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Offseason Report: Philadelphia Flyers

Philadelphia Flyers v Pittsburgh Penguins - Game Five

PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 20: Matt Carle #25 of the Philadelphia Flyers celebrates his first period goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Consol Energy Center on April 20, 2012 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Justin K. Aller

From July 16-Aug 16, we’ll be profiling all 30 NHL teams by recapping what they did this offseason and previewing their upcoming campaigns.

2011-12 season

48-28-6 102 points. Third in the Atlantic Division, fifth in the Eastern Conference. Beat Pittsburgh (4-2) in the Conference quarterfinals, lost to New Jersey (4-1) in the semis.

Additions

Luke Schenn, Bruno Gervais, Ruslan Fedotenko

Departures

Jaromir Jagr, Matt Carle, James van Riemsdyk, Sergei Bobrovsky

2012 Draft

1st Round, 20th overall -- Scott Laughton (OHL Oshawa)

Looking back

GM Paul Holmgren’s busy offseason began at the draft, when he flipped winger James van Riemsdyk to Toronto for defenseman Luke Schenn (reuniting him with brother Brayden in the process.)

Holmgren also dealt Sergei Bobrovsky to Columbus for picks, then re-signed Michael Leighton on July 1, putting the 31-year-old in prime position to be Ilya Bryzgalov’s backup in goal.

During free agency, Philly -- like almost every other NHL team -- was in on both Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, with the latter reportedly receiving a $110 million offer from the Flyers.

(More on that significant dollar figure in a sec.)

While those chases were going on, Philly saw a couple of key pieces walk. Jaromir Jagr parlayed his comeback season into a one-year, $4.5 million deal from Dallas and Matt Carle cashed in on a weak UFA defenseman market, inking with Tampa Bay to the tune of six years, $33.5 million.

Looking forward

SHEA WEBER.

Okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way -- and yes, we here at PHT are pretty sharp about our scheduling -- let’s point out the blindingly obvious:

Should Nashville not match the 14-year, $110 million deal Weber signed with the Flyers, Philly’s offseason report has a markedly different narrative.

Weber would give the Flyers an elite blueliner in the Chris Pronger mold, only he’s younger (26 to Pronger’s 37) and healthier (Weber’s only missed nine games over the last four seasons.)

Granted, he doesn’t have Pronger’s winning pedigree -- but that could soon come on a Flyers team loaded with talent and a potentially deep blueline. A top-six of Weber, Meszaros, Coburn, Schenn, Timonen and Grossmann looks pretty enticing.

Have your say

Vote in our poll and let us know what you think of the Flyers’ 2012-13 outlook in the comments section.

[polldaddy poll=6410840]