The Winds of Change in Philly

I like the Philadelphia Flyers a lot more after today's trades than I did before. However, their makeup is still confusing at best.

I don't think too many hockey fans were surprised to see Jeff Carter get traded. While he's an elite scorer, the Flyers enjoyed success in the playoffs without his services due to injuries and when he was playing in the playoffs he was largely invisible. Philadelphia also got a good return for him in Jakub Voracek, the 8th overall pick, and a third round pick. Thus the Flyers were able to increase their cap room by about $3 million (I'm assuming Voracek - a restricted free agent - will sign a deal for a shade over $2 million), add a good young winger who could play anywhere from the first to third line, and add two picks to help add to the team's shallow group of prospects. Even though they lost one of the league's top goal-scorers, it's hard to argue that this wasn't a good trade for Philadelphia - I'm not so sure for Columbus, but I'll blog about that later.

The Mike Richards trade was much more stunning as he was the team's captain and a star two-way center who many fans of the Flyers like to think of as some kind of second-coming of Bobby Clarke (which, of course he's not). This move definitely changes the identity of the team. In return the team acquired Wayne "The Pain Train" Simmonds whom will quickly become a Philly fan favorite, a terrific prospect/young player in Brayden Schenn, and a second-round pick. In the long run I think this will be a great trade for both teams, as it had become painfully obvious that Richards was struggling as Philadelphia's captain. He struggled at dealing with the media and wasn't able to really communicate with his coach or general manager. A trade to a market with less pressure on the hockey team may very well be in his best interests.

Then the Flyers finished the day by signing Ilya Bryzgalov to a mega 9-year contract. This is where things get confusing for me.

Clearly the Flyers are trying to win now while also add to the future. And while different, the current group of Flyers can definitely contend for a Cup. To be honest, they're still one of the deepest teams in the league. Their top-5 defenseman are deeper than any when healthy, and their top-9 forwards will be strong.

The part that confuses me is Bryzgalov. Yes, he's a darn good goalie. Two years ago he was nominated for the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender. However, he's been lit up by the Detroit Red Wings the past two years in the playoffs. Just follow this link and scroll down to his playoff statistics. And then think about how fans feel about Roberto Luongo right now - who would get lit up at times this postseason though he would slam the door at other times. Also, Bryzgalov has never played in a NHL market where there has been a lot of pressure. There's good, knowledgeable fans in Anaheim and Phoenix, but nothing like the rabid fan base of Philly - a market that is a true pressure cooker for goalies. And then it has to be considered that trading Richards and Carter was at least partially about helping the long-rumored locker room problems with the team and Bryzgalov has made plenty of comments that would make it seem as if he's not exactly the best guy in the locker room.

However, Bryzgalov is a number one goaltender, no questions asked. I just think Philadelphia may have better to wait and also talk with Tomas Vokoun on July 1st. Vokoun in my mind is every bit the goaltender that Bryzgalov is, and is much more of a team guy. I also feel as if he would have settled for a lower cap hit than Bryzgalov, which is important because the Flyers till have a lot of work to do. Ville Leino is an unrestricted free agent, newly acquired Voracek and Simmonds need new deals, and they probably would like to add a defenseman for the third pairing, which will all be tough with roughly $7.5 million left to spend until they hit the cap.

In the end the Flyers are a different team. And in my mind, a team both better prepared for the present and the future.

The legions of Flyers fans who are now staring at their Mike Richards and Jeff Carter jerseys and shirts need to keep that in mind.

Still, I'll be watching Bryzgalov closely - particularly come playoff time. And so will a heck of a lot of other people. Here's hoping he's up to it.