Baby Steps

Put the Chara hit aside for a moment, which has everyone hyperventilating, and last night was a good step in the right direction for the Flyers last night. Second win in a row, after a fairly sleepy win over the atrocious Oilers.

More importantly, the Flyers were skating harder for the entire game. It was still a close game where the Flyers benefited from a garbage goal, but the Flyers generated more chances, hit a few posts, and looked a little more purposeful on the power play.

Individual player thoughts;

-Really could stuff from Carter, using his speed and size, and evidently filling a need the Flyers have really missed recently.

-Carcillo has likely earned his spot in the lineup for the time being, as there's no reason to take him out for Nodl or Zherdev.

-I'm not really pleased with Richards offensive zone play. Overhandling the puck, and constantly trying very low percentage diagonal passes, especially on the PP.

-No Pronger, and apparently he let loose after the Oilers win, not being satisfied. Apparently Giroux was one of his targets? Not sure. I wouldn't say Giroux was bad against the Oilers, though he did pass up many good shooting opportunities for bad passing decisions.

Chara

The Chara controversy is still boiling. Probably influenced by the fact that it happened in Montreal to a hometown player, the PM of Canada is commenting, Air Canada is making threats about abandoning the league, and there is an open police investigation.

People need to simmer down. My opinion of the hit hasn't changed since my last post, where I said Chara bears some responsibility for not better recognizing his surroundings and letting up, but there just isn't much evidence of intent on a freak occurrence. In particular, a criminal investigation where the police would have to show Chara did something well beyond the type of contact a hockey player accepts the risk for AND that Chara intended to injure, seems like a complete waste of time. Still, the NHL doesn't look good by giving him no suspension whatsoever, and Bettman makes d-bag comments responding to Air Canada.

As lawyers say, bad facts make bad law, ie if we attempt to tailor rules to a freak or unusual circumstance, the rule ultimately doesn't work very well when applied elsewhere down the road. The NHL has to take a hard look at many things revolving around league discipline, head injuries, and IMO Bettman's leadership for on-ice issues, but this is not a good hit to make a rallying cry around league actions for head injuries. That said, no one is happy with league discipline actions, and it should be addressed in a meaningful way in the offseason (IMO house cleaning of leadership positions, but that's a topic for another day).

After Versteeg, what now?

Versteeg has yet to actually play for the Flyers, but that won't prevent a "day after" post.

First, I am pretty confident that the Flyers won't be able to sign Leino now that they've committed $3 million more to another player next season.

Second, will the Flyers move anybody else? I think that's what a lot of people are waiting for. They have more forwards than they need, and Carcillo and Zherdev aren't going to have very prominent roles sans injuries. On the other hand, I think each player has little trade value and the Flyers don't need to dump salary if they don't want to.

Eklund at hockeybuzz says Zherdev might go on waivers soon. As an Eklund rumor, it is slightly more believable than a story my 4-year old niece might make up.

Personally, I think Zherdev is a mentally lazy player. When he gets room on the rush, his stickhandling and shooting is unmatched on the Flyers roster. The rest of the time, he's slow to react and has lapses in concentration at both ends of the ice. Because he can score, he'd be an attractive waiver wire option to teams, but I can't see many teams giving up an asset of any value to acquire him. I'd love to be wrong, however. For that reason, I'd hang on to Zherdev, because I think he has value as a wildcard that can keep opposing teams off balance over the course of a long series.

Maybe the Flyers are looking a few other options, but I doubt there will be much of consequence coming back to the Flyers. There's just no room among the skaters, and what goalie options are there? If they really wanted to do something big, they could trade JVR, who the Leafs reportedly wanted. I'm glad they didn't, and I expect they're not pursuing options down that road.

UPDATE: Maybe the Flyers will trade Zherdev for another defensemen? Zherdev for a team's bottom pair guy (who would be a #7 on the Flyers) is plausible. From the reliable Dreger Report:

Kris Versteeg gives the Philadelphia Flyers another top nine offensive weapon and sends a direct message to all of Philadelphia's rivals - the Flyers believe this is the year.

Paul Holmgren is still looking for a defenceman to round out his roster, but landing Versteeg was a priority for the Flyers GM.

Brian Burke was keenly interested in forward James Van Riemsdyk, but Holmgren made it clear that JVR was not going to be part of this deal.

Philadelphia is stronger today and because of that, Boston, Tampa Bay and all teams who consider themselves contenders may now be eagerly trying to measure up.

Another team source involved in trade discussions says as soon as the Versteeg trade to Philly was announced, his phone started ringing.

Flyers trade for Kris Versteeg

I am caught a little off-guard by this one. I have heard some rumors about the Flyers talking to the Leafs for a trade, maybe for Giguere, maybe for Versteeg, but there never seemed to be enough momentum to any deal to think anything was imminent, and thus worthy of being passed on to the loyal Mostly Flyers readership.

I just didn't see the Flyers and Leafs interests aligning, and I'm still not sure I do. The Leafs are clearly in rebuild mode, looking for youngsters and picks. The Flyers have few of both, but they decided to part some of the few picks they have.

Versteeg is a quality young player. He can play anywhere in the lineup, in all situations, and was a valuable member of the Hawks during their cup run. But did the Flyers need another forward? They seem to have enough trouble spreading around the ice time for the forwards they already have.

I presume Versteeg will be playing with Richards, and Nodl or JVR will be bumped off their spot there. Or I guess they could use him to stabilize the Carter-Giroux line that has seen Zherdev pass through. Either way, Nodl or JVR will be fighting for their ice time, and Zherdev and Carcillo are one step further out to the fringe of the squad.

The good news is that the Flyers didn't lose anything off their roster for this season. It appears they're going all-in for this season, and this may have been the best acquisition available to them to improve this year's squad (even if Versteeg is something of a luxury for a team that is already deep at forward). Goalie is their obvious achilles heel, but there may not have been any good options out there. I would've liked to see Erik Cole too, but I have to think acquiring Versteeg is the end of that.

Lastly, Versteeg is signed for next season at approximately $3 million. Hmm, exactly the same amount the Flyers have reportedly offered to Ville Leino... And then there's this report from over the weekend;

Meanwhile, contract talks with left wing Ville Leino appear to have stalled. The Flyers are believed to have offered Leino three- and four-year contract extensions worth $3 million a season. Leino, who is making $800,000 and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, apparently believes he is worth more on the open market.

The writing is on the wall for Leino's future with the Flyers I think.

Flyers do some tweaking

The Flyers have waived Matt Walker, removing his $1.7 million salary from their cap hit.

Panaccio also tweets;

As I speculated weeks ago, sources say the Flyers would make a play for Erik Cole at deadline. Walker move may be start

CAR would not deal Cole if Rutherford feels he has a chance. Month away from deadline but #Flyers are interested in him

Erik Cole is 32 years old, pending UFA with a $2.9 million cap hit. He's not a high end scorer, but he complements high end players well, and can be a physical and productive player in that role. His best years came when playing with Eric Staal in Carolina, under then Carolina coach Peter Laviolette.

I have no reason to doubt what Panaccio reports. The trickier part is where the teams can meet on a deal. As with the Langenbrunner trade interest, the Flyers forward situation remains crowded, and they don't have much trade bait. What Carolina wants back in a trade could vary widely by how close they are to a playoff spot.

Aside from the Flyers probably throwing some picks to Carolina, the most easily identifiable trade candidates on the Flyers are Carcillo, Zherdev and Nodl. Personally, I wouldn't trade Nodl. He's young, cheap, is one of the best skaters on the team, strong on the puck, and is smart and very good defensively. Second, I really can't see the Canes having much interest in Carcillo, though I could be wrong there.

That leaves Zherdev. The chances of him resigning with the Flyers are very low I think. He's scored some pretty goals this year, but hasn't yet staked out a clear role on this team. Might Zherdev's high-end offensive ability tempt the Canes? Possible.

Zherdev and a mid-round pick for Cole seems the most plausible possibility to me. Either way, no trade will be imminent, and both the Flyers and Canes will see how things play out the next few weeks and reassess their needs and options.

Plus/Minus Check-in

Always interesting to see how players are performing in the plus/minus category. All the usual caveats apply (ice time, matchups, roles...blah blah blah).

Current leaders:

Meszaros, +29 (#1 in NHL)

Leino, +23 (#3 overall, #1 forward)

Carle, +20 (#7)

Briere, +17 (#15)

Hartnell, +17 (#15)

In the basement:

Carcillo, -7 (26gp)

Bartulis, -4 (12gp)

Powe, -1

First of all, when you're the number 1 team in the NHL, everybody has a pretty good plus/minus rating.

Two things jump out from the leaders; 1) Meszaros is playing really outstanding. Part of that is helped by playing on the third pair before Pronger got hurt, and thus being matched up against the opposition's third line. Still, his numbers have gone up since seeing increased ice time with Pronger out, and #1 in the NHL is #1 in the NHL, period.

The second thing that jumps out is all the members of the Briere line, with Leino leading the way. Anyone who's been paying attention knows the Briere line has been the best and most consistent line for the Flyers this year. Leino being several points ahead than his linemates also underlines his excellent play this year, and that he's also the best defensive forward on that line.

Carle's performance also demands praise. That plus/minus is way up there, and notably higher than his partner's (Pronger at +7).

At the other end, Carcillo and Bartulis stand out. I would be worried if Bartulis sees much playing time come the playoffs, and Carcillo is not doing anything to help his slim chances of resigning. I wouldn't worry too much about Powe, because the whole 4th line has pretty low numbers, and he's just a bit behind them.

Thumbs up on the new headshot rule

Given the Colin Campbell emails that surfaced today, it's probably not the best time to applaud NHL disciplinary action, but a NHL headshot rule has been overdue IMO, and we finally have one this season. It doesn't go as far as I would take it, but it's a start. As with any new rule, you expect growing pains of players, fans and coaches as everyone adjusts and tests the rule's limits, but you never know exactly how that will play out.

The rule is pretty simple;

48.1 Illegal Check to the Head – A lateral or blind side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact is not permitted.

Two simple elements; 1) is the hit lateral or blind side, and 2) is the head targeted and/or the principal point of contact.

The league also released this video to demonstrate;

Put it all together, and it's clear the intent of the rule is to remove a particular hit from the game, a la boarding and submarine hits. Speaking of boarding, the NHL rulebook states the following regarding boarding;

There is an enormous amount of judgment involved in the application of this rule by the Referees. The onus is on the player applying the check to ensure his opponent is not in a vulnerable position and if so, he must avoid the contact. However, there is also a responsibility on the player with the puck to avoid placing himself in a dangerous and vulnerable position. This balance must be considered by the Referees when applying this rule.

The NHL may as well have applied this paragraph to the new headshot rule because the instructional video makes clear, for blindside hits, the onus is now on the checking player to ensure his opponent is not a vulnerable position.

So easy, right? The following complaints have however have been lodged so far surrounding the rule;

1) Any hit to the head to a player in a vulnerable position is now a penalty

This came up on the following hit;

After the game, Tortorella said "“Do I have a problem with it? Sure, why wouldn’t I? We get these (head shot) tapes sent to us during the summer and at the beginning of the year. Why send them? It’s a waste.”

I don't know how much of that is gamesmanship, and I don't know of any real definition for "blindside", but I can't see any way this hit qualifies as "lateral" or "blindside". It's doesn't come under the new rule, period.

2) It was a shoulder-to-shoulder hit (mostly)

See the Dustin Brown hit;

There are some varying opinions on this hit, and it is a close call. Initial contact appears to be shoulder-to-shoulder, but the follow through appears to be into the head IMO. The rule is not that the hit is directly or initially to the head, but that the head is "targeted" or the "principal point of contact". This hit is very close, and would be a subjective call. I would support calling a hit like this a penalty just about every time---the point of the rule is to put the onus on the checker to stop making these kinds of hits, and if the checker is concerned with making a hockey play, it shouldn't be hard for him to aim away from the head area and still eliminate his man from the play.

3) The checker was not suspended, therefore the NHL decided the hit was legal after all

(see the Brown hit again)

I've seen a lot of people claim that the fact that Brown wasn't suspended shows that the hit wasn't illegal. That is plain, flat out wrong. Nowhere does the rule call for a suspension. The rule simply calls for a major penalty and a game misconduct, which was given. Suspensions are discretionary, and subjectively based on the severity of the play, like boarding. If a player gets called for boarding and is not suspended, does that mean the league is saying it wasn't actually boarding? Of course not. More likely the league decided it was not an egregious violation, and therefore supplementary discipline wasn't necessary.

4) It's not my fault--I'm too tall, or I couldn't avoid it...blah blah blah

See the Joe Thornton hit;

Frankly I'm kind of amazed at how much dispute there has been over this hit. It's a textbook violation of the rule; it is lateral, it is blindside, and it is to the head. The fact that people even feel it's relevant to say that "Thornton is not a dirty player" is merely a sign of how messed up the NHL disciplinary system is. Penalties should be called based on the play, not on some balancing act where the player's rep and his action need to be weighed against one another.

Thornton's brother/agent has also risen to his defense, "I guess being 5'9" was Joe's only solution to avoid this suspension." Under the rule, for lateral and blindside hits, the onus is clearly on the checker to avoid going to the head. Deal wit' it yo.

I think overall the NHL is doing a good job with the new rule, getting most of the calls right. There will be growing pains, and as with any penalty, the refs on the ice will occasionally get it wrong. Still, the rule was worth implementing, and the suspension decisions thus far have been more or less correct.