Are Flyers Done Wheeling And Dealing?
Rumors Have Flyers Trying To Get Steven Stamkos
PHILADELPHIA - The Flyers may not be done making deals.
Rumors are out there that the team is trying to pull off another blockbuster deal with Tampa Bay involving premier goal-scorer Steven Stamkos before Friday night's draft.
The Daily News' headline Friday was "Broad Street Bombshell."
The paper's executive sports editor, Josh Barnett joked on "Good Day" early Friday morning, "Boy, just another slow day in Philadelphia sports, huh?"
Asked about the deals, Barnett said, "Well, I think the biggest thing to me is that this is really just a reflection that the management was clearly even more unhappy than we thought with the fact that a team that spent 54 days in first place in the Eastern Conference got bounced in the second round … even losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champions."
He added, "I think you're looking at this is a really a complete shift in changing the face of the franchise. Richards and Carter combined had 20 years left on their contracts, which is a pretty incredible number for any business, let alone professional sports. Obviously these are trades that help this team get younger and bigger. They get stronger on the wings. They obviously had a lot of depth up the middle. And … the one question that you could say about them over the years is that there really just hasn't been any stability in the goaltending situation. And now, with a nine-year, $51 million deal, they obviously have some stability in goal. Now it's just a question of the players they put around the goaltender."
Fox 29's John Anderson said he was asked on Twitter how many games he thinks Sergei Bobrovsky will play. Anderson said his simple answer was, "I don't think many."
Barnett said they're going to have to make a decision on what to do with "Bob," and that could be sending him to Adirondack, if he stays with the team.
"They are still high on him, but you have to figure what are you going to get out of him and how much better he can get if he only plays, you know, 15 to 18 games in a starting situation," the Daily News sports editor said.
The online rumors are that the Flyers might package their highest pick in Friday night's draft with one of the players they acquired to get Stamkos.
What does Barnett say? "I think there's a possibility that something more will happen."
"One of the things that has come through these deals is that the Flyers still have some flexibility in salary cap," he said. "They'll have about $7.5 million left to work with, and I don't think (general manager) Paul Holmgren's done here. It's just really going to be a question of what they do with it."
We'll see if general manager Steve Yzerman makes that deal.
Stamkos is said to be seeking a seven-year contract.
Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, during an interview Friday morning on "Good Day," was skeptical.
"Yeah, I find it hard to believe that Steven Stamkos is going to be playing anywhere except in Tampa Bay next year," Laviolette said.
Barnett said the Flyers re-signing Ville Leino becomes priority No. 1 as free agency gets ready to start next week.
http://www.myfoxphilly.co...ven_Stamkos_Rumors_062411 
