Homer's Been A Busy Bee

The title is pretty self-explanatory, the last week or so has seen a trade, putting people on waivers, claiming people off waivers and some shitty play (see last night's game). I only got to see bits and pieces of first and second period and none of the third so I can't really say anything about it. I did see Zherdev being a boss though, that was nice.

Anyways, back to Homer. The Versteeg trade with the Leafs was a pretty damn good one the way I see it. He is a proven stud when he needs to be, he wreaked havoc on us last year during the finals and has a reputation of not letting pressure get to him in the big games. He also comes semi-cheap, at just a tad over $3 million per season, he is probably worth anywhere from 3.5-4 million so we got top notch talent at a bargain price. Now just to be clear, I'm not saying that he's gonna be this huge stud, I'm not saying that he's the piece that was missing and he's gonna deliver Lord Stanley to us. He's a gritty bulldog that works his ass off in the corners and has a pretty nice wrist shot. He's a great compliment to Richie's play making ability and has the attitude that both the Flyers staff and fans want and enjoy. And what did we have to give up for this guy? A first and third round draft pick, which is a kin to robbing the Leafs blind. 

I understand why they did it, they know they suck....they know that unless they can get some studs via draft, they will always suck. They're not making the playoffs this year so they give up one of their top scorers in exchange for a few future hopeful studs. Looking at it that way, it sounds pretty reasonable...but there's a catch. They gave up a proven goal scorer and a pretty cheery personality in the locker room for some unknowns. Next year's draft class isn't a particularly impressive one, there's no future Ovechkins or Stamkos's or anything like that the pick they got in the first round is most likely going to be in the last five of the round. So I'd have to say when you look at it that way, we really got a deal and they kind of got screwed. Now their first round pick might end up being the next Gretzky, in which case I will have to shove my foot down my throat, but it's not likely.

Then there was the whole Zherdev being put on waivers thingy, honestly I knew it was coming, but I thought it would have been a trade. I never expected him to be waived. Anybody who's read anything I've written before knows that I always defended Zherdev, shortcomings and all, I've even said they needed to trade him so the poor guy could get some playing time somewhere. I thought maybe Lavy just hated Russians or something but it turns out that what really sunk him was his attitude. In my playing days I ran across a few guys like him, they think their shit doesn't stink and that they're the best thing to ever step on the ice. Yea, they're good and they can deliver when they want to, but you hate being around them cause they're so damn cocky, they never pass and they feel like they don't need to try that hard cause they're so good. Remembering how much I disliked those guys, it wasn't that hard to see why he was scratched so often. So he bitched to his agent, who bitched to Homer, who bitched to other GM's to take him, they bitched back at him because he was a selfish bitch, and he bitched that no other teams wanted him...yea, there was a lot of bitching going on during this. Let's not even discuss the fans bitching, I can't handle it. So after the bitching, they decided to just put him on waivers and see if he would get claimed...he didn't. And to a guy with an ego the size of a blue whale's erect penis, that's like getting told that santa isn't real again. He had a few talks with Lavs and Homer, productive talks I hear, and they explained why they did what they did and what he needed to do to get out of the dog house. I know, he's only been back one game, but the way he played last night...it definitely looks like he got the message. Dude was everywhere, even in the defensive zone...and no, you read that right, DEFENSIVE ZONE. Only time will tell but he definitely made a case for him to play at least the next game, hopefully we're gonna get to see the highlight reel Z from now on.

Finally, getting Boynton off of waivers. In my opinion, another solid move by Homes. He's going to be scratched unless there's an injury of course, but he's a hell of a lot better than Barts is. Barts only has about 65 NHL games to his name and owns a very depressing -16 +/- rating, and no points in his NHL career. Boynton on the other hand, has almost 600 NHL games on his record, a Stanley Cup ring, respectable +22 rating and 144 NHL points. He also has over 850 penalty minutes, so he'll be a great fit with our club. He's been around the league for a while so there's more of that oft-mentioned "veteran presence" in the locker room...oh yea I forgot, he's actually cheaper than Barts is. He makes 500k while Barts makes 600k, so we got a better player than we have now, for cheaper. I'm definitely not gonna miss Barts but Bob probably will...that's one less person for him to talk to in the locker room. Only got Z, who doesn't talk to anybody and Andrej the Giant left now. He better kick it in the ass with his English lessons.

All in all, I give Homer a solid A for the moves he's made in the last year. The Gagne trade hurt a bit, but it all turned out for the best. With the deadline tomorrow, it will be interesting to see if anything changes. Rumors are circulating about possibly getting Marty Reasoner but I have no idea where it came from so don't be surprised if the rumor is just that. The way the team is set up, I really think that he could either make a move or not make one and we'd be okay. A stud goalie would be nice but Bobs and Boosh are doing a fantastic job, so it's not really necessary.