Guerin Released

In a conference call this afternoon Flyers GM Paul Holmgren announced that Bill Guerin had been released from his tryout contract and will obviously not be playing in Philadelphia this season. Predictions are that Andreas Nodl will take Guerin's supposed spot on the roster.

Paul Holmgren said dollars weren't a factor in Guerin's departure. "We just didn't see him helping us," Holmgren said. "It had nothing to do with salary. If we felt he could have helped, we would have done something."

So what Holmgren is saying here is that the Flyers could have fit Guerin under the salary cap without a problem. It was more of the fact that the 39-year-old couldn't help a Flyers team who was within a game of winning the Stanley Cup last year. Philadelphia would much rather have 23-year-old Andreas Nodl on the team; a guy who in 48 career NHL games has an astonishing one goal and five points. He did score 18 goals in 40 games twice with St. Cloud State of the WCHA, so that's good to know.

The fact that Guerin has scored 20+ goals in four straight seasons and 10 out of the last 11 and the Flyers decided he couldn't help them is mind-boggling. Guerin could have been a tremendous addition to the Flyers' power play too, as opposed to Nodl who will see primarily 4th line minutes and not even get a sniff of special teams play.

There are people who said Guerin did nothing in the preseason to show he deserved a place on this team. Really? What did Chris Pronger do this preseason to show he deserved a spot on the team? Nothing. He didn't play. But Pronger has showed his worth for an entire career and throughout the 2009/2010 season, right? Well so did Bill Guerin. Some may forget, but he was the piece that brought the Penguins the Stanley Cup in 2009 after they lost it the previous season.

I hope the Flyers know something I don't here because from what I have seen so far, this releasing makes little sense. Guerin was very good on a terrible Islanders team, and has won two Cups. The guy knows how to play.

Bobrovsky named the Flyers' No. 2
With the Flyers sending Johan Backlund down to the Phantoms, this means rookie netminder Sergei Bobrovsky will be the backup to Brian Boucher in the NHL.

Now I already posted as to why Bobrovsky should spend an entire season in the AHL so I won't rehash that. In the conference call Holmgren said, "There's a chance he plays one of the first two games. I think he's played good."

I just feel that with Sergei up with the big club he won't get as many games to get used to the NHL-sized rink and NHL-skilled players. In the AHL he could play everyday and if it takes him time to warm up to the smaller rink, then so be it. Who cares if the Phantoms lose (especially now that they're no longer in Philadelphia). But when Bobrovsky has a bad game with the Flyers, it all gets magnified. A loss in the NHL is much bigger than in the AHL.

We'll have to wait and see how long Michael Leighton is out before we see how long Bobrovsky is up with the Flyers. I just hope that when Leighton does come back it is Sergei who is sent down for the added experience in the minors, not Boucher.

Rookie Camp Opened Today...Jody Shelley Got Nervous

Well it's the unofficial, official start of the hockey season. Flyers rookies have made their first appearance together at the Flyers Skate Zone in Vorhees (along with some veterans too). And with the start of training camp some serious personnel questions surrounding the Flyers begin to arise.

Bill Guerin is still skating at the Skate Zone and in order to continue to skate there past Friday, he needs to sign a contract. He originally said he wanted to come to the Flyers' facilities just to skate around while he was visiting his in-laws. So either he's so strapped for cash that he's moving in with said in-laws, or he's working on getting a contract with Philadelphia before the weekend. Now I'm not aware of Guerin's financial situation, but I'm going to guess Silly Billy is still at the Flyers Skate Zone on Saturday.

There are a couple of Flyers rookies who some people think have a chance of making the roster. Forwards Mike Testwuide and Kyle Wellwood as well as defenseman Marc-Andre Bourdon (who the Flyers have given attempts at making the roster before, but so far he just hasn't panned out the way they would have liked) and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (who many think will be the Flyers starting goalie in 2011/2012, not this year).

All of this should strike fear in the hearts of Players like Dan Carcillo, Darroll Powe and especially Jody Shelley. Shelly better not get a roster spot in favor of a younger, more talented forward or the more talented veteran Bill Guerin and sit for the majority of the Flyers season, like I predict he will. Shelley is already a waste of space on this team and if he inhibits a more capable player from making the club, it will be a real shame.

Look for a post this weekend on the beginning days of Flyers training camp. It's hockey season y'all. Get pumped!

Guerin-teeing a Flyers Move

Yea, that's right. He's a stache man.

We have Silly Ville (Ville Lieno) and Silly Willy (Wilson Valdez). But will the Flyers add another to the pack of Sillies in the town we call Philly? Ladies and gentlemen, the Flyers (hopefully) welcome...Silly Billy.

Former Penguin (Devil, Oiler, Bruin, Star, Blue, Shark and Islander) Bill Guerin is working out at the Flyers Skate Zone, and is hoping to receive a contract offer from Philadelphia. He was not resigned by Pittsburgh over the summer and is looking for another crack at winning his third Stanley Cup Championship. Guerin is 39 and will turn 40 in November, but if the statistics say anything, they're telling us the veteran still has some juice left in the tank.

Guerin scored 21 goals and had 45 points last season with the Pens. But he did play alongside Sidney Crosby. And playing on the same line as one of the greatest players in the game will boost anyone's stats, right? Yea, well umm...no. Guerin posted 36 goals and 56 points in 06/07 with the Blues and Sharks, 23 goals and 44 points in 07/08 with the NY Islanders (yes, the even crappier team from New York), and 21 goals and 48 points in 08/09 split between the Isles and Pens. So for those of you who say Guerin is too old and can no longer produce at the game's highest level, a little bit of rethinking may be required.

Since Guerin is still only looking to get a tryout with the Orange and Black, it must mean that there hasn't been much interest in the winger. Thus he won't be demanding top dollar and considering he's a veteran, the Flyers can give him an incentive-laden contract that won't hurt the Flyers cap as much. The Flyers would be stupid not to at least give him a tryout offer right?

The only negative about adding Guerin is the fact that there isn't any place on the roster for him. The Flyers already have 13 forwards vying for a possible 12 roster spots. Good thing the Flyers signed Jody Shelley to a contract right?

So, as far as I can see it, the most logical place to put Guerin is to replace Shelley with him on the roster. But that still leaves the Flyers one man over on the 20 man roster. And the odd man out here may be either Dan Carcillo or Darroll Powe. And with the possibility of adding Guerin to the roster, it will only force Powe and Carcillo to prove that they deserve a spot on this team and that have more to bring to the club than the aging veteran.

I think the Flyers will offer Guerin a tryout contract and I think he and his 20+ goals deserve a spot on this team...no matter whose spot he takes (unless it's Carcillo's. Please don't let it be Danny.)