Michael Leighton: The news about his new deal didn’t break on Thursday, but the contract meant he wouldn’t hit the market, and to be honest, I didn’t have a real problem with the Flyers signing Leighton for 2 years at 1.55 because he seemed to be an above average goalie on this team, but his sample size was so minuscule nobody really knows for sure how he’ll perform over the next two years of his contract so I’m still a bit shaky with him as our goalie. Then when I saw Dan Ellis signed a nearly identical deal in Tampa Bay I almost drop kicked my T.V. Now this entire situation could be undone if the Flyers dump one of their many high priced forwards – hopefully Carter – and sign Marty Turco, or trade for Tim Thomas, but that has yet to happen so as of right now I don’t feel very thrilled about this move.
Andrej Meszaros: I like this move, but don’t love it. Meszaros is a very fine defenseman who should regain his offensive production in the Flyers aggressive system, but considering Meszaros has a 4 million dollar cap hit, and Anton Volchenkov signed with the Devils for a cap hit of 4.25, why not save the 2nd round pick and make a run at Volchenkov? Now there could be more to that situation than I know, maybe the A-Train was like Hamhuis and didn’t want to be relegated to a second or third pairing when he could go to NJ and be the #1.
Sean O’Donnell: I really like this signing. It reminds me a lot of when the Flyers added Jason Smith a few years ago. Both play similar games and are terrific leaders, plus neither is very fleet of foot. If our third pairing is Meszaros – O’Donnell/Bartulis the Flyers will be very well off.
Jody Shelley: All I can really say is, are you serious? I’ve been saying the Flyers need more skill, and I was proven correct during the final two games against the Hawks – they ran circles around everyone not named Leino or Briere. Then the Flyers start the first day of Free Agency by replacing Asham/Powe with Shelley? Are you serious? This was a perfect opportunity to sign a wing like Mark Reechi or Bill Guerin – a reasonably inexpensive veteran that knows how to play and could fit in as responsible presence on a line with Giroux and JVR, but no, the Flyers go with one of the biggest goons in the NHL and overpay him by about 400,000 dollars for three years. Just unreal.
For Friday, watch out for a big trade and possibly the signing of Turco or the arrival of Tim Thomas. There were rumbles towards the end of the day that Hartnell or Gagne were on their way out, but don’t be surprised if Carter is the one to go since the Flyers have a plethora of Centers.
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