Kubina Solidifies Flyers Defense

   In my last blog entry, I discussed whether or not Flyers GM Paul Holmgren was done tinkering with the sinking ship more commonly known as the Philadelphia Flyers defense. As it turns out, he wasn't. After another dreadful Saturday afternoon loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins,"highlighted" by some wretched goaltending from Ilya "the Bryzaster" Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky (they have now allowed at least five goals in five of their seven 1:00 PM games), Homer made his second move in less than a week. Pavel Kubina, a 34 year old two-way defensemen from Czech Republic will now be lacing up his skates for the orange and black. Heading to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange is forward prospect Jon Kalinski, along with a 2nd round pick in either 2012 or 2013 and a 2013 4th round pick. Considering the Flyers needed to move at least one contract in the transaction to stay compliant with the fifty contract maximum the NHL mandates, this is another solid move from Holmgren. He may not have added the high profile defensemen some Flyers fans were hoping for, such as Ryan Suter or Luke Schenn, but he improved the defense without sacrificing any of the Flyers coveted young forwards.
  

  
   Kubina's career has had its ups and downs, but up until this season he has been a relatively consistent 25-40 point defensemen that won't hurt you in his own end. He provides nice size to the Flyers blue-line, at 6'4 258 lbs; an area the Flyers needed to and now have addressed with not only the addition of Kubina, but of recently acquired Nicklas Grossman as well. By replacing rookies Marc-Andre Bourdon and Erik Gustafsson with the aforementioned acquisitions, the Flyers have added 9 inches and a whopping 102 lbs. to their defense. Kubina also gives the Flyers a right-handed defensemen that can play the point on the powerplay, something they never seem to have, and he is adept at getting shots through and on net. Nevertheless, the most important attribute that Kubina brings to the Flyers defense may be experience. With nearly 1000 NHL regular season games, 46 NHL playoff games puncuated by a 2004 Stanley Cup championship with Tampa Bay, and a wealth of international experience, Kubina knows what it takes to survive the battle of attrition that the Stanley Cup playoffs is all about. The question is, how much does he have left in the tank? Regardless, the Flyers now have serious depth on defense should any injuries occur down the stretch. Although they have struggled at times, Bourdon, Gustafsson, and veteran Andreas Lilja are adequate options to fall back on.

  
   With Kubina and Grossman now in the fold, the Flyers boast one of the deepest defenses in the entire league. However, without Chris Pronger, they still lack that true superstar defensemen; although Kimmo Timonen has been playing his best hockey in years. Now it's time for the other three veteran Flyers defensemen to pick up the slack and play with more consistency. We've seen all three of them play better than they currently are in their time in Philadelphia. No more excuses. No hope for a return from Pronger to right the ship. Braydon Coburn, Matt Carle, and Andrej Meszaros, here's looking at you.
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Considering the Flyers new and improved defense, do they have what it takes to turn it around and make a serious run at the Cup? Respond with your thoughts below!
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OFF THE POST: For the second straight game, a Flyers rookie scored his first career NHL goal.  In Thursdays 7-2 win over Buffalo, it was defensemen Erik Gustafsson. In Saturdays 6-4 loss at the hands of Pittsburgh, it was forward Eric Wellwood. Do we have anymore "Erics" we can call-up?