SB Nation's Mock NHL Expansion Draft: Finalizing Our Flyers Protected List
The votes are in and our list is complete.
We've made some tough decisions and some easy ones. We've angered some people, but hey, that's part of the business. The following players are eligible to be plucked away from the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 SB Nation Mock NHL Expansion Draft:
D: Matt Walker, Sean O`Donnell, Oskars Bartulis
F: Jody Shelley, Dan Carcillo, Darroll Powe, Blair Betts, Greg Moore
The draft will take place today, on Thursday, and the results will be announced next Tuesday, after the Labor Day holiday. Gabe Desjardins of Behind The Net is running the new Winnipeg franchise, while James Mirtle of The Globe & Mail is running the new Quebec franchise.
After the jump, let's look at which Flyers players were protected and which players were exempt from this process.
The league has informed the union that it has accepted Chris Pronger's year-old, front-loaded, seven-year, $34.45 million contract with Ed Snider's Flyers under which the defenseman will earn $1.05 million over the final two years of the deal.
--Larry Brooks of the NY Post, in an update to his ultimatum story from last night.
A Chat With Lisa Hillary, CSN Philly's New Flyers Reporter
Lisa Hillary's farewell at CSN DC was slightly emotional. (And that dude does NOT like Philly.)
Recall our story from the other night, where we shared the news that Lisa Hillary would be leaving CSN Washington to cover the Flyers at CSN Philly. We had a chance to speak with Hillary on Wednesday afternoon about a ton of different things, from her career thus far to her decision to come to Philly to her dislike of Toronto. Oh, and the rat. We talked about the rat.
On her career before CSN Washington:
Lisa Hillary: I did news and I was the Assistant PR Director for the Ottawa Senators. I did a bunch of different things before I actually got into sports broadcasting. When I left TSN I went I actually went back to my home town of Ottawa. I wasn't a big fan of Toronto to be honest with you. It's kind of an impersonal city. It was sort of like a mini New York. I wasn't a huge fan, not to mention, you know, my schedule didn't allow me to have much of a life.
On moving to the United States and deciding to cover the Capitals:
LH: [Leaving TSN] was a personal decision. It had nothing to do with the things I did there. Working in Calgary, first of all, was fantastic. Then they promoted me to SportsCentre anchoring in Toronto, which was great. But in hindsight, I love reporting and were I to do it again I probably would've stayed in Calgary. It's a great city.
Eventually, I just got the itch to get back into sports again. With Alex Ovechkin getting the drafted, you knew he was going to be such a huge star, so when the opportunity to come here to Washington to cover who was, to me, the best player in the world -- and I still believe he is -- you know, it was a no brainer.
That's why I decided to come and it's been a wonderful three years.
Thursday Morning Fly By: I Got Somethin on my Shoulder
Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers news and notes...
- Hey, did you hear Bill Guerin skated with the Flyers yesterday? [Flyers] [CSNPhilly] [NHL.com]
- Great story on Traktor Chelyabinsk honoring Dmitry Tertyshny with an annual tournament: [NHL.com]
- Is the NHL circumventing the CBA? Seriously: [Jewels From the Crown]
- Jonathan Willis returns, explaining why Janne Niinimaa is his favorite post-dynasty Oiler: [The Copper & Blue]
- Hey, locker pictures of Jody Shelley [NHLFlyers] and Andrej Meszaros [NHLFlyers]
- The exterior officially reads Wells Fargo Center [NHLFlyers] and the ice is painted inside [Flyers]
- Lastly, how many points can Henrik Sedin be expected to score after putting up 112 last year? [Behind The Net]
Mock Expansion Draft: Protecting A Goalie
We have to protect one goalie in the Mock Expansion Draft. Don't everybody go and jump up all at once, now.
Players who have played less than 50 games in the NHL are exempt and automatically protected, so guys like Sergei Bobrovsky, Nicola Riopel and Johan Backlund are automatically protected.
Basically, this exercise is simple: who do you want, Michael Leighton or Brian Boucher?
Compare them completely and totally. I'm not going to sit here and list the different accolades because I don't want to editorialize and sway anybody in any particular direction (although, as Geoff has learned, that doesn't work that well), but you've probably made up your mind already anyway. You have a favorite. Pick him.
Pick a goalie to keep: Brian Boucher or Michael Leighton? (It's not like the other is getting taken in the draft anyway.)
Mock Expansion Draft: The Defensemen
The votes are in and the polls are closed. Distinguished BSH members have rejected my argument and sided with Ben, protecting Ian Laperriere and Scott Hartnell. That's fine, it's tough to break the habit of being snuggled up against the cap. We'd be lost without that problem. Just like if the Flyers found a franchise goalie: we wouldn't know what to do.
So with that, the honorable Messrs. Mirtle and Desjardins will be choosing from Darroll Powe, Blair Betts (surely gone), Greg Moore, Jody Shelley, and Dan Carcillo.
But now it's time to turn to the defense:
Protected: Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Matt Carle, and Braydon Coburn
Exempt: Marc-Andre Bourdon, Kevin Marshall, Joonas Lehtivuori, Erik Gustafsson, Tyler Hostetter, and Dan Jancevski
That leaves four players battling for immunity.
The Pros And Cons Of Signing Bill Guerin
UPDATE: Craig Custance of The Sporting News says he got a text from Guerin that says he's "just in town" and "not hoping for a tryout, just skating." According to his agent in the same article, "he simply needed needed a place to skate" and that they've "had discussions with a couple of teams." Still, you have to assume the Flyers are one of those teams, given that they've let him train in Flyers orange at their practice facility.
Bill Guerin is interested in playing for your Philadelphia Flyers. This is both a good thing and a bad thing, for many different reasons. Let's stop messing around and get into them, because that's what Bill Guerin would do. (See, one good reason to sign him already.)
It should be noted, of course, that the Tim Panaccio article linked above says that Guerin simply wants a tryout contract with the Flyers. He was officially, publicly cut loose by the Penguins a few days ago, and now he's skating and working out at the Skate Zone in Flyers gear. I'm sure he needed team permission to do that anyhow, so it's clear the Flyers are looking at him hard as we speak.
Let's set one thing straight: there are literally no cons to bringing a guy like Guerin in on a tryout contract. Try to find one. They aren't there. He's been around, he's won the Cup, he'll push other guys hard. It'll be like having another coach in the room, except this coach can steal your job.
Wednesday Morning Fly By: Slow, Slow, Slow
Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers news and notes...
- Voting on the Flyers protected forwards ends soon. Don't forget to read Ben and my arguments: [BSH]
- The Flyers released their promotional schedule for the year: [Flyers]
- NHL veterans don't understand the CBA, or the nature of their line of work: [Lighthouse Hockey]
That's it. Seriously. Look for the defensemen's protected poll later today.



















by 
by 
























Most Commented
2010/11 BSH Fantasy Hockey Details
by Travis Hughes 5 days ago
180 comments
Wednesday Morning Fly By: Slow, Slow, Slow
by Geoff Detweiler 1 day ago
154 comments
The Pros And Cons Of Signing Bill Guerin
by Travis Hughes 1 day ago
87 comments
SB Nation's Mock NHL Expansion Draft: Creating the Flyers' protected list
by Travis Hughes 2 days ago
42 comments
Mock Expansion Draft: Protecting A Goalie
by Travis Hughes about 22 hours ago
41 comments