The Flyers have signed Scott Hartnell to a six-year contract extension, pre-empting his potential unrestricted free agency next summer. Hartnell indicated during his conference call with reporters that the sixth year was added to help mitigate the cap hit.
According to Tim Panaccio and RDS, the cap hit when the new contract kicks in will be a modest raise to $4.75 million per season. He will make $4.2 million in the final year of his current deal. Hartnell said that he didn't believe his open-market value would have changed much in a year, and he already knew he wanted to remain in Philadelphia.
I'll have more on Hartnell tomorrow.
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Several people have asked me which Flyers players are eligible to be assigned to the AHL's Adirondack Phantoms in the event of an NHL lockout that delays the start of the 2012-13 season. The potential list consists of the players on entry-level contracts: Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier (who turns 20 in December), Eric Wellwood, Zac Rinaldo and Erik Gustafsson.
Back in 2004-05, of course, the Phantoms (then still in Philadelphia) won the Calder Cup during the wiped-out NHL season. The additions of rookies Mike Richards and Jeff Carter for the playoffs played a huge role in the team's run to the championship, as did the stellar goaltending of Antero Niittymäki. In addition, Joni Pitkänen spent the season with the season on assignment from the Flyers, and the club also had the services of Patrick Sharp, rookie forward R.J. Umberger, enforcer Riley Cote and defensemen Dennis Seidenberg, Randy Jones and Freddy Myer.
The 2012-13 Phantoms will not have nearly as much firepower as their 2004-05 counterparts, but the lineup would clearly be bolstered by front-line talents such as Couturier and Schenn. In his seven AHL games last season, Schenn racked up six goals and 12 points.
In the event of a prolonged NHL lockout, Flyers fans who want to see their younger NHL players will either have to travel to Glens Falls to follow the Phantoms' home games, purchase
webcast access, or catch play-by-play announcer Bob Rotruck's
live broadcasts for free.
The Phantoms will make two live appearances in the greater Philadelphia area during the season, but both games are after New Years (by which time most expect an NHL lockout to be over). The Phantoms will play the Albany Devils in Atlantic City on Jan. 20 and will host the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins at the Wells Fargo Center on Feb. 22.
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FLYERS-RELATED TRAVEL: Smithers, British Columbia
The town of Smithers, British Columbia is a fly speck on the Canadian map: a remote outpost of 5,404 residents in the northwest corner of the province. Smithers is located about 150 miles from the Alaska border and 600 miles north of Vancouver.
Rolling hills, rivers and lakes, mountain ranges, green forests, farmlands, meadows and wildlife (including bears and moose) enclose the local landscape. Smithers' backdrop is snow-capped Hudson Bay Mountain, which towers 5,400 feet above the town.
In the dead of winter, temperatures in Smithers can hit 20 degrees below zero. Through the years, many a young boy could be found battling the biting winter cold while playing hockey on frozen Lake Kathlyn.
Remarkably, the tiny town has produced eight current or former NHL players as well as a minor league goaltender. Even more remarkably, three of the players -- brothers Joe and Jimmy Watson as well as Ron Flockhart -- played for the Flyers. Philadelphia also briefly held the rights of Smithers native Dan Hamhuis in June 2010, but were unable to sign the impending UFA and traded his rights to the Pittsburgh Penguins (who were also unsuccessful in luring Hamhuis to sign with their club).
Apart from the Watson boys, Flockey Hockey and Hamhuis the other NHL players who either hail from Smithers or played youth hockey there include Rob Flockhart (Ron's brother), Alan Kerr, Ron Homenuke, and goalie Mike Wall.
Locally, the hockey scene centers nowadays around the
Smithers Steelheads, a senior AA team, as well as the
Smithers Minor Hockey Association at the youth level.
For many years, Joe and Jimmy Watson's mother, Mary, was a regular at the Steelheads games, where she was something of a local celebrity. Mary Watson, who lived into her mid 80s, is now deceased. Her ex-husband, Joe Watson Sr., lived into his 90s.
Mary and Joe Watson Sr. had six children, all boys. Flyers Hall of Fame inductee Joe was the eldest son, followed by Fred, Steve, Jimmy, Glen and Jerry. To support the family, the father worked as a butcher in the winter and a logger in the summer.
Five of the six Watson sons played hockey. Glen later went on to coach junior hockey, while Joe and Jimmy played in a combined seven NHL All-Star games.
The Watsons, especially Joe, were also talented baseball players. Nine years younger than Joe, Jimmy tagged along with his older brother and was forced to play catcher, while star local athlete Joe threw fastballs as hard as he could into Jimmy's mitt. The sons grew up rooting for the Detroit Tigers in baseball and Detroit Red Wings in hockey.
At age 16, Joe left home to play junior hockey in Estevan, Saskatchewan and made his NHL debut for the Boston Bruins in 1964, earning a regular starting job the next season. He was then selected by the Flyers in the 1967 Expansion Draft.
Meanwhile, seven-year-old Jimmy stayed behind with the family in Smithers, following Joe's career through the newspaper, the radio and an occasional phone call. When he started playing organized hockey, Jimmy proved to be an even better prospect than Joe at the same age. Unlike Joe, Jimmy was a swift skater and (at least at the junior level) an occasionally dominant offensive player.
But Jimmy was unhappy with his play and a bit homesick when he joined the Calgary Centennials of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). Big brother Joe came to the rescue.
"I thought about quitting hockey early in my junior career," the younger Watson recounted in the Flyers' 1979-80 Yearbook. "Joe invited me to come visit Philadelphia to see what professional hockey was like and think about my future. It was the best thing that ever happened to me."
Jimmy returned to Calgary with renewed vigor. He went on to earn Best Defenseman Honors in the WCHL during the 1971-72 season. Expected to be a top-end selection in the 1972 NHL Entry Draft, the player inexplicably slid to the third round, 39th overall, when the Flyers selected him. He was disappointed to slip so far in the draft, but excited by the prospect of joining Joe on the same NHL team.
Spurning an offer to play in the WHL, Jim accepted Joe's offer to negotiate his first pro contract on the younger brother's behalf. After one year of seasoning in the American Hockey League with the Richmond Robins, during which time he earned a four-game call up to the big club.
Thereafter, Jimmy Watson became a Philadelphia Flyer – and Philadelphian – for life. Joe, meanwhile, has worked with or close to the Flyers for virtually the entire history of the organization.
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