Teemu Selanne: Holmgren’s Final Piece?
July 10 , 2007
| By Mike Santa Barbara
| 
Discuss
After the firing of head coach Ken Hitchcock and the resignation of GM Bob Clarke new GM Paul Holmgren had a plan from the start. Holmgren was just laying back waiting for his turn, Holmgren besides a short stint in Hartford as head coach has been a mainstay in the Flyers organization for around 30 years. Holmgren was viewed by many as a quiet guy who knew a lot about hockey but enjoyed the position he held as assistant to the GM. When it was announced that Holmgren would be the interim GM most thought that was only what he was. Holmgren said all the right things when asked about being the interim GM saying that he planned on hopefully being the GM for good and that he was ready for the challenge. Well he proved it during last season’s trade deadline by striking quickly and sending a message to the rest of the NHL that the Flyers would be back in 07-08. Here’s a look at his trade-deadline moves:
-Traded C Peter Forsberg to Nashville for D Ryan Parent, LW Scottie Upshall, and a 1st and 3rd Rd Pick
-Traded D Alexei Zhitnik to Atlanta for D Braydon Coburn
-Traded LW Kyle Calder to Chicago for a 3rd Rd Pick and D Lasse Kukkonen
-Traded a 2nd Rd Pick to Buffalo for G Martin Biron
Those moves were pretty impressive for a team that was in last place. It was a sign of building for the future, and starting that building immediately. Who says you have to do these sorts of things in the offseason only? Holmgren’s trade-deadline deals made it clear what the Flyers would do during the offseason. The Flyers’ position was a good one, they had addressed needs already and by addressing those needs they also freed up money to spend to fill the remaining holes. Now that the season was over the Flyers concentrated on the upcoming NHL Draft and of course the free agency period starting on July 1st.
Speculation was that the Flyers would make some trades during the NHL Draft, however they wouldn’t wait that long to strike. Holmgren traded the 23rd overall pick to Nashville for D Kimmo Timmonen and LW Scott Hartnell. The Flyers held the 2nd pick overall in the NHL Draft there was a lot of talk about the Flyers dealing the pick for a veteran center. They tried but failed and ended up drafting LW James vanRiemsdyk another piece for the future. After a successful but uneventful draft the Flyers turned their attention to free agency hoping to make a big splash. They did by first signing big ticket free agent from Buffalo center Daniel Briere and trading away under-achieving defensemen Joni Piktanen and forward Geoff Sanderson to Edmonton for their Captain and veteran defensemen Jason Smith and young scorer Joffrey Lupul.
So it looks as if this Flyers team is all set. However, rumors are floating around about the Flyers possibly trying to sign free agent superstar Teemu Selanne. The rumor first reported by HockeyBuzz.com says that Flyers defensemen Kimmo Timmonen a fellow Fin’ is pretty close to Selanne. They work out together in Finland during the offseason, and it looks as if it’s a done deal that Selanne will wear Orange and Black this upcoming season. The move may not happen for a couple weeks or so, as the Flyers will have to free up some cap space to sign Selanne, perhaps by restructuring some deals. So this is not your typical rumor; this one actually has legs it’s not a pipe dream. Adding Selanne could be the move that puts the Flyers ahead of the rest of the Atlantic division. The Flyers as of right now are a very improved team, too early to say a Conference or Cup Final contender yet, but most definitely a playoff team. Everyone with the exception of the New Jersey Devils made moves to improve their teams in the Atlantic division but the Flyers did by far the most even though they had the most to improve. The Flyers do have room on their roster for Selanne just not the cap room, They have a little over a million left under the cap. Most NHL teams like to stay a million or two under the cap in case of injuries or purchasing minor league contracts to call players up from the AHL.
Signing Selanne could perhaps be the last move Paul Holmgren makes in rebuilding this Flyers team for now. And if he’s able to pull it off it could be one of the quickest rebounds in NHL history. The Flyers could very well go from worst to first and contend for the Stanley Cup in the 07-08 season. When Holmgren was first introduced as interim GM he was seen as a quiet, reserved, front office veteran hockey guy. A guy who would just go through the interim GM motions and just keep the team above water until another more experienced GM was hired. However, Holmgren attacked the job and earned a 2-year extension by rebuilding this team in a matter of months. With GM’s in town like Billy King and Pat Gillick who constantly seem to let us down finally we seem to have a guy who gets it and seems to do whatever it takes to bring a long awaited Championship to this great sports city.
Contact Mike Santa Barbara at MikeSBPhillyPurge@yahoo.com
