http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=16022

too much imo

I like Meltzer but I won't believe it until it's reported somewhere else. Giving Jones 5 million for two years doesn't make the least bit of sense to me.

geez, way too much for him!

Was hoping he'd be moved.
Parent deserves his spot IMO, too many mistakes in the neutral zone.

BTW, I'm newly registered, but I'm on this board more than frequently.
so uh....whats up?

Link

crazy deal

I'll believe it when I get my FlyerWire text message.

That's BS. I am pis*ed. We should have just let him walk.
Not worth any of that money. Still upset. Jones must have a hel* of an agent.

hmm i wonder what the last deal is Holmgrem is talking about O_O

I know!

Well then, spill!

Definitely overpaid. Why, Homer, why?

I agree. And the Flyers would get RFA compensation if he signed elsewhere.

But, as I said in another thread, I wouldn't be surprised if this was another one of Moran's BS reports. It wouldn't be the first for him.

There are quotes from Holmgren and Jones. I don't think he made it up.

The guy had 30+ points last season. 2.25 per year (cap hit) is pretty fair IMO. Finger had similar #'s and got 3.5 because he has more experience. We should be worried about Coburn in 2 years. We are absolutely robbing him under his contract.

A bit high but he is going to be playing top 4 minutes so hopefully he lives up to the deal.

I don't think it's high considering what everyone else is getting.

They overpayed for Jones. They can put all the spin they want about him being an over 30 point defenseman but he still has a ton of deficiences. I guess it's whatever the market will bare, even for a limited defenseman such as Jones. I can't even imagine what a player like Coburn is going to command when he hits the market.

If Hatch retires or goes on LTIR, maybe we should use that money to lock up Coburn.

homer... i have a question... WHAT ARE YOU DOING

losing faith every second

I guess this means that Parent will be back in the AHL as the first call up or the 7th defenseman and will not get any better this season because he's sitting.

Timmonen/Coburn
Jones/Hatcher or Emminger
Vaananen/Eminger or Hatcher

sure 30 points is great... but considering how many points he gave up last year making dumb plays and turning the puck over isn't worth 2.25

I think Kukkonen should be used as the 7th d-man and let Parent play big minutes in the AHL so he can keep developing. 1st pairing minutes + special team play is what Parent needs right now. Like you said, using him as a healthy scratch would be just wasting his potential.

I responded to your defensive lines in the lines thread. Sorry I posted this here.

And I like Kukkonen. I just don't think the organization thinks much of him. I'd be surprised if he stays with the team.

Jones must have had Drew Rosenhaus

Pulled this off of hockeybuzz just for a little perspective.

Commodore : $3.75mill x 5yr -- 67 GP, 3 G, 11 A, 100 PIM, -7
Stuart : $3.75 mill x 1yrs -- 72 GP, 6 G, 17 A, 69 PIM, -10
Finger : $3.5mill x 4yr -- 72 GP, 8 G, 11 A, 40 PIM. (-2 in 5 playoff games)
Salvador : $2.9mill x 4yrs -- 64 GP, 1 G, 10 A, 54 PIM (hes 32)
Gleason : $2.75mill x 4yrs -- 80 GP, 3 G, 16 A, 84 PIM
Jones : $2.75 x 2yrs -- 71 GP, 5 G, 26 A, 58 PIM, +8 for the season and +6 in the playoffs
Saur : $1.75mill x 4 -- 54 GP, 1 G, 5 A, 41 PIM (-3 over 10 playoff games)

I'm not terribly happy with the contract either, but the thing is, who were we going to replace Jones with if we let him walk? Look at what was available and what they ended up getting. The cap rises, the market for these players rises. I don't know, just something to think about instead of getting upset over something we can't control.

I'd take Gleason in a heartbeat.

Point taken, but the Flyers seem to be throwing money at players for the past couple of years, so i'm wondering what the chances are of them paying me $750,000 to pass pucks to players during warm-ups.

Pulled this off of hockeybuzz just for a little perspective.

Commodore : $3.75mill x 5yr -- 67 GP, 3 G, 11 A, 100 PIM, -7
Stuart : $3.75 mill x 1yrs -- 72 GP, 6 G, 17 A, 69 PIM, -10
Finger : $3.5mill x 4yr -- 72 GP, 8 G, 11 A, 40 PIM. (-2 in 5 playoff games)
Salvador : $2.9mill x 4yrs -- 64 GP, 1 G, 10 A, 54 PIM (hes 32)
Gleason : $2.75mill x 4yrs -- 80 GP, 3 G, 16 A, 84 PIM
Jones : $2.75 x 2yrs -- 71 GP, 5 G, 26 A, 58 PIM, +8 for the season and +6 in the playoffs
Saur : $1.75mill x 4 -- 54 GP, 1 G, 5 A, 41 PIM (-3 over 10 playoff games)

I'm not terribly happy with the contract either, but the thing is, who were we going to replace Jones with if we let him walk? Look at what was available and what they ended up getting. The cap rises, the market for these players rises. I don't know, just something to think about instead of getting upset over something we can't control.



Thanks fo putting this together. Jones is young, sure he's made mistakes but every hockey player makes mistakes. I like Jones. He's a smart palyer. I know stats don't tell you everything about a player, but man, they help you get an idea - in 71 regular season games only 54 PIM. He played big minutes in the playoffs and especially in game 4 against trhe Pens. No Timmonen, no Coburn - Jones stepped up and played a monster game, big minutes, excellent work on special teams. All I see is a great future for Jones in the orange and black.

Throw on top of that the fact that the league likes to suspend him where else could he play but Philly!
Now if you want to get into the whole professional athletes are way over paid discussion . . .

I like Jones, I thought he played throughout the entire season, excluding a few games. I thought he was a little apprehensive to play physical after he came back from the suspension, but I never thought that was his game in the first place.

I don't agree with the amount of money he's making, but I can't control that.

To add to your perspective. Gleason was arguably the 2nd or 3rd best defenseman on a team with Corvo, Kaberle and Hedican.

Player -------- GP --- Hits --- BkS --- GvA --- TkA --- Shots --- G --- S% --- S/G
Tim Gleason - 80 ---- 151 --- 107 ----- 39 ---- 30 ----- 98 ----- 3 ---- 3.1 --- 1.2
Randy Jones - 71 ----- 35 ---- 82 ------ 49 ---- 26 ---- 103 ---- 5 ---- 4.9 --- 1.5

More than 4 times as many hits, 25 more blocked shots, 10 less giveaways, 4 more takeaways, only 2 less goals, Jones really only led with 10 more assists. Gleason is about twice better defensively than Jones.

Yet Gleason signed for the same cap hit, and two more years. He's also almost 2 years younger with 92 games of more NHL experience.

i would of like to see them let jones walk for this kind of money and spent a mil. or so more to get someone for our 2 d-man pairing

I went to nhlnumbers.com and I saw they listed Randy Jones as a 5.5 million dollar cap hit and I nearly had a massive heart attack before I realized that was a typo.

Hopefully he is worth that money. And the way things are looking, it might work like this:

Timonen - Coburn
Jones - Eminger
Parent/Kukkonen/Vaananen - Hatcher

Maybe even throw in Guenin in there somewhere, he shoots right and even though he didn't register a point in the 2 games he played for the Flyers last season, he does have a +2 in the +/- rating. Would like to see him do well in camp. Also, having two D-men that shoot right would be nice.

Can we please merge the two Randy Jones topics in the "General Flyers Discussion" with his thread under "Current Roster"? There is salary discussion going on in all three places; confusing!!!

I agree. I think Kukks will be the 7th dman. He's cheap and brings a lot of heart when he's on the ice. I think Parent and Ramholt will be Phantom studs on the blueline. And that will only help their development. Both are young, and carry cheap salaries so far.

Regarding Jonesy re-signing. I think it's a bit too much for him. It's a HUGE raise. Yes, other dmen are getting this type of cash, but I wonder if any of them only made .525 mil last season. But it's done. He's got a LOT to prove to this organization and it's fans.

So, if I have the numbers right, looking at nhlnumbers, they're .391 mil over the cap. That's without Giroux in the lineup, with Rathje's cap hit removed, and Tolpecko's cap hit removed. With Giroux in the lineup, they'd be 1.241 over the cap limit. So, who's being moved?

Nothing has been said about Smith yet. I heard a while ago that he may be playing elsewhere next season. Is he UFA?

Yes, he's a UFA. Smith was told the Flyers wouldn't be able to afford what he was going to get for a contract. He won't be a Flyer next season.

Not surprised. I think his tank is near empty anyway.

He did play with multiple injuries, so I guess I can't be sure just yet.

Thoresen, Beauchemin, Guenin, Houle, Jonsson, Munroe, and Ruzicka are the only remaining RFA's.

Randy Jones signed. Why God?!? Why?!? What a waste of money.

I don't like this deal. Seems like too much money for him. I understand why they gave it to him, but I don't agree with it.

But, I am really going to hate it if we end up dumping one of my favorite players for a 3rd line defenseman (because that is what I am afraid he is.) Unless he turns into the 3rd best defenseman on the team, I feel we overspent. I am hoping it is not to the detriment of the team as a whole.

i would run homer out of philly if jones had a 5.5 million dollar cap hit

I'm not much of a Randy Jones fan, but if we'd signed him to an extension a month ago, we'd have gotten a much better price.

I envy someone one who earns almost 3 million dollars a year, but i don't envy that person facing the scrutiny of the Flyers faithful. I can already hear the boos when this guy makes a bad play (and he will).

True and true.

I'm ready to boo. Of course I want to see the Flyers succeed, but his kind of selfishness should not go unpunished. You can say I'm overreacting and he didn't do anything that bad, fine if that's how you feel. But I can't stand that kind of person. He knew that if he could hold out until the last or one of the last signings, he would get more. He's lacking the team mentality that is necessary to be a champion, and it shows in his play. It's another perfect example of how the love of the game has been taken over by greed.

I posted this under the "Current Roster" thread as well. Some of you say it was greed, but I don't agree. He saw what other defensemen of his calibre were getting and wanted a good deal. We would all do the same.

QUISPAMSIS - Ten-year-old Ryan Peterson may have had an even bigger smile on his face Wednesday than new millionaire Randy Jones.

Jones, who signed a $5.5-million, two-year National Hockey League contract with the Philadelphia Flyers late Tuesday, was driving his black Corvette on the highway near Quispamsis when Peterson's stepfather, David Morrell, spotted him.

Morrell, who used to work in the U.S., noticed the flashy car with plates from New Jersey, where many Flyers players live. When Jones took the Quispamsis exit, Morrell's suspicions were confirmed, so he pulled up alongside and signaled Jones to roll down his window.

"I said, 'Randy Jones I assume,' he said, 'Yup,' and I asked if he'd mind doing me a big favour," said Morrell, who asked Jones to follow him to Peterson's babysitter nearby.

"He said, 'Yeah, no problem,' turned around and followed me," said Morrell. "I called Ryan on my cell phone and said 'Ryan, come outside, there's a big surprise for you.' "

Peterson and his friend Jared Driscoll posed for photographs with their favourite local NHLer and Jones signed a piece of paper Peterson hopes to get laminated and display in his room.

Morrell said the encounter speaks to the character of Jones, who hasn't grown too big for his Quispamsis home despite finding success at hockey's highest level.

"He's a good kid. It was just kind of funny, there was like no hesitation"¦ I was really happy he was open to doing it. He doesn't know me, I'm a stranger," said Morrell. "I think it has a lot to do with the fact it's the Maritimes and he was raised here."

The six-foot-two, 200-pound defenceman said the experience was a bit surreal, but he was happy to do it.

"I was shocked, I've never had someone notice me in my car before, so I said, 'Yeah, sure.' It was just around the corner, I went up to the house to meet him, sat for a bit, talked to him, signed and took a couple pictures. I didn't mind, I was just kind of shocked. It was flattering I guess."

His new contract will give him the highest-ever average salary for New Brunswick player, topping Don Sweeney's $2.2 million per year over a three-year deal with the Boston Bruins. The deal pays $2.5 million this season and $3 million next year, after which Jones will be 29 and able to hit the market as an unrestricted free agent.

"I'm ecstatic. My main goal was to go back to Philly and have the opportunity to play another couple years and get a chance to win the Cup there. I strongly believe we can. It's exciting and I'm really looking forward to it," said Jones.

He set career highs with 71 games played, five goals, and 31 points in his second full season with the Flyers. He also got his first taste of the playoffs, notching two assists in 16 games. Philadelphia's run to the Eastern Conference final against the Pittsburgh Penguins was featured by Hockey Night in Canada, which cemented his local celebrity status with a visit to Quispamsis.

"I don't know if I want to call myself a celebrity, but it's good for the city and the town and any way I can help out I would love to do so. When I'm playing in the playoffs I'm having fun, so there's no reason the city or the town can't," said Jones. "The support is unbelievable, I get e-mails and calls all the time, people see me on the street and say, 'Good job.' That's why I always come back every summer. People are very welcoming and I love it at home."

Jones indulged in some low-key celebrations Monday and Tuesday, hosting a party for friends after getting the news Monday, then taking his family out for a meal Tuesday. His plans for the money are fairly modest. He already bought the Corvette earlier this year, to go with his Lincoln truck.

He'd like to take his older brothers Dale, Derek and Tim on a trip somewhere, and plans to build a house on the Kingston Peninsula.

"It doesn't have to be Hawaii, just the four of us going away to have a brotherly hangout like we used to," said Jones. "The reason I was so happy is for my family, not just me. It's my brothers, my parents (Butch and Crystal) and my girlfriend (Krystal Reinhard). We all worked hard for this, not just me."

He obviously loves playing for the Flyers. And he loves his family. Enough said....

OK. So he doesn't bite the heads off baby seals.

Isn't that what we do here in Eastern Canada?

You people should be ashamed of yourselves. Good for Jones in taking the high road.