Over on CSN Philly today, John Boruk
compiled a list of potential short-term sources of blueline help for the Flyers.
I have one more name to add to the Silly Season list, and it's someone who could actually be more of a long-term piece of the puzzle: Winnipeg Jets defenseman Tobias Enström.
Enström, 27, has one season to go on his current contract with Winnipeg, and is a potential unrestricted free agent after the 2012-13 season. His current contract carries a cap hit of $3.75 million.
An NHL All-Star Game selection in 2010-11, Enström has posted 50-plus points in two of the last three seasons. He missed 20 games this year, and still managed six goals and 33 points. Enström is also a capable defender in his own of the ice, although his lack of size (5-foot-10, 180 pounds) sometimes works against him. But he is one of the NHL's best outlet passers and leads or joins the rush effectively on the breakout.
Prior to missing a combined 30 games over the last two seasons, Enström had not missed a single game in his NHL career. He holds the Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise record for consecutive games played (296).
While much of the talk this offseason has been about dealing with the loss of Chris Pronger, the Flyers also need to start pondering life without Kimmo Timonen. The four-time NHL All-Star and three-time Barry Ashbee Trophy winner will be 38 years old when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer. It remains to be seen if Timonen will want to continue playing in the NHL beyond next season.
Even if Timonen decides next summer to continue his NHL career in Philadelphia, it will almost certainly be on a one-year contract. His current $6.33 million cap hit is likely to decrease in 2013-14. Of course, if Timonen retires next summer, the full amount of cap space opens up for Philadelphia and can be spent partially toward a contract extension for Enström (if he's inclined to extend) and partially toward other needs (such as potentially extending Scott Hartnell's contract).
I have raised this possibility before: If the Flyers make their primary offseason UFA target a top-six forward rather than a defenseman, they will then unquestionably have the depth to be able to make a bonafide trade pitch for a defenseman of Enström's caliber. To me, Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier are the only untouchables in any trade composition. The rest depends on the structure of the deal and what else would be going each way.
Of course, it also depends on whether Enström would want to pursue an extension -- tagging space won't be a problem for Philly this time around because of Timonen's expiring contract. If Enström would only be a rental, a blockbuster trade would be foolish.
Personally, I don't think Nashville's Shea Weber is going anywhere. I don't think he'll ever hit the UFA market next summer, especially if the Predators are unable to re-sign current UFA Ryan Suter (who does not appear inclined to come east this summer, at least if the rumors have anything to them).
But let's just fantasize that Weber were to become a UFA next year. It would take a lot of wheeling, dealing, and cap-number crunching but it would not be impossible cap-wise for the Flyers to turn Weber and Enström into the long-term replacements for Pronger and Timonen as the centerpieces of their blueline with Giroux and Couturier as the two focal points of the forward corps.
At any rate, the idea of a trade pitch to Winnipeg for Enström makes for some interesting Silly Season banter on a June 3.
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