Sorry for the misspelling on umBerger.
Surprise.
I think its to make cap space for free agency.

Also: Malkin may be leaving Pit to go to Russia.

I thought Umby would have been traded as part of a package for a D-man. Maybe Homer plans on going the FA route.

it was for this years 1st round pick (19 overall) (Luca Sbisa) and this years 3rd round i believe from columbus

Malkin is not going anywhere btw ..

He's not interested in (playing in Russia)," Barry said. " He wants to stay in Pittsburgh. He wants them to keep, hopefully, as many of these players together (as possible) and he wants to try to make a run next year."

(JP Barry is his agent)

back to Umberger .. it was a so-so trade .. had to get rid of him, and probably did not have much leverage in the deal

Anybody have some more background information on this guy Sbisa? Age? etc.?

Will he be able to play this season?

no not currently, but like I said I'm sure this was too make room on the cap. Free agency is just a little over a week away
some may think this was dumb, but, IN HOMER WE TRUST

From NHL Central Scouting: Luca is a poised and, sometimes, too poised a defenceman. One would say that a lot of times his calmness with the puck is misinterpreted as either slowness or laziness; that's not the case with Luca. He is a smart player who moves the puck at the right time and carries the puck correctly, supports the rush and is adjusting very well to the North American game.

no not next season but maybe the year after he will be on the phantoms and then the year after that here, so look for him in the 2010-2011 edition of the flyers

Just Saw on comcast about the guy we drafted,

He's 6'2
192 lbs.
Very smart puck moving d-man
Comparable with Kaberle

so many things wrong with this trade. WE NEED UMBERGER!

oh well we got some defense...

Puck moving defenseman = Good
Cup carrying defenseman = better

Gonna stick with the same user name?

RJ

See ya R.J....

RJ and Hitch reunite again.

this guy better pan out. i loved rj

Hopefully this deal leads us into the right direction.

the only thing i like about this is that it makes my jersey selection much easier. it was between umberger and richards, now its an easy pick

it wasn't easy enough, if you get a richards jersey now later down the road your going to have to throw a C on it

should i make a preemptive strike and just put one on?


and something related to the topic: WHY WHY WHY UMBERGER? dont give me your reasons, i cant be consoled right now. hahahaha

RJ will be missed. He was the odd man out. I would have hated trading any of our players. I really loved the characters on this team. Umberger was a big part of it.

I personally think that was a mediocre trade, reminds me of the Huet trade...

remember that feeling when clarke traded brindy or justin williams (or the countless other examples) I'm starting to get that same feeling right now.

Still thinking that trading Brindy, Williams and Langkow weren't the best ideas. And now back onto topic. At least he is going to a team on the West and is gonna have a coach he has been with before. However, the trade for draft picks was a bit meh...

I know there is another thread for this but... I BLAME CROSBY and the whole terrible penguin organization because of crap teams with a weak fan base the league enforced the evil salary cap and we're the ones (the fans) who get screwed because we lose some of our favorite players. Don't even try to tell me that this trade would have happened even if there wasn't a cap. I miss the NHL I grew up with.

Going to miss Umby

already miss umberger bigtime, but none the less....excellent move by homer.

i dont come on here to troll .. ive come here this weekend to see what you guys think of your draft. We dont pick till the later rounds, so I figured Id stop by here. You guys had an eventful day 1 -- i realize you guys wanted more in return perhaps on the trades, or wanted JC signed longer, less $$.

But .. how can you blame the Penguins for losing RJ. The cap is the best thing that happened to hockey. Without the cap, many teams would have filed for bankruptcy and been out of the league, many teams would have been unable to compete. Just because it wasnt in the best interest of the Flyers doesnt mean it wasnt in the best interest of the league. Remember, everyone said this would hurt the Red Wings and Rangers (Leafs too) the most. The Rangers have done OK, the Red Wings won the cup, and none of us are too hurt that the Leafs suck :-D!

But look at the other sports. Football is probably the best structured sport, with the financial aspect, at least at the moment. Teams have a minimum they must pay and of course, they max is capped each year.

Basketball, wow .. seems like basically the same teams in the postseason each year b/c some teams dont have the money to compete. Baseball -- congrats to the Phils for wishing to spend, but besides that, the same high revenue teams are always in the playoff picture, when only the Rays are really a surprise team with a small payroll.

Hockey -- is a lot better with the cap in general. Without the cap, many teams were unable and unwilling to compete. Now, each team has a fair chance and instead of it being about with owner is willing to spend to win, its more about which owner/GM can put together the best pieces based on the salary cap.

I dont like the NBA, but as a sports fan, I feel somewhat cheated b/c the Celtics just bought the NBA title; im glad no team can do that in hockey

RJ leaving= Carter staying that's just the $mart decision.

I can safely say the for one of the first times, I agree with a Pens fan

The salary cap was a good idea. I personally think this has/will save hockey in the long run. Granted, we probably lost RJ to the salary cap but do you really think that signing Briere to such a large contract was a great move? I'm not hacking Briere in any way but I personally think the money he's making is too much. He had one good year in Buffalo but his stats in previous years are mediocre. You can't blame any other organization for this. Had the Flyers signed someone else for less money, maybe they'd be able to keep RJ. I'm more ticked off about the Prospal trade where the Flyers had to give up Picard and a 2nd round draft pick and get a 7th rounder and a conditional in 2009 in return. Talk about a waste of a few months of needing someone to fill Gagne's shoes while he was out.

I have faith in Homer. He turned the Flyers around from basement dwellers to the Eastern Conference finals in less than a years time. I will miss RJ but I have a feeling that Homer did what he thought was best for the organization. He's not just looking at now, he's planning for the future.

Best wishes RJ...you will be missed!!

wow trading away the guy with the most 2 way potential on the team homer better stop listening to lucco that idiot

Good luck to RJ.

I will miss RJ's style of play and his speed. However, the Flyers got more picks and opened up more cap space to make deals during the season if needed. Overall, i'm happy with the deal.

Well the sad truth is we lost Umberger to salary cap issues. I'm certainly not mad at Homer, Lucco or anybody else in top management. Okey maybe Briere may be a bit overpaid for what he is putting out on the ice, but thats the hand we were dealt. We just have to make the best of it. I still haven't seen that Carter is locked in yet, but I read that he is close so lets just hold our collective breath on that one. Picking up Eminger isn't such a bad thing. In case none of you remember, Washington's defence wasn't all that bad and Eminger was part of that. Although he's no Green, he was able to hold his own. It's sad to see Umberger go, but in this day and age of salary cap and free agency, no team stays the same from year to year. None. Thats the bottom line. Anyone can go at any time. Even those with no trade clauses in their contract ala Jeremy Roenick waiveing his no trade to make room for Peter Forsberg. I wish Umberger luck in Colombus. He will be missed, but we needed a few good D-men.

+1

Good luck, RJ - you will be missed although I'm glad we won't be playing you all that much. From what I read he apparently likes Hitchcock and is familiar with the area since he went to Ohio State. It apparently is closer to Pittsburgh (his family) as well so hopefully it will be a relatively easy transition for him.....

yeah, i guess...he's still tank, just not for the flyers...it will be in honor of him...

but you have to change his picture in your avatar to one of him as a jacket, because if you keep it as him on the flyers its like he died and your remembering him

the salary cap is the best thing that happened to hockey. It makes the offseason more exciting and brings more competiitveness to the league. and to be honest i dont want to see the pens and redwings have the abilitiy to keep their same roster year after year. thats why the cap is nice

There are too many teams in the league (thanks to Bettman). The ones with weak fan bases would die off naturally and by doing so would make the league stronger and make the play better.

I'm so upset about Umberger leaving. What a great hockey player. Makes me feel like I did when they traded Brinde. I'm still not over that. I wish him luck and I'm gonna miss him alot. They always trade my favorite players. This season I'm picking someone I hate on the team , that way he'll get traded.

I understand everyone's mad about this trade, but there is nothing else the flyers could do. It had to be done. So many of you are willing to sacrifice the future of this team because you love a player. It''s the new era in all of sports now. Don't get hung up on one player, because one day he will not be there. In saying that, every single player right now on the flyers roster, with maybe the exception of Richie will be GONE one day.

Not to mention we basically got a 1st for Umby. what else did you want? If we kept Umby then we really wouldnt have any money for anything else. Someone gets hurt or whatever. Plus we have a ton of scoring Depth and we need D. There is still Free agency approaching everyone relax. YES we will miss the Two-way play of umby.

most of us that are upset about rj understand that it was the best thing for the team. it doesn't mean we still can't be upset.

Where did i say that anyone can't be mad? I was upset too

you didn't. but you did say that most of us were willing to sacrifice the team for one player. i can't speak for everyone but yes, i am upset about it but i understand that it was the best thing for the team.

I understand your pain. I remember the day Gauthier was put on waivers

k...keep a lookout for good ones for me

well, a number 19 pick for someone who more or less underachieved in the regular season is not that terrinle of a deal.

i know he was key in our playoff success, but i think that Gags or Giroux will more than fill in for his 13 goals.

best luck to Umby, playing with Nash should be good for him.

This is how a hard cap fosters parity, in the old NHL the Flyers could have kept RJ, but now the had to trade him to stay under the cap.

Homer is doing it the right way, you can't sign everyone, the only way to stay a top team is to get value for players you have to let go and keep a constant flow of good young players coming up (young players are usually less expensive) . I see the logic in the move and it makes sense but my heart doesn't like it.

+ 20

I was half joking blaming the pens, I was referring to the Blame Crosby thread where we got to blame him for anything from AIDs to global warming. The other reason I blamed them was because I hate the cap and it was introduced because of teams like the pens who had a weak fan base, sorry if I don't like the idea that my team could become another Tampa Bay, where they win the cup one season and suck the next.



+1,000,000

I called it. I knew Umberger would be traded. Umberger was good, but i knew he wouldn't fit into Philly's picture next year.
I don't think Berger will be too happy in Columbus. But we got the 19th overall pick and got Luca Sbisa.