Scouting the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers
Adam Kimelman: Scouts listed to attend last night’s Bruins-Flyers game: Chicago Blackhawks (3), Ottawa Senators (2), Dallas Stars, Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings, and the Detroit Red Wings.
Philadelphia Getting A Reset?
Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia: Touching up on the latest from the Philadelphia Flyers this week as trade speculation swirls. Dale Weise cleared waivers and Jordan Weal was dealt to Arizona.
After that, these comments from Dallas Stars coach Jim Montgomery told a story.
The Flyers typically at home come out strong and it’s a team that can score goals, they feel good about themselves and if they don’t score goals, they tend to not stick with the process sometimes.
Again, some players represent passengers too often. This is especially after things do not go well early in games.
Pieces moved maybe Michael Raffl and then ultimately, Wayne Simmonds. Simmonds appears not to be automatically gone as once thought, however.
Speaking Of Wayne Simmonds
Shawn Hutcheon: Darren Dreger said that the Flyers are “not fully committed to trading Wayne Simmonds yet.”
Chris Nichols of Nichols On Hockey: Wayne Simmonds trade deadline rumors are nothing new. However, the closer the deadline comes, the more likely a deal happens. This quote comes from Elliotte Friedman:
“I think there is quite a bit of interest in Wayne Simmonds,” indicted Friedman. “I think one of the things that happened overall though is that there’s so many players on the market. We are seeing a situation where more teams than in recent memory have said, ‘We’re giving up on this year, so we’re making players available.’ I think that’s flooded the market and made it a buyer’s market. But I do think teams like Simmonds.
The winger on the last year of his six-year-deal could fetch a nice return. He possesses a 12 team no-trade list for this year only.
Toronto, Nashville, and Montreal expect to have interest in the winger should he be available.
There were nine scouts in Philadelphia last night which lends itself to further speculation.
A little more on Wayne Simmonds…
Chris Nichols of Nichols On Hockey: Pierre LeBrun talks about how Simmonds would be a finishing piece for any contending team to look into acquiring. Boston and Tampa Bay, in particular, need for a winger who can be physical and score. As space decreases in the playoffs, those attributes are needed (look at Tom Wilson in Washington).
At some juncture, Boston and Tampa Bay might have to face Wilson and having Simmonds would help.