Veteran winger Mike Knuble signed a 2-year 2.8 million dollar deal with the Capitals yesterday. My colleague Chris Shafer did a nice job of summarizing the emotional toll of Knuble leaving, but the fact is he isn’t worth the contract he signed with Washington. Feel that sense of deja vu? That’s because this is identical to the Brian Dawkins situation only Knuble isn’t anywhere near as loved in Philly as B-Dawk was.
On the surface Mike’s 27 goals last season is an impressive number, but it loses some worth when you also consider he had four different streaks in the regular season where he went pointless for at least four games in a row. He also went pointless over a span of six games in the final weeks of the season when the Flyers needed his production the most. Against the Penguins in the playoffs he was a total non-factor, with just two goals, an assist, and a -2 rating.
Considering Mike is 36 years old this inconsistency after a hot start makes you wonder whether he wore down as the season went on. Is that worth $2.8 million over the next two years for a cap strapped organization? Absolutely not.
And finally, people who say Ian Laperierre was signed by the Flyers to replace Knuble aren’t looking at the big picture (or they don’t know much about hockey.) Lappy isn’t a goal scorer like Knuble, but he will be a solid third-fourth line winger (highly doubt he’ll play center here) who can be a reliable presence on the penalty kill, freeing up guys like Richards and Carter for more 5 on 5/PP minutes. The Flyers are paying Lappy less than half of what Knuble will be making each season which will free them up to make some other important moves to improve the team’s depth. He isn’t being brought on to directly replace Knuble: rather he shores up a different area of need for the Orange and Black.
It will be interesting to see what other moves Homer has up his sleeve, but after the Pronger trade the Flyers are only a couple more smart pickups away from being the clear favorites to win the East.
In Case You’re Curious…
I found a terrific resource for those of your curious about how much certain NHLers are making and how cap-strapped certain teams are. If you haven’t already I recommend you check out “Cap Central” at HockeyBuzz.com. Really gives you a good idea of how overpaid someone like Danny Briere is!
