The Flyers and GM Paul Holmgren got an early jump on the free agent market yesterday, acquiring Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell from Nashville and signing them to long-term deals. These two deals are expensive, but these players probably have cost even more if these players were allowed to hit the market. Timonen was regarded as the cream of the Free Agent crop of defensemen, so this deal appears to be a very good one on paper.
This is not the first apparently good deal Paul Holmgren has made since taking over for Bob Clarke last season. He cleared a lot of cap space, by trading away underperforming veterans such as Kyle Calder, and got some good young players in return. He also acquired Goalie Martin Biron as last year’s trade deadline, finally stabilizing a problem position. He still has cap space to make another splash in Free Agency, and the Flyers still hold the number 2 overall pick.
Last season was a disaster on every level, the worst season in franchise history. But after Holmgren and Head coach John Stevens took over, they at least became younger, faster, and harder to play against. There is very little dead weight left on this roster, and hopefully this new team and new coach can get the Flyers back to the playoffs. After the mess that Clarke left, that’s the most we could ask for as fans.
Pac-Man at it again.
Suspended Titan Adam "Pac-Man" Jones was sought as a witness, after he and his buddies got into another altercation where gunshots were fired outside a "gentlemen’s establishment". I have two questions for him: 1.) is he the dumbest human being alive? He is like the lab rat who continually tries to eat the pellet attached to an electric shock. Except the lab rat isn’t being paid millions top play a kids game.
2.) Why do he and his cronies always seem to get into fights at a strip club? They are supposed to be happy places, aren’t they? I know that when I am looking at naked ladies, I’m not thinking, "Hey, let me shoot someone!"
What is Peter King Smoking?
In his online column on SI.com yesterday, Peter King ranked the starting QB’s 1-30 in the NFL, and listed Donovan McNabb as 12th behind such luminaries as Jay Cutler, Tony Romo, and John Kitna. He used McNabb’s injury in his reasoning, but c’mon! Romo was good only until teams got some game film on him, and then he was average at best. The Broncos were comfortably in the playoffs until installing Cutler as their QB, and then proceeded to miss the playoffs. And John Kitna? I won’t even dignify that one with a response. King said at the end of his column that he is on vacation; he apparently needs it.