Flyers Stand Pat At Trade Deadline

   It should come as no surprise to anyone that the Philadelphia Flyers were finished wheeling and dealing after their acquisitions of defensemen Nicklas Grossman from the Dallas Stars and Pavel Kubina from the Tampa Bay Lightning a little over a week ago. Afterall, the Flyers already have the top ranked offense in the NHL at this point in the season, and frankly, have so much talent up front that there's not enough ice time to go around. Just ask rookie Sean Couturier who has been relegated to 4th line/penalty-killing duty once again despite shining whenever he moves up the lineup. We all know the goaltending has been their achilles heel, but due to Ilya Bryzgalov's subpar play, he has an immovable contract. With his back-up Sergei Bobrovsky playing just as inconsistently, there were some ramblings of the Flyers being interested in New York Islanders goaltender Evgeni Nabokov to solidify the position in case of a repeat of last years playoff goaltending circus. It would have made sense, as Nabokov has played extremely well this season and accumulated a wealth of playoff experience during his time in San Jose. Alas, it was not to be. The Flyers will move forward with their current goaltending tandem and hope that Bryzgalov finds the "peace in his soul" to play in this city.

   Historically, the Flyers have made their midseason trades to bolster their roster for a Stanley Cup run well in advance of the deadline. Which is why, aside from the the much-maligned Adam Oates deal, the Flyers have rarely overpaid. Former Flyers GM Bobby Clarke sent prized goaltending prospect Maxime Ouellet, along with their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks in 2003 to the Washington Capitals for a 39 year old Oates. It was panic move after injuries to centers Jeremy Roenick and Keith Primeau right on the cusp of the playoffs. Fortunately for the Flyers, neither Ouellet or any of the three draft picks turned into an NHL regular, dulling the pain of a horrific transaction. The Flyers appear to have learned from that mistake.

 Considering the Flyers have the least amount of cap space of all 30 NHL teams today ($1,071,232 to be exact), it would have been difficult for Holmgren to make any significant moves. I know a lot of star-gazing fans were hoping for a "knock-your-socks off" trade involving Columbus forward Rick Nash or Nashville defensemen Shea Weber. Unfortunately, Nashville had no plans of moving Weber and Columbus was asking for a kings ransom (reportedly seeking JVR, Bobrovsky, Read and a 1st round pick) for Nash, a player who is well below a point-per-game pace in his career (531 points in 654 games) and whose production is on pace to decline for the 4th consecutive season. Although Nash has played on low-scoring teams and hasn't had much of a supporting cast around him, he is still one of the most overpayed players in the NHL (he will earn $7.8 million per season over the following 6 seasons) and would have forced the Flyers to make some difficult discussions with regards to impending free agents Jakub Voracek  (Restricted), Grossman (Unrestricted), and Matt Carle (Unrestricted).

   With the Flyers set on defense and stuck with their goaltending, they could have used a checking line forward with size, grit and the ability to win faceoffs (currently 26th in the league in faceoff percentage) and kill penalties (23rd in the league in PK percentage). Buffalo forward Paul Gaustad, rumored to have been on the Flyers radar, would have fit the bill nicely. He has a manageable $2.3 million dollar cap hit. All the Flyers would have needed to do is find a way to get Jody Shelley and his $1.1 million dollar contract off the books to stay cap compliant. Unfortunately the asking price was too high, and Nashville overpaid for him by sending a 1st round pick to Buffalo. How much of a difference Gaustad would have made on the Flyers playoff hopes is impossible to predict, but for now the Flyers will ride or die with the same roster they started yesterday with. I for one am excited at the prospect of seeing James van Riemsdyk repeat last years unforgettable playoff performance in Orange & Black, instead of another teams sweater.

DID THE FLYERS DO ENOUGH BEFORE THE TRADE DEADLINE? HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT JVR REMAINING A MEMBER OF THE FLYERS? LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS BELOW!