FLYERS STEPPING UP EFFORTS FOR BOUWMEESTER
(1:30pm et) - The Philadelphia Flyers are stepping up their efforts to acquire defenceman Jay Bouwmeester from the Florida Panthers, but salary cap constraints are rearing their ugly head.
The Flyers are bumping up against the cap and they are working hard to try to free up some space.
Sources say one of the options is trading goaltender Marty Biron and turning the number one job over to Antero Niittymaki.
If the Flyers could swing this, it would be epic. Their defense badly needs a reliable D-man, and Bouwmeester would be perfect. The Flyers are in a lot of cap trouble, but if they can clear out Biron's salary they should be able to keep Bouwmeester. He does want to play with a contender, and the Flyers are set to be one for a few years.
This season, Niittymäki has been better than Biron. He has a better save percentage, goals-against average and winning percentage. Last year, Biron was (mostly) great in the playoffs; on the other hand, Niittymäki is the reigning Olympic MVP. There's no doubt in my mind he can take the starting job and run with it. As I've said earlier, Philadelphia's problem isn't goaltending, it's team defence. Bouwmeester should be a considerable help with that.
If the Flyers offered up James van Riemsdyk and other assets for Bouwmeester and managed to move Biron to clear up space, they just might pull off a historic deal; one that would set them up not only for this year's playoffs but potentially several years ahead as well.
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