Assuming there are no further delays in the process, the NHLPA's ratification of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NHL will be announced shortly after 8 a.m. today, followed by the formal release of the NHL schedule and the confirmation that training camps will start tomorrow morning around the league.
Over the last few days, it has been strongly rumored -- and then confirmed by the Delaware County Times' Rob Parent and by Tim Panaccio -- that the Flyers have interest in signing unrestricted free agent defenseman Kurtis Foster. The move would be designed to add a little more depth to an injury-ravaged blueline.
As things stand right now, if Andrej Meszaros is not ready to play by opening night (and it sounds like he won't be), the Flyers would have both Bruno Gervais and Andreas Lilja in their starting lineup. While both players are capable of handling sixth defenseman duties, neither is someone whom the club would want to extend to the 20 minutes per game that Meszaros (20:39 average last year) plays when healthy.
Foster, 31, is not a 20-minute player, either. He has not been the same player ever since breaking his femur in March 2008. Never the swiftest of skaters even before the on-ice accident, the 6-foot-5, 226 pound defenseman lost an additional step.
Ever since then, he has bounced around the NHL. Last season, he played a combined 51 games for Anaheim, New Jersey and Minnesota. In all, he's played for six different NHL teams, and had two stints with the Wild.
Despite his imposing size, Foster is not an especially physical player. Rather, he's an offensive-minded defenseman; rather underrated as a passer and one of the hardest shooters in the NHL. He has a 100-mile-per-hour slapshot when he takes a full windup and is adept at one-timers that he can release faster than most players his size. He's also had as many as 34 assists in an NHL season and had 9 helpers in his 28-game stint with the Devils last year.
After the broken leg, Foster has become more of a power-play specialist and sixth defenseman. That's unfortunate, because he seemed to have higher potential that that as a young player in Atlanta and Minnesota. By all accounts, he is a positive locker room presence and has a good work ethic at practice. He just has limitations on the ice.
During the lockout, Foster played in the SM-liiga for Tappara Tampere. After sustaining a collarbone injury in November, he returned to the ice in late December and played in Tampere through the end of the lockout (his final game was Jan. 5). In all, he suited up in 13 games, posting six points (three goals, three assists).
I'm not sure if Foster would be an upgrade on the Flyers' blueline, even on the third pairing. He may help a bit on the power play but he's also at risk of getting beaten on shorthanded counter-attacks. When defending rushes, he's vulnerable to getting beaten to the outside.
On the other hand, given all the injuries on the Flyers' blueline right now (so many that the team only has six healthy or semi-healthy bodies as camp is slated to open) it couldn't hurt to add Foster. If nothing else, he's got that rocket shot and ability to make good passes.
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Playing their respective first games since the end of NHL lockout brought about sweeping roster changes, the AHL's Adirondack Phantoms and the ECHL's Trenton Titans were in action last night. The visiting Phantoms defeated the Binghamton Senators via shootout, 3-2. The host Titans dropped a 3-1 decision to the South Carolina Stingrays.
Adirondack received a tremendous performance in goal from rookie Cal Heeter, who has shined as of late. Heeter turned back 41 of 43 shots in regulation and overtime and then went 5-for-5 in making saves during the shootout. The Phantoms got regulation goals from Matt Ford and Brandon Manning. Danny Syvret, playing in his 500th AHL game, scored the lone goal for either team in the shootout.
Trenton's lone goal came from captain Andy Bohmbach. Rookie goalie Niko Hovinen stopped 15 of 17 shots. The final Stingrays goal was an empty-netter with less than one second remaining on the third-period clock.
The Titans and Stingrays rematch tonight in Trenton. The Phantoms are on the road tonight in Pennsylvania to take on the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins.
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