Guerin Offered Tryout Contract

Bill Guerin, who seems to have played for every NHL team there is (eight to be exact) will try to make a ninth.

Guerin, 39, was offered a tryout contract by the Flyers and will be with the team when they begin camp on Friday.

Guerin was instrumental in bringing a Stanley Cup back to Pittsburgh two years ago. Last year Guerin scored 21 goals and added 24 assists for 45 total points. He then scored four more goals and had five more assists in the playoffs for a total of nine points.

A veteran presence like Guerin's would be invaluable to last year's Eastern Conference Champions. The Flyers have a lot of young forwards and Guerin's addition would be best comparable to Mike Knuble.

Here's some potential risks:

-If Guerin does enough to force the Flyers to keep him (which I think he will) how much is it going to cost the Flyers with limited cap space? This would force the Flyers hand on one of their young forwards (Dan Carcillo or Darroll Powe) off the roster and I'm not sure if the Flyers want to risk youth development for only having Guerin for a year.

-The tryout contract has language in it that allows Guerin to walk away at any time and sign with another team who gives him a legitimate offer.

-The style of play worries me. Sure Guerin had to grind it out once in a while for the Penguins. But when Sidney Crosby is your center, not much work will be necessary besides being in the right position. It worries me if Guerin can handle the relentless attack and physicality of head coach Peter Laviolette's system.

It certainly will make for a competitive camp. Camp and the season are soon upon us get ready!

New Tiebreaker Rule to Be Approved

According to Frank Seravalli's column and EJ Hradek of ESPN, the NHL will approve a rule change of how tiebreakers will be used at the end of the season.

The change is in the event a tiebreaker is needed at the end of the season to determine playoff seeds.

The tiebreaker is still total wins, however the only wins considered are those in regulation and overtime. Prior to this ruling it was all of a team's wins (regulation, overtime, and shootout).

Here's my take on the rule:

-It's unnecessary: Why is this needed? If a team wins a game, they win a game. The NHL can only blame themselves since they instituted the shootout in the first place.

-Mindset: This changes nothing on the ice itself. Teams are still going to execute their game plans in order to win, even if that means stalling to the shootout. Teams with shootout skill depth (Penguins, Blackhawks, etc.) have no more incentive to go for it all at the end of overtime now than they did last year.

-Over-the-Top: Another rule being considered is switching from 4 on 4 in overtime to 3 on 3 with less than three minutes to play. How much more can the game be devolved? The game was meant to be played 5 on 5, not in a roller hockey, nonsense style.

We'll see if the changes have an actual impact come April. Training camp is just around the corner get ready!

Cote Retires, Becomes Phantoms Assistant

Riley Cote retired Monday after spending parts of four seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Cote, 28, was then named as an Assistant Coach to the Flyers AHL affiliate the Adirondack Phantoms.

"I will do the best job I can to help teach and develop all the players in Glens Falls on and off the ice," he said. "I'm looking forward to a new challenge in life."

While the Flyers were often criticized for using a spot on a player who played one or two shifts a game, there is no denying the kind of heart Riley Cote possessed. He did whatever was asked of him and was fearless in sacrificing himself to give his team a spark. That said, this move does relieve the Flyers of some cap space that they were not likely to use.

Also, it has been reported within the past couple of days that Chris Pronger may not be ready for the start of the season.

Pronger had arthroscopic knee surgery and has been rehabbing ever since to start getting ready for training camp.

If unfortunately Pronger does miss some time, better off early in the year than in April and May when it matters. This is why the Flyers addressed defensive depth in the offseason. That's all for now, probably won't be picking up until around training camp.

Gagne Traded to Tampa Bay

The inevitable has happened, Simon Gagne is no longer a Philadelphia Flyer.

Gagne was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning today for defenseman Matt Walker and a 4th round pick according to Frank Seravalli.

This move gets the Flyers back under the cap and probably concludes their moves for the offseason.

With Ilya Kovalchuk resigning with the New Jersey Devils today, it should make for another great division battle this upcoming season.

Carcillo and Zherdev Sign, Gagne Likely Out

The Flyers have come to terms with wingers Dan Carcillo and Nikolai Zherdev, putting the Flyers in the range of $2.5 million over the league salary cap.

This likely means that Simon Gagne's career as a Flyer is over. The only satisfaction I can take from Gagne departing is the fact he has never been more respected by the fans as much as he is now. Coming back from a broken foot when the Flyers were on the verge of elimination, Gagne helped carry the Flyers to the Stanley Cup.

That being said, the Zherdev signing is a smart one because:

-Youth: Zherdev is only 25 and has already shown he can put points on the board. He can best be compared to filling in the void left by Joffrey Lupul from last year.

-Single Year Contract: Like Ray Emery, Zherdev has a history of behavioral issues. He can be lazy and have inconsistent effort, but when his game is on he can be very dangerous. For a one year contract, there is very little risk involved.

By signing Carcillo, the Flyers avoided arbitration and got back the Energizer Bunny of their team. Carcillo, also well known by his nickname Carbomb, flies around the ice and is never afraid to take the body. While he does have his flaws, his flashes of skill, grit, and agitation outweigh them.

More to come if/when a Gagne deal gets done.

Free Agency Begins, Flyers Make Splash

Coming off one of the best seasons in recent memory, the Philadelphia Flyers looked to improve an already stellar roster for the 2010-2011 season.

With the opening of free agency today the Flyers made some key acquisitions:

Andrej Meszaros: A young defenseman who showed a plethora of potential with the Senators, Meszaros is looking to bounce back after two injury-riddled seasons in Tampa Bay. Look for him to compete for the #4 defensive position with Braydon Coburn. Meszaros also played extremely well in the Olympics alongside previous Norris Trophy winner Zdeno Chara.

Sean O'Donnell: A veteran defenseman that was plus-14 on a Los Angeles Kings team that relied more on creative offense rather than a solid defensive scheme despite a defensive mastermind in head coach Terry Murray.

Jody Shelley: A tough guy whose only two goals last year came against the Flyers. He will play on the fourth line and likely replace both Dan Carcillo and Riley Cote.

Braydon Coburn: Resigned to a two year deal after a strong playoff, but unspectacular regular season. Still a strong two-way defenseman with a lot of upside, Coburn can continue to improve while playing alongside arguably the most underrated defenseman in the NHL Kimmo Timonen.

Michael Leighton-The Cinderella goaltender earned a well deserved multi-year contract signing a two-year, $3.1 million deal. As of now he is the Flyers number one goaltender going into next season.

With these additions it's safe to say the Flyers defense is set, here's how I see the pairs turning out:

Pronger-Carle
Timonen-Coburn
Meszaros-O'Donnell

The question flying around the organization and the fanbase is if the Flyers are done in terms of their goaltending situation. The goalie position has haunted the Flyers in their quest to obtain the Cup since the Broad Street Bully days.

If the Flyers are going to go after Evgeni Nabokov, they will have to move backup Brian Boucher and possibly one other player to fit him under the cap at a possible $4 million salary.

With what cap the Flyers have remaining, they will most likely focus on adding another 3rd line winger due to their depth at the center position. Look for it to be a veteran presence such as a Miroslav Satan or Owen Nolan type player. That's all for now more updates as they come in!

Flyers Make History, Need to Refocus

After completing a comeback of epic proportions, the Philadelphia Flyers are ready to face the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The euphoria needs to subside and the Flyers need to rechannel their focus toward a hockey team that is riding the hottest goaltender in the playoffs, Jaroslav Halak.

Here are my keys to the series:

-Michael Leighton: Leighton keeps putting together stellar performances. Despite a rough start to Game 7, Leighton shut the door from that point on and made all the key saves. He is clearly the underdog going against Halak, but if Leighton has the psyche to worry about his own game instead of trying to outperform Halak, he will be fine.

-Mike Cammalleri vs. the Flyers D: Cammalleri has carried the Habs offense and missed two of the four regular season meetings against the Flyers due to injury. The Flyers top four defensemen have gotten the job done shutting down the top scorers on both the Devils and Bruins. It's a tough matchup to call. Regardless, Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen will always be on the ice when the Gomez or Cammalleri line is out.

-Coaching: If you had told me how important coaching was going to be in the last series, I would have laughed it off. Peter Laviolette is the real deal and has figured out how to motivate this team. It is no fluke as to why he won the Cup with Carolina. On the other side, Jacques Martin has had a lot of success, but cannot seem to get his team over the hump to get to the Stanley Cup Finals. Laviolette has not changed his mind set and the Flyers will be prepared.

Like the West, I expect this series to be a long, drawn out war. Regardless of who wins this series, they will viewed as significant David's to the Goliath's that are the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks.

It's hard to not trust this team now and it's not going to be easy, but we will be back in the Finals for the first time since 1997.

Prediction: Flyers in 7.