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Meltzer's Musings: Free Agency Day II |
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Yesterday was one of the craziest days of free agent signings that I ever remember. Teams that historically have been on the outside looking in were putting out outrageous contracts left and right. There was misinformation put out by people who should be reliable sources. There were (and still are) wild rumors circulating about player movement, some of which actually came to fruition.
With all the craziness of the last two weeks, things got to the point where it was hard to know what to believe. In terms of the Flyers, the same team that "didn't want to disturb the chemistry" at the trade deadline and insisted as recently as last week that it wasn't looking for a major roster overall now has turned over 10 players for hockey or cap reasons.
As things stand as of early this morning, the Flyers' opening night starting lineup would look something like this if they went into the season as currently constituted:
JVR - Giroux - Jagr
Hartnell - Briere - Voracek
Nodl - Schenn - Simmonds
Shelley - Talbot - Betts
Pronger - Carle
Coburn - Timonen
Meszaros - Lilja
Bryzgalov
[Bobrovsky]
Extras: One young forward (Sestito, Holmstrom, etc), one young defenseman (Bartulis, Gustafsson, etc)
On paper, does this look like a Stanley Cup contender to you? It doesn't to me. I still think it's a playoff team -- it had better be, since the club is still fairly tight to the salary cap even with this roster -- but it doesn't seem at first glance to be a 100-point plus lineup. Of course, it all remains to be seen how well the pieces fit together. The upgrade in goal with Bryzgalov will hopefully buy some time while the forwards are settling in.
It should also be said that the Flyers may very well not be done yet. There is thought to be at least a decent chance that reacquiring Simon Gagne will be the club's one remaining significant move. I don't think Brad Richards is coming here today, nor do I think that there is another blockbuster trade that will come to fruition.
I think what you see above is pretty much going to be what the Flyers will go with. If Gagne comes back and is reasonably healthy, the club will once again have pretty good offensive depth -- although it probably will score fewer goals -- and also be a little better in terms of team defense along with the major upgrade in the caliber of its goaltending.
Now that the dust has settled for one day, here's my take on the moves that were made:
Jaromir Jagr signed to a one-year, $3.5 million contract
Even at age 39, Jagr is still capable at minimum of replacing the offense produced last season by Ville Leino (19 goals, 53 points). He showed at the World Championships -- namely in scoring a hat trick the quarterfinal game against Team USA -- that he is still capable at times of taking over games. Jagr is also equally capable of disappearing in a game or a playoff series, but that doesn't happen as often as his harshest critics would want you to believe.
Jagr has never had blazing speed in a straight line. He's lost a step from his prime, in that it takes him a split second longer to get those tree-trunk legs churning. But he's still one hell of a power skater. He's got so much lower body strength and stickhandling ability that -- when he's made up his mind that no one is going to take him off the puck -- he can still singlehandedly break down opponents' defensive coverages.
There will still be shifts where he looks like the best player in the world. The only difference is that they won't happen with nearly the same frequency. Back in his prime, he would almost routinely stickhandle around a one checker, tuck the puck in close, and cut hard inside on a defenseman (using his upper-body or backside to fend off the man, depending on the proximity) and then either fire a tracer on net or dish to an open teammate. Like a hockey version of vintage Herschel Walker, once he turned the corner, the only way to stop him was to take a penalty. Those moments are no longer routine, but still happen.
There are two things the Flyers need to be concerned about with Jagr:
1) Groin pulls. When Jagr isn't feeling quite right, he can be ineffective. I also think the Flyers have had enough "will he or won't he play?" drama in big games with their star players. That said, it should be noted that Jagr didn't miss a single game during his stint with the Rangers. He's usually durable, and he will play if he possibly can.
But he has a past history of complaining of nagging injuries at the most inopportune times. I remember that there were a few ongoing playoff storylines about groin pulls, especially during his time with the Penguins.
2) Temperament. Jagr needs to be reasonably on board with his teammates and the coaching staff. If there is something he's unhappy about, he can be moody and petulant. He can also be like a big kid, smiling and laughing and keeping everyone loose.
According to a former Pittsburgh teammate, the complexity of Jagr is that he's a player who can be a tremendous asset to team chemistry or he can also undermine it. Jagr has never liked being told what to do, but he does not mind telling others if they've done something to displease him.
I think that having Jakub Voracek on the Flyers will be a good thing for Jagr as well as for the younger player. Jagr is a player who enjoys challenging himself (although he may not respond to a coach or teammate challenging him). When playing with the Czech national team, Jagr has enjoyed taking young players under his wing.
Voracek is just about the perfect candidate for whom Jagr can leave an imprint during their time together (even if it's only for one year). Voracek hails from the same hometown and started in the same hockey development program (HC Kladno, where Jagr has taken over as franchise president from his father, Jaromir Jagr Sr.) and is a talented young forward who relies on his size. Voracek is not quite as gifted as the future first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he has the potential to emerge as a high quality winger in his fourth NHL season.
Something else very important to keep in mind with Jagr: The Flyers are paying him one million dollars less than the Buffalo Sabres will be paying Leino. Also, Jagr is only signed for the one year so the club will have a lot more financial flexibility come next summer. In the interim, they should get equal or superior production.
View Jagr as a short-term Leino replacement and the deal makes total sense. He's still good working off the half boards, especially on the power play. View him as a player whom you expect to bring the Flyers much closer to delivering a Stanley Cup in 2011-12 and I fear that you're going to be disappointed.
Flyers sign Maxime Talbot to a five year contract at a $1.8 million cap hit per season
I like this move a lot. Talbot is a pest to play against, kills penalties, and is versatile enough to play any forward position on the third or fourth line. Also, his signing slightly weakens the Penguins. I see no downside to this move. Five years is probably a bit long, but the cap hit is reasonable given his likely role.
Flyers sign Voracek to a one-year, $2.25 million contract
I would have liked to have seen the Flyers be able to sign the young restricted free agent for more than one season if he was going to get such a significant raise after his so-so third season in the NHL. But I can on both sides why they'd only want one year.
The team is reportedly close to getting Wayne Simmonds re-signed as well. That is going to further cut into the available cap space.
Flyers sign Andreas Lilja to a two-year contract at a $750,000 cap hit.
I would have preferred the Flyers to keep Sean O'Donnell, especially since he just took a pay cut in the contract he signed yesterday. But Lilja is a serviceable 6th or 7th defenseman at a cheap cap hit. At least he's an experienced alternative to Oskars Bartulis and Erik Gustafsson if one of the younger players can't stake down a starting spot.
I suspect that Lilja is going to be a player that a lot of Flyers fans complain about, because defensemen in his mold are often frequent targets of complaint (yet oddly enough, their NHL coaches keep playing them, year after year -- go figure). In limited minutes, Lilja is OK. He'll block shots, serve as a secondary penalty killer and keep himself ready to play even if he's scratched for a few games.
Flyers trade Kris Versteeg to Florida for 2nd and 3rd round draft picks
The Panthers have the option of selecting whether the second-round pick will come in 2012 or 2013. The third-rounder is a 2012 pick, originally belonging to San Jose.
Things just didn't work for Versteeg during his brief time with the Flyers. Considering that Philadelphia traded a first-rounder and a third-rounder for him at the deadline, there's no way to construe the initial acquisition as anything but a failure. At least the Flyers recouped over $3 million of cap space, which comprises most of their remaining cap room.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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