Maybe we can finally move Jacks........

[DaDitka]

Flyers GM says he “made 29 phone calls” upon learning Pronger was lost for season
Mike Halford Dec 16, 2011, 2:22 PM EST
3 Comments
Interesting tidbit here from CBC’s Elliotte Friedman:

With his team atop the Eastern Conference and just one point out of first in the NHL, it’s not surprising Holmgren’s in “I gotta salvage the season!” mode.

But how does he salvage it?

Pronger could go on Long-Term Injury Reserve (LTIR) like Marc Savard did in Boston, meaning the Flyers would have $4.9 million in available cap space. That’s a sizeable chunk, definitely enough to acquire a serviceable defenseman or, if Holmgren was willing to trade a player with a decent-sized cap hit, an even larger asset.

Knowing that, there’s sure to be plenty of scuttlebutt surrounding Nashville. The Preds have two tantalizing options in Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, and Holmgren has an extensive history of dealing with GM David Poile. The two first linked up in 2007 for the Scott Hartnell-Kimmo Timonen deal and have made a few more since (most recently, Holmgren acquired Dan Hamhuis’ negotiation rights from Poile.)

There are a few less-compelling options as well. Francois Beauchemin is a guy to keep an eye on — Holmgren and Anaheim GM Bob Murray got together for the Pronger deal in 2009 and if Anaheim falls short of the playoffs (which looks likely), unloading the 31-year-old UFA-to-be is a possibility.

One also wonders what the future holds for Jaroslav Spacek. The 37-year-old probably isn’t in Carolina’s plans moving forward and at this stage of his career, might want a shot at the postseason (another thing that’s not in Carolina’s plans.)

If things continue to go south for Tampa, Pavel Kubina could be in play. Sounds like Calgary would be interested in unloading Anton Babchuk and/or Cory Sarich.

Of course, Holmgren could stand pat and see how things play out. Even without Pronger, Philadelphia still has a solid top-four defense of Timonen, Andrej Meszaros, Matt Carle and Braydon Coburn. The Flyers have also gotten surprisingly solid production out of rookie Marc-Andre Bourdon and should get veteran Andreas Lilja (ankle) back from injury soon.

[Oaklandblue]

I say let them sink. We can't afford to give much up and we wouldn't get much back in return, anyway.

Besides, we send them Jackman, they'd send us back a six-pack of generic cola missing a few cans.

[DaDitka]

Besides, we send them Jackman, they'd send us back a six-pack of generic cola missing a few cans.

And we'll send them a thank you card

[Oaklandblue]

Besides, we send them Jackman, they'd send us back a six-pack of generic cola missing a few cans.

And we'll send them a thank you card

[cardsfan04]

I'd listen, but I think Jackman has been better this year than in recent memory. If they pay a reasonable price though, that's a helluva an excuse to bring Cole up full time.

I might actually be more interested in trading Colaicovo though. He's an offensive defenseman, but only the 3rd best offensive defenseman on the team.

[Winning Unlimited]

Can we trade for Brewer... so we can trade him away again?

[Winning Unlimited]

Proposal:

Hurricanes receive Colaiacovo, D'agostini, Ponich, 3rd round pick
Blues receive Pitkanen

Pitkanen played under Hitchcock in '05-'06 and was the top scoring defenseman for the Flyers at 22 years old. He had more points than Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, with fewer games. Now at 28, Pitkanen has 3 more years at $4.5M.

Carolina gets two role players, a def prospect and a pick with comparable salary.

[Oaklandblue]

Proposal:

Hurricanes receive Colaiacovo, D'agostini, Ponich, 3rd round pick
Blues receive Pitkanen

Pitkanen played under Hitchcock in '05-'06 and was the top scoring defenseman for the Flyers at 22 years old. He had more points than Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, with fewer games. Now at 28, Pitkanen has 3 more years at $4.5M.

Carolina gets two role players, a def prospect and a pick with comparable salary.

Hell no.

[cardsfan04]

Proposal:

Hurricanes receive Colaiacovo, D'agostini, Ponich, 3rd round pick
Blues receive Pitkanen

Pitkanen played under Hitchcock in '05-'06 and was the top scoring defenseman for the Flyers at 22 years old. He had more points than Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, with fewer games. Now at 28, Pitkanen has 3 more years at $4.5M.

Carolina gets two role players, a def prospect and a pick with comparable salary.

Hell no.

For real. That trade is terrible.

Pitkanen appears to be having the worst year of his career. He is -10 this year, but was +5 in his career coming into this season. +5 over 7 seasons isn't great, but -10 in 21 games is pretty awful. And his 12 points (3G,9A) aren't so great to make me want to ignore that. I don't think I would trade D'Agostini straight up for him, much less throwing in Coliacovo, Ponich and a draft pick.

But, let's forget that and assume that somehow that trade was even. We don't need another defenseman right now. We need a top line scorer, preferably one that can create scoring chances by himself (i.e. a real impact player). If we can't get that, I'm not eager to make a trade at all. Goaltending is better than great. Defense is extremely solid. Goal scoring is all we really need right now assuming what we've seen under Hitchcock is real (and I think it is at this point). And Pitkanen is not who I would look to for that.

[theohall]

Proposal:

Hurricanes receive Colaiacovo, D'agostini, Ponich, 3rd round pick
Blues receive Pitkanen

Pitkanen played under Hitchcock in '05-'06 and was the top scoring defenseman for the Flyers at 22 years old. He had more points than Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, with fewer games. Now at 28, Pitkanen has 3 more years at $4.5M.

Carolina gets two role players, a def prospect and a pick with comparable salary.

Hell no.

Mega ++

[dirtypel30]

Just Hope the flyers don't watch the kings game or many others. jacks turns into a star for whomever were playing . If allowed he'd have a lot more points for his turnover assists.

[glen a richter]

that trade idea is just terrible...

[dmiles2186]

Unless the Blues can go for a home run trade, I say no trades whatsoever. No need to mess with a good thing right now.

[glen a richter]

I agree with everyone who says to just let Jackman's contract run up and then let him leave via free agency. If they were playing like shit, I would say try to unload him for draft pick(s) around the deadline, but the way things are going right now, just let it ride. Bid him farewell after the postseason, bring up Cole and/or Fairchild and/or Ponich to replace him.

Unless, of course, someone offers a totally insane offer that can't be turned down. Something totally preposterous, a Getzlaf for Jackman or a Parise for Jackman straight up trade. You know, the kind of trade offer that never happens.

[thedoc]

I say I want to know what kinda generic cola we are talking about. If it's Dr. Thunder and they throw in some used Zamboni parts let's make it happen.

[WaukeeBlues]

Yea good luck talking the Preds into trading Suter or Weber.

I think they're done being violated in the @$$hole by teams acquiring their good defensemen.

[tomcat16]

I think all the pundits saying the Preds would trade Weber are high on something. That is the core they build from.

As for Pitkanen, no thank you. While I think Jacks has been playing fairly well, sometimes I just when he passes it right up the middle in his own zone onto the tape of the opposition. I mean seriously, even my beer league defense is better than that!!! If Philly offered a 1st rounder, I'd take it. If the offered a top-tier O prospect, I'd take it. But I don't think the Blues should mess with their chemistry right now.

[Oaklandblue]

You know, if we're talking about moving Jacks, let's package him with Halak and Stewart and a pick and see what we get offered. Stewart has last years stats for collateral and the change of scenery/issues with the front office excuse might make him appealing. Halak, imho, has some value, though I personally think Jake Allen or Ben Bishop would gather the same results at this point and time. People talk about giving to get, well, as funky as a list this is, I think if we got a halfway decent scorer out of it (And minnimalized how much of Halak's equally funky salary we ate) that it might work out for us. That'd be my proposal at this point; drop the dead weight and ride on what works.

[DaDitka]

I could be wrong, but with Stewart getting dealt by Colorado because he was lazy and then teams watching him play this year (lazy).....I'm not sure his value is what you think.

Both he and Halak have shown ability, but they have also illustrated that they are not professionals. They are not driven on their own and therefor simply can never be relied on.

If Stew were to have any significant value it would probably be at the deadline to a real contender that thought the drive for the cup may spark him. Let's be honest, with him illustrating this kind of effort in a contract year, no one is lining up to give this dude a new contract next year.

[kodos]

But Stewart has proven that he can be a real threat in this league. He might just be a wake up call.

He's the sort of guy you trade to another team with a guy who has his head up his ass, and you hope the trade wakes them both up.

You swap disappointments and hope for the best.