Randy Jones, along with his $2.70m cap hit, is to waived this weekend. (Image Credits: Neat1325)
“Na, na, na, na! Na, na, na, na! Hey, hey, hey! Goodbye!” It may seem a bit mean to those who haven’t followed the Flyers closely for the past number of years, but this defensive liability (and that’s being kind) will no longer be on the Flyers as of some point this weekend. I had already mentioned that Jones was likely to get the Gauthier-treatment a bit ago in an ironic twist of fate. He will be waived this weekend along with his $2.70m in cap hit even though it is the final year of his contract. This of course sets up a chance to create the Flyers’ unofficial opening day roster, which I will get to in a second.
The New York Rangers, always happy to bring in an overpaid player or two, have shown interest in Jones but not enough to make a trade for him. It’s possible that he is claimed off waivers, but it looks like New York is his final destination no matter what. If he clears waivers he will be placed in Glenn Falls, NY with the Phantoms to play out his remaining year under contract. Even if the defense is hurt by injuries, Jones might not get a call-up with many young blueliners on the Phantoms looking to eventually make the Flyers in the next couple of seasons such as Kevin Marshall, Marc-Andre Bourdon, Joonas Lehtivuori, and Okars Bartulis.
This calls for a celebration! Maybe a Braydon Coburn triple-fist-pump?
And so with that the Flyers have basically decided on their roster of 23:
OFFENSIVE WEAPONS (8): Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Jeff Carter, Scott Hartnell, Claude Giroux, Danny Briere, James van Riemsdyk, Mika Pyorala
OFFENSIVE ROLE-PLAYERS (6): *Blair Betts, Dan Carcillo, Arron Asham, Ian Laperriere, Darroll Powe, Riley Cote
OFFENSIVE CALL-UPS (6): Patrick Maroon, Lukas Kaspar, Krys Kolanos, Andreas Nodl, Jared Ross, Jonathan Kalinski
DEFENSIVE SET-UP (7):
Kimmo Timonen -- Braydon Coburn
Chris Pronger -- Matt Carle
Ryan Parent -- Danny Syvret
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen
DEFENSIVE CALL-UPS (5): **Randy Jones, Kevin Marshall, Marc-Andre Bourdon, Okars Bartulis, Joonas Lehtivuori
GOALTENDING DEPTH CHART (3):
NHL Starter: Ray Emery
NHL Back-up: Brian Boucher
NHL Call-up: Johan Backlund
POSSIBLE OPENING DAY LINES/PAIRINGS (23):
Gagne -- Richards -- Powe
Hartnell -- Carter -- Briere
vanRiemsdyk -- Giroux -- Pyorala
Carcillo -- *Betts -- Laperriere
Asham -- CoteTimonen -- Coburn
Pronger -- Carle
Parent -- Syvret
TollefsenEmery -- Boucher
* denotes pending contract
** denotes other factors may prevent call-up
It also appears as though this news not only means that Blair Betts will likely get that contract, but the rumored battle between Mika Pyorala and James van Riemsdyk for a roster spot is over. I’ve said all along that there’s no way the Flyers could possibly keep either off this team after the preseason they’ve had. Beat writer Timmy Panaccio seemed to have other ideas. In fact, with Stevens mentioning that he likes a line of Carcillo -- Powe -- Laperriere, the two of van Riemsdyk and Pyorala making the team is more of a sure thing than Betts getting a contract.
For further information on James van Riemsdyk and Mika Pyorala possibly becoming extra offensive depth on this roster:
Examiner.com -- Pyorala and van Riemsdyk battle for NHL
