In the words of FlyersBuzzTap's Tweet: "Ashes to Ashes, Dust to dust, Arron Asham, you're dead to us"
(Notice the correct use of citations via the link)
Anyway, the peeps of DGS have decided to write Asham an open letter telling him how we feel about this; so here goes...
Dear Mr. Asham,
I guess we shouldn't be surprised that you'd jump right to the enemy. Arguably it wasn't your fault. But it sure seems like you recently have had a habit of fucking over your previous employers. Hell you went from the Islanders, to the Devils to the Flyers to the Penguins...guess this means you plan on being Whore-vechkin's bodyguard in 2011-2012 doesn't it? Seriously, show some fucking loyalty. The fans of Philadelphia embraced you, and of 700K is all you wanted, I'm pretty sure even Paul Holmgren could have found the money to sign you.
I'd wish you luck in your future endeavors but in reality, the only thing I should be doing is wishing the fans of Penguins luck when you show up in 2011-12 wearing a Capitals uniform.
I mean, the only place I law less loyalty is how Dallas handled Mike Modano, and that's saying something.
On the other hand, you're a great reminder of NHL94, you occasionally sneak slapshots by unsuspecting goalies and have this one deke move that you used to out maneuver Mike Green and Jose Theodore in 2009. Honestly, that's not much of a accomplishment, going around a forward then beating Steve Penney with a wrist shot isn't much to be proud of. But hey, that's all your good at.
Thanks for the memories, you're gonna forget them all when Pronger's elbow meets your skull.
Well, today Riley Cote announced his retirement and is now gonna take on an assistant coaching job with the AHL Phantoms, so we here at DGS have decided to look at the Top 5 career moments of Riley Cote. It's a short career, but we can come up with 10 memorable Cote moments, right?
5: Cote's first fight, March 30, 2007 at NJ Devils
4. The two for one special: starring Asham, Rupp and Leblond
3. Cote vs Rechlicz in a marathon bout
2. Cote vs Roy round 2 from March 6, 2008
But what made this moment classic:
and before the number 1 Riley Cote moment, we look at some honorable mentions...
12:10AM: DGS should be asleep, but he wants to start with the major transactions that were announced
RFA Signings: Mike Leighton takes 2 years 1.55 cap hit to stay in Philly and compete for the starting job. No real surprise here, more on Leighton later today, when I can combine it with any other splashes the Flyers make.
Retirements: Rod Brind'Amour: a class act, a great guy, and for me, a Hall of Famer
Trades: Toronto and Chicago:
Toronto gets: Kris Versteeg and Bill Sweatt Chicago gets: Viktor Stalberg, Philippe Paradis and Christopher DiDomenico
Conclusion: Are the 'Hawks under the cap yet? Is Toronto truculent enough yet? Is Burkie happy yet? (I can answer the last one: Not until Kaberle goes). Leaf's and Hawks fans who read this blog, tell me what you think of the deal...I'll add in some of the comments to this post.
12:22am Ok then, all I want is Boucher to be traded for a #6/7 D-man, though he can be AHL'd, the Flyers to keep Coburn, Powe, Carcillo and Asham and please please please find a wing to swing Hamhuis. (DGS predicts the new Flyers D-man will be Toni Lydman, solid puck mover, has NHL experience, fits with the Flyers love of going Finnish)
12:27am DGS wishes that won't come true tonight
1. Getting laid #DGSDateWatch restarts...
2. Anton Volchenkov, Evgeni Nabokov and Ilya Kovalchuk all sign contracts that put the Flyers even with the cap.
3. Flyers lose Scott Hartnell and somehow gain Dustin Byfuglien
4. Pierre McGuire becomes normal
12:30am DGS begins to think about getting drunk after realizing what his life is like...Amy talks him out of it via G-chat...by the way, chat with DGS tomorrow from 2:30-4:30pm on Google Chat, DGS's email is DownGoesSpezza@gmail.com, Amy will make sure to tweet updates as well as she gets a hold of them.
9:16AM DGS sees report linking Dan Ellis to the Flyers, for the record, goalies linked to the Flyers this offseason:
Nabby, Turco, Biron, Price, Ellis, Halak, Niitty, Chris Mason, Steve Mason (seriously, I got an email about it- Amy), Thomas, Hedberg, Theodore, Budaj....
Long story short, Flyers have more goalie options that Harry Potter had Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers...
As for Eclipse: Spoiler Alert: Silver Arrows hit the werewolves, Buffy stakes the vampires, The End
9:22AM DGS realizes we forgot the following goalies on this list of goalies linked to the Flyers: Quick, Bernier, Lalime, Roloson, Weekes, Legace, Caron, Toskala (Yes, seriously, though don't worry, he'd be shot here)....if anyone knows of any other rumors, add them...or make some up too...cleverest scenario wins a prize* from DGS
*- DGS promises to name this person in a post and give them free advertising to any blog/website provided the content is rated PG13 or lower.
1:13PM Flyers trade for Meszaros...what a Meszy move...dammit Homer, pull something big out.
2:18PM Still a goaltending mess. Coburn's back for 2yrs/3.55 cap hit and now Jody Shelley and Sean O'Donnell are in as well. This probably spells the end of Riley Cote in Philly. In unrelated news, Holmgren is trying to sell the truculent Cote to the Leafs
Alex Auld to the Habs, guess that means Dan Ellis hit the open market. Or as multiple twitter accounts have said, Habs get Vesa Toskala lite.
Sergei Gonchar to the Sens...I guess Gonchar is gonna go the Kaberle route...and hate winning
Zybnek Michalek to the Pens...Phoenix to Pissburgh...(typo intentional) Z, I had hope for you, but now you're gonna be Crosby's bitch...and that's just bad.
Alex Tanguay back to Calgary....I love Sutter....and Sather...these guys make JFJ begin to look intelligent (Amy reminded me of the Rask/Raycroft deal, I take this back)
All Time Worst GMs Ever: Sutter, Sather, John Ferguson Jr.
Marty St. Louis contract extension announced, anonymous sources tell me Marty had a hard time signing the contract because he could not see the table where the contract was located.
For those who don't know, I'm open on my facebook page and I'm taking email at the address on the right. I'll post some of the more interesting emails and their answers here as well as answering all of the email personally*.
(*-DGS staff will answer emails, Amy included, there are 5 of us)
2:53PM First Email Answer:
DGS,
Leighton, Boucher, Backlund are already in the mix, but none of these scream long term number 1 goalie. What hopes do the Flyers have?
Jeff
Jeff,
Thanks for being the first to check in. Long term options pretty much involve trades. JvR to LA for Bernier or Quick is a possibility. If the Flyers want to dump salary, I could see Hartnell AND JvR for Bernier or Quick and an LA forward or draft picks. Give it time though, with Turco and Nabby still in play, things can happen.
-DGS
DGS,
Martin Biron to the Rangers, what do you think?
Bill C.
Bill,
Soft goals, inconsistency and flamboyant personality...it screams SATHER GUY!
-DGS
Amy,
Are you cute? Can I have your number?
Steve F.
Steve,
No way in hell, I'm not interested.
-Amy
Down Goes Spezza,
Are you going to miss Riley Cote? It sure looks like he's the odd man out right now.
Kevin L.
Kevin,
I'll miss Cote for his off ice charity work more than being a fight only guy. The guy who I really think I am going to miss at the end of this is Arron Asham, great guy all around and a solid depth player. Who ever picks up Asham is gonna get an underrated player. As for Cote, he might get tossed in as a spare part in a trade, but most likely will be making to trek to the AHL Phantoms for 2010-2011
-Amy
3:03pm Just realized the Shelley deal is a 3 year deal. I realize Shelley burned us for 2 goals in the last 2 games of the season, but for the love of divine entities, THIS GUY IS A MORE EXPENSIVE RILEY COTE!!! WTF WERE WE THINKING?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?! Send him to the AHL NOW please and thanks....
3:08pm Rick Tocchet coached Meszaros last season in Tampa.
“He had the willingness to play hurt, I have to give him credit,” said Tocchet. “I give him a lot of credit. A lot of guys wouldn’t have done that. But there is another level in him and he’s got to find that with the Flyers.”
I just threw up a little...I'm beginning to plot my demise...still taking Emails and Facebook questions though!
3:11PM Toni Lydman to the Ducks, I wanted that Finn, like the Flyers I tend to enjoy Finns
Little known fact about DGS: Amy and Matt both love Finnish metal band Nightwish
3:30PM
Random Coworker of Amy's asked her:
Does Shelley spell the end of Lappy or Carcillo?
Amy: I think it makes the possible loss of Carcillo manageable, but expect to see Cote waived.
Matt: No, it means Cote's on the AHL train, which makes no sense because Cote comes at about half the cap hit.
Luc: Nope, just means Cote's gone.
Jon: Cote's headed to Glens Falls to play for the Phantoms, unless he gets traded
3:47PM
Amy just reminded the rest of the staff that we all hated the Leino trade, Carcillo trade, keeping Carter over Umberger and Asham signing when they all happened. The boys just realized they had no counters to these moves of moves we loved, but then regretted. Results have happened, and while the boys don't like it, they love having a woman as the voice of reason. (Matt, Jon, Luc all disagree)
4:21pm Volchenkov to the Devils. This could be bad...
or not
4:25pm Hamhuis to the Canucks, hometown player signs...that's ok, btw, thx for the 3rd rounder Penguins
4:32PM Matt's getting more depressed by the minute....Flyers July 1 = Twitter Fail Whale
4:44PM Just saw the Blackhawks moved to the Eastern Conference and now play in Atlanta...FML AGAIN!
5:35PM Dinner time with the DGS crew...will check back in around 7pm...Later world!
So, with the season over, and sometime to digest the second place finish in the NHL. I will once again say this, congratulations to the Philadelphia Flyers, winners of the Prince of Wales trophy.
Well, with the season officially over, one must now look at the upcoming offseason, so I’m going to post what the Flyers need. For the record, I get all of my salary cap numbers from here so if you need to dispute me on something, that’s my source.
Now in order to start this, I'm gonna look at the 09-10 forwards based on the last lineup the Flyers dressed:
Hartnell-Briere-Leino (Seriously, after their Finals showing, how can this NOT be the top line) Richards-Carter-Giroux (Giroux's pretty goals IMO bump him up) Gagne-JvR-Asham (JvR's been taking shifts in practice at center, like Giroux in 09-10, third line reps will get him experience) Powe/Nodl/Laliberte-Betts-Lappy
Asham's UFA but if he resigns for say...2 years 750K, I'd be really happy
Carcillo's an interesting case, I have an up and down relationship with him. Asham does everything Carbomb does, with more discipline and better hands, but Carcillo's got a unique energy about him that lends itself to playing in Philly, I'm willing to keep him around for no more than 1.3 Million, at the same time, if we can trade him and land someone like a true #1 goalie
That's right, I peg 11 or all 12 of the forwards to return next year. Scott Hartnell saved his butt by having the Finals that he did, that being said, in my humble opinion, I think he's also the most likely to be moved. More on that later.
Who's expendable
The Player: Scott Hartnell Why Expendable: Didn't perform well during the season and doesn't fit Lavi's up tempo system Why He'd Be Wanted: His postseason numbers Possible Destination: Toronto for Tomas Kaberle, Boston for Tim Thomas, Montreal for a first round draft pick or PK Subban, San Jose (Assuming Nabby stays and Marleau walks) for Thomas Greiss
The Player: Brian Boucher Why Expendable: His regular season numbers Why He'd Be Wanted: His 5 playoff games against the Devils Possible Destination: Montreal, Dallas, San Jose, Chicago To Montreal: For Carey Price in order to allow the Habs the cap space to keep Halak To Dallas: for a 2nd round draft pick and a decent prospect D-man To Chicago: For Dustin Byfuglien, I might be dreaming here but as WWEh noticed, the 'Hawks have massive cap problems next year and they could save ~$2 million To San Jose: Assuming Nabby leaves and Marleau stays, the Sharks need a goaltender who comes cheap, that's Boucher, the Flyers could hopefully get a 4th round pick and a decent D-man for him
The Player: Andreas Nodl Why Expendable: Too much depth at forward Why He'd be Wanted: Solid depth forward, never will be above third line status, comes cheap Possible Destination: Toronto, Montreal, Tampa Bay, Florida To Toronto: oh wait, sorry, Burke won't trade for a European To Montreal: The Habs DID trade for Scott Gomez...so, yeah...maybe Nodl goes here Tampa Bay: Matt Smaby could play D for us, but honestly, TBL has nothing I'd really be interested in...other than Vinny, but a package of Hartnell, Nodl and Boucher for Vinny...seems fair to me...DTV is gonna shoot himself now...
The Needs:
this is easier to look at:
A real third D-pair a real goalie
Later this week, I plan on doing a free agency based post with where the Flyers should go
Dan Carcillo no longer kicks ass. There I said it. I will say it again just to prove that I have some intent of being serious. Dan Carcillo no longer kicks ass.
I have no problem with Carcillo attempting to draw penalties on the other team, I have no problems with him playing physical, getting involved and grinding it out all for the benefit of the team.
I have a problem with embellishment, I have a problem with diving.
The Wachovia Center is a no diving zone, just ask any Flyers fan about Sidney Crosby and you will learn that.
But, Dan Carcillo is just turning into someone, someone we all know and love...err hate, very much, and that someone is Sean Avery.
That's right, Dan Carcillo is now officially in Sean Avery territory....if you take out the whole making off color comments about women and possible racism and hatred of French-Canadians which we haven't seen from Carcillo just yet.
But that's OK because we here at Down Goes Spezza have an idea. See, Carcillo is an RFA at the end of the season, and that means, that he no longer needs to be a problem. Arron Asham is perfectly capable holding his own in fights and the Flyers can go out and get another Ian Laperriere type guy who can kill penalties and be physical.
If Carcillo is gone, it would be a positive for the Flyers, if he stays, hey, maybe this whole diving like Crosby thing can work out in our favor too, this could be a win-win. I hate divers, and that is why Carcillo no longer kicks ass.
