With Pronger on patrol, What's Next for the Flyers?

Another team that pulled itself, in just a few years, out of the basement and rocketed back into contention, the Flyers this year looked like they were ready to rock n' roll like the Broad Street Bullies of Philly's glory days.

But, ah, goaltending...the wobbles of the waffle stoppers, Smarty Marty Biron and 'Auntie' Niittymaki (he of the thoroughly impossible to spell name) scotched their shot at the silver as the Pens popped 'em off in Round Numero Uno.

There were explanations: the injury to Mighty Mike Richards, among other things...but much is expected in the City of Brotherly Love.

And that darn salary cap...

So what happens going forward? Yahoo Sports gives us a look:

INSIDE SHOTS: PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

YAHOO SPORTS, JUNE 1 2009

If the Flyers are contemplating a blockbuster deal to land them a top-flight goaltender or All-Star defenseman, Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren certainly isn’t showing his hand less than a month before the NHL draft.

Instead, Holmgren continues to maintain his goal this summer is to keep his top nine forwards intact while trying to strengthen the team on defense and in goal.

Does that mean Atlanta’s Kari Lehtonen will replace Marty Biron as the Flyers’ No. 1 goalie? Does it mean Florida’s Jay Bouwmeester will be united with Kimmo Timonen on the Flyers’ top defense pairing?

Reading between the lines, it appears Holmgren would not be opposed to keeping Biron between the pipes and freeing up enough money to chase a game-changing defenseman like Bouwmeester.

“I think we need to look at it and see,” Holmgren said when asked about improving the team’s blue line. “Kimmo is our security blanket and we’ve got some young guys, Ryan Parent, Matt Carle, Braydon Coburn and Luca Sbisa, scratching the surface. We will look at what’s available this summer and see if we can add to the strength of our defense. I think we have a good nucleus, but we need to build on it.”

As for his starting goaltender, Holmgren said he has had contract discussions with Biron’s agent, Gilles Lupien, and will continue those conversations “and see if we can get something done.”

Holmgren said he is also contemplating bringing back Antero Niittymaki as a backup next season, although that appears unlikely.

Season Highlight: In the greatest home comeback in the history of the franchise, the Flyers rallied from a 5-1 deficit after two periods on Dec. 11 to defeat visiting Carolina 6-5 in overtime.

Scott Hartnell completed a hat trick with two goals in the third period and Scottie Upshall and Simon Gagne also scored in the final period, setting the stage for Gagne’s game-winner in overtime.

Flyers fans in attendance were witnesses to history: It was the first time in Flyers history that the team trailed by four or more goals in a game at home and ended up winning the contest.

The only other time in club history that the team trailed by four or more goals in a game and won was Feb. 23, 1988 at Detroit, when the Flyers trailed 5-1 and wound up winning the game 11-6.

Scott Hartnell kicked off the comeback for Philadelphia with his second goal of the night less than two minutes into the third period and followed that up five minutes later for his third goal of the game to close the gap to 5-3.

“We came in (after the second period), and (coach John Stevens) basically said you’re playing like a bunch of pansies,” Hartnell said. “We turned it on for 20 minutes—you get one quick, you never know what’s going to happen.”

Turning Point: The Flyers held the fourth seed in the conference from Feb. 6 until the final weekend of the regular season, when a 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers in the season finale dropped them from the fourth seed to the fifth, giving the Penguins home ice against them in the first round.

In the two losses the Flyers suffered in their final three games, they were forced to dress a defenseman with no prior pro experience because they were at the salary cap threshold.

“We lost home-ice advantage down the stretch, which was disappointing, and I really thought it cost us in the long run,” Flyers captain Mike Richards said.

Notes, Quotes

• Several members of the Flyers organization were saddened by the news of Peter Zezel’s death on May 26. Zezel began his 15-year NHL career with the Flyers in 1984 and played parts of five seasons with the club. He was 44.

“In the time that we were teammates in Philadelphia, he was probably one of the most popular guys, not just with the Flyers, but among all sports figures in Philadelphia,” former Flyer Rick Tocchet said. “Peter was a matinee idol. He was one of those guys who was infectious. He had a fan base of girls that in all the years I’ve played in the NHL, I have never seen a guy that had so many girls flock to him. He was very fan friendly. I never saw him turn down signing an autograph.”

• Even before the conference finals began, Flyers coach John Stevens was convinced the Red Wings and Penguins would butt helmets for the Stanley Cup, and this time he thinks the Penguins stand a better chance.

“I think Pittsburgh could give Detroit a run this year,” he said. “I think Detroit has been the best team and until they get dethroned, they are the best team, but I think Pitt can give them a run.”

Roster Report

Most Valuable Player: It’s a tossup between Mike Richards (30-50-80) and Jeff Carter (46-38-84), but we’ll take Richards for his overall two-way play. Richards scored a league-high seven shorthanded goals (Carter had four) and led all Flyers forwards in ice time with an average per game of 21:44. Look for those minutes to drop next season when the team tries to give him a breather on penalty kills.

Most Disappointing Player: Groin injuries limited center Danny Briere to just 29 games this season, and when he returned for good, the Flyers’ chemistry was disrupted. Briere put up decent numbers (11-14-25), but the Flyers were 11-14-4 when he was in the lineup and 33-13-7 when he was not.

“The team was running along pretty good without Danny,” GM Paul Holmgren said. “We had to get him in and all of a sudden roles change again. It’s difficult not only for the player but for the coaches and the other players when he comes back in.”

Free Agent Focus: Goaltenders Marty Biron and Antero Niittymaki, right wing Mike Knuble and defenseman Andrew Alberts are the Flyers’ four key unrestricted free agents. GM Paul Holmgren says he would like to keep all four, but look for them to have serious discussions with only Knuble and Biron.

At 36, Knuble is a veteran presence in the locker room who produced 27 goals and could be a good mentor for top prospect James van Riemsdyk. The New York Rangers have reportedly expressed interest in Knuble.

Biron is well-liked in the Flyers dressing room and played well enough in the playoffs to win, although not as well as Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury. The Flyers would like to sign a high-end goaltender, but there are no significant upgrades over Biron available.

If the Flyers free up money by trading Danny Briere or Joffrey Lupul, they might have the cash to re-sign Knuble and Biron.

Don’t be surprised if the Flyers turn their attention to unrestricted free agent John Madden in an attempt to find a gritty fourth-line center who can win faceoffs. The Flyers finished dead last among playoff teams with a 44.3 percent success rate on draws. Madden can also take away some of the ice time Mike Richards has logged on the penalty kill.

Player News:

• LW Simon Gagne, just five days after witnessing the birth of his first child, a boy named Matthew, was back in the hospital May 28 having a bone spur and adhesions removed from his right hip.

Gagne underwent the procedure by Nashville specialist Thomas Byrd and felt well enough to board a flight back to Philadelphia the same night.

According to general manager Paul Holmgren, Gagne will require a recovery period of 4-6 weeks.

“I feel pretty good,” Gagne said. “Maybe two or three hours after the surgery, I was back at the hotel having lunch.”

Gagne, 29, said he felt some pain in his hip throughout the season, but not enough to keep him out of the lineup. After missing all but 25 games with concussion symptom the year before, Gagne played in 79 of the Flyers’ 82 games this season, finishing second on the team in goals with 34 and third in points with 74.

• Having been bothered by his contacts drying up during games and encouraged by the progress of Gagne, Flyers center Danny Briere underwent corrective eye surgery May 19.

“There were times during the games this season it was kind of annoying when I was wearing contact lenses,” Briere said. “They would get dry and start to bother me a little bit sitting on the bench. They told me it was a safe procedure and would be safe to play hockey.”

Gagne had the same procedure performed May 5 and now has 20/20 vision.

Briere’s procedure is called PRK (photorefractive keratectomy) and takes about seven minutes per eye. The primary difference between PRK and LASIK procedures is that PRK requires a few weeks before the patient has 20/20 vision, while LASIK surgery produces results in just a few days.

Briere, 31, recorded 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points in 29 regular-season games for the Flyers and added one goal and three assists in six playoff games. He missed 53 games due to a groin injury.

Medical Watch:

• C Mike Richards underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder and is scheduled for left shoulder surgery on May 18.

• LW Riley Cote underwent surgery on his finger on April 7.

• D Randy Jones is recovering from hip surgery.

---

How do the Flyers look to you?

Get a real goalie and let it ride. No changes needed.

504Heater wrote:Get a real goalie and let it ride. No changes needed.

Emery would suit their style. How's the nightlife in Philly? It's got to be better than Buffalo, right?

wprager wrote:

504Heater wrote:Get a real goalie and let it ride. No changes needed.

Emery would suit their style. How's the nightlife in Philly? It's got to be better than Buffalo, right?

There style is a guy who can stop the puck, Emery can't do that. JS Giguere is the guy they would be going after. JVD and something else should be able to get it done.

Vokoun is ideal. Can they relieve the Panthers of him? Would he waive his NTC to go.

Giguere is also ideal.

Manny Fernandez is also decent.

Take your pick.

Stay away from Emery. Although, I'm confident he'd be good, the Flyers need a real goalie as much as the Sens did.

Emery can stop the puck better than Biron. Hextall could also teach him a few stick-tricks so he can keep his crease clear without resorting to whining to the officials.

I doubt Giguere would go to Philadelphia since there are only two institutions in North America capable of caring for his son, one located in Los Angeles and the other in Toronto.

Vokoun could work, but they'd have to give something sweet up to make it work, and I'm not sure anyone is really sold on Vokoun being that capable of a goaltender.

Fernandez is interesting, but I'm not certain he's any better than Biron.

Ditto for Emery.

With regards to Giguere, I could certainly envision Burke trying to poach him from Anaheim to mentor Pogge. And I'd imagine that Anaheim would ask for Toskala in return which would give them a phenomenal tandem in nets.

Could very much so work in favor of both teams.

wprager wrote:Emery can stop the puck better than Biron. Hextall could also teach him a few stick-tricks so he can keep his crease clear without resorting to whining to the officials.

I would take Biron over Emery in a heart beat. There are so many fundimental flaws in Emery's game it was shocking to see last year in Ottawa.

Forget the off ice garbage, teams figured him out. The new Jim Carey,

From Tim Panaccio at Comcast Sports Philadelphia:

Flyers to Sign G Emery

Tim Panaccio, CSNPhilly.com, June 3, 2009

PITTSBURGH – Barring a collapse in negotiations, the Flyers are expected to sign Ray Emery as their starting goalie for next season.

Several general managers at the Stanley Cup Final consider the matter a “done deal.” Emery was Ottawa’s property until released by the Senators last June.

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren declined to confirm what others are saying at the Cup Final.

“We’ve had conversations with his agent [J.P. Barry] about a lot of things,” Holmgren said. “But I’m not going to comment on our internal discussions of players.”

Barry told CSNPhilly.com he is confident a contract will get done.

"We have been talking several weeks now," Barry said from Calgary, Alberta. "Paul has done due diligence on Ray. I'm hopeful it will lead to a contract."

Ottawa GM Bryan Murray told CSNPhilly.com that Emery, who has a complicated off-ice history, deserves a second chance.

“Philadelphia has always had great teams, it’s a very good organization, and they certainly treat their players first class,” Murray said. “I think Ray, or whoever went there, falls into the groove a little bit. Ottawa was the same.

“He went to Russia, and from what I understand, he had a very good year. He’s young. He certainly has ability.”

A martial arts expert who set a junior club record for fighting – a rarity for a goalie – the 26-year-old Emery spent five seasons with the Senators before going to Russia. He was drafted 99th overall by Ottawa in 2001 under then GM John Muckler.

Playing for Atlant Mytischi of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) last season, Emery posted a 2.12 goals against average and .920 save percentage with a record of 22-8.

Emery can’t sign until July 1 even though he is coming from Russia and not another NHL team.

“Ray's status as a veteran UFA in the NHL doesn't allow him to sign a contract for a future year until July 1,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly wrote in an e-mail to CSNPhilly.com.

Upon his return from Russia in late March, Emery had his driver’s license suspended for a week and was charged with “stunt driving” on Hwy. 416 in Ontario. Grenville County Ontario Provincial Police impounded his Hummer.

“He drove too fast,” Murray said. “Sometimes he was out later than he should have been. He missed a plane. Once or twice only.”

In June 2007, Emery was involved in an alleged road-rage incident with a 65-year-old Kanata resident. In February 2008, Ottawa police stopped Emery after he allegedly cut off one of their police cars. Emery later admitted on television he had been stopped by police about 30 times over a two-year period.

It was reported in Russia that Emery has cleaned up his act. The Flyers, others say, have done thorough research on Emery while he was in Russia and believe the worst is behind him. Murray said Emery’s problems in Ottawa tended to be magnified.

“He didn’t have many problems on the ice other than there was a little stretch when he didn’t play as well as he had been playing for us,” Murray said. “He’s a good goaltender. He’s a good athlete. He had issues where he tried to do more off the ice than he should have done.”

Would Emery be a sound investment for the Flyers? Murray was very direct on the matter.

“Well, he wasn’t in Ottawa because he was scrutinized so much,” Murray replied. “He missed a plane in Ottawa and every media person knew about it and wrote about it. When you are late for practice, we have 30 press guys in the stands with TV cameras going. They see that happen.

“You’d like to think and I believe this to be true. With every young man you’ve dealt with, that as they get older, a little more maturity about them, a little more experience and commitment, I think you learn to follow the rules better. Maybe we make them almost too automated. In some respects.”

Murray, like other GMs here, believe the Russian experience may have made Emery appreciate what he had here in the NHL.

“Maybe Ray going to Russia was a good experience for him and maybe now he wants to come back and be a real solid pro,” Murray said.

Emery carried the Senators into the Cup Final in 2007 against Anaheim. So what happened the season after?

“I don’t know why Ray got out of whack the way he did,” Murray said. “The year before (2007), he certainly was a young man on the rise and looked like a solid goaltender for a lot of years in the National Hockey League.”

There were various rumors about Emery’s off-ice behavior during the 2007 Cup Final.

“I didn’t hear that and being the coach at the time, I didn’t see that and maybe my eyes were closed,” Murray admitted. “I don’t know if it was true or not. But some months later, I heard a couple stories. We hear stories all the time about our athletes. Some are exaggerated a great deal, some are proven true.

“The only game he didn’t play good in [during the Final] was the final game. We took a couple penalties early, got behind and we got blown out. Every playoff game, with the except of a few goals, he was as good as you would expect from a young goaltender.”

One Western Conference GM said Emery deserves some Brotherly Love from Philadelphia if he signs.

“Every person deserves a second chance and this guy has cleaned up his act,” the GM said. “Tell me you haven’t done something bad when you were younger and got a second chance? Why should Emery be any different?”

E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net.

Neely4Life wrote:

wprager wrote:Emery can stop the puck better than Biron. Hextall could also teach him a few stick-tricks so he can keep his crease clear without resorting to whining to the officials.

I would take Biron over Emery in a heart beat. There are so many fundimental flaws in Emery's game it was shocking to see last year in Ottawa.

Forget the off ice garbage, teams figured him out. The new Jim Carey,

Agreed... high blocker side = goal... book it.

Cross crease pass he is done too. Get him going post to post it's over. Emery has such a low hockey IQ its kind of sad. He has tons of trouble reading the play and anticipating what's coming.

MurderOnIce wrote:
Agreed... high blocker side = goal... book it.

Oh wow, I just had a flashback of about 80 goals being scored on Emery in the Finals in that exact spot.

Biron and Emery.... where could this go?

:fighting:

The Guy With The Mustache wrote:Biron and Emery.... where could this go?

:fighting:

The door will be swinging with Biron leaving as a UFA as Emery walks in, so potentially they would miss :fighting: :fight:

Just watch...Emery might come back and make his critics look like fools...or not.

Such is Hockey Karma.