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How can the Flyers possibly have enough cap room for Mats Sundin?


Report: Mats Sundin interested in signing with New York Rangers

THE CANADIAN PRESS Aug 17, 5:31 pm EDT

Undecided free agent centre Mats Sundin has expressed interest in playing for the New York Rangers, according to a report in the New York Post.

The article cites a source as saying the 37-year-old former Toronto Maple Leafs captain has been in constant communication with the Rangers this week through his agent J.P. Barry. But the two parties have not reached the stage of contract negotiations.

The Rangers have approximately US$2 million of cap space to spend on the 2008-09 roster.

The report also suggests Sundin, who recorded 78 points (32-46) last season, has no interest in returning to the Leafs, nor does he have interest in joining Montreal or Vancouver, which has offered a two-year, $20-million deal.

According to the report, Philadelphia is also in the mix, with GM Paul Holmgren aggressively pursuing the first-line centre.

The same way the Rangers can afford him with six centers already on the roster, I guess.

Seriously, I would guess this means Holmgren has some sort of deal in place to clear some other salary. I can't see Sundin taking the Paul Kariya discount to try to get a championship.

Still, a Gagne-Sundin-Briere line could be something, if they want to switch Briere to wing.

Morganti said this morning that he didn't think Knuble would be on the team at the start of the season.

There was hockey talk on the radio in August and I was actually paying attention.

That would still be a hefty discount unless some big name guys are being shipped out of town.

Carter's the one I'd be worried about if I were a Flyers fan. I know he just signed a deal, but his name pops up in trade talks far too often for there to be no truth to it at all...

ENY, the rumors are (read: speculation that makes a lot of sense) that if the Flyers signed Sundin (and they would have to clear cap space AND assume Sundin takes a discount) they would indeed trade Carter to the Florida Panthers for Jay Bouwmeester, who is one of the better young defensemen in the NHL and would put the Flyers defense corps among the elite in the NHL. A top-3 of Timonen, Coburn, and J-Bo would put the Flyers depth up there with Detroit and Anaheim.

Even when you take Sundin out of the equation, this is a trade that is worth considering because not many teams have three centers that can give you 30 goals a year. Even fewer have three puck-moving defensemen capable of playing 30 solid minutes a game. Sundin on this roster means SOMEONE is gone up the middle. Carter is the most expendable.

If you look at this situation without Carter OR Sundin, however, the loss of Carter is still manageable. The Flyers still have two 30-goal centers, along with Giroux this year at one of the wings and Van Riemsdyk likely a year away.

Let me start by saying that I like Jeff Carter. However, if Jacques Martin gives up Bouwmeester for Carter straight up, the six people in Miami who give a damn about hockey will kick his ass all the way back to Ottawa. I think a deal like that will require another prospect or two and maybe draft picks.

We're talking about a 24-year old who made the Canadian Olympic team at 22 and who's likely to be the Panthers' new captain this year. Holmgren pulls that one off and he's GM of the Decade.

NTFF.

ENY, they may have to give up Randy Jones (2.5M this year) and maybe a future 1st round pick/prospect (Sbisa?) AND clear a bit more cap space (Hatcher on LTIR or retires) to make this work, but it would be worth the defense corps they would have. Carter would replace Jokinen as the top center in Florida and Jones would give the Panthers a semi-decent return on D.

Even when you take Sundin coming here out of the equation, this is still a trade worth considering.

OK, Carter/Sbisa is a nice start for a Bouwmeester package. Jones would crack the top-4 in Florida, so they could use him as a place-filler. I still think the Flyers would be including at least one future draft pick though, and I just wonder if Florida is really ready to give up on signing Bouwmeester long-term. With or without him, they're not winning anything down there for a while, so there's little to lose by continuing to negotiate through the season. I can see him bringing them quite the bounty at the trade deadline.

The Flyers are inviting Lindros back to the 9/27 game at the Spectrum, as part of a ceremony involving all 15 captains.

This could be a recipe for disaster, but I'd like to be optimistic and think that the diehard fans would treat him with respect.

It would be really cool if he and Clarke buried the hatchet, too.

(Talon, c'mon. Don't you think 11:45 is a little early to start dropping acid?)

linc

Always loved 88 and what became of him and his career is kinda sad.
All the makin's of a truly great one, just went to all sortsa shiat.

Odd they only had 15 captains

If Lindros attends, he deserves a standing ovation. He got an entire generation of Flyer fans into hockey.

If he doesn't, it's a slap in the face to the fans. This is his last chance, EVER, to make amends with the Flyers and the fans, regardless of whose fault all this was.

Lindros will NOT be attending the event. Says he has a memorial service to attend that day. Huh?

Brindy and the wife need some "reconciliation" with Lindros as well.

Work won't allow me to be there, but I would haved loved to attend the Spectrum game.

Lindros sends a message thanking the fans.
linc

If you like watching The Hammer in some classic fights, you should checkout this link:
Yo, click it

For what it's worth, Sarah Palin is dropping the first puck of the Flyers season.

In a town that wouldn't elect Jesus Christ to be mayor if he ran on the Republican ticket, this is going to be a disaster.

She may leave in tears.

In a town that wouldn't elect Jesus Christ to be mayor if he ran on the Republican ticket, this is going to be a disaster.

Yes, but the mulleted crew who call themselves Flyers fans will love it

I think the mullets pretty much got priced out when they moved across the street

Not priced out, just moved upstairs...

Yeah, we have season tix at work, still many Bon Jovi fans there

I'd guess that at least half the crowd, maybe more, at Philly sporting events comes from the suburbs. (Philly is half-black, but the crowd at an Eagles game looks more like a Klan rally.) The suburb-city ratio might be even more lopsided for the Flyers, seeing as how kids actually play hockey in the suburbs.

Bear in mind that the suburbs of Philly, in particular Delaware County, have long been Republican strangleholds, although with Delco voting for Kerry in the last election, that might be changing.

She'll probably get mixed support, but the boo-ers will be louder than normal, half pissed that such an unqualified dolt is the #2 in a national election and half pissed that Snider is injecting his own partisan politics into the season opener.

Regardless, from both sides of the aisle, you can expect a loud chant of "Show us your tits." It's the Philly way.

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