Second Verse, Same As The First

On Saturday, the Flyers traded defenseman Freddy Meyer and a conditional draft pick to the New York Islanders for defenseman Alexei Zhitnik. The draft pick is reported to be the Islanders' choice of either a third-round pick in the 2007 draft or a second-round pick in 2008. When I told my significant other about this move, her first reaction was, "Seriously, are they trying to finish last overall?" I couldn't have said it better myself. I'm still trying to figure this one out. Each time that I look at it, though, the answer is the same -- this trade makes zero sense. In trading away Meyer, the team is losing a young, swift, tenacious puck-moving defenseman who, oh by the way, is making just $525,000 this year. You are also losing an upper-round draft pick, which is not an insignificant loss given the salary cap. In acquiring Zhitnik, the team is getting a defenseman who is on the downside of his career, is making $3.5 million for this year AND the next two, but one who can also move the puck and help the younger defensemen on the team learn how to play in both ends of the rink. All in all, I don't like this trade. I don't hate it as much as I did when I first read about it, but I definitely don't like it. With Mike Rathje going on the long-term injury list -- and probably retiring -- that was $3.5 million that the Flyers gained in cap space. Not any more. Zhitnik's contract eats that space up through 2009, at which point Zhitnik will be 36 years old. (Meyer will be 28 in 2009.) It's no secret that chemistry is an important ingredient in putting together a winning team. Chemistry is not something that can be forced -- it just happens. A team either has it or it doesn't. That being said, chemistry can also take a little while to develop. Given the Flyers group of young defensemen -- Jones (25), Meyer (25), Jonsson (24), Pitkanen (23), Timonen (23), and Picard (21) -- it's not unreasonable to think this group of defensemen could have learned how to play together and to play well together. (Should we not also mention that all six are the type of swift, puck-moving defenseman that most teams covet?) At that point, if it behooved the club to move one of them, a lot more could have been gained than an aging, overpaid defenseman.

Flyers Squeak By Isles 3-2

The Flyers won the special teams battle last night, converting on two of their four power play opportunities, while killing off all four New York power plays -- and adding a shorthanded goal of their own. The Flyers jumped out to a two goal lead by the end of the first period on goals from Randy Robitaille and Simon Gagne (a real beauty on a shorthanded mini-breakaway with just five seconds left in the period). Mike Knuble tallied the team's second power play goal of the game with a little over a minute left in the second period. The Islanders weren't going to go quietly, however, as they scored with just 30 seconds left in the second and added another goal with about 10 minutes left in the third. It made for a harrowing final 10 minutes, but goalie Antero Niittymaki came up big again and again to stop New York. Defenseman Derian Hatcher logged a season-high 29:27 of ice time last night, a figure he will probably be seeing quite a bit of in the near future. With yesterday's news that Mike Rathje will be out indefinitely -- if not permanently -- along with Joni Pitkanen's day-to-day status, Hatcher becomes the only Flyers' defenseman with significant NHL experience. FLYERS DEFENSEMEN Player Games Played Derian Hatcher 945 Freddy Meyer 80 Randy Jones 57 Alexandre Picard 18 Jussi Timmonen 6 Lars Jonsson 5 Injured Players Mike Rathje 768 Dennis Gauthier 460 Joni Pitkanen 153 I'll be the first to admit that I've been all over Hatcher this season -- see Derian Hatcher Futility Watch -- but I will also admit that he's been playing better as of late. He will still make a lot of mistakes -- like going for an empty net goal, missing, and icing the puck with a one goal lead and less than one minute left in last night's game. He will still never be in the proper position on the ice given his lack of movement. He will also be afforded the opportunity to begin his coaching career a little early, as he will be asked to take no less than five players with 80 or fewer games played under his wing to teach them how to be NHL defensemen. See: Courier-Post See: Daily News See: Inquirer See: Yahoo/AP

Game #26

The Flyers head to Long Island tonight to play the New York Islanders. Despite playing two fewer games than the Flyers, the Islanders have 10 more points this season. The Flyers are coming off a heartbreaking loss to Nashville last night -- one that the Daily News' Rich Hofmann thinks gives the team something to build off of -- while the Isles have won three of their last four. Inside the Numbers TEAM STATS   GP W L OT Pts G/G GA/G PP% PK% PHI 25 7 15 3 17 2.44 3.80 13.7% 85.8% NYI 23 12 8 3 27 2.74 2.56 16.0% 81.6% TEAM STAT LEADERS   G A Pts +/- PHI Gagne - 13 Pitkanen - 16 Gagne - 21 Robitaille - +1 NYI Blake - 14 Yashin - 18 Yashin - 28 Zhitnik - +11 See: Game Day See: Preview