Flyers Should Go After Foster This Summer

In the wake of a season-ending injury we turn to the future. Last night Kurtis Foster was taken into the boards by Sharks rookie Torrey Mitchell and suffered a broken leg. While there appeared to be no ill will on Mitchell's part as he fell into Foster, the injury was no less severe. It is time for Kurtis to focus on healing and eventually rehab, in hopes for a healthy start to the 2008-09 season.

If the Wild offer Foster what is required to keep him an RFA, which is 100% of his 07-08 salary, the Flyers would have to make an offer that is greater than the Wild's offer as an initial step to getting the defenseman from Carp, ONT. If the Flyers do this, the Wild can choose to match the offer - which means that the Wild sign him right there for what the Flyers offered and can't trade him for 1 year - or the Wild can choose to accept draft compensation from the Flyers. If the contract the Flyers had offered was between $1M - $2M a year they would owe the Wild a 3rd round pick in the upcoming draft. If the contract was between $2M - $3M the Flyers would have to give up their 1st and 3rd round pick.

Now, I don't advocate doing this deal by any means possible. First round picks are like free money in the NHL, and as the Flyers stand to pick somewhere in the middle of the 2008 Entry Draft I would be unwilling to give that up for almost anyone, especially when there are some quality UFA's out there. Some players drafted in the 10-20 positions over the past few years include Anze Kopitar, Alexander Radulov, Jeff Carter, Brent Seabrook, Dustin Brown, Zach Parise, Ryan Gezlaf, and Alexander Semin. I wouldn't be willing to give up a shot at free cash money for Fozzie. But I would be perfectly happy to part with a third round pick, and it just might be possible - here's why:

Fozzie's had an injury prone NHL career. If he wasn't getting hurt on the ice it was on the bench. He's had some bad luck, but it's not like he's fragile, and the past does not necessarily predict the future. Last night he was more or less hit from behind. He's been hit in the face and the throat with the puck. He's had back and groin injuries. In fact, in his first three NHL season's the most games he has played was 58. It looked like he would wash out that number this year but his season ended last night at 56. These injuries are not do to weakness or some nagging injury. Fozzie is 6'5" and 250 lbs. He's just had some unfortunate luck. But when looked at all together, this is the type of player that a short-sighted or narrow-minded GM might not be willing to take a chance on.

If you were to blow out his stats for a full year he would've gotten about 35-40 points in each of his first three seasons. He's only 26. He's a big defenseman who can move the puck, is extremely mobile, and has one of the hardest shots in the NHL. If that's not enough he also wears the #26, which has been disgraced this year by JV and JM and needs some revamping...back to the Propp days.

If it weren't for the injuries I'm sure the Wild would sign him for $3M, or over, for significant time. But this might be a great player that the Flyers could pick up on the cheap. A guy who might flourish in a new environment. Might be able to forget all those random injuries that happened in Minnesota if he got a chance somewhere else.
If the Flyers are looking for a 2nd/3rd defenseman who can move the puck he's a great option. Time will tell.

Listened to: The Shins - Phantom Limb