Do the Flyers Regret Signing Streit?

The question of the day is, with Lecavalier in the fold, do the Flyers regret their early move to add Streit?

The Flyers have said they did not expect Lecavalier to be bought out, and signing him was a move of opportunity.  Surely when the Flyers made the move to acquire Streit they had an offseason plan laid out that did not include freely picking up a prominent center for $4.5m.  However, had the Flyers known they could add Lecavalier, I suspect they would not have added Streit.

Clearly, the Flyers are trying to move a defensemen now due to lack of cap space.  Coburn could fetch a decent return, but I'm not too keen on the idea of subtracting a top-4 defensemen.  Meszaros, coming off a poor injury-riddled season and a UFA to-be, has little to nil trade value.  It feels like the Flyers are scrambling a bit, basically because they are.

I believe that, with Lecavalier, the Flyers are more willing to move Schenn or Couturier.  Those two had a disappointing season last year as the Flyers second line struggled, but the Flyers had no choice but to rely on those guys on the 2nd and 3rd line and hope for improvement from them.  Therefore, the option of trading them was particularly unappealing for the Flyers.  Now the second line has received a substantial shot in the arm, so while that doesn't degrade the trade value of Schenn or Cooter, they are not as critical to the upcoming season.

Accounting for Lecavalier before making any moves on defense, the Flyers could've made a move for a younger, better all-around defensemen than Streit.  Something like Schenn+Mesz+Read/picks for Yandle?  Or even something better for Pietrangelo?  In such a case, there would be no more talk of trading Coburn, and a second pair of Yandle/Coburn looks much more formidable than a potential pair of Streit/Grossmann.

Of course the Flyers could still make such a trade, but they are awfully tight to the cap to be paying Streit $5.25m to get 3rd pair minutes.

Jumping out in front of the market for an early move is a go-to play for Holmgren (Hartnell/Timonen, Bryzgalov, even re-signing Leighton), but by not letting events unfold and fully capitalizing on opportunities as they come, the Flyers make a different kind of risk.

Never a Dull Moment

I've said it before, but being a Flyers fan is just fun sometimes.  Whenever anyone of note becomes available, the Flyers are sniffing around.  Maybe always chasing the big move, the short term fix, has hampered the Flyers ability to win a cup.

Regardless of whether this is true, the Flyers are consistently one of the best teams in the NHL, and made deep cup runs in 95, 97, 2000, 2004 and 2010.  On top of that, there's always something to talk about, and rarely a forgettable season.

Tonight's signing of Lecavalier is a show-stopper and continues the tradition.

Now first, it's important to realize Lecavalier's days as a superstar are behind him.  Since his days as the #1 pick in 98, when then-TB owner naively labelled him the Michael Jordan of hockey, there's always been a superstar aura around him.  Truthfully, he only performed at that level for a brief period of time, and TB signed him up to contract with a cap hit of $7.7m/season under that spell.  Now 33, he hasn't hit 30 goals in 5 seasons.

With all the wonderful weirdness of this offseason and the compliance buyouts, the Flyers can look at him purely as a second line center.  While adding a big name forward seemed low on the priority list for the Flyers, a big issue with last season's team that no one talks about was terrible secondary scoring (meanwhile, the goaltending that everyone talks about was actually fine).  The team put a heavy burden on Couturier and Schenn to develop quickly into scoring roles, and it didn't happen last season.  This move does NOT mean they are giving up on either of them, but it does relieve that burden.  Additionally, the Flyers wanted to get bigger up front, and Lecavalier is 6'4".

Lecavalier's contract is reported to be at $4.5x5.  This is decent cap hit.  It's not without risks, going to his 38th birthday for a player who will decline over the life of deal, but consider the comparables of contending teams' second line centers.  Boston is paying Krejci $5.25m for his 33 points last year.  LA is paying Carter $5.27m for his 33 points.  Pittsburgh is paying Crosby and Malkin each ~$9m.  Lecavalier's 32 points at $4.25m looks pretty good.

Nor does this signing put the Flyers in an onerous cap position.  With some simple moves, the Flyers current cap picture looks like this:

The Flyers could easily sign a platoon goalie and put that lineup out there.

More likely some more tweaking will be done to this lineup and a defensemen will go.  The Flyers could either move Meszaros in what will basically be a salary dump, or they could try for a significant return for Coburn (and even now have the freedom throw in Schenn or Couturier now that Lecavalier is on board and Laughton is coming up).

Presuming the simpler transaction of dumping Meszaros, and running with some rumors about potential signings, the Flyers opening day lineup could very well look like this:

That lineup is clearly better than last year's team, and quite honestly better than I thought the Flyers could put together this offseason while being comfortably under the cap (although the defense is still underwhelming).  Either way, next season would be a lot of fun.

Bryz a Free Bird

So two days ago, catching many off-guard, the Flyers announced that they would buy-out Bryzgalov.  Much speculated but never certain, the Flyers decided to plow ahead.

My read was that the Flyers wanted to buy out Bryz, but would not do so this offseason until they had an alternative locked up.  Even if they want to give Mason significant playing time, they still need another goalie, and Bryz is still a decent quality goalie.

No need to beat dead horses, but Bryzgalov is coming off a decent season from a purely performance standpoint.  The problem is his contract and his attitude.  He has not been a difference maker, and no one wants to tolerate that circus for 7 more years of decent-but-not-great goaltending.

Then when you see quotes as in this piece, Bryzgalov seemed to be accelerating his own departure.  He obviously hates the media here (with some justification), and he just doesn't want to fight the fight anymore to succeed here in a system of play that does not complement his skills well.  All in all, even though I have been somewhat of a Bryz apologist, and recently wrote about the benefits of buying him out next summer, this is not a bad solution.

I also might feel slightly bad for Bryz, getting run out of town and the Flyers making the biggest buyout in NHL history to rid themselves of him, but consider he will effectively be paid $40m for 2 seasons by the Flyers.  Even if he never plays in the NHL again, worse things could happen to someone.

Another factor I did not consider previously was the effect of carrying Bryz this season on the Flyers "tagging space".  The issue there is that a team cannot exceed the present season's salary cap with contracts committed to the following year.  If Bryz was still on the team, his cap hit would be "tagged" to next season's payroll, taking up space the Flyers might otherwise wish to allocate to new deals for Giroux, Couturier and Schenn.  As it stands now, with Mesz and Timonen likely leaving, Bryz and Briere bought out, the Flyers only have $39m committed to the 2014-15 season, and thus have plenty of space to get those guys resigned during this coming season and protect themselves from RFA offer complications.

Goalie Alternatives

Now that the Flyers have a spot to fill, the fun part is evaluating replacement candidates.  The presumption I will make for this analysis is the Flyers want to bring him above simple backup quality, and who will be capable of carrying the load if Mason sputters.

Luongo - The biggest name, first it needs to be said that trading for Luongo is a terrible idea.  He has 9 seasons left at a cap hit of $5.33m.  Giving up assets for the privilege of that contract is insane.  If however the Canucks buy him out (which they clearly don't want to do, but may have no other choice), the Flyers may look into an opportunistic signing.  If you could sign him for a relatively cheap and short contract (say $8m over 2 years), that could really pay off.

Nabokov - This name always seems to come up on my blog.  It appears he will not resign with the Islanders.  Now 37, he had a pretty good season for the Isles but a disappointing playoffs.  A good option, if available for cheap.

Miller - Soon to be 33, a few seasons ago he seemed like a golden boy.  I think his play slipped last season, and he appears to have worn out his welcome speaking his mind in Buffalo.  He's got a big cap hit next season, and then will be a free agent.  If I were the Flyers, I would not trade anything of value for another outspoken goalie who will be a free agent soon.

Emery - Another name that has been on this blog several times before.  A free agent who did not play in the playoffs for the champion Hawks, a regular season line of 17-1, .922% and 3 SOs seems to confirm he is back from his injury concerns.  Again, if cheap and brief, he might be a good signing and a good partner with Mason to compete for job.

Thomas - I'm not 100% sure what his contract status his after sitting out last season, but presuming he is a free agent, and one year deal for him would certainly be interesting.  Now 39, he is only 2 years removed from a historic season, winning the Vezina, Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup.  With he and Mason, the Flyers would certainly have a lot of athleticism in the crease.

Smith - He had a phenomenal season 2 years ago, but that appears to be an anomaly.  Also, we've seen that a goalie succeeding on Phoenix may not mesh well under Laviolette's system.  Pass.

Clearly the common theme among the candidates is that Flyers should be opportunistic, and not commit too many resources to the goaltending situation this offseason.  Let Mason or someone else win the job, rather than chasing a white whale.

Rumor Commentary

After what has been a pretty depressing season, about which I saw little to post, it's fun to have things to wildly speculate upon!  No team does offseason crazy like the Flyers.  Maybe it hurts them in the long run, but they always put a competitive team on the ice and the moments of madness always keep it exciting for the fans.

Anyway, there's been a bunch of rumors popping up this week, and here's just a few comments.

#1 - Bryzgalov's agent says Holmgren told him Bryz won't be bought out this offseason.  Holmgren says that's BS.

I've already written a little about a Bryzgalov buyout.  I think the question is when, not if.  I previously laid out the case for doing it next summer.  Since then, I've warmed to certain scenarios for a buyout this summer.  Either way, Holmgren told Jeff Carter's agent he wouldn't be traded, and then traded him a week later.  Assuming Holmgren even gave Bryz's agent any assurances, I wouldn't put much stock in them.  I would ignore this item and say a Bryz buyout this summer is very much on the table.

#2 - The Flyers are a front runner to trade for Jonathan Bernier; possible packages include Matt Read, or Couturier+11th pick.

Bernier is a 24 year old goalie.  He was the first goalie taken in the 2006 draft, at 11 overall.  Thus far, he's been stuck behind Quick in LA.  Relatively small for a modern NHL goalie, he's very quick.  He's excelled at the AHL level, has a .912% in 62 NHL appearances, and many scouts think he's ready to try for a #1 NHL job.

He's also a RFA this year, and the Kings are tight against the cap  As a result, they are very vulnerable to an offer sheet and settling for meek draft pick compensation for losing him.  Now the Kings are aggressively trying to trade him in the next few weeks before that happens.

In a general sense, I kind of like the idea of the Flyers going into next season with Bernier and Mason, two goalies with unquestionable talent, and letting the best man win.  Neither is a sure thing after all.  The Flyers must, however, draw the line on how much they are willing to pay for him.

First, Bernier wants a chance to start.  I don't think there's many NHL teams that will trade for him and simply give him the #1 job, so an open competition with Mason might be the best he gets.  I don't think he'd be unhappy with a trade to Philly.

Second, let's throw out the package reported by Carchidi; Cooter and the 11th pick.  That is a terrible deal.

Third, the Read deal (or something like it) is reasonable.  Read is a quality player, and can play across a team's top 9.  Most likely, he's a 2/3 line wing in the NHL.  What makes him tradeable is, that while he still seems inexperienced and up-and-coming, he is 27 years old.  He's also a UFA after this season, and will be seeking a substantial raise from his current $900k deal.  I'm not sure the Flyers can accommodate that.  The problem is, the Flyers are already weak at forward, and there is no clear substitute to take his place.

Either way, the Flyers should not get sucked into a bidding war for Bernier.  If the deal is there, take it and buy out Bryz.  If not, walking away is just fine.

#3 - The Flyer are talking trade for Bobby Ryan, at a cost of Coburn and 11 pick

After some thought, I don't think this is a very good deal as presented.  It's tempting for Flyers fans to part with Coburn, as he is coming off a poor season that ended in an injury, and he carries a significant cap hit of $4.5.  What we have to remember is that he plays big minutes for the Flyers, and can flourish in the right situation.

With his size and skating, it is tempting to ask Coburn to do a lot, and I think that's where it went wrong for him this season.  He's not Matt Carle, and his slapshot looks good, but is horrendously inaccurate.  I could see him playing well with Streit though, in a simplified role.  Let Streit attack and Coburn be the anchor of the pair.  We might get to see the Coburn that looked so promising playing with Timonen a few years ago.

Furthermore, this is supposed to be a very good draft.  It seems a slam dunk for the Flyers to take a good young defensemen with the 11 pick, which is unusually high for the Flyers, but Flyers fans shouldn't count on that either given their track record of taking the best player available (which they usually deem to be a forward).  Still, the reality is that with or without Ryan, the Flyers are not cup contenders next season.  Yes, they need help at forward, but this is not the way to do it.

Streit Agrees to Deal

Yesterday it was widely reported that the Flyers have a deal with Mark Streit for 4x$5.25m.  Holmgren has denied there is any deal to report, but that is presumably because until a trade or buyout occurs, the Flyers don't have the cap space.

Is this a good deal?

Well, I'll start the analysis from this point: my hope for the offseason was to somehow parlay Matt Read into Keith Yandle.  Yandle is an elite puck carrying defensemen.  Great on the PP, skates all over the place, but not necessarily a stalwart defensively.  The last two seasons, he plays about 22 minutes a night in Phoenix and has scored 21 goals and 52 assists to put him among the highest scoring defensemen in the league.  He is 26 years old and has 3 years left at $5.25m.

Streit has a very similar scouting report.  Skates well, carries the puck well, and is good on the PP.  Also a bit weak defensively.  The last 2 season he has played about 23 minutes a night for the Isles, and has scored 13 goals and 61 assists.  He is 35 years old and apparently signed to an identical cap hit.

All things being equal, Yandle would be the preferred option.  He is a little bigger and 9 years younger.  Streit contract will be an "over-35" contract, meaning even if he retires his cap hit stays on the books.  Otherwise, very similar players.

Of course all things are not equal, and Yandle has a high trade cost; Matt Read alone would not be enough to acquire him.  Acquiring Yandle would probably require sacrificing an asset the Flyers really don't want to give up.

So maybe we should feel okay that the Flyers acquired the skillset they needed with no impact to their roster.

Here's a lineup projection presuming Pronger LTIR and Briere buyout:

That lineup needs a top-9 forward, and they don't have much money left to sign one (let's not forget a lack of second line scoring was a major problem last year).  I would not be surprised if the Flyers made significant adjustments to this lineup including buying out Bryz, and trading Read and Mesz to give Gustafsson a top-6 spot.  I'll leave that question for another post though.

Bobrovsky Takes the Vezina

I've already written a bit about Bob's huge season, and the hand-wringing amongst Flyers fans about where the Flyers blew it.  Now his Vezina victory is official, and I'm still serene about the whole thing.

Why am I so serene about it?  Basically because he won it on two months of hot play, and two months don't change everything.  What I wrote previously was a basically a subjective history--here are actual stats of season performances.

At the end of February this season, Bob was 3-6-3, .899%, and 0 SOs.  Nothing any Flyer fan would think twice about.  Over the next two months, Bob caught fire and would go 18-5-3, .946% and 4 SOs.  Thus he won the Vezina in a 4 month season with a cumulative stat line of 21-11-6,  .932%.  History has shown us however, that the first 4 months of the season usually go very well for Bobrovsky, and then the wheels come off.

First, you might notice a general pattern to Bobrovsky's seasons in this chart;

                                    2010 w/Flyers            2011 w/Flyers         2012 w/ Jackets

You can begin to see a pattern there of peaking around month 4 of the season, then sagging thereafter.  Moreover, in all 3 seasons, his month 4 performance is extremely similar.  That chart is still a little convoluted though.  Strip away more of the noise, and just break it up at the 4 month mark of the season.  The dichotomy becomes much more clear;

The second half of the season has been much more challenging for Bobrovsky thus far in his career, and it's probably not a coincidence that his first big season has come in a year where there was no second half.  What he did in the first 4 months of 2012 is better than his first two years with the Flyers, but not drastically so.

Is it possible that he wouldn't have had a bad second half, and he has simply developed his game?  Of course.  Is this a jaded fan rationalization?  Probably.  But I still don't have too many regrets over the situation.

Bryz buyout? But when?

Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie8 JunIt's not carved in stone, but in spite of what has been said in past, I expect PHI is likely to use compliance buyout on Ilya Bryzgalov. 

Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie8 JunAlso, PHI is in market for D and may be willing to move one of their young centres - B Schenn or Couturier - for the right deal.

And with that, a whole new round of discussion began.

I've already written that a Briere buyout is likely, but I have not written anything about use of the second buyout. I think most fans want to see it used on Bryzgalov, which may be a good idea.

Bryzgalov has 7 years left at $5.66 cap hit. At this point, it's not the cap hit that's the problem, it's the contract length. That is the 9th biggest cap hit among NHL goalies, and very close to the new contracts signed by Quick and Howard. Bryz hasn't been great, but he hasn't been terrible either, and paying an experienced goalie that number isn't unreasonable. If he had a year or two left at that number, you just let him play it out.

The problem is, I don't think the Flyers want to hitch their wagon to him for the next 7 years. He hasn't been a difference maker, has problems with the local media, and perhaps his teammates. Also, no one will take that contract in a trade, leaving a buyout the only option.

(For the purposes of this post, I am going to assume the Flyers have the financial means and will to pay Bryz to go away, which would be about $1.5m/year for about a dozen years)

If the Flyers decide to buy him out, they need another goalie. Handing Mason the starting job right now would be foolish.

As far UFAs go, this offseason Nik Backstrom, Evgeni Nabokov, Mike Smith, Ray Emery and Tim Thomas are available. Next offseason, potential options might be Lundqvist, Miller, Hiller, Halak, Vokoun and Crawford. Guys like Vokoun, Nabokov, Backstrom and Thomas are old and might be available at a reasonable cap hit on a short term deal. Lundqvist and Crawford could cost a mint (if even available).

The other option is a trade. There's already some talk about the Flyers' interest in Bernier in LA. My biggest concern with that route is that the Flyers don't have too many tradeable assets, and an asset used acquiring a goalie cannot be used to acquire a defensemen. Therefore I'm not crazy about the idea of trading Read to LA, as has been floated.

I think the Flyers should give Mason a full season to see how much resources they should devote in terms of cap space and trade assets to solidify the goalie situation. if he stinks, then you do what you gotta do, but if he seizes the job, problem solved. Therefore I lean towards buying out Bryzgalov next offseason, not this offseason.

The only wrinkle to that is the Flyers want to try Nabokov short term (who is is still an above average goalie), or roll the dice with Thomas or Emery. (Hey, this discussion of Emery (1, 2) and Nabokov sounds familiar...).

So my bottom line is, I'd probably buy out Bryz next summer, but not this one.

Next up, McKenzie's second tweet....