Well, Nashville decided to match, rather than take the 4 1st rounders, so a lot more.
- Jsaquella

No one really knows what trade package they would have taken.

No one really knows what trade package they would have taken.
- puckhead17

True, but the compensation was 4 1st rounders, so you have to assume that they'd want at least that kind of return

first bold, yet, here he is for 4 more seasons.

second bold, yes, I know what he brought to the table, I wasn't against him coming here, I just thought it was too much for a player turning 36 years old.
The move screamed our lack of commitment to building a defense, more so.
- puckhead17

You can spend an entire career trying to draft the next Chris Pronger and you'll likely never find him.

From '03-04 to '09-10, Pronger missed 30 total games. HOF defenseman routinely play into their 40s. Lidstrom was still a Norris candidate when he retired!

There was no reason to believe the team couldn't get at least 5 good years out of him.

If the Flyers struggle early tomorrow, I would shake things up and go with the following line combos:

Hartnell-G-Simmonds
Lets give G two wingers who can get a hard forecheck going

Read-Couturier-Voracek
Lets give Read and Couturier some more skill and hope that this line can be solid in all 3 zones

Raffl-VL-Akeson
Raffl can carry the puck and work the wall, Akeson adds some skill and creativity, and hopefully VL can unleash his shot and finish. If VL continues to struggle, replace him with Schenn

Hall-Schenn-Rinaldo
With Schenn in the middle rather than VL, this becomes more of an energy line.

Thoughts?

How does showing Holmgren the door allow them to make a splash? He's one of the most bold GM's in the NHL. He does a decent job drafting, and a very good job drafting in round one.

They're likely to try to address the back end, and with the cap going back up, i think we'll see more liberal trading.
- Jsaquella

Agreed!

If the Flyers struggle early tomorrow, I would shake things up and go with the following line combos:

Hartnell-G-Simmonds
Lets give G two wingers who can get a hard forecheck going

Read-Couturier-Voracek
Lets give Read and Couturier some more skill and hope that this line can be solid in all 3 zones

Raffl-VL-Akeson
Raffl can carry the puck and work the wall, Akeson adds some skill and creativity, and hopefully VL can unleash his shot and finish. If VL continues to struggle, replace him with Schenn

Hall-Schenn-Rinaldo
With Schenn in the middle rather than VL, this becomes more of an energy line.

Thoughts?
- BiggE

My thoughts are line juggling is not going to be necessary because the Flyers are going to win tomorrow.

Injuries aren't the only thing holding VL back from that…

Pronger was a generational defenseman who suffered a freak injury. VL has missed games in all of his last 4 seasons and had already showed real signs of slowing down. Pronger's only full year here was amazing. 55 points, +22 while matching up against the toughest opponents every night.
- PhillySportsGuy

No doubt, even now, at age 39, if Pronger doesn't take a puck in the eye, he is still most likely playing 25 minutes per game and QBing the top pp unit. Those type of guys are irreplaceable.

My thoughts are line juggling is not going to be necessary because the Flyers are going to win tomorrow.
- MJL

I applaud your optimism and hope you are right!

You can spend an entire career trying to draft the next Chris Pronger and you'll likely never find him.

From '03-04 to '09-10, Pronger missed 30 total games. HOF defenseman routinely play into their 40s. Lidstrom was still a Norris candidate when he retired!

There was no reason to believe the team couldn't get at least 5 good years out of him.
- PhillySportsGuy

I understand, there was no reason to believe this, except for maybe, possibly, age, which affects all players differently.
Just my opinion, I always loved Pronger, but I thought it was a hefty package for a guy turning 36.

He was 35 when they made that deal.

The equivalent of 4 first rounders, for a 35 year old player.
- puckhead17

and they were a rch away from winninng the cup w/ an ahl goalie and suspect 3rd pairing.....imagine he didn't get hurt and we got a good goalie and some D help.....i wasn't complaining after i saw what he brought to the team.....i would have liked to see his response after that wussy (frank)wad douchebag ran over mason.....

If the Flyers struggle early tomorrow, I would shake things up and go with the following line combos:

Hartnell-G-Simmonds
Lets give G two wingers who can get a hard forecheck going

Read-Couturier-Voracek
Lets give Read and Couturier some more skill and hope that this line can be solid in all 3 zones

Raffl-VL-Akeson
Raffl can carry the puck and work the wall, Akeson adds some skill and creativity, and hopefully VL can unleash his shot and finish. If VL continues to struggle, replace him with Schenn

Hall-Schenn-Rinaldo
With Schenn in the middle rather than VL, this becomes more of an energy line.


Thoughts?
- BiggE

Those are probably as good as any, if they struggle. I think they will be better tomorrow than Thursday. Not saying they will win, but it won;t be a walkover by the Rangers

No doubt, even now, at age 39, if Pronger doesn't take a puck in the eye, he is still most likely playing 25 minutes per game and QBing the top pp unit. Those type of guys are irreplaceable.
- BiggE

stick

No doubt, even now, at age 39, if Pronger doesn't take a puck in the eye, he is still most likely playing 25 minutes per game and QBing the top pp unit. Those type of guys are irreplaceable.
- BiggE

Yes, no doubt, and then we would give him another 3 year deal at 42.

Those are probably as good as any, if they struggle. I think they will be better tomorrow than Thursday. Not saying they will win, but it won;t be a walkover by the Rangers
- Jsaquella

No doubt they will be better than Thursday, I just hope it's enough

I understand, there was no reason to believe this, except for maybe, possibly, age, which affects all players differently.
Just my opinion, I always loved Pronger, but I thought it was a hefty package for a guy turning 36.
- puckhead17

It was going to hurt future depth, but if you look at the pieces: Sbisa has not played well for Anaheim, Lupul hardly played then left for Toronto, the 2 first rounders ended up being late first rounders.

Its not like they lost some great prospect or player.

and they were a rch away from winninng the cup w/ an ahl goalie and suspect 3rd pairing.....imagine he didn't get hurt and we got a good goalie and some D help.....i wasn't complaining after i saw what he brought to the team.....i would have liked to see his response after that wussy (frank)wad douchebag ran over mason.....
- hogweed

I'm still pi$$ed at that, (now that you bring it up), I'm still perplexed at how talented, yet dirty the damn Penguins are.

It was going to hurt future depth, but if you look at the pieces: Sbisa has not played well for Anaheim, Lupul hardly played then left for Toronto, the 2 first rounders ended up being late first rounders.

Its not like they lost some great prospect or player.
- PhillySportsGuy

Thank you. Listening to some around here, you would think they gave up Gretzky. Lemieux and 2 first overall picks for him.

If Chara was 34 and Boston offered him to us for Read, Hagg, and 2 firsts, I'd take that deal in a heartbeat!

It was going to hurt future depth, but if you look at the pieces: Sbisa has not played well for Anaheim, Lupul hardly played then left for Toronto, the 2 first rounders ended up being late first rounders.

Its not like they lost some great prospect or player.
- PhillySportsGuy

Now that we know this, yes, (we didn't know this back then).

I'm still pi$$ed at that, (now that you bring it up), I'm still perplexed at how talented, yet dirty the damn Penguins are.
- puckhead17

imagine how good the flyers would look if they could play up to that edge and get called 1/2 as much?? frightening to think

edit: imagine all the time i would save if my kid hadn't plucked 1/3 of the keys off my laptop

Now that we know this, yes, (we didn't know this back then).
- puckhead17

No, but we knew that Lupul wasn't a first line winger, that while Sbisa was a nice prospect, no scout was projecting him to be a #1 dman and with a roster that now included Pronger, Timonen, Coburn, Richards, Carter, Giroux, Hartnell, Briere etc..., it was a pretty safe bet that the Flyers weren't going to be picking in the first half of the first round for the next couple of years.

imagine how good the flyers would look if they could play up to that edge and get called 1/2 as much?? frightening to think

edit: imagine all the time i would save if my kid hadn't plucked 1/3 of the keys off my laptop
- hogweed

imagine how good the flyers would look if they could play up to that edge and get called 1/2 as much?? frightening to think

edit: imagine all the time i would save if my kid hadn't plucked 1/3 of the keys off my laptop
- hogweed

Seriously, we could have had over 10 power plays in that game, Neal takes a cheapshot every shift alone.

Seriously, we could have had over 10 power plays in that game, Neal takes a cheapshot every shift alone.
- puckhead17

Please, if Neal played for the Flyers he would be suspended for the next half century

No, but we knew that Lupul wasn't a first line winger, that while Sbisa was a nice prospect, no scout was projecting him to be a #1 dman and with a roster that now included Pronger, Timonen, Coburn, Richards, Carter, Giroux, Hartnell, Briere etc..., it was a pretty safe bet that the Flyers weren't going to be picking in the first half of the first round for the next couple of years.
- BiggE

I know, it's just my opinion, if a 36 year old Pronger is worth 4 assets, then what is a 28 year old Weber worth?

I know, it's just my opinion, if a 36 year old Pronger is worth 4 assets, then what is a 28 year old Weber worth?
- puckhead17

More, absolutely, more. We'll never know for sure but I'm guessing Poile's asking price was somewhere along the lines of Couturier, both Schenns, Coburn and 2 firsts. Remember in Poile's eyes, he has to replace Weber and Suter, so he is not taking less than 2 NHL caliber dmen back in the deal and he's going to want both top prospects and picks as well.