Quick Hits: July 25
1) I can confirm that there will be one or two new inductees in the Flyers Hall of Fame during the 2022-23 season. The Hall of Fame nominating committee has begun the process, which will then go to the selection committee. Last year, Rick Tocchet and Paul Holmgren were inducted; the first inductees since Jimmy Watson in 2016.
2) The eighth annual Flyers Alumni Fantasy Camp will take place from Aug. 19 to 22 at the Class of 1923 Arena on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. We are planning a day-by-day blog of the camp for FlyersAlumni.net, including interviews with the Alumni serving as coaches and participating players. The camp has sold out each and every year. This year's coaches include three Hockey Hall of Fame members: Bill Barber (HHOF), Danny Briere, Dave Brown, Mark Howe (HHOF), Keith Jones, Bob Kelly, Mike Knuble, Brad Marsh, Dave Poulin, Mark Recchi (HHOF), Joe Watson.
3) On the Mondays with Meltzer edition of Flyers Daily on the Flyers Broadcast Network, Jason Myrtetus and I discuss the following topics:
* Sean Couturier's prognosis to return at 100 percent effectiveness after undergoing season-ending back surgery. Also, a look at the currently fashionable narrative that "Couturier was never a true No. 1 center" even prior to the injury and that no NHL team but the Flyers would have signed him in his late 20s to a contract like his present eight-year deal.
Couturier will turn 30 on Dec. 7 of this year and was still 28 at the time of signing the extension in Aug. 2021 to pre-empt unrestricted free agency this summer. Patrice Bergeron signed his just-expired eight year deal with Boston at age 28. As with Couturier, Anze Kopitar was a few months shy of his 29th birthday when he signed his current eight-year deal (which has two seasons to run) with LA.
* Matthew Tkachuk trade to Florida. Why the Flyers could not have competed with the Panthers' offer to Calgary. Also, how does the conditional 2015 first-round pick Florida sent to Calgary affect the conditional 2014 first-rounder (which defaults to 2015 in the seemingly unlikely event that the Panthers finish the 2023-24 season in a top-10 lottery position) that Florida traded to the Flyers in the Claude Giroux deal.
* The recent 10th anniversary of the Flyers signing Shea Weber to a massive 14-year, $110 million ($7.857 million AAV) offer sheet in the summer of 2012. In hindsight, was it a good or bad thing for Phliadelphia that the Nashville Predators matched? How might things have been different in the short-term and the long-term for the Flyers had Nashville failed to match? How much of a role, if any, did the offer sheet play in hastening the end of Paul Holmgren's tenure as general manager to become team president and bringing about the start of the Ron Hextall era as GM?
To listen to the 30-minute podcast,
click here.
4. Today in Flyers History: Flyers Acquire Carkner
On July 25, 1988, the Flyers acquired rugged defenseman Terry Carkner from the Quebec Nordiques in exchange for Greg Smyth and a 1989 third-round draft pick (John Tanner). The deal turned out to be one of the better ones of Bob Clarke's first tenure as Flyers' general manager.
In the first season of a five-year stint with the Flyers, Carkner routinely logged heavy ice time for head coach Paul Holmgren. In addition to logging 149 penalty minutes, Carkner posted a career-high 11 goals (13.1 percent shooting percentage) and 43 points. He was especially good during the Flyers unexpected run to the Wales Conference Final.
Overall, Carkner played 376 regular season games and 19 playoff games (all in 1989) for the Flyers. Unfortunately, Carkner's subsequent Flyers career overlapped with a dark period in which the club missed the postseaon five straight years. Among other issues, Mark Howe's chronic bad back kept the Hall of Famer out of the lineup frequently, and the Flyers lacked the blueline depth to hold the fort during his lengthy absences (the team actually had a winning record when Howe played but was far below .500 when he was out).
On Oct. 5, 1993, the Flyers traded Carkner to the Detroit Red Wings in a deal for the more offensive-minded Yves Racine.
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