Flyers acquire rights to Dan Hamhuis

The Philadelphia Flyers have announced today that they have traded defenseman Ryan Parent to the Nashville Predators for the rights to UFA Dan Hamhuis and a conditional pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Now that the serious part is over, WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! How Holmgren got anything for a stay-at-home defenseman who can’t play the body and can’t clear the zone is beyond me. Even if Hamhuis doesn’t sign here, this is an automatic win, as Laviolette might actually play the 3rd pairing now!

Breaking it down, this creates an interesting situation regarding the contract status of Braydon Coburn. Coburn, who started this season horribly, really didn’t show up until the playoffs. For a young guy who has great raw tools, he hasn’t put it together yet to become the elite defenseman that the Atlanta Thrashers originally envisioned him as in 2003. He’s rumored to be seeking more than $3 million per year. If this is after the 2007-08 season, then it’s plausible, but his play has gone the other way since then. Holmgren needs to find a way to get him back below that price, as he still needs time to develop and mature. He certainly hasn’t hit his prime yet, and I don’t really want him to hit it somewhere else.

In addition, the Flyers will now look to get Hamhuis under contract, which will be interesting given the rest of the contracts already tied up on the backend. I would imagine that Hamhuis is going to get the contract that Coburn is looking for, which means Coburn is either gone, or is going to have to come back at a discount. In addition, Hamhuis probably needs to slot somewhere in the top 4, and also find PK time. Considering that he and Timonen played in Nashville, perhaps this is the future pairing? With Hamhuis playing the shut-down role, Timonen could regain some of that offensive prowess he had coming over from Nashville.

And finally, Ryan Parent packs his bags and returns to the organization that spent a first round pick on him in 2005. Having watched him consistently have forwards skate by him score during his tenure with the Phantoms, I’m not sad to see him go at all. I never thought the guy was any good given the role he was supposed to play, and the physical skill set he possesses. Maybe he’ll put some things together in Nashville, but he was never anything more than a body on IR or a 6th defenseman playing 5 minutes a game.

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Ryan Parent will have surgery Monday

According to Flyers GM Paul Holmgren, Flyers defenseman Ryan Parent will undergo back surgery on Monday to remove a disc fragment from his lumbar spine. At first glance, Parent is expected to miss six weeks of action.

In two years in the NHL, Parent has suffered two major injuries. Last year, he tore his labrum in his right shoulder and missed 36 games. Parent has missed 16 consecutive games this season.

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A couple of Six Packs over the Weekend

So, Andy and I were able to witness the 6-1 drubbing of the Hurricanes in person. Unfortunately, we were also treated to a lackluster Halloween Costume Contest that Lou Nolan would simply dub, “pretty shitty.” Some big things stood out to me during that game:

• Matt Carle looks dominant so far. He’s obviously playing with confidence being paired with Pronger, and looks like the Hobey Baker award winner from seasons ago. He’s racking up assists so far and has shown a great feel for the offensive zone. His goal in this game was the result of him taking control on the powerplay and banging in a wrap around that Leighton horribly overplayed.
• Chris Pronger looks comfortable and has been worth the price of admission most nights. His passes are on the tape, and his shot has been deadly accurate this year. The first goal was set up off another one of his slappers. He’s been dominant on the PP and has been fine in his own zone to this point.
• The Timonen-Coburn pairing was broken up, and both responded well. Timonen chipped in with an assist and looked more comfortable. Coburn finished off a broken 2-on-1 with JVR and also buried a bomb from the point, notching both goals in the third. Together, the two have looked lost, but perhaps this showing gets them going once again.
• Ryan Parent played and had an assist, but left after re-aggravating an injury.

• JVR has gone from potential bust to star in an offseason it seems. He’s using his size to his advantage, scoring a great goal by driving the net and deking out Wallin and Leighton with a weak backhander, but he’s also showing that he’s not afraid to at least get somewhat physical, responding to a challenge from Andrew Alberts. I’m sure the time in the weightroom helped, as he looks stronger and more determined this year. Could be shaping up to be a darkhorse candidate for ROY.
• David Laliberte, who I assumed would be called up with Briere’s injury, responded with a goal and an assist his first NHL game. Considering he was in the ECHL 2 seasons ago, he’s had a monumental rise. He has the talent to stick around and produce from the looks of it, and has some chemistry with Carter it seems. I’m seeing why he stuck around so long in camp. The hot streak he went on at the end of last year with the Phantoms doesn’t seem to be a fluke.
• Arron Asham is awesome. Enough said. This needs no explaining.
• Somehow, the great check of the game was not the monster shot Laperriere landed on Carcillo that had Andy and I in stitches. :/
• This game got physical, and the Flyers responded well. Bonus points for escaping without Conboy biting anybody this time around.

Monday night’s game was almost a replay, as the Flyers dropped the Lightning by a 6-2 final. They didn’t dominate this game like I thought they did against Carolina, but they made their shots count and embarrassed Mike Smith to an extent. Carter had a pair of nice goals, as well as setting up Laliberte for another one. Pronger had a couple of sweet assists to Richards on the night, and I thought Claude Giroux had an excellent game, with a highlight reel pass back to Pronger on the 5th goal. The points haven’t been there for Claude, but as long as he’s moving his feet and working his magic with the puck, you know he’s on. The only negative was that Syvret had a relatively poor game in limited action, and the third line seemed to get burned on the TB goals. Stamkos ripped a laser which nobody would have stopped, and the Halpern goal was crappy to say the least. Overall, an excellent past 3 days for the Flyers and their fans.

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Flyers Fall to Panthers

After almost a full week off and some relaxing team bonding in Ft. Lauderdale, the Philadelphia Flyers took on the Florida Panthers Friday night at the BankAtlantic Center.  What began as a commanding start to the game soon led to a Flyers team that lost all their drive and fell to the Panthers 4-2.

Arron Asham and Claude Giroux both scored a goal for the first time this season as the team experienced their first loss on the road.

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