Yesterday night, the Philadelphia Flyers dropped a bombshell on the hockey world. At the recommendation of specialists in Pittsburgh, new captain and sure-fire future Hall of Famer,
Chris Pronger, has been
shut down for the remainder of the 2011-12 season and playoffs due to post concussion syndrome. While losing a player of Pronger's caliber for the rest of the year is a huge blow to the Flyers, it does now open up
$4.9 million in cap space on their roster and leaves them with many options to fill the void left by Pronger.
The Flyers, already with an intimidating top four on the blue line without Pronger that consists of
Kimmo Timonen,
Andrej Meszaros,
Matt Carle, and
Braydon Coburn, will look to use the new cash opening to acquire a UFA-to-be at the trade deadline in February or sooner. Players that immediately come to mind are Nashville's star
Ryan Suter and Carolina's
Tim Gleason. As a physical presence and solid puck-moving D-man, Suter would be a fantastic addition to any roster, but Nashville seems hell bent on re-signing him. So if that trade were to happen at all, it would be right at the deadline, not any time soon. Gleason, on the other hand, is a member of a struggling Hurricanes club that has been surrounded by trade rumors galore over the past few weeks. Now with Pronger out, Philadelphia could easily decide to make a move with Carolina, it's just a matter if Flyers' GM Paul Holmgren feels Gleason, or either of the other 'Canes defensemen in the last year of their contracts,
Jaroslav Spacek and
Bryan Allen, are what the Flyers need.
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Ryan Suter would be the grand
prize for Philly, but the Preds may
not give up on re-signing him. |
Other notable defensemen set to become unrestricted free agents are Toronto's
John-Michael Liles, Anaheim's
Francois Bauchemin, Washington's
Dennis Wideman, and Tampa Bay's
Pavel Kubina. Liles is certainly the most intriguing name on the list, but do not expect him to be moved, considering the price Toronto paid to acquire him in the offseason and especially the Leafs' improvement so far this season. Bauchemin would be a nice fit with Philly, but it would be a matter if Anaheim is selling. Everyone in the Ducks organization remembers Bauchemin's contributions to their Stanley Cup Championship in 2007, and they may not be willing to trade any more blue liners after already trading Kurtis Foster earlier this week. If Washington's recent struggles continue, it will probably prompt some roster moves, and Wideman may find himself on the trade block. Kubina is well out of his prime, but could still serve as a slightly salivating acquisition for a power play unit.
All of this is speculation, of course, but the Flyers would be foolish not to utilize the $4,921,000 in cap space now available as the unfortunate result of their captain's condition.
