Who came out on top in the Scott Hartnell trade?

As we continue to digest yesterday’s news from the Philadelphia Flyers on the trade of Scott Hartnell for R.J Umberger of the Columbus Blue Jackets, more clues are coming out on the thought process behind this trade. Ron Hextall, who had been groomed all season to take over as G.M finally assumed his role and is making an impact, with the goal of producing a Stanley Cup team just like he created in L.A. With Hextall at the reigns it seems odd that the Hartnell trade feels very Paul Holmgren reminiscent.

Claude Giroux was shocked Monday morning when he found out that Scott Hartnell was one of his former teammates. A move out of left field for the Flyers team, shocking even the captain. The trade was for R.J Umberger, a player with some similarities to Hartnell, those similarities include age, goals last season, cap hit and experience they could bring to a team. Where Hartnell excels above other players is his commitment to the community in which he plays, he is more active in the community than any other individual player, he has been a fan favorite and a face for the Flyers.

The Columbus Blue Jackets undoubtedly are very lucky to have such a great trade on their hands and they did not have to sacrifice much. R.J Umberger doesn’t draw as much fan base but he brings an element of speed and versatility that Hextall is looking for in a player. Umberger, a former Flyer, had asked the Blue Jackets for a trade because he had been a healthy scratch down the stretch 2014-14. All signs show that Umberger is actually skating the best of his career and we can look to Craig Breube playing his in several different positions this season.

With R.J Umberger also comes a 4^th round pick in the 2015 draft which is expected to be deeper than the draft happening this weekend. Hextall’s plan seems to be focused towards the long term. He is going to clean up the team, put them in a great position for a few years from now and then win the Cup. He has the vision to take the team where it needs to go and he wants to create the cap flexibility to be able to do so.

My feelings about the trade: Thinking of it from a player stand point for a minute, both teams seemingly did not want the player that they had. On an individual basis this is great for them.  Hartnell is a great guy and his soul focus is on winning the Stanley Cup before his retires and the Blue Jackets are very motivated to do that, so I think this season we are going to see great things from Hartnell. The Blue Jackets have Hartnell in their winning plan and that is a perfect place for him to be. A player that is motivated by winning is the kind that you want on your team. On the other hand, Umberger was a healthy scratch for the stretch last season (2013-14) there is a reason behind that and GM Jarmo Kekalainen of the Columbus Blue Jackets might have given a hint to that when he said:

“We had a player who didn't want to play here and had asked to be moved, so that was money on the sidelines for us. Now we've got a real good player (Hartnell) and we have clarity to the situation. We know what we look like heading into these next two weeks, which makes it easier to proceed."

So was he referring to Umberger. If so, all we can hope is that the move re-energizes Umberger to want to win with the Flyers. He is seemingly in the best shape of his career so hopefully he makes that kind of impact with the team.

From a Flyers stand point this is such a bad trade. They had one of their top guys, who is a face of the team, great attitude/motivated to win, respected and looked up to by his teammates, fully committed to the Flyers and Philadelphia and they just downgraded to Umberger. That’s the business side of the game but it’s just such a sad move on their part.  Hartnell was such an integral part of the team, they will not be able to find someone that can fill his skates on and off the ice. Hopefully the gamble on the 4^th round pick in 2015 works out.

The Columbus Blue Jacket should be over the moon. I don’t think I am at all the bias when I make that statement. Hartnell has made the most of this situation and he is with a very motivated team.  He is bringing them valuable experience and leadership. He’s motivated and wants to win a cup before he retires and when Hartnell is motivated he gets things done. The Blue Jackets came out on top in this trade.

This trade rests on the shoulders of Ron Hextall. Everyone had been wondering if Hartnell had requested this move and that was just not the case at all. Hartnell loves Philly and even in being asked to move on he is still doing what is best for the Philadelphia Flyers. I am dreading the Hextall regime already and hoping for some kind of saving grace soon like resigning Ray Emery as back- up goaltender.

Weekend Sweep: Flyers

On this back to back game weekend, just having beat the Bruins Saturday and facing off with the Capitals yesterday the Flyers were aiming for a weekend sweep.  This is the third and final meeting between the Capitals and the Flyers in the regular season. The starting line up for the Flyers was: Simmonds, Schenn, Hartnell; Schenn, Lauridsen Bryzgalov. Within the first minute of play the Capitals score taking the 1-0 over the Flyers. Then ten minutes into play, still no attempts from the Flyers, with the Capitals dominating the first period Tabolt was able to cut one lose to the back of the net tying the game 1-1. Kimmo Timonen had made a great tactical play, bouncing the puck off the wall then the puck redirected by Rinaldo to Talbot for the score. Capitals take a 5-3 power play when Giroux gets sent to the box for face off violations and Simmonds, who clearly gets pushed into the goalie, gets called for goalie interference. Everyone but the refs saw Simmonds get pushed but the Flyers fend off the Capitals during the 2 man advantage. Great power penalty kill by the Flyers, it built energy to the game. Nearing the end of the first period and the Flyers were still battling for puck possession, Read catches a pass and takes a one on one to the net against the goaltender securing a lead for the Flyers 2-1 in the first period. Flyers had a slow start to the first period but ended with a 1 point lead over the Capitals. The Capitals put the Flyers power play streak to bed and stopped it at 5, as the Flyers were unsuccessfully in scoring during power plays against the Capitals. The Capitals tail the Flyers as 2nd in the league for power play goals, and power plays were rough for the Flyers. The second period was uneventful, with a back and forth between the two teams throughout most of the period. At the end of the second period Green tied up the game for the Capitals 2-2. Going into the third period, the Flyers have a 1-6 record when being tied after two periods, but that did not stop Giroux from pulling this team through. After several bad penalties in the 3^rd period, it seemed as though this team was falling apart, culminating at the moment when Bryzglov threw his water bottle after missing a block which gave the Capitals a 2 point lead. Just when it seemed like the game was over, as the Capitals had a 4-2 lead, Giroux took control as Captain; finally showing the leadership expected of him on the ice. With 10 minutes left in regulation, the Flyers had the puck and had to get it into the Capitals zone quickly to bridge the 2 point lead. A power play gave Giroux the opportunity he needed to level the game 4-3, giving hope to his team. With 9.8 seconds left in the game and an empty net for the Flyers, they pushed hard against the Capitals to tie the game and they did. The game goes into over time and Fedetanko secures the win and 2 more points for the Flyers, 5-4 win.

If it wasn’t for Giroux this would have been another loss. This team still does not play well with a lead and they do not play well under adversity. There were many mistakes that plagued the Flyers: their slow start in the first period, puck turn over and numerous bad penalties in the third that almost cost them the game. As soon as the Captials had their two point lead it seemed as if they were going to run away with the game but the Flyers made a dramatic come back in the last ten minutes. Timonen and Giroux really stepped up their leadership in this game, making big play after big play, covering up mistake after mistake. Rinaldo was not giving up on the hits; he said “I will keep the hits rolling” For a team that is down big names due to injuries the Flyers tried to fill the gap. Talbot suffered a lower body injury from this game and might be added to the list of injuries for the season.  Max Talbot is one of the biggest power play killers for the team, there is no report on his injury but the Flyers said he was not cut on the play. Giroux’s post game comments on his teammate were, "He [Talbot] has a big role on the team, and obviously the other guys will have to step up," The Flyers have lost three defensemen -Grossmann, Meszaros, and Coburn to injuries and forwards Talbot and Briere. They also have lost forwards Talbot and Danny Briere (concussion). Matt Read had another great score for the team, giving him back to back score in the past 2 games. In the old man club, Hartnell  made an appearance but didn’t provide much of anything, his game isn’t consistent but it was great to see Knuble back in the line up for a third game. Shame of the game goes to Jakub Voracek for the fight he dominated after his Captain Giroux took a hit, which put Voracek in the box for 4 minutes giving the Capitals opportune time to take home 2 goals putting the score at 4-2. Giroux can certainly take a hit and does not need reckless behavior that might costs the team a win. Consequently this incident shook the whole team, it was evident the team was disjointed and even Bryzgalvo lashed out with his frustrations after missing two blocks during the power play. That fight sends a warning to everyone in the league, don’t fight Voracek, he will dominate you. Voracek needs to take a not from Luke Schenn who knows shake it off and not give power plays away. This and the past two games solidify the spring board for the Flyers and could take them right to the play offs. The Flyers claim the 12^th seed as they inch closer to the play offs. The Flyers will have to fix some of their flaws before they face off against the Canadiens on Wednesday. They will be looking to Bryzgalov to be their MVP for the remainder of the season. With the combination of these players: (forwards) Read, Fedetanko, Knuble, Giroux, B. Schenn, Rinaldo, Talbot and (defensemen) L. Schenn, Timonen, and Lauridsen the season looks promising. Now it’s up to Laviolette to play his cards right. A weak performance against the Canadiens is not going to produce as lucky of an outcome as last night.

Flyers fall to the Islanders 4-3

Last night we witnessed the attempt at more effort by the Philadelphia Flyers, and, although they lead the game for two periods, Flyers v. Islanders ended in a 4-3 loss during the shootout. This game could have been clinched for the Flyers, if they would have maintained their energy and took care of the puck during the entire game and not just the first period. The Flyers haven’t played well with a lead, and the energy change was evident once the Flyers led, they froze. Hartnell took the puck to the net twice, which was a welcoming sight to see, after he has had such an off season. Moving forward, if Hartnell can keep his game up and control his temper, it could give the Flyers the chance to perform at the level of skill which they keep claiming to have.
One of the best decisions Laviolette made during this game was to play Mike Knuble.  Knuble, who had been scratched in 10 of the past 11 games, backhanded a shot into an open net during the first period putting the Flyers 2 ahead. In the 15 remaining games Coach Laviolette should give Knuble more ice time; if Laviolette makes more conscience decisions to play, players who can take the puck to the net, there might be a chance of more leads like last night’s.
An unfortunate event came during the 3rd period with 3 minutes remaining, when Islander McDonald's slap shot deflected off of Flyer Gervais’ skate and into the Flyers goal, giving the Islanders a 3-2 lead. In response, the Flyers, who notoriously do not perform well under pressure, showed up in the final 29.8 seconds of the game. With Bryzgalov pulled, Hartnell scored during the power play, tying the game 3-3 and forcing the game into over time. Hartnell deserves some credit for that; it certainly was a shocking turn around in the last few seconds of the game. After a scoreless over time, the game went to shootouts. Each team scoring during regulation, Simmonds missed his shot in the fourth round and unfortunately that sealed the fate of this team last night. The Flyers could use some practice on those shoots, 4 out of  5 of their past games have been decided after regulation, they should have been more prepared to make it in the net.  
An ill-fated team, the Flyers, still battling to achieve the greatness that their Captain Claude Giroux claims they have according to this post-game statement:
''We feel like we are a team that should be in the playoffs and we're not. We need to find a way to get those points like tonight. It's not that we didn't battle; it's just bounces that go in. So it's tough bounces, but like I said, we feel we are a team that should be in the playoffs right now.''
For a team that claims to be conscious of their short comings, it has been surprising to see them not being able to come up with solutions. It’s hard to predict what we will see next from this team, but if they can build the energy, press offensively and play the puck we could be looking forward to some good games. The Flyers need to adapt quickly, build off of their successes from last night and get ready for the Boston Bruins on Saturday.