I don't think this is the end to the Flyers wheeling 'n dealing.
When the Simon Gagne deal was first announced I didn't get it b/c Gagne wasn't playing, wasn't scoring, etc.
Now, had GM Paul Holmgren has been candid with the media and told us after the game that Tye McGinn had an injury or had he said it was bad on Tuesday at practice, then this would have made sense.
But Gagne to simply come here for "scoring" purposes didn't add up ... until we saw it was to replace McGinn.
But does it really improve their playoff chances? I don't think so.
Eklund is dead on about the Flyers interest in Dustin Byfuglien, a much larger deal. The problem, I am told, is that Winnipeg wants substantial return.
The Flyers likely can't make a deal like that unless they know for sure they're not going to make the playoffs and they are building toward next season. Byfuglien would give them an option on a player who can play either forward or defense and upgrade both.
I still see a possibility of Danny Briere being moved to Boston "if" the Flyers become sellers.
Nothing I have seen suggests to me that the Flyers are going to make the playoffs. Everything suggests they are a bubble team that may squeak in like 2010 or ... just miss it like Carolina did two years ago (2 points).
The Flyers had a possible 10 points to earn on this 5-game homestand and now the most they can get is 6. That's not enough. Teams ahead of them not only have more points, but less games played.
Teams behind them have less points but also have less game played. That's a bad scenario for Peter Laviolette to be facing in terms of making up ground when ALL games are within the conference.
I don't see Gagne as an impact player who is going to push the Flyers into a playoff spot. He might stimulate others to start scoring - Sean Couturier and Max Talbot come to mind.
Keep in mind that Kings GM Dean Lombardi traded him because he felt Gagne was getting good chances and not finishing. Sound familiar? You could say the same about a number of Flyers.
The Flyers won't throw in the towel without a fight here so there's still a chance they will continue to make moves to get them into playoff position.
But it could be a moot point if they lose out the remainder of this homestand and fail to piece together some kind of 4-5 game win streak.
Again, they have only won 2 games in succession all season. Doesn't bode well.
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