http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/5497 Recent articles about R.J. Umberger en-us After the 2007-08 campaign it was no secret that the Flyers were going to address a big need on defense during the off-season. It appeared early on that the Flyers were going on an all defensive diet next season, but the roster is now a little more balanced and clear after a couple of days of free agency. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:19:34 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285377 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285377 Forward RJ Umberger will have a new address when the 2008-2009 NHL season opens. No, he didn't rent a penthouse in Rittenhouse Square, he was traded to Columbus. Minutes before the NHL draft started last night, the Flyers dealt Umberger and a Fourth Round pick in the 2008 draft to the Blue Jackets for their first Round pick (19th overall), and their Third Round pick. Sat, 21 Jun 2008 09:34:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280602 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280602 The Flyers continue to make moves to shore up their defense on Draft Day. First, the Flyers traded R.J. Umberger to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a pair of draft picks. Then, with the 19th pick in the draft the Flyers picked up defenseman Luca Sbisa. Finally, the Flyers traded their original first round pick, 27th overall, to the Washington Captials for defenseman Steve Eminger and the 84th pick in the draft. Sbisa has decent size and is described as a good puck mover, much in the mold of Mark Streit of the Montreal Canadiens. He's from Switzerland and was believed to be amongst the top 12 North American players in the draft. For more on Sbisa, click here for his profile from Hockeysfuture.com. For more immediate help, the Flyers acquired Steve Eminger. Eminger, 24, is a restricted free agent who was the 12th overall selection by the Washington Capitals back in 2002. He has spent parts of the last 5 seasons in the NHL, accumulating 6 goals and 37 assists to go with a plus/minus of -44. He is coming off a season where he dealt with an ankle injury that limited his playing time and he was a healthy scratch numerous times, but he did see solid ice time when the Capitals played the Flyers in the first round, even scoring a goal in the fourth game of the series. Eminger is a puck-moving defensman, something the Flyers desperately need. He often played on the power play in Washington, and can lead the rush out of the zone. Eminger clearly is a talented player who needed a fresh start and the Flyers are prepared to give him one. So, to sum up the day, the Flyers lost R.J. Umberger and a 4th round pick but added Steve Eminger, Luca Sbisa and two 3rd rounders.... Click the link for the rest of the article. Fri, 20 Jun 2008 23:16:57 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280563 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280563 The NHL Draft is under way and several teams have made big moves, including the Flyers. The Flyers, unable to afford the recently signed Jeff Carter, R.J. Umberger and a top defenseman in Free Agency, have created cap space for themselves by trading Umberger and the 119th pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets for two 2008 draft picks, the 19th pick of the first round and the 67th pick in the third round. While I hate to see Umberger go, the Flyers were smart to deal him now after his hot playoff run. Umberger scored 10 goals in the playoffs, so his value was never going to be any higher. Plus, the Flyers are dealing from a strength, since Umberger is really a center and the Flyers are loaded down the middle. Of course, this deal makes sense only if the Flyers do go out and bring in one of the top free agent defensemen, like a Brian Campbell, with the extra money they now have. The 19 pick in the draft will also be used for someone who will help down the road. Another nice move by Paul Holmgren. Umberger was a great player, but the extra cap space and the high draft pick are too good to pass up. Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:02:15 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280536 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280536 This evening the Flyers sent center RJ Umberger as well as the 119th pick overall to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for the 19th and 67th picks in this year's draft. Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:48:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280534 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280534 It hasn't been officially announced yet, but several reports have surfaced that the Flyers have signed restricted free agent Jeff Carter to a 3 year, 15 million dollar deal. While this removes the possibility of losing Carter to another team this off-season, 5 million a year for a player who has never scored 30 goals is a little steep. It also may price them out of signing any decent free agent defenseman, or even from bringing back R.J. Umberger, who continues to be the subject of trade talks. I do like that Jeff Carter is coming back next year, and he did show flashes of brilliance in the playoffs, but I worry that the Flyers might have overpaid here. Carter has had a problem with consistency in his career, something that no player making 5 million a year should have. With Mike Richards and Danny Briere in the mix, Carter will also never be anything more than a third line center. Let's hope the Flyers don't end up regretting paying him like a first liner. Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:35:58 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280429 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280429 What will the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins be up to come July 1st? Will the Flyers be able to keep their young talent? How many players will the Penguins manage to keep in tow? Who will the Rangers overpay this year? Will the Devils finally find some offense? Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:20:39 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280173 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280173 The Philadelphia Flyers are still trying to figure out a way to keep last years intact and improve. That task is going to be a lot harder then most Flyers fans would think. The salary cap currently stands at $55 million for next season. To be able to keep the Big Three free agents and sign a top flight defense man need to occur. Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:23:28 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/279474 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/279474 A few interesting rumors as the Flyers offseason has begun: *Carter to sign long term deal: According to Hockeybuzz.com, the Flyers are ready to sign restricted free agent Jeff Carter to a long-term deal. The deal could happen as soon as this weekend. *Umberger could be traded? When/if the Flyers sign Carter, their next order of business will be to figure out what they will do with another restricted free agent, R.J. Umberger. Hockeybuzz.com proposes that a trade of Umberger to Nashville for Ryan Suter would make sense for both teams. Click for more on these rumors. Thu, 22 May 2008 18:37:24 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/269851 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/269851 The Penguins don't like playing in Philadelphia, and have made that known. However, that didn't stop them from playing spoiler for the frantic Philadelphia faithful. Two quick goals by the Penguins took the roar out of the crowd. The first came from Ray Whitney on a Pittsburgh power play after a questionable hooking call on Derian Hatcher (see below). Then Marian Hossa took the puck from blue line to blue line and put a wrist shot behind Martin Biron. The Flyers would come within one after an RJ Umberger goal half way through the first period. The crowd got back into it, but that would be all the offense the Flyers could muster. For all the praise the Penguins get about their offense, their defensive prowess has been on display in this series, shutting down a strong Philadelphia team. Through the first two periods in game 3, the Flyers were only able to make 8 shots on goal. The Penguins have been able to disrupt the Flyers passing and have prevented them from getting much traffic in front of Marc-Andre Fleury. Traffic in front of the opposing goaltender was one of the keys to the Flyers success in the first two rounds. Ryan Malone scored midway through the third period and Hossa netted his second of the game with an empty net goal to cap the Penguins 4-1 win in Philadelphia. The Flyers are now down 3-0 in the series. If they are to win this series, they will have to make history. Only two teams in NHL history have come back from 3-0 series deficits, the 1975 NY Islanders and the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs. Wed, 14 May 2008 10:48:23 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/266812 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/266812 The Keystone Clash crossed the state to Philadelphia on Tuesday night, but the game looked very similar to the previous two. The Penguins looked better in nearly every facet of the game, dominating the Flyers 4-1 in Game 3 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. The Flyers were over-matched from the beginning when the Penguins got two quick goals in the first 8 minutes. The goals were a bit fluky with the first going in off a Jason Smith's foot and the second coming when Martin Biron was screened, but the Penguins managed to take the Flyers right out of the game. Philly responded with a goal by R.J. Umberger, but from there on they barely challenged Marc-Andre Fleury, finishing with a mere 18 shots. The Penguins sealed the victory with a goal halfway through the third period and an empty netter at the end of regulation. Click the link for much more on the game, including video highlights with reactions from John Stevens and Mike Richards. Tue, 13 May 2008 21:35:59 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/266677 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/266677 Tonight was the start of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins take Game 1, 4-2. The first period was very entertaining with five goals scored in the period. Evgeni Malkin added two goals and added a helper. Sid the Kid added a nice tip in goal that was assisted by Marian Hossa. Petr Sykora got the scoring started with a backhander... Sat, 10 May 2008 00:34:25 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265389 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265389 Tonight is the night... The Battle for Pennsylvania! FIO humor writer and western PA native Brian Lutz takes a look at this series between the Penguins and the Flyers. Though from the same state, these two teams are worlds apart - from their play to their fans to their cities. Lutz talks about the sharp contrasts and notes how this rivalry takes the cake as the most relative among other intra-state Pennsylvania sports match-ups. Fri, 09 May 2008 13:26:40 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265258 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265258 There are some people around the National Hockey League who think the-powers-that-be really, actually wanted to see a Canadian team win the Cup for the first time in 15 years. But despite some pretty dicey calls during their second-round series, the Flyers did away with that dream in quick order. Meanwhile, over in the Rangers-Penguins second-round series, anyone with functional eyes could see the NHL's brightest star, Sidney Crosby, flailing his arms and losing his footing at every choice opportunity to draw penalties. He often actually succeeded in fooling the most established of referees, and he wasn't the only Penguin to benefit from some dubious calls. In the series-deciding game, Ryan Malone from the Pens clipped Chris Drury in the face and drew significant volumes of blood yet somehow no call was made and the game was lost by one goal. Conspiracy theorists start your engines, because this tomfoolery will not end when Philly and Pittsburgh square off starting this Thursday night. Amazingly, the Flyers come into a series with their in-state rivals in a wonderful position. Unlike most years in Philly, nobody thought the Flyers could get to where they are, and they are certainly not done learning, growing and fighting as a team to realize their potential. Unlike past Flyers teams and most every year's Eagles teams — the Flyers are playing in a consequence-free environment much as a golfer always performs better in a "scramble" tournament, where each shot isn't so pressing. "Why not win?" is this team's mantra. Blow a two-goal lead — "who cares?" — we've won like that before. Down a few goals? We have the firepower to fight back. Moreover, the Flyers have the mental advantage over Pittsburgh in that many on the team think that by benching Crosby for the last game of the regular season, Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien was purposefully tanking to avoid playing the bruising Flyers (especially the angry Derian Hatcher, who is always looking for No. 87). Paul Holmgren says there is no way the Penguins tanked to avoid the Flyers to instead play the flailing Senators. Conspiracy theorists, back to your blogs. The Flyers have to know that their early season suspensions and Broad Street Bullies reputation from over 30 years ago will likely follow them into this series. Crosby will dive until some referee makes a point of calling him for it and he stops. The Flyers' second-ranked power play from the regular season could make that meaningful point with a few pucks behind Fleury if so desired. And with the dead and rotting carcasses of Washington and Montreal waiting for burial, the Flyers have every reason to believe they can beat (and beat up) a young and highly talented Pittsburgh team. Crosby is good, but they already know they could shut down Alexander Ovechkin. At the same time, the Flyers must crank up their preparation to another level if they have plans on playing in the Finals against one of the powerhouse teams from the West. The idea of blowing a game like they did in Game 1 vs. Montreal isn't going to fly when you are eight playoff wins from hoisting the hardware. The Flyers need to adopt the idea of playing the game with high energy without gross stupidity (see: Derian Hatcher's hit on Francis Bouillon). The refs will be looking for reasons to get Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marian Hossa on the power play, and so ultimate discipline will be an absolute key to the series. If the Flyers can accomplish this, there is no reason the league shouldn't be calling PETA to report some animal abuse, because the Penguins can be beaten. Fri, 09 May 2008 08:23:08 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265142 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265142 The Eastern Conference Finals between the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins is going to be unbelievable. That is all I have to say, just unbelievable. If you have any friends or family that don't watch hockey, sit them down and have them watch this series, they'll love the sport after seeing it. This series is going to have everything that hockey has to offer. Hard hits, two teams with incredible scoring punch, and two teams that hate each other (the fans hate each other as well). The Flyers won 5 out of the 8 meetings between the two teams this season. If like most of things this postseason, the season series will mean nothing. The "experts" realize that too, and are looking at the Flyers as underdogs. The underdog role is fine with me. It makes winning feel even better. Thu, 08 May 2008 17:53:02 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/264977 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/264977