After missing the playoffs last season, the Philadelphia Flyers are hardly standing pat this offseason. They already have bought out disappointing goalie Ilya Bryzgalov and now will add Vincent Lecavalier, the former NHL goal-scoring king who was recently bought out by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Flyers reportedly gave Lecavalier a deal worth $22.5 million over five years. It contains a no-movement clause. Lecavalier, 33, had his previous contract bought out last week by the Lightning, which owed him $32.67 million in the buyout. Approximately 15 teams were confirmed to show interest in Lecavalier over the past weekend, with at least nine of them meeting personally with the star center at the NHL draft last weekend. The Dallas Stars and Montreal Canadiens were seriously considered right to the end.
The Flyers get a very motivated player who is out to prove he can still compete at an elite level. And in choosing Philadelphia, Lecavalier proved many wrong and showed that he was willing to go to a real hockey market. Lecavalier will bring his 6-foot-4 frame, to be sure, and hands that have always been soft. I give Lecavalier credit for not choosing what seemed like the safest choice in Dallas, where he would have made good money and been left alone, as was the case all those years with the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team in another non-traditional hockey market.
Lecavalier?s lengthy injury history and decreased mobility in recent years were enough of a risk to give teams pause before handing out a five-year contract. He?s not the player who compiled 50 goals and 100 points a few seasons back or the player who was the focal point of a Stanley Cup winning team, but he has averaged .83 points per game over the past five full seasons, which puts him in the top 40 among all NHL players.
The Flyers? main focus now will be on finding a goalie to compete with Steve Mason. After missing out on trades for the Kings? Jonathan Bernier and Canucks? Cory Schneider, the Flyers may look at Tim Thomas. He out the post-lockout season, blowing off his pro-rated $3 million Bruins salary after his rights were traded to the Islanders because he and his family needed some down time. A two-time Vezina Trophy winner and Stanley Cup champ, he is a 39-year-old free agent said to be in great condition. He also has a career .248 goals-against average and .921 save percentage.
Another option could be former Flyer Ray Emery, who is only 30 and made but $1.15 million last year as a Blackhawks backup. Despite that tag, Emery started 19 games and went 17-1 with a 1.94 GAA and .922 SP for the Cup winners .
