The Flyers Make it a Winning Streak

The Philadelphia Flyers have turned it up a notch at the perfect time, winning their third game in a row, defeating the New Jersey Devils 4-2. The Philadelphia Flyers, who have made inconsistency look consistent over the past few months, managed to put together their second 3-game winning streak since December.

The Flyers, who went into their game on Friday against the Sabres tied with the Penguins with 84 points for fourth in the East, have rattled off three straight wins, including huge wins over the Penguins and Devils, to put four points in between themselves and Pittsburgh. In the process the Penguins have actually slipped behind the Hurricanes by one point and into the 6th spot in the East. The Flyers now have 90 points, three over Carolina, giving the Flyers the inside track towards securing home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The Flyers seem to be getting settled as several of their key players continue to play well. Simon Gagne now has 6 goals and 8 assists in his last eleven games, including a goal and two assists against the Devils. Danny Briere has picked up the pace since returning and he now has three goals and two assists during this 3-game winning streak, including a goal and assist against New Jersey. Jeff Carter, who also added a goal tonight, continues to play well as does Mike Richards. In addition, Marty Biron seems to be gaining confidence with each start and seems compelled to step into the role of number one goalie; something that the Flyers will require if they are going to make a serious push towards the Cup this spring.

Just as important as the individual play is the fact that the Flyers power play has finally been revived, and they have scored 7 power play goals in the past three games.

All in all, the Flyers seem to be getting hot at the perfect time. With ten games remaining in the regular season, the Flyers have an opportunity to build some serious momentum heading into mid-April. The Flyers have managed to make the best of their opportunities and made a weekend that started off with some questions transform into a 3-game winning streak and something they can build on. The Flyers next game is Thursday when the welcome the Florida Panthers to the Wachovia Center.

Would you trade Gagne?

As we discussed on our weekly podcast, the Flyers have some goaltending issues. But honestly, when don't the Flyers have golatending issues. As the trade deadline of March 4th quickly approaches, there is a lot of speculation floating around as to what the Flyers might do to improve their team. Unforunately, none of this talk revolves around golatending. Top flight goalies are just too hard to come by these days. So, instead, I offer my opinion as to other ways the Flyers can improve their team.

The Flyers have incredible scoring depth. Only the Flyers and the Redwings have 5 players with 20 or more goals. Throw in Joffrey Lupul's 17 goals and a healthy Danny Briere, who is expected to return to the lineup Friday, and the Flyers have one of the most formidable offenses in the game. But, as the cliche goes, defense wins championships, and the Flyers are not nearly as strong on defense or between the pipes as the top teams in the league. Since a goaltending upgrade doesn't seem to be coming until the offseason, the only logical thing for the Flyers to do is trade away some of their scoring depth for a solid top tier defenseman.

The only name that comes to my mind is Jay Bouwmeester. The 25 year old Florida Panther defenseman is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and has expressed his desire to play for a winner. Florida currently sits in 7th place in the East, so somebody would have to put together a pretty solid deal for Florida to consider moving him. As Ed Moran of the Philadelphia Daily News reports here, the Panthers may be reluctant to take back salary in exchange for Bouwmeester, but instead would want prospects and picks. If that is the case, I would pass on trying to make a deal. They would probablly ask for Sbisa and Giroux, and if any of you have seen these two play, you know they are keepers. If they do take back salary, my offer would include Simon Gagne, Jim vanReimsdyk and Randy Jones. Now, I know this would never happen because of Gagne's no trade clause, but hear me out anyways. He is due 5.25 million dollars over the next 3 year and has had his share of health concerns. For a team with as much depth as the Flyers up front, he may be an attractive piece to offer. His trade value may never be higher than it is right now. He is showing that he has no lingering side effects from the concussions last year, and he is producing at nearly a point per game level. Most teams would love a top line player like that. I'm sure the Flyers love that about him too. I am just not that enamored with Gagne. He plays well with good playmakers, but he can never seem to make anything happen on his own. I expect that out of Mike Knuble, but not Simon Gagne. Not a guy I am paying 5.25 million dollars a year for. He could be replaced on that line with Giroux or Briere, and the Fyers wouldn't miss a beat offensively. I mean, they did make it to the Eastern Conference Finals last year without him. And no matter what anyone says, they don't beat the Penguins even with a healthy Gagne.

Randy Jones is a decent defenseman, but he is due 2.75 million next year and then becomes a restricted free agent. I really can't see the Flyers resigning him with their cap space siutation, even though he is young and has a good upside. He can easily be replaced for much cheaper by Lucas Sbisa next season.

Jim vanReimsdyk was the 2nd overall pick 2 years ago, and should be a top line offensive player when he finally leaves college for the pros. Key word there being "should". Holmgren has apparantly soured on JVR's potential after his subpar performance at the World Championships last year, and seems more likely to trade him than waiting to see if he pans out.

Florida ranks 17th in the league in goals scored, so they may be willing to make a deal to acquire some goal scoring. If the health of Gagne is a concern, other options are Lupul (4.25 million over the next 4) or Scott Hartnell (4.7 million next year, also No Trade Clause).

I think that may be enough to get Bouwmeester. He will want somewhere between 6-7 million per year, and I think we could resign him for a deal similar to the one Kimmo Timmonen signed 2 years ago. With Gagne, Jones, and potentially Knuble and Upshall off the books next year, there is plenty of cap space to add Bouwmeester long term. That would however leave limited space to add a goaltender via free agency, and would prompt countless "Flyers Golatending Issues Again?" blog posts this time next year. Luckily I can play GM from my computer chair without any of the stress.

Just for fun, here would be my lineup for the playoff run

G- Nittymaki
D- Timmonen Coburn
D- Bouwmeester Parent
D- Carle Alberts
O- Lupul Carter Hartnell
O- Knuble Richards Giroux
O- Briere Metropolit Upshall
O- Powe Asham Cote