of cash and plenty of young talent to pick from...they did this for a reason, Darcy is not a dumbass and he does not want the sabres to be the shitty team of the NHL.

Just watch, we'll be fine in 2008

[Evergrey]

Why not just make this the "NHL Offseason Thread" and place it in SSC's Skybar?

[Sabretooth]

Hello, Numminen

Sabres ink Numminen to one-year deal
By Tim Graham - News Sports Reporter
Updated: 07/04/07 8:01 PM

The Buffalo Sabres have re-signed defenseman Teppo Numminen to a one-year contract worth $2.6 million, the same contract he played with last season.

"It was an easy decision to come back,'' Numminen said this afternoon from his home in Finland. "I was hoping to come back. It was a situation where I told them I wanted to come back and I'm glad it worked out well. Being there two years, I really enjoyed myself and my family really felt comfortable in Buffalo. That was my first choice.''

Numminen, who turned 39 on Tuesday, had two goals, 27 assists and a plus-17 rating while missing only three games last season. In 16 playoff games he added four assists and had a team-high plus-10 rating, which tied with Anaheim Ducks Chris Pronger and Samuel Pahlsson for the league postseason lead.

For more information on the Numminen signing and other Sabres updates, see Thursday's edition of The Buffalo News.

tgraham@buffnews.com

He's up there in years and his body sometimes fails him, but he's a smart player and considering the rest of the team's leadership was unceremoniously shitcanned (by as Bucky Gleason calls them, the Buffoons), I think retaining him is necessary for some means of continuity. Sort of like the role James Patrick played at the end of his career.

[WZ1]

Waiting for Buffalo to go after a URFA!!! Common Darcy!!!!

[Spaulding97]

We won't sign anyone, it's not how we do things. We'll wait until after arbitration, then go after some guys. Darcy will make some trades soon enough. It's only July 5th for God sakes! Relax Buffalonians, step back from the ledge! We'll be fine if not better next year, mark my words.

[Spaulding97]

I'm loosing my mind!!! The Oilers gave Vanek an offer for 7 years $50 million!!! Press conference today at 1230! They better sign him.

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by Spaulding97

I'm loosing my mind!!! The Oilers gave Vanek an offer for 7 years $50 million!!! Press conference today at 1230! They better sign him.

Wow. The Flyers were supposedly going to give him an offer for 6 years today, but the source isn't very credible and I don't think that the Flyers would want to give up 4 or 5 first-rounders for Vanek. Some are saying that the Flyers could get Vanek is they gave up their first, second, and third rounders from next year, or offered current players like RJ Umberger in a deal for him. But it would be very unlikely for the Flyers to get Vanek.

[Spaulding97]

Phew, Sabres will match it. They knew it was gonna happen. Thats a lot of money, but at least we don't have to worry abou thim now.

[Sabretooth]

He's a good player....

But that contract is every bit as ridiculous as the one offered to Briere. He has done nothing to prove he is going to be a long-term consistent player. I'm not sure 4 first-rounders might have been the better route long-term. Guess you never know those things.

All I can say, if Vanek gets this, for instance the Penguins better lock up Crosby and Malkin up for a looooooooonnnnnnnnngggggg time now, or win it all this year. And pray for no serious injuries.

[Spaulding97]

What hasn't he proved? He's 23 who just scored 43 goals, and a league leading+47. We now have him locked up until he's 30. I am so sick of hearing the "rebuilding" that's all Buffalo ever hears. There isn't a guarantee that one of those picks/players would be anywhere close to where Vanek is now.

[Sabretooth]

I agree we don't have anybody else like him, and there is no guarantee with a draft pick (remember Brian Holzinger?). But he is just 23. He's had one good season thus far, no guarantee of future success - and he's getting paid "Drury money". Hopefully he continues to progress the way he has thus far and can outperform the contract - I have my doubts, but I can also envision it - and that's all you can hope for.

They had to sign him though, if only because they were handcuffed. While it may have ended up being the better long-term option, building through the draft is slow (unless you pick the right guys), and I could hear the season ticket cancellations coming in.

They, Quinn in particular, have nobody else to blame for this. They got caught with their pants down, basically.

[Spaulding97]

^ They've been caught with their pants down a lot latley! I think if they didn't sign him there would have been riots and some minor explosions down at HSBC arena. It's like "Oh man Danny's gone, oh well. What???!! Drury now too!!!?? You've gotta be kidding me!!!? Arrghh" The dust settles then "Well at least we have Vanek... WHAT!!!!??? The Oilers!!!???? C'mon a joke right??!"

[Sabretooth]

That's what I meant by "this" - not just Vanek.

This also proves it's not a big vs. small market issue, either. At least not entirely.