I could agree with you if Hatch's knee wasn't the worse of the injuries between the two Vets...I do believe we need to hold on to either Hatch or Gator, I'd prefer Hatch but his knee is a difficult issue...
Do you have Gator heading back over to Edmonton?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Valhoun
All signs point to this club knowing that Hatcher is done for good after this season. That's 3.5 million free.
I'm curious to understand what signs you are referring to?
I feel like if they are giving him three weeks it's because they are trying to give him time to heal, that his knee issues are important to maybe more than just this season's outcome
Id say keep gator over him, because he's healthier, and will come cheaper, roughly 1.5 unless hatch were to restructure. Id have to look back over our cap for next year, and what potential signings would cost, but I'm still not sure that we'd have the space for another 4+ player.
If it's Giroux, JVR, or Parent that has to go, I say JVR. I just don't see him materializing into what one would expect from a 2nd overall pick.
Terrible logic, Billy. You always look to retain the better player, not the player who lives up to their draft status. From what we've seen of JVR, he could blow an entire game open with his skill and size. Giroux, while tremendously skilled in his own right, doesn't boast that game breaking ability.
I'm curious to understand what signs you are referring to?
I feel like if they are giving him three weeks it's because they are trying to give him time to heal, that his knee issues are important to maybe more than just this season's outcome
Homer has been somewhat cavalier about the this team's situation with the salary cap. It would make sense if he knew before the season started that Hatcher would be retiring. And that was before Hatcher developed even worse knee problems than he has had in the past few seasons. Hatcher is a beast but his knees are just plain shot. He dropped weight and worked on his skating to try to adjust to a faster paced NHL but he also did it to try and increase the mileage he can eke out of his legs.
I like Hatch. He's hilariously old school and stereotypical. But he just can't play the game anymore. Like I said previously, I hope he gets healthy enough before the end of the season and gets to the playoffs one more time. When healthy and the refs lay off the whistles a bit, he can be very effective.
Now, Homer's attitude with the cap and chronic knee problems may not exactly be crystal clear signs that Hatcher's career is done but I really think it is. His retirement solves all kinds of problems for us.
What's the situation with Gautier? Can we move him in the off season or bring up back?
That cap will go up again, it's all tied to league revenue.
Hatcher, obviously, relies on a very physical game to be effective. He's a dinosaur that's played over 1000 games in the NHL. His knees are just shot, that's all. His body just can't take the stress anymore.
Goat, apparently, can't be called up until our season is over. Or, more accurately, he can be called up but has to go through re-entry waivers. At this point in the season there are a number of soft teams or teams in poor health that would snap him up without thinking. He's a tough ******* that would be damn near free.
Homer has been somewhat cavalier about the this team's situation with the salary cap. It would make sense if he knew before the season started that Hatcher would be retiring. And that was before Hatcher developed even worse knee problems than he has had in the past few seasons. Hatcher is a beast but his knees are just plain shot. He dropped weight and worked on his skating to try to adjust to a faster paced NHL but he also did it to try and increase the mileage he can eke out of his legs.
I like Hatch. He's hilariously old school and stereotypical. But he just can't play the game anymore. Like I said previously, I hope he gets healthy enough before the end of the season and gets to the playoffs one more time. When healthy and the refs lay off the whistles a bit, he can be very effective.
Now, Homer's attitude with the cap and chronic knee problems may not exactly be crystal clear signs that Hatcher's career is done but I really think it is. His retirement solves all kinds of problems for us.
That's pretty well spelled out for me, thanks...
I can see the flipside of this three week hiatus as a sort of preparation for one last run on this knee for however long this team will compete in post season play, if at all. I just have a hunch that he won't retire just yet...I just don't get that feeling and I can't really support that thought process any better than that, haha
When he was with Detroit, he had to undergo season ending surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee. It's that same knee that's been giving him trouble. Fluid keeps building up within the knee, and even though the training staff drains it the fluid just returns a couple games later. I feel bad for the guy because he's worked so hard just to make it this far. And to have to continue battling with the injuries, it's got to be frustrating.
Hatcher ($3.5) and Sami ($1.25) will retire. Knuble ($2.8) will be traded at the draft, that will free up $7.55 million right there. Giroux will replace Knuble next season, Hartnell takes Knubles role.
He's been saying all along he wasn't going to trade Carter, but his name was in just about every trade rumor involving us so who knows if he was really available.
Other than the proposed Kaberle deal, which was reported by several sources, I tend to believe Homer when he says that he said no dice to any deadline deal involving Carter. For the cryptic stuff he said on 610 earlier, I think that there was something in place involving Umberger or Upshall+ going, and he wouldn't elaborate because it could be "revisited over the summer."
I'm having trouble believing that it's really Kaberle that Homer was referring to. If Homer said that "he didn't pull the trigger," that would imply that it was a done deal, just pending his final approval. Since Kaberle repeatedly refused to waive his NTC, it's hard to believe that Homer would've been in control.
But I didn't hear the interview at all, and my logic could be flawed. Just a bit of input though.
If Knuble wasn't traded today, he probably won't be.
Agreed, Knuble is a different breed than most of our current forwards...he is a top line Flyer vet...I think his value on the power play has become the extra point for his argument to stay a Flyer through the rest of his contract.
I'm having trouble believing that it's really Kaberle that Homer was referring to. If Homer said that "he didn't pull the trigger," that would imply that it was a done deal, just pending his final approval. Since Kaberle repeatedly refused to waive his NTC, it's hard to believe that Homer would've been in control.
But I didn't hear the interview at all, and my logic could be flawed. Just a bit of input though.
That's what made me think that it had to do with Jokinen or possibly Liles, who I failed to mention before on this thread...
Terrible logic, Billy. You always look to retain the better player, not the player who lives up to their draft status. From what we've seen of JVR, he could blow an entire game open with his skill and size. Giroux, while tremendously skilled in his own right, doesn't boast that game breaking ability.
I personally just see Giroux materializing into a much better player in the NHL than vanRiemsdyk. I doubt many other posters attended, but the rookie camp that was held last summer was a huge disappointment in my opinion. JVR looked slow, out of shape, sluggish, and was not dominating at all, when he was playing against the likes of lifetime average AHL'ers like Darren Powe and Chad Anderson. He was also playing against guys who will never even make the AHL or ECHL, like the waste drafts picks from the 6th and 7th rounders.(referring to guys such as Travis Gawryletz and Matt Clackson) not Pat Maroon who appears to have some hope of a decent future in the NHL. I expected to see him blowing by some of the defensemen on the other team during the scrimmage, but I saw nothing like it. He was not very noticeable and didn't make any moves that really blew my mind or even caught my attention. He was also always one of the last guys coming back into the defensive zone. It was a lackluster performance at best from him in the rookie camp. I have caught a few of his games at the WJC and he did look better, but that was also when he was surrounded with the US's best young talent like Colin Wilson and Kyle Okposo. Maybe he has made some decent strides in college, but I just don't see it. His point total in college is above average at best, and not that these are the same, and I am not saying that these two guys can be fairly compared, but Kane is producing much better in the NHL than JVR has been performing in college. Yes, I realize that if we would have gotten Kane, he most likely wouldn't be playing for the Flyers. And even if he was, he would be playing a very limited role and wouldn't be putting up nearly as good a numbers as he is putting up in Chicago. I am simply saying that it seems like Giroux has more potential to be a gamebreaker in the NHL than JVR. I'd love for him to prove me wrong and become one of the strongest power forwards in the league, but I don't see it materializing.
I personally just see Giroux materializing into a much better player in the NHL than vanRiemsdyk. I doubt many other posters attended, but the rookie camp that was held last summer was a huge disappointment in my opinion. JVR looked slow, out of shape, sluggish, and was not dominating at all, when he was playing against the likes of lifetime average AHL'ers like Darren Powe and Chad Anderson. He was also playing against guys who will never even make the AHL or ECHL, like the waste drafts picks from the 6th and 7th rounders.(referring to guys such as Travis Gawryletz and Matt Clackson) not Pat Maroon who appears to have some hope of a decent future in the NHL. I expected to see him blowing by some of the defensemen on the other team during the scrimmage, but I saw nothing like it. He was not very noticeable and didn't make any moves that really blew my mind or even caught my attention. He was also always one of the last guys coming back into the defensive zone. It was a lackluster performance at best from him in the rookie camp. I have caught a few of his games at the WJC and he did look better, but that was also when he was surrounded with the US's best young talent like Colin Wilson and Kyle Okposo. Maybe he has made some decent strides in college, but I just don't see it. His point total in college is above average at best, and not that these are the same, and I am not saying that these two guys can be fairly compared, but Kane is producing much better in the NHL than JVR has been performing in college. Yes, I realize that if we would have gotten Kane, he most likely wouldn't be playing for the Flyers. And even if he was, he would be playing a very limited role and wouldn't be putting up nearly as good a numbers as he is putting up in Chicago. I am simply saying that it seems like Giroux has more potential to be a gamebreaker in the NHL than JVR. I'd love for him to prove me wrong and become one of the strongest power forwards in the league, but I don't see it materializing.
