sportsjabber.net

Yesterday, Mike Knuble signed a two-year contract with the Washington Capitals worth $2.8 million per season, opting not to resign with the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Flyers wanted him back and he wanted to come back, but the two couldn’t reach an agreement. Knuble wanted a multi-year deal at what he made last season, the team wanted him to accept a one-year bonus pact; although they did offer a multi-year deal worth less money.

Knuble felt disrespected by the Flyers two-year deal and didn’t even consider it as he left for the Caps to play for league MVP Alex Ovechkin.

Who wouldn’t want to play with Ovie?

According to Tim Panaccio, Knuble could have gone to the Pittsburgh Penguins but decided to go to Washington because he didn’t want to move his family far.
In Panaccio’s article, he says that another CSN Philly associate, John Boruk, said that Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and Ottawa were interested as well.

It’s definitely a tough loss for the Flyers, especially on the power play. Knuble was such an important part of the man advantage and you can’t replace what he did no matter how much you try.

The 37-year-old come Saturday leaves 27 goals on the scoresheet, and 11 power play tallies. And with Joffrey Lupul gone as well, that’s 52 goals that are off the roster.

Someone has to fill the void, the team with the most offensive depth took a hit this offseason—at least, that’s the general opinion.

I, however, think the team’s offense will be fine.

Last season, the Flyers had six players with 25 goals or more including Knuble and Lupul. Instead of having six guys with 25 goals or more, they have now have four guys with 30 goals or more from last year.

And that doesn’t include Danny Briere, who had his season cut short due to injury, and Claude Giroux, who played one game more than half the season and looked like he’s a superstar in the making.

If Briere stays healthy, he’ll give the team 70-to-80 points. He’s that type of player, he puts up points. He’s a playmaker, and he can score. He’ll put up 20-plus goals and have 40-plus assists, he has done so quite a few times during his career, and that’s the reason he’s here anyway right?

Giroux, 21, showed a lot of promise in just 42 regular season games last year. He netted nine goals and had 18 helpers in 42 games with the big club this year, but those numbers seemed a lot higher as the year progressed on. Plus, he was arguably the best player in the playoffs.

If you believe Chris Therien, Giroux is going to be in the top-5 this year in scoring. That’s a little too much, don’t you think? But with that said, I do agree that he has that kind of potential, he reminds me a lot like Peter Forsberg but better defensively. He has terrific vision, playmaking and passing skills. He sees the play before it actually happens, a lot like Foppa did.

He should be good for at least 50 points and could reach up to 80 points, depending on who he plays with.

With a healthy Briere and Giroux continuing on the path he was last season, the offense should be more than fine.

In other news, the Flyers signed free agent forward Ian Laperriere to a three-year contract worth $1.16 per season. The 35-year-old can doesn’t show up much on the scoresheet, but brings a lot to the dressing room and will instantly become a fan favorite.

He brings character to a locker room that lacked it last year, he kills penalties, takes faceoffs, fights when the time is right, plays in front of the net, goes all out each and every shift in every game, and most importantly hates to lose.

A general observation from last year version of the Flyers is that they seemed content with losing. With guys like Laperriere and Chris Pronger in the room, that certainly won’t be the case anymore. As I said, Lappy hates to lose and will let it be known.

He is a leader of men, brings a lot to the room. It’s a good signing.

The move shows the shift in how the Flyers will play this upcoming season. Instead of using the “let’s score six goal-a-game strategy,” they are shifting to a more defensive game.

They already made their defense a lot better by acquiring Pronger from the Anaheim Ducks. Some fans thought they “overpaid” for the future Hall of Famer, but in reality, they gave up what they needed to get one of the best defenseman ever to play the game.

Pronger alone makes the team a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. He brings exactly what the Flyers need: a physical, clear-the-net, shutdown defenseman. Plus, he’s a proven winner. In his only year with the Edmonton Oilers, he brought them to the Cup and won the Cup in his first year with the Ducks.

Philadelphia also brought back goalkeeper Brian Boucher to backup starting goalie Ray Emery. Boucher, 32, signed a two-year contract worth $1.8 million. He’ll be on the books for $900,000 per season.

Boosh is back for his third stint with the team, originally being drafted by the orange and the black. He had a sensational rookie season leading the team to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance in which they lost to the eventful Stanley Cup winning New Jersey Devils in seven games.

But things went downhill for the immature Boucher, who spent time with four teams before revamping his career after one year with the Philadelphia Phantoms (Flyers’ AHL affiliate) and then finding his way in San Jose.

Boucher was an excellent backup to Sharks’ netminder Evgeni Nabokov last season, posting a 12-6-3 record with a 2.18 GAA, .918 SV % and two shutouts. He proved himself as a capable starter as well, filling in for Nabokov when he was injured for a little bit.

Boucher opted to come back to Philly because he loves the area and is an ultimate team player with playoff experience. He’s more than capable of taking over as starter if the Ray Emery experiment fails, while he will compete for the starting goalie position as well. Emery isn’t going to just be handed it, if he doesn’t come in and work his tail off, Boucher will be the starter.

I’m a supporter of the Emery signing, big time. I love the move for both the team and the cap. He signed a one-year deal worth $1.5 million, and is getting a second chance in the NHL. I don’t think he’s stupid so I believe that he’ll make the best of this opportunity and play himself into a long-term contract of two-four years.

He has a lot of upside, comes cheaper than re-signing Martin Biron, and if right, will be a tremendous pickup. If it doesn’t, I’m very confident in Boucher’s abilities to hold down the fort.

One thing’s for sure, the Flyers goalie will no longer be facing 30 shots a game.

By Bob Cunningham
Writer/Blogger, SJ Contributing Author

2M2MG

More…