Flyers traded R.J. Umberger and a 4th round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Columbus's 1st round 19th pick and 3rd round pick.

Would liked to have seen him stay but the salary cap made it difficult.

The pick turns out to be defenseman Luca Sbisa of the WHL's Lethbridge Hurricanes. Flyers need some depth in defense, ya.

The Calgary Sun has reported that former Flyer Peter Forsberg has been contacted by the Philadelphia Flyers to possibly return to the team as early as mid-November.

Currently Forsberg is recovering from his injuries last year by playing with MoDo of the Swedish Elite League.

Other teams interested in the veteran center are the Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche and the Ottawa Senators. The Stars made the impressive move of sending GM Doug Armstrong and special adviser Brett Hull to Sweden to meet with Forsberg in a face-to-face meeting.

Phillyburbs.com writes, "he (Forsberg) wants to return to Philly to make amends for last season.”

Flyers GM Paul Homegren would welcome him with arms wide open. “If Peter is going to come back and he's healthy, we would have interest,” Holmgren confirmed the other day. “And we would hope that he would have interest in coming here.”

The Flyers however only have $2.5 million in cap space left after all of their signings in the off season. Hopefully Forsberg will want to play due to the fact at how great the team has looked so far this year and not for the money.

I took the liberty to come up with some offensive line combinations if Forsberg would return....

Richards - Forsberg – Upshall
Richards - Forsberg – Lupul
Lupul - Forsberg – Kapanen
Kapanen - Forsberg - Hartnell

You decide!

There are still a bunch of free agents for the Flyers to sign, or not sign this summer. This is the list I have with around $19.5million left to spend.

Antero Niittymaki - RFA Made $1million last season. With Martin Biron signed as the #1 guy will Nitty resign knowing he is the backup?

Joni Pitkanen - RFA Made $2million last season. With Kukkonen resigned the Flyers look to get Pitkanen signed. But he didnt play like a $2million defenseman last year, will he get that this year?

Dmitry Afanasenkov - RFA Made $738k last season. I have heard that the Flyers might not resign him. I think that would be a mistake, one of the few bright spots from last season was Afansenkov’s work ethic.

Robert Esche - UFA Made $1million last season. With Biron and Nitty no room for Esche. Even if Nitty goes elsewhere I dont think Esche would be resigned.

Mike York - UFA Made $2.85million last season. The trade to get York turned out to be one of the few bad ones last season. I dont see him coming back.

Todd Fedoruk - UFA Made $450k last season. When the Flyers reacquired Fedoruk he did bring some positive engery to the Flyers, scoring on his first shift back as a Flyer. As the rest of the season went Fedoruk seemed more less and less effective. The last few fights he had he didnt look 100%. With the logjam of forwards the Flyers will have I dont see him being with the club when the season starts.

The rest of these will most likely be with the Phantoms if resigned so they wont count against the cap.
Ryan Potulny played 35 games with the Flyers last season and could see some time with the Flyers. Him and Jonsson I would definetly like to see resigned.

Riley Cote - RFA
Ryan Potulny - RFA
Matt Ellison - RFA
Darren Reid - RFA
Lars Jonsson - RFA
Rosario Rugger i- RFA
Scott Munroe - RFA
Denis Hamel - UFA
Boyd Kane - UFA
Eric Meloche - UFA
Mark Cullen - UFA
David Printz - UFA

So how does the team look

The forwards
Carter-Gagne-Knuble
Richards-Kapanen-Sanderson
Umberger-Eager-Upshall
Potulny-Afanasenkov-Ruzicka
Fedoruk

If Ruzicka plays for the Phantoms and if Fedoruk or Afanasenkov is not resigned this leaves some room for the #1 center the Flyers are expected to sign. Forsberg anyone?

The defense
Hatcher-Coburn
Kukkonen-Pitkanen
Gauthier-Picard
Jones

I expect the Flyers to try to upgrade the defense with a top 2 defenseman. If this is the case someone has to go unless Jones or Picard goes back to the Phantoms. I still would like to see Hatcher moved during the off season. I don’t care that he won the Barry Ashbee trophy as best defenseman last season for the Flyers. He was decent on the penalty kill during the second half of the season I will give him that, but he needs to contribute offensivly and he apparently doesn’t have it.

Flyers sign denfenseman Lasse Kukkonen to a new 2 year $1.75million contract.
Works out to $900k this season and $875k next. The cap hit for this season is actually $850k.

GM Paul Holmgren on the signing

He showed that he can move the puck extremely well and that he is a really steady defender. ‘We look forward to him being part of our defense for the next two seasons.

Flyers acquired Kukkonen from the Blackhawks this past February and a 3rd round draft pick trading back Kyle Calder.

Kukkonen played 20 games as a Flyer and was minus -1 with no points.

A big reason at acquiring Kukkonen is because of Pitkanen. Pitkanen like most rest of the Flyers had a bad season and it seems Pitkanen is having problems adjusting to North American life, so they got him a buddy.
I am interested to see how Kukkonen does this season. I thought all 4 Finnish defensemen played well together when the other 2 were called up.

The Philadelphia Flyers have signed Ben Eager to a new two-year contract. $1.2mill over 2 years.

GM Paul Holmgren on the signing

Ben is another one of our younger players that continued to develop last season. He is a big, physical presence on the ice and adds a key dimension to our lineup. We expect Ben to be an important part of our core of young players that we’re going to continue to build upon.

And Eager

I'm really excited. The team is looking ahead and I'm happy to be a part of things, especially with the core group that we have here. There’s going to be a lot of excitement over these next few years and I’m happy that I’ll get to be a part of it.

This is a good deal for the Flyers, I have always liked Eager. I would like to see him focus more on his offensive game.

But lets checkout some of his 'real' skills.

The Flyers resigned Scottie Upshall to a 2 year contract at $1.2Mill and $1.25Mill.
Upshall came to the Flyers back in February when the Flyers traded Peter Forsberg to the Nashville Predators for him along with Ryan Parent, and 1st, 3rd round draft picks.
Upshall played 18 games for the Flyers last season had 6 goals, 7 assists and was plus +4.

I am glad to see Upshall resigned. He was one of the few bright spots last season. He played with a lot of heart and I wonder if the season would have been different if he would have been with the team from the start. He isn’t the total solution by any means, but he is part of it.
Lets hope he stays healthy.

General Manager Paul Holmgren.

We were very pleased with Scottie’s performance after we acquired him midway through last season and we’re glad to have him locked up in our organization for the next couple of seasons.

The trade deadline has come and gone and the Flyers made some moves.

The first and biggest move was Peter Forsberg to the Nashville Predators.

While I would like to have seen Forsberg stay with the Flyers, the trade was pretty darn good. Nashville got Forsberg for the last 20 or so games of this season and the playoffs and thats it. He is a free agent after the season and Nasvhille is hoping he stays healthy. The Flyers got 3 first round and a third round draft picks. Two of those first rounders include Scottie Upshall and Ryan Parent. Upshall has had an immediate impact with 2 goals and 2 assists in 5 games. Parent is a really good young defensman prospect. I suspect he will be with the Phantoms next season. There is the possibility of Forsberg returning next season if he resigns in the summer. If Holmgren can pull that off that would be great.

Ten days later the Flyers send Alexei Zhitnick to the Atlanta Thrashers for defenceman prospect Braydon Coburn. Right now I really am not high on this trade. I like Zhitnik's shot, his experience and most important his ability to carry the puck up the ice is something the Flyers need. In a few years when Coburn comes into his own I will probably change my mind. I really don't have anything against Coburn, its just that it seems the Flyers are not building for next year, but for 08-09. To be successful the Flyers need to have a mix of young guys and veterans and I believe the Flyers are trading away the wrong veterans. But looking at talent the Flyers basically traded Freddy Meyer for Braydon Coburn, which is pretty decent.

No other trades until trade day today. The Flyers pick up a goalie from Buffalo, Martin Biron and giving the Sabres a 2nd round draft pick.
With Mike Leighton being put on waivers and being picked up by Montreal this leaves 3 goalies, Esche, Niittymaki and Biron. I predict next season the Flyer goalie conterversy will be Biron vs Niittymaki. I suspect they will split the work. As far as Robert Esche goes, I don't see him coming back. He is a free agent after the season and his past attitude when it comes to not being the #1 guy has probably made the Flyers not interested in resigning him. I was a little surprised not to see him move.

The Flyers also traded Kyle Calder back to the Chicago Blackhawks who then traded him to Detroit. In return the Flyers get defenseman Lasse Kukkonen and a third round pick. Kukkonen is a Fin who I think will be a good partner with Pitkanen. Kukkonen is more defensive oriented then Pitkanen. I think they would compliment each other well. Our defense has the potential to be very Finnish next season with 2 Finns playing with the Phantoms and I see that as a very good thing.

While losing Michael Leighton on waivers the Flyers pick up Denis Hamel off waivers from the Thrashers. My guess on Hamel is a depth guy for the Phantoms that might be a callup when the injuries hit the Flyers again.

While I do think the Flyers did well, there are some moves I really would like to have seen them make.

It really would have been nice to see Robert Esche moved, even if it was for a late round draft pick. While his play or lack of it sitting on the bench is not hurting the Flyers it would have been nice to get something for him since he wont be back next season.

My biggest complaint though is not moving Hatcher. There were rumors that teams were interested in him, Holmgren should have jumped at the chance, quickly. While Hatcher's place has been better lately particularly with the penalty kill he is still too horribly slow. Does not anyone remember the end of last season? How the Flyers lost to Buffalo? More speed was needed and still is. One way to get more speed is to drop the slowest guy on the team and that is Hatcher. While he can still throw some punishing hits and is decent on the penalty kill (cause he gets to stand in one spot) he has absolutely no offensive ability and flat out cant skate with any forward. What is worse is he costs the Flyers $3.5mil a year. And still will for the next 2 seasons after this one. The Flyers wont be going anywhere until he is gone.

Lastly, what was Holmgren thinking putting Nolan Baumgartner on waivers 3 days ago?
Was he doing Baumgartner a favor giving him away?
Holmgren admitted the Flyers made a mistake sending him down to the Phantoms since he would stuck there until after the season. After the first 6 games of the season Flyers management wanted to send a message to the players. So they sent Baumgartner along with Nedved and Dimitrakos down to the Phantoms. The message apparently was if your not part of the problem and not important in their eyes then you get waived, doesn't matter how well you played. Baumgartner had the best numbers out of all the defensemen and the only fight sticking up for Kapanen in the first 6 games. Yet another verteran I would keep on defense instead of Hatcher.

Lets not also forget about Mike Rathje. He still has 3 more years on his contract after this season and if he ever finds a solution for his nerve, back, hip whatever injury he could be back.

I honestly didn't think this was going to happen, but it did.

Peter Forsberg has been traded to the Nashville Predators for Scottie Upshall, Ryan Parent, a first round draft pick and a third round draft pick.

The Flyers have yet to win a game without Forsberg this year.
He had a no trade clause that he had to waive for the trade to go through. So much for wanting to stay and win with the Flyers.
I wanted him to stay and resign next year, but thats the way it goes I guess.

Lets look at who the Flyers pick up. Scottie Upshall a 23 year old winger.
According to TSN....

Assets - Is a fiery competitor and backs down from no one. Has solid skating ability and loves to work the corners.
Flaws- Needs to add strength to his frame in order to thrive in the pro game. Must show he can back up his trash-talking ways.
Career potential - Third line agitator.

A first round draft pick 6th overall in 2002 by the Predators.

Ryan Parent a 19 year old defenseman drafted in the first round 18th overall by the Predators in 2005. Parent currently plays for the Guelph Storm of the OHL. In 32 games he has 2 goals, 6 assists, plus 3 and 62 penalty minutes.

Highlights from the Flyers news conference.
Predators fans are excited to get Forsberg, but I think in the long run the Flyers get the better of the deal.
The Predators gave up 3 first round draft picks and a third for a guy to play 24 regular season games plus this seasons playoff run. Basically Forsberg is a rental player, a player that has missed 17 games this season due to injury so there is risk. He is an unrestricted free agent after the season and could sign back up with the Predators, or possibly resign with the Flyers.

Some comments from around the hockey blogsphere
8 Feet
Behind the Jersey
Bolts Mag
Canucks Hockey Blog
Confessions of a Hockey Fanatic

Hockey Nation
James Mirtle
On the Forecheck
On the Wings
Waiting for Stanley

The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that they have agreed to a two-year contract extension with forward Sami Kapanen, according to club General Manager Paul Holmgren. Kapanen is now signed through the 2008-09 season. Per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Paul Holmgren

"We are excited about having Sami around for a few more years. We feel that he brings a lot of qualities to our hockey team in terms of what he does both on and off the ice. He is a quality person and he’s a good utility player who can play anywhere in our lineup."

Sami Kapanen

"I am very happy to stay here. It’s something that we were able to get done in a short period of time. I believe that this team is rebuilding in the right direction and we will be back contending next year. My family loves it here, so it was an easy decision to stay here."

I guess retirement is a couple years off for Kapanen then. I haven't heard what the financial details are yet, this year he makes 1.52 mill. He signed for 1.25 mill a year with a no trade clause, so he took a pay cut. Whatever it is I am glad to see him back for a couple more years. While he isn't the 20 goal scorer he was when in Carolina he brings so much more to the team. He can play both PK and PP, foward and defense but more important is how he plays, all out. One of the problems this year was the Flyers lost/traded/let go guys that while didn't put up the big numbers were team players and played with an energy that rubbed off on the rest of the team. Oh and lets not forget leadership, he would do anything for the team. Long losing streak, Kapanen came up with the idea of the team shaving their heads. Silly? sure. But to me it showed that he would do anything to get the team to start feeling like a team and start playing like a team again. The Flyers could use some more players with that much heart.

The FLyers claimed goaltender Michael Leighton on waivers from the Nashville Predators,
So the Flyers now have 3 goalies. My initial reaction was that Niitty was going to have surgery early before the end of the season. But that seems not the case. According to Timmy P. this is just an insurance policy since both Esche and Nitty has been injured this year. For $63,750 he sounds like a deal.

What tsn has to say
Assets - Has good size and excellent fundamentals for the goaltending position. Displays an exemplary work ethic.
Flaws - Needs to fill out his 6-3 frame without losing flexibility. Must show more consistency in order to get back in the NHL.
Career potential - No. 2 goaltender.