sorry guys i wish i could tell you something positive about Lilja but theres really nothing there hes pretty crappy.
See this is what I mean...
He's not insurance....with a guy like him it's better to go without insurance. It's like bad healthcare..kind of a paper umbrella where when there is major health problem you wind up paying through your nose anyway. The 737K could be better served in some other manner...this guy might as well be Walker...albeit somewhat healthier.
walker costs a million more per year, which is a big deal if you're close to the cap (which the flyers are) and the backup d-man needs to play a lot (which they might, since pronger and timonen are old men and bartulis seems to get hurt all the time).
hopefully bartulis or gustavsson just play well in training camp, win the 6th d-man spot and we don't have to worry much about lilja.
There were tons of rumors going around about Lilja returning to Sweden already last summer, but now it looks like it's at least two more years in the NHL for him.
"Me and my family enjoy ourselves over there and a two year contract is just perfect for me."
In an interview recapping day one of free agency Paul says in regard to the signing of Andreas Lilja: "He’d be a good fit, whether it’s with Erik Gustafsson or Oskars Bartulis or Andrej Meszaros, I think he’s a guy that could play with any of those guys in a penalty-killing role." he later went on to say "I think he’s going to play a lot of games for us". Anyone else catch that? If he is "going to play a lot of games" for the Flyers you have to figure that he'll be the 6th D-man right? So why would he ever be playing with Gus or Bart? I don't think Paul would mention Gus and Bart in that instance if he is only counting on them for injury fill ins/call ups. Plus only one of Gus or Bart could even be on the roster if Lilja is the 6th D-man. Unless a D-man is moved. With rumors circulation that the Flyers are still going to make a trade I'd say a D-man will be included based on what Paul said. Am I reading too much into Paul's words or do you think he'd be that stupid and go with a Gus/Bart/Lilja 3rd pairing?
In an interview recapping day one of free agency Paul says in regard to the signing of Andreas Lilja: "He’d be a good fit, whether it’s with Erik Gustafsson or Oskars Bartulis or Andrej Meszaros, I think he’s a guy that could play with any of those guys in a penalty-killing role." he later went on to say "I think he’s going to play a lot of games for us". Anyone else catch that? If he is "going to play a lot of games" for the Flyers you have to figure that he'll be the 6th D-man right? So why would he ever be playing with Gus or Bart? I don't think Paul would mention Gus and Bart in that instance if he is only counting on them for injury fill ins/call ups. Plus only one of Gus or Bart could even be on the roster if Lilja is the 6th D-man. Unless a D-man is moved. With rumors circulation that the Flyers are still going to make a trade I'd say a D-man will be included based on what Paul said. Am I reading too much into Paul's words or do you think he'd be that stupid and go with a Gus/Bart/Lilja 3rd pairing?
I am guessing that Lilja will be the 6th/7th dman. I imagine Holmgren is realizes they won't make it through the season with all 5 top defenders playing 82 games, so when everyone is healthy he will be playing with Mez, and when there are injuries he will be playing on the 3rd pairing with Gus/Bart.
On the other hand, at the rate this offseason is going, who knows what could happen.
so the flyers have the same mediocre depth d-man for two years instead of two different mediocre depth d-men over the course of two years... who cares
The fact that its two years makes it a 35+ contract.
If he is sent down, we are stuck with his cap hit.
If he is waived, we are stuck with his cap hit.
If he decides to retire at any point, we are stuck with his cap hit.
Granted 740k isn't a hell of a lot. But that is still 740k less flexibility we could have had if we had brought in anyone else, or simply signed him to a 1 year deal instead of 2. Its just dumb.
The fact that its two years makes it a 35+ contract.
If he is sent down, we are stuck with his cap hit.
If he is waived, we are stuck with his cap hit.
If he decides to retire at any point, we are stuck with his cap hit.
Granted 740k isn't a hell of a lot. But that is still 740k less flexibility we could have had if we had brought in anyone else, or simply signed him to a 1 year deal instead of 2. Its just dumb.
I don't like this one bit. I'm afraid we've gotten ourselves our next Tollefsen here. Well, it will open up a chance for our younger d's to claim that 6th spot at least.
Not sure why this is a big deal. The guy makes near the minimum. If he plays a few games here and there I don't see the problem.
I don't think it's a huge deal either BUT the concern is that because it is 2 years and it is a 35+ contract, that means Lilja HAS to be at least your 7th D-man. We can't possibly be rid of his cap hit (barring trade), so if he were to be so bad that he isn't even an NHL d-man (like Tollefson), we are still stuck utilizing him as our 7th d-man (or just being an overall waste of cap space).
Sorry guys, I didn't even put the Youtube link in properly in my rage. From a Ducks perspective, he does everything he's asked. He's solid defensively, and somewhat aggressive. But then he makes the stupidest pinches and dumb**** plays it can drive you insane.
This guy is even worse than I thought he'd be.. one of the worst signings since Michal Sykora. Was Frank Musil unavailable on july 1st?!?! wow. just wow.
