Mismanagement In Philly Backfires...Again
Matt Bodenschatz | National Hockey League
Mar 6, 04:47 PM | Hype this story!
I know, I know…this is nothing new.
But it doesn’t make it any less entertaining.
As I type this, the Flyers of Philadelphia are slapping their collective forehead as the high-priced, oft-injured Daniel Briere, once again, is battling a groin injury.
Apparently a breeze blew through the Wachovia Center last night and Briere couldn’t handle it.
Okay, so maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration.
But the reality is, Briere has played a total of 12 games this season, three of which have come in the last week, directly after returning from…wait for it…a groin injury.
Greg Wyshynski over at Puck Daddy has a nice little write-up about the situation, which really has put the Flyers in a pickle.
The outlook is not very good, according to general manager Paul Holmgren in this post-game interview.
“All we know is that he tweaked his groin again and we’ll see how it is [today],” Holmgren said dejectedly. “He’s having a tough time right now as much mentally as physically.”
The problem isn’t necessarily playing without Briere. Afterall, the team has done it for all but 12 games this season. They’re used to it.
Instead, the problem is the cap space they had to clear to get him back on the roster. Or, more importantly, the players they lost in cap-trimming moves.
Grinder Glen Metropolit and defenseman Ossi Vaananen were waived last week, prior to Briere’s return. Metropolit was claimed by Montreal and Vaananen was claimed by Vancouver.
Then, in a move designed to create a little more of a salary cap buffer, Holmgren traded grinder Scottie Upshall and a second round draft pick to Phoenix for agitator and penalty minute collector Daniel Carcillo.
As Ed Moran of the Philadelphia Daily News puts it: “It was a swap of a 6-foot, 197-pound speed and skill guy for a 6-foot, 200-pound grit guy – and some wiggle room under the salary cap.
That last bit tells the story.
And Holmgren confirms it.
“I’ve said to you guys all year long, I like our team. Losing the two guys [Glen Metropolit and Ossi Vaananen] on waivers [last week] and having to give up Scottie to make our salary cap work a little better hurts a little bit.”
So to recap all of this:
- The Flyers lose Metropolit and Vaananen on waivers to make room for Briere’s contract.
- Briere returns to action and plays three games.
- The Flyers trade Upshall and a second rounder in a total cap-saving trade.
- Briere gets hurt again.
- Flyers slap forehead.
To cap it off, the Flyers fell embarrassingly to the Calgary Flames at home by a score of 5-1.
They may be in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings, but things are falling apart in the “City of Brotherly Love,” and I can’t say I feel that sorry for their self-inflicted wounds.
Comments
Guest
Mar 6, 05:29 PM
Well, signing Briere at that contract was undoubtedly stupid, but I’m not sure about the rest of this.
It won’t be so funny if the “oft injured” Crosby goes down again….Be careful who you mock.
Just sayin’.
Matt Bodenschatz
Mar 6, 05:52 PM
Crosby, most definitely, has battled with injuries in recent years, but few, if any, have had the lingering affect of Briere’s groin injury — both in terms of his ability to play and the team’s ability to adequately fill his void under the constraints of the salary cap system.
The reality is, any player can go down with an injury and leave his team in a predicament. That’s why many teams leave a slight buffer zone under the cap, allowing space in case of an emergency.
In this case, the Flyers filled Briere’s vacated cap number with quality players who they eventually lost for nothing when he returned. Now that he’s gone, they’re without Briere, Upshall, Metropolit and Vaananen because of mismanagement.
Injuries happen and can happen to any player or team. That’s not the funny part of this story. The funny part is the complete mismanagement of the team’s payroll that has led to the loss of three assets, something Holmgren fully admits.
“Losing the two guys [Glen Metropolit and Ossi Vaananen] on waivers [last week] and having to give up Scottie to make our salary cap work a little better hurts a little bit.”
Zack Dawson
Mar 6, 05:58 PM
I think it’s important to say that Briere is the opposite of what most people think of when they say “Flyers’ hockey.” The Flyers like to play a hard-hitting style of game, putting emphasis on taking the body and crashing the net. Briere is about as finesse as it gets. He’s small, never initiates, and seems to have a weak groin. Signing him was not a smart move. I said that when the deal first happened. It looks even worse now.
As for Crosby going down, the Pens dealt with a long-term injury to Crosby last season and finished second in the East. They also didn’t fill the void with signings. They worked in the system. So while I don’t like the thought of a long-term injury to him again, the Pens have handled it well in the past. They are 5-0-0 with him out of the lineup this year as well. As Matt responded, the cap space was not managed correctly, and the Flyers are down a number of good players. No one wishes for injuries, but you have to handle them well.
Guest
Mar 6, 06:01 PM
So the intelligent thing would have been to NOT put him on LTIR and fill out the roster with AHL players? Thus leaving space for him when he (attempted to) return? That’s a fair argument.
However, we see how well the Pens did with AHL skill masters ala Taffe, (wheels of) Stone, Minard, etc this year. There’s no perfect way to handle cap pressures these days. I’m not convinced that Holmgren’s was undeniably dumb.
Either way, it a little less schadenfreude would serve you well.
Chad
Mar 6, 07:39 PM
The Flyers’ cap problems are happening because they decided to go gung-ho in free agency in the summer of 2007 instead of following a smart, gradual rebuilding process.
Eric
Mar 6, 07:40 PM
If this article was a picture I would make it my wallpaper. Beautiful. Way to go Philly.
ballofhate
Mar 6, 08:17 PM
Hahaha, Guest, beat it, loser. Anything bad that happens to the Cryers and their ridiculous “fan”-base is a beautiful thing. I hope the Divers draw the Pens in the first round. New year, same result. Philly goes home crying with their tails between their legs.
swiss cheese
Mar 6, 09:12 PM
Does GUEST understand the following:
1. This is mainly a pro-Pens area; therefore we have certain feelings toward the Flyers,
2. Chad and Matt hit the nail on the proverbial head with Philly’s ridiculous binge in 2007 just to save “Clarke”-face after finishing last,
3. While some will gloat, I will just say that it is simply the Flyers being the Flyers…
Jagr
Mar 6, 09:34 PM
lol @ this “writer”.
ballofhate
Mar 7, 01:10 AM
Sorry, Jagr, you can stay in Russia. Enjoy the weather!
TheOneAndOnlySurge
Mar 7, 03:32 AM
Ballofhate, don’t be so harsh to Jagr. If he would come back and play for 1 mil, I would take him any day of the week. What he did here was wrong and that in my opinion would be an effort to rectify his mistake.
Chuck
Mar 7, 10:11 AM
Just to add some more to the Flyers screw ups, the Mclaren trade was nullified because he didn’t pass his physical. So they are now down a defensemen. This just make losing Ossi that much more worse.
Chad
Mar 7, 01:05 PM
The Flyers are going to have to move some of their offense to get some goaltending this summer.
Moq
Mar 8, 10:54 AM
Had I been in Holmgren’s shoes, I would have tried to move Briere, Vaananen, prospects, and perhaps picks, for Bouwmeester. Florida might not have accepted the deal, but I don’t see the advantage of a one-dimensional player like Briere in Philadelphia. Apart from the power play his net worth is debatable, especially the style of play during the playoffs.
DaBich
Mar 8, 02:56 PM
Guest, and if the shoe WERE on the other foot, do you think for one minute that Philly fans would not be gloating? Pfffftt..
Schadenfreude, my foot, it’s simply what goes around comes around.
And mismanagement, as well.
Question, guys, what is Briere’s cap hit? And what is Crosby’s?
Matt Bodenschatz
Mar 8, 06:04 PM
Dabich, not sure if your question was tongue-in-cheek or not, but to be on the safe side I’ll answer :)
Briere has a $6.5 million cap hit and is signed through 2014-15.
Crosby has a $8.7 million cap hit and is signed through 2012-13.
Regardless of injuries, I wonder which deal looks better…
DaBich
Mar 9, 05:30 AM
Eh..I was thinkin they were closer than that. Still, Crosby is the much better deal :)
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