Which Available Free Agents Can Still Help The Flyers?
It’s July 27th, and with the free agency period having gone on for almost an entire month now, the pickings are certainly slim. However, the Flyers are still looking for roster upgrades after missing out on Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, and Shea Weber. Aside from giving up valuable pieces of the current roster for Bobby Ryan, Keith Yandle, Jay Bouwmeester, or another trade target, the limited options left in free agency are the best way to do so. The Flyers’ current lineup looks like this:
Hartnell-Giroux-Voracek
Simmonds-Briere-B. Schenn
Fedotenko-Couturier-Read
Wellwood-Talbot-Rinaldo/Sestito
Coburn-Grossmann
Timonen-L. Schenn
Meszaros-Gervais/Bourdon/Gustafsson/Lilja
Bryzgalov
Leighton
Here are some of the best options still out on the market and how they could be a fit in Philadelphia:
1) Shane Doan, RW Phoenix Coyotes
The prospect of Shane Doan leaving the only organization he’s ever played for has been discussed ad nauseum this offseason, so let’s concisely sumamrize the situation here. Doan is waiting to make his decision depending on the ownership situation in Phoenix, which is currently in flux. If he hears good things and progress about the potential sale of the franchise to Greg Jamison, he’ll likely stay there. If not, he’ll be the most sought-after free agent left on the market by far. His potential suitors include your Philadelphia Flyers, along with the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, and Vancouver Canucks. Despite his age, Doan put up 22 goals and 50 points in his age-35 season. However, the 50 points were the lowest total of his career since the 1999-2000 season. Doan brings toughness, grit, and leadership to the lineup and he’d be a great fit in Philadelphia, whether he’d be joining Scott Hartnell and Claude Giroux on the top line or Wayne Simmonds and Danny Briere on the 2nd line. However, Doan reportedly wants a 4 year, $30M deal. That’s insane. That’s crazy talk. For that price, he better be playing somewhere else next season. If his asking price comes down, he’d be a great fit in Philly, but the Flyers are better served looking elsewhere at that kind of price tag.
Projected lineup with Doan:
Hartnell-Giroux-Voracek
Simmonds-Briere-Doan
B. Schenn-Couturier-Read
Wellwood-Talbot-Fedotenko
2) Mike Knuble, RW Washington Capitals
You might remember Knuble from his previous stint with the Flyers from 2005-2009. He jumped ship to the Washington Capitals after the 2008-2009 season, and was a steady performer up until last year. From 2005-2011, he never recorded less than 40 points and averaged 52 while playing in at least 79 games in 4 of those 6 seasons. However, last year he only played in 72 games, and his scoring nosedived to just 18 points amid clashes with interim head coach Dale Hunter and a reduced amount of ice time. The 6’3, 235 winger provides size, toughness, and leadership to his team and can score a decent amount in the right situation. He’d be a poor man’s Shane Doan for this team, and with Doan’s price tag, might actually be a better fit. Knuble could come in and fit on the 3rd line along with Matt Read and Sean Couturier to form a shutdown defensive line that also has some offensive punch. It would also slide Ruslan Fedotenko, a similar player with less scoring ability, down to the 4th line with Eric Wellwood and Max Talbot. Knuble would fit in great in the Flyers’ bottom-6, and help fill the leadership void left by Chris Pronger and Jaromir Jagr. If the Flyers can get him on a 1-year, $2M deal, I’d be thrilled to see him back in the orange and black.
Projected lineup with Knuble:
Hartnell-Giroux-Voracek
Simmonds-Briere-B. Schenn
Read-Couturier-Knuble
Wellwood-Talbot-Fedotenko
3) Andrei Kostitsyn, LW Nashville Predators.
After spending his entire career with the Montreal Canadiens, AK-46 was traded to the Nashville Predators at the trade deadline to hopefully give them some much-needed scoring punch. He recorded 12 points in 19 regular season games with the team, but created headlines in the postseason when he was spotted at a Scottsdale bar with teammate Alexander Radulov at 5:00 AM the night before (or day of, depending on how you want to look at it) their Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Phoenix Coyotes. He was scratched for Game 3 along with Radulov, and the incident helped to perpetuate the idea that he was a “me-first” type of player that doesn’t care about the team, a stereotype that exists for many Eastern European players. However, he’s only 27, he’s got some offensive punch (103 goals and 222 points in 398 NHL games), and he could be a bargain at this stage of free agency. Think of him as the poor man’s Alexander Semin. I’m not sure how well he would fit in Peter Laviolette’s aggresive, physical forecheck system and whether he would thrive or wilt under Laviolette’s fiery coaching technique, but Kostitsyn could be a low-risk, high-reward signing. If he doesn’t play well, he can easily be scratched, and if he thrives, it’s another offensive weapon to be used. It’s a situation similar to the Flyers’ signing of Nik Zherdev to a 1 year, $2M deal before the 2010-2011 season. There were mixed results (22 points in 56 games, with Zherdev being a healthy scratch multiple times), but it can’t hurt to take a chance on Kostitsyn if the price is right.
Projected lineup with Kostitsyn:
Hartnell-Giroux-Voracek
Simmonds-Briere-B. Schenn
Kostitsyn-Couturier-Read
Wellwood-Talbot-Fedotenko
4) Kristian Huselius, LW Columbus Blue Jackets
Huselius only played in 2 games last year before suffering a season-ending injury and just 39 the year before, but when healthy Huselius put up point totals of 77, 66, 56, and 63 in the 4 years prior to that while playing in 81, 81, 74, and 74 games, respectively. Huselius could easily be had for cheap at this stage of the offseason coming off of these injuries, and there’s really no risk to signing him. If he’s hurt, he’s placed on injured reserve, and if he’s not, the Flyers have a dynamic scoring talent. A 1-year, low money deal or even just a non-guaranteed invitation to training camp could pay big dividends for the Flyers if he manages to avoid the injury bug.
Projected lineup with Huselius:
Hartnell-Giroux-Voracek
Simmonds-Briere-B. Schenn
Huselius-Couturier-Read
Wellwood-Talbot-Fedotenko
5) Carlo Colaiacovo, D St. Louis Blues
Colaiacovo is a middle-pair defenseman who has struggled with injury issues in the past. He’s spent the last 4 years in St. Louis, and has played between 63 and 67 games in each of those 4 seasons. When healthy, he’s a good puck-mover who can help to fill the void that Matt Carle left when he departed for Tampa Bay in free agency this offseason. He’s tallied an average of 27 points from the blueline the last 4 seasons, a feat made even more impressive when you remember that he hasn’t been playing full seasons. However, he is coming off his worst season of the last 4 in 2011-2012, when he only recorded 2 goals and 19 points in 64 games. Colaiacovo could easily step in and upgrade the Flyers’ defensive corps and would be an excellent, low-cost replacement for Andrej Meszaros if he is moved in a trade later this offseason. He could help replace the puck-movement from the back that Carle used to bring to the table, and the Flyers have more than enough depth on defense (Marc-Andre Bourdon, Erik Gustafsson, etc.) to step in if (and when) he gets injured. He would also help lead the power play unit from the point. A relatively cheap, 1-year deal would make a lot of sense if Meszaros is moved in a trade. If not, there seem to be too many defenders to fit Colaiacovo in, as there look to be as many as 9 players (Coburn, Schenn, Timonen, Grossmann, Meszaros, Gervais, Bourdon, Gustafsson, Lilja) vying for 6 spots already.
Projected lineup with Colaiacovo (assuming Meszaros is traded):
Coburn-Grossmann
L. Schenn-Timonen
Colaiacovo-Gervais/Bourdon
6) Jason Arnott, C St. Louis Blues
Arnott isn’t the player he used to be, but the 37-year old can still get the job done. The 6’5, 220 lb center was once a dominant offensive force, but now uses his hulking frame in the bottom-6 forwards in a more defensive role. Arnott did have 17 goals and 34 points in 72 games with St. Louis last year, but he’s now called upon more for his veteran leadership and physical defensive play. Signing Arnott to play the 4th line center would be a huge addition to the Flyers, and I can’t recommend it enough. Max Talbot spent most of last season playing on the wing on the 4th line with Sean Couturier centering him, and thrived as a result. Talbot, if you recall, had 19 goals, 15 assists, and 34 points, all of which were career highs for him. As of now, however, he’s slated to center the 4th line, with Eric Wellwood and one of Zac Rinaldo or Tom Sestito on his wings, a development that comes as a result of Sean Couturier centering the 3rd line next year, which comes as a result of sliding Brayden Schenn, previously the 3rd-line center, up to the 2nd-line wing to replace the void left by Jakub Voracek, who has moved up to the top line to fill in the hole left by Jaromir Jagr’s departure. Signing Arnott would give the Flyers a tough, physical defensive veteran presence at the 4C who can also pack a little bit of offensive punch. It would allow Talbot to move back to RW, and would make the Flyers’ bottom two lines both defensively formidable: Read-Couturier-Fedotenko and Wellwood-Arnott-Talbot could match up very well with opposing scoring lines. With Atlantic Division foes Pittsburgh (Neal-Malkin-Kunitz, Dupuis-Crosby-Kennedy, although the Penguins are still looking for an upgrade at wing on Crosby’s line ) and New York (Nash-Richards-Gaborik, Callahan-Stepan-Kreider) both possessing two top scoring lines, two shutdown defensive forward lines would appear to be necessary.
Projected lineup with Arnott:
Hartnell-Giroux-Voracek
Simmonds-Briere-B. Schenn
Fedotenko-Couturier-Read
Wellwood-Arnott-Talbot
So, what would I do if I was running the Flyers? First of all, I would probably pass on Kostitsyn and Huselias. We saw what happened when Zherdev was brought in, and Kostitsyn and Huselias are similar players. All 3 are offensively-minded wingers who ideally would fit in on the top 6, but in Philly Zherdev didn’t, and the other two wouldn’t. On the 3rd line, which is usually a defensive-oriented line, Zherdev struggled. It then became hard to find him playing time because he was stuck in no-man’s land: not talented enough offensively to play in the top-6 (no crime when the lineup you’re in has Danny Briere, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, and Ville Leino, among others) and not sound enough defensively to fit in on the 3rd or 4th line. Neither Kostitsyn nor Huselias would fit in the Flyers’ top-6 next year (Hartnell, Giroux, Voracek, Simmonds, Briere, and Schenn would be ahead of them) and neither of them are noted for their defense. Combined with concerns about AK46’s potential impact on team chemistry and Huselias’s injury issues, it’s probably best for the Flyers to pass on both. Secondly, I’d pass on Doan unless his price tag comes down significantly. The age factor (Chris Pronger’s contract will haunt the Flyers for a long time) and the sheer absurdity of Doan’s contract demands means the Flyers would be better served letting him go elsewhere. If the rest of the roster stayed as-is, I’d love to see the Flyers pick up Jason Arnott. Since the Flyers don’t need scoring from their bottom-6 as much as they need sound defense, I’d personally be thrilled to see Arnott in Philadelphia on a 1 year deal that would continue to give them cap flexibility going into a crucial offseason next year. If the Flyers packaged Andrej Meszaros and Matt Read together (along with a draft pick or two) in a hypothetical trade with Anaheim for Bobby Ryan, I’d like to see them bring in Colaiacovo to replace the void left by Meszaros and Arnott for the same reasons stated previously. If the Flyers are comfortable with Max Talbot playing center on the 4th line, then I’d like to see them bring in Knuble to play winger in the bottom-6. As you can see, there are many potential combinations and permutations that could still go on with the Flyers’ lineup for next season, but my ideal lineup (that is still somewhat realistic, of course) would look something like this:
Hartnell-Giroux-Ryan
Simmonds-Briere-B. Schenn
Fedotenko-Couturier-Voracek
E. Wellwood-Arnott-Talbot
Coburn-Grossmann
Timonen-Schenn
Colaiacovo-Gervais/Bourdon/Gustafsson/Lilja
Bryzgalov
Leighton
Jason Arnott, Carlo Colaiacovo, and Ruslan Fedotenko would all be on 1-year deals, along with an expiring contract for Andreas Lilja, helping the Flyers maintain cap flexibility for the offseason, when Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell become unrestricted free agents and Wayne Simmonds becomes a restricted free agent. The Flyers send Andrej Meszaros, Matt Read, and a draft pick to Anaheim for Bobby Ryan, and the Hartnell-Giroux-Ryan line becomes one of the most feared lines in the NHL. The 2nd line has Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn playing a brutal, physical style of offensive hockey sandwiched around Danny Briere’s passing and playmaking creativity in the middle, and the bottom two lines of Ruslan Fedotenko, Sean Couturier, and Jakub Voracek and Eric Wellwood, Jason Arnott, and Max Talbot are stellar defensively and provide a bonus offensive punch too. The defensive pairing of Braydon Coburn and Nicklas Grossmann is a shutdown duo that stifles opposing top lines, while promising youngster Luke Schenn blossoms next to grizzled veteran Kimmo Timonen. Carlo Colaiacovo stays relatively healthy, and Bruno Gervais (or Marc-Andre Bourdon) has a breakout season next to the solid puck-mover. Ilya Bryzgalov plays 65 games and reverts back to his Vezina-finalist form he had in Phoenix, while Michael Leighton is a serviceable backup. The team hits its stride in the postseason, and the year ends with a parade down Broad Street after the Flyers defeat the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, and New York Rangers on the way to the Stanley Cup Finals before knocking off the defending champion Los Angeles Kings to win the Stanley Cup, with Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier, and Jakub Voracek (all pieces of the respective Mike Richards and Jeff Carter trades) leading the team in the finals. Hey, a man can dream, right?
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