You guys will love him. He was all grit in the playoffs for the Flyers, a very good defenseman and I'm upset to see him go. I have to believe something went wrong between himself and the team, there is just no other logical explanation. The only upside for the Flyers is they have left themselves some room under the cap for a trade deadline deal, but that's it. I'd still rather have Markov.
The only downside of this great pickup is that he is UFA next year, and no doubt that is one of the major reasons we got him so cheap.....anyway.... for a third, even rental for a year is well worth it.
It was rumored that he might be bought out with LeClair and Amonte a few weeks ago. Seemed pretty ludicrous at the time, but now it seems like there was definitely some truth to it.
Great Trade! Danny is a true heart guy, and will fit right in with the Preds. Hes got a little mean streak to him, is a strong skater and just solid overall.
This I swear to you all is 100% accurate. At the player's meetings to ratify in Toronto, Markov stood up and said, "This bleeping deal sucks and I could make more money in Russia. I will never sign another NHL contract again."
I heard this from at least ten players today. Clarke knew this as well...
If any of you know any players who were at the meetings in Toronto, please ask them and confirm this, before you slay me once again
http://www.flyersphans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43337 (have to register first to see it, most likely)
Even if it is true (wouldn't surprise me in the least bit to hear Markov say something like this) I doubt Markov would hold to it. He's just a very emotional guy and it's not like a ton of other players didn't say the same things during the lockout.
I hope we didn't trade him over something dumb like this (if it's even true of course.)
Remember...Eklund is a Flyer fan, and he's VERY likely trying to rationalize this. Markov doesn't have to sign another contract(though he will,) but legally, he does have to honor the one he has now.
Flyers fan here... we've been robbed!! Geez, cost us Justin Williams & you all get him for a 3rd?! Well you should all be happy with this move. Will fit in nicely with your defense. If your still looking for defenseman grab Malakhov those two were great pairing last season.
The above comments and the below comment in today's Tennesseean do lead one to speculate whether Poile has been duped by Clarke.....
"Trotz and Predators management made one yesterday after realizing they had a chance to deal for veteran defenseman Danny Markov of the Philadelphia Flyers.
"It was about a three-second conversation," Trotz said. "He's a guy that we didn't think we'd have a shot at trade-wise or any other way. We just thought he was a guy who was penciled in Philadelphia's lineup for the long term.''
I hav no doubt that Markov will play and play well for the Preds, but Eklund isn't the only one reporting that Markov may head back to Russia after this year:
Pannacio doesn't have a clue about hockey, but he does have some very well placed sources, and was the one that reported on the Markov deal a good 2-3 hours before anyone else had it.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Markov go back and play in Russia after this season.
Besides Eklund and Pannacio, has anyone else heard anything about this? It would be great if someone here knew a person who was at the players meeting in TO.
Firstly, if all players acted on the things they said during the lockout, there would be a lot of guys not playing in the NHL this season. We'll call it the Bryan McCabe syndrome.
Secondly, there are two things David Poile doesn't like: 1) Giving up draft picks. 2) Dealing with European players who are wishy washy about coming to north america. I don't think he would have drafted Radulov if he didn't tell Poile that he wanted to come over to play in the Canadian juniors. He's been burned in some form by Ciger, Mukhachev, and possibly others to the point that he has almost exclusively drafted Americans and Canadians in the 1st and 2nd rounds. He is so conservative he makes Rush Limbaugh look like Michael Moore. I just don't see him making this deal without looking into his chances of getting Markov to come over.
With that said, these are crazy times and it is certainly possible he just decided to take the risk, or he somehow panicked when all of the defensemen started signing with others and clarke got him. But panic isn't a word generally associated with David Poile. Methodical, tedious, mind-numbing patience are usually the words attributed to poile.
If Markov/Arkhipov don't come over, we're not on the hook for their salaries, right? If not, I'm sure Poile can find another capable, yet more boring guy to take his place. I'd rather take a chance on a guy and not have to pay him then make a mistake on a guy and be on the hook for, say, 4 years/$13.5 million.
Personally, I think Markov will play in Nashville this year. Next year is up in the air, but hopefully the team will do well and he'll like the city and decide to sign a new contract afterward.
On the flip side.....are we sure Russian clubs have to honor his NHL contract now that there isn't an agreement with the IIHF? I mean, if Markov decided to just stay in Russia and play next year, is there really anything we could do about it?
Mind you...I don't think that's going to happen.
If Markov/Arkhipov don't come over, we don't have to pay their salaries. But I'm not sure whether or not they count against the salary cap. Does anyone know this?
Anyway, assuming he plays, I'm happy with a D now. We could get just about anybody but Delmore to be our 7th D-man right now and I'd be happy. It's center time.
He'll play this year for sure. As far as next year goes, it's not as important. Hamhuis will be ready for top line duties so will Suter. Weber and Klein will both be ready to make the bigs if they haven't already. So he might be pushed out anyway.
