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Meltzer's Musings: Richards and Carter Revisited, Recalling Shero "Trade" |
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Revisiting Richards and Carter
Over the last three years, I have generally stayed out of the nearly endless debate over the Philadelphia Flyers' trades of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter in the 2011 offseason. With the Los Angeles Kings returning to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in the last three seasons, I know we're in store for another round of reminders.
I find the whole discussion rather pointless. If the Flyers had kept Carter and Richards -- and thereby had not added Jakub Voracek, the first-round pick used for Sean Couturier, Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn and the 2012 second-round pick that was flipped to Dallas in the Nicklas Grossmann trade -- the team's roster would have looked much different in the seasons to come.
Would the Flyers have been any closer to winning the Stanley Cup in the last three seasons if Richards and Carter had not been traded? Probably not. The team's run to the 2010 Finals was its best shot at the Cup and, with each passing year, the window would have closed.
To me, the eye injury and subsequent concussion issues that prematurely ended Chris Pronger's career would have knocked the Flyers down a peg from Cup contender status regardless of whatever else has taken place with the roster. Father Time would still have slowly taken hold on Kimmo Timonen.
I don't even know what the subsequent goaltending picture would have looked like if cap space had not been carved out in the summer of 2011 and the whole Ilya Bryzgalov saga had not unfolded. Would Steve Mason be here now? Would Sergei Bobrovsky have gotten an extended look as the starter? There is no way to know.
What I do know is this: Jeff Carter being in Los Angeles has nothing to do with the Flyers, because Philadelphia traded Carter to Columbus, not to LA. Perhaps people should ask if the Blue Jackets would be better off today if Scott Howson had kept Voracek and the eighth overall pick of the 2011 Draft or if they've benefited more from the Carter for Jack Johnson trade.
I also know that Los Angeles already had a formidable nucleus of talent in place before acquiring Richards from the Flyers. The former Philadelphia captain was the right fit at the right time, even if he has become more of a defensive role player over the last year or so and his offensive stats have dipped. He and eventually Carter made LA an even better team but that is a credit to the Kings and not an indictment of the Flyers.
Likewise, I think Voracek and Simmonds came to the Flyers at the right time in their careers. They have become nucleus players in Philadelphia, while Couturier and Schenn are just three seasons into their pro careers.
I have never been one to judge a trade based on whether the other team benefits from the deal. I care only if my side benefits from it. I am of the belief that the value to the team of the combined pieces of what the Flyers brought in from the trades with Columbus and Los Angeles have more than canceled out what they dealt away.
I'll also add this: Ron Hextall was an important part of the management team that helped assemble the Kings' nucleus. Likewise, Phantoms coach Terry Murray was the one who, as LA's coach, painstakingly taught many of the Kings players to put a commitment to team defense ahead of personal stats.
The playing style that Flyers head coach Craig Berube wants his team to play is pretty damn close to the one that has brought LA one Stanley Cup and to currently within four wins of a second championship. Philly does not yet have the personnel to execute their system as well as Los Angeles does theirs. That is the challenge that new general manager Hextall faces.
As far as the whole "Dry Island" thing and the icy relationship between Richards and Carter with the local media goes, those are all red herrings. What I care about is that the current Flyers team has shown itself to be a resilient and tight-knit group that nevertheless has some exploitable flaws on the ice. Management needs to find ways to make the roster a little faster, more consistent in its two-way play and find a way to balance the needs of winning now and developing young talent while also managing around salary cap pitfalls.
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MONDAY QUICK HITS
* Speaking of the Stanley Cup Finals, it was four years ago today when Claude Giroux's goal at 5:59 of overtime gave the Flyers a 4-3 win in Game 3 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals against Chicago. Earlier in the game, Giroux assisted on goals by Scott Hartnell and Ville Leino. The latter tied the game in the third period just 20 seconds after Patrick Kane had put the Blackhawks ahead by 3-2 count.
* Thirty six years ago today, the Flyers and New York Rangers came to an agreement that allowed Fred Shero to leave Philadelphia to become coach and general manager of the Rangers. New York had been guilty of tampering, speaking to the Flyers' coach about coming to the Rangers without permission from Flyers management. There was no denying that tampering had taken place, although there was debate over whether Shero was about to voluntarily step down as Flyers coach or was on the brink of being fired by Keith Allen and Ed Snider.
In order to avoid a legal dispute they could not win, the Rangers made an agreement with the Flyers to trade a first-round pick in the 1978 to the Flyers in exchange for releasing Shero from his contract to become New York's coach and GM. The Flyers used the pick to select Ken "the Rat" Linseman. The Flyers also received a cash settlement as part of the agreement.
Both teams benefited in the short term but the Flyers by far got the better end of the agreement in the long-term.
Shero's Rangers beat the Flyers in the playoffs en route to reaching the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals before losing to the dynastic Montreal Canadiens in the Habs' fourth straight championship season. However, the team did not fare as well the next season. Shero did not enjoy being a general manager, nor was he particularly good at it. He was also having health issues and his effectiveness as a coach was affected. He spent two seasons with the Rangers and then resigned 20 games into the 1980-81 season. Craig Patrick took over behind the bench.
The 1978-79 Flyers had a down season by their standards, and new coach Bob McCammon was demoted to coaching the AHL's Maine Mariners while Pat Quinn was elevated to Flyers head coach. However, Linseman soon emerged as a high-scoring (and higly penalized) forward for the team.
Centering the "Rat Patrol" line flanked by sniping rookie left winger Brian Propp and tough right winger Paul Holmgren, Linseman helped provide an offensive spark beyond the revived LCB line for the 1979-80 Flyers. The team reeled off a record 35-game unbeaten streak and came within two wins of the Stanley Cup. That year, Linseman posted 79 points in 80 regular season games and then racked up 22 points in 17 playoff games.
After posting a team-leading 92 points during the 1981-82 season, the Flyers traded Linseman as part of the deal that brought future Hall of Fame defenseman Mark Howe to Philadelphia from the Hartford Whalers. Hartford then immediately flipped Linseman and Don Nachbaur to the Edmonton Oilers for Risto Siltanen and Brent Loney.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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