Gus Signs with KHL Team

[JBM73]

HockeyBuzz.com - Bill Meltzer - Meltzer's Musings: Gustafsson Signs With Avangard Omsk

 

[banditshcky11]

I totally agree with that article he was a 7th defense men at best. His lack of size & strength made him a liability in his own zone. I will give him credit for the speed and offensive talent he did possess but it wasn't enough to put him at an elite level so his defensive short comings could be overlooked. I think this is a good thing honestly. It frees up a little more cap but more importantly a roster spot and it's good to see him go somewhere that he might actually play at.

I am a bit confused on how he signed with the KHL. Since he was an rfa didn't they need the Flyers permission to talk to him or does the player protection clause not go that far? I mean I know it protects players under contract but the NHL treat rfa's like they're under contract to a degree as well. Maybe I'm just miss understanding the agreement between the leagues.

 

[awaz]

I totally agree with that article he was a 7th defense men at best. His lack of size & strength made him a liability in his own zone. I will give him credit for the speed and offensive talent he did possess but it wasn't enough to put him at an elite level so his defensive short comings could be overlooked. I think this is a good thing honestly. It frees up a little more cap but more importantly a roster spot and it's good to see him go somewhere that he might actually play at.

I am a bit confused on how he signed with the KHL. Since he was an rfa didn't they need the Flyers permission to talk to him or does the player protection clause not go that far? I mean I know it protects players under contract but the NHL treat rfa's like they're under contract to a degree as well. Maybe I'm just miss understanding the agreement between the leagues.

I agree w/ this. I don't think this is a loss really for the flyers, more of a wash. He was a 7th dman, capable of playing if someone got hurt.

As far as the RFA part, i believe he's only restricted in terms of NHL teams. He's a full blown free agent in the eyes of other leagues right now, but his NHL rights, still run through the flyers.

edit: actually, a little more thinking, i don't think he becomes a full blown FA until July 1st. So i would imagine Avengard Omsk had to talk to the flyers before doing this?

 

[lasgop8]

He could've been the left winger we've been looking for.

 

[Cobiemonster]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[FlyerFinFan]

I wish Gus the best of luck! He played well when asked upon in this year's playoffs but agreed that he just wasn't strong enough to handle a full season. I would bet that the Flyers let him go so good on them.

 

[Cobiemonster]

I wish Gus the best of luck! He played well when asked upon in this year's playoffs but agreed that he just wasn't strong enough to handle a full season. I would bet that the Flyers let him go so good on them.

Easy to say that when the team didn't give him the opportunity to do so - you can't say that unless they give him that opportunity - it's a shame - they're going to let Gus go probably just because Kimmo may or may not want to come back for one more year - this is why I wish Kimmo would retire, he's not on his A-Game anymore and Gus could probably put up Kimmo's offensive numbers and bring younger legs/quicker feet to the table if he played a full season - plus it'd come at a cheaper salary

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

This is not a big loss to the Flyers IMO, they actually have built a nice defensive pipeline over the past couple seasons. I think this will give more opportunities to better prospects.

 

[FlyerFinFan]

If Kimmo comes back it will be at a reduced role and salary. He'd still be twice the player as Gus due to his smarts and intangibles. You are correct that Gus may have not received a great shot but over the years I think we have a pretty large sample size. I'd love to see Kimmo play another year for cheap as a 5 dman to bridge the gap with the young guys. He'd be sensational as a mentor to one of them....

 

[flyersfan4706]

As a big Gus fan and a guy who didn't like the MacDonald trade I'm pissed

 

[FlyerFinFan]

As a big Gus fan and a guy who didn't like the MacDonald trade I'm pissed

Really? Mac was pretty solid and made Schenn a better player. Gives them an opportunity now to not rush every D prospect and upgrade the overall D corps...

 

[Cobiemonster]

If Kimmo comes back it will be at a reduced role and salary. He'd still be twice the player as Gus due to his smarts and intangibles. You are correct that Gus may have not received a great shot but over the years I think we have a pretty large sample size. I'd love to see Kimmo play another year for cheap as a 5 dman to bridge the gap with the young guys. He'd be sensational as a mentor to one of them....

Gus has played 91 career games - 6 goals, 17 assists, 23 points and a +17 with only 14 career penalty minutes - you're telling me that's not good enough to keep around?

If you project Gus' stats over an 82 game season this year he would have had close to 5 goals and 26 points with a plus minus possibly around 10 or so - how do you just let him go like that?

So we're just going to get rid of a 25 year old who could be an asset for us in years to come(even as a 5 or 6 d-man) just so we can keep an old guy for one year to bridge the gap to the young guys?

I don't like this at all

 

[flyersfan4706]

Really? Mac was pretty solid and made Schenn a better player. Gives them an opportunity now to not rush every D prospect and upgrade the overall D corps...

Schenn also played some of his best hockey with Gus. Gus may not be as good as Mac, but he didn't cost picks and wouldn't have demanded $5mil

 

[FlyerFinFan]

Guys they didn't let Gus go because of Kimmo so you need to separate that. Kimmo is still a very productive player and in a reduced role will be solid in the third pairing making the D better for it.

Gus simply would get manhandled at times and if you have too many smallish guys on your D it's hard to win especially in the playoffs. I'm actually hoping that a guy like Morin will impress enough in camp to make the team due to his size. Play him with Kimmo and he'd have a pretty nice first year orientation.

I don't hate Gus but the kid wants to play or he would have probably stayed....

 

[Cobiemonster]

Guys they didn't let Gus go because of Kimmo so you need to separate that. Kimmo is still a very productive player and in a reduced role will be solid in the third pairing making the D better for it.

Gus simply would get manhandled at times and if you have too many smallish guys on your D it's hard to win especially in the playoffs. I'm actually hoping that a guy like Morin will impress enough in camp to make the team due to his size. Play him with Kimmo and he'd have a pretty nice first year orientation.

I don't hate Gus but the kid wants to play or he would have probably stayed....

Smallish guys? Flyers have Nick Grossmann, Luke Schenn and Braydon Coburn, those three guys are all big, and Mark Streit and Andrew MacDonald can hold their own - having Gus in the lineup is not going to make them become manhandled more

And I don't want to rush Samuel Morin just because he's a big guy - that makes no sense either

 

[Cobiemonster]

 

[Cobiemonster]

Schenn also played some of his best hockey with Gus. Gus may not be as good as Mac, but he didn't cost picks and wouldn't have demanded $5mil

I agree with this, I liked it best when A-Mac was with Mark Streit and Luke Schenn was with Gus - then Kimmo got to play with Braydon Coburn - those were three sensible pairings - it gives you at least one puck mover on each pairing and some type of physical/big presence on each pairing as well - and continuity is key too

 

[awaz]

I agree with this, I liked it best when A-Mac was with Mark Streit and Luke Schenn was with Gus - then Kimmo got to play with Braydon Coburn - those were three sensible pairings - it gives you at least one puck mover on each pairing and some type of physical/big presence on each pairing as well - and continuity is key too

it doesn't do that though. amac and streit both aren't physical, and kimmo and coburn both aren't physical. just because coburn is big, doesn't mean he's physical, he's just as much of a finesse dman as timonen is, except for that one awesome post season where he played with grossmann and actually hit people.

 

[JBM73]

Spectors Hockey | Could The KHL Become a Destination for NHL RFA Holdouts?

 

[Cobiemonster]

Flyers statement on D Erik Gustafsson - Philadelphia Flyers - News

Sad