The Philadelphia Flyers knew this could happen, but they may not have seen it coming.
A week after they signed Nashville Predators defenseman Shea Weber to an offer sheet worth $110 million over 14 years (and another $68 million in signing bonuses over the next six years), Weber is still in Nashville, as the Predators decided to match the offer sheet on Wednesday.
Now, in an Atlantic Division where the New York Rangers have landed Rick Nash, the Pittsburgh Penguins got a good return for Jordan Staal and added toughness in the form of Tanner Glass, and the New Jersey Devils kept together the majority of their Stanley Cup Finals team (except, of course, for Zach Parise), the Flyers are under pressure to make a move that will give them a stronger team entering the 2012-13 season.
The Flyers have already been busy this offseason, having moved James van Riemsdyk to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for defenseman Luke Schenn and signing 27-year-old defenseman Bruno Gervais and veteran forward Ruslan Fedotenko as free agents. However, the Flyers have yet to make the kind of big blockbuster move that can keep them in stride with the Rangers and the Penguins, the latter having also struck out on big moves but expecting to get a lot more than 22 games from Sidney Crosby in 2012-13.
Of course, the Flyers can get a similar boost without making a transaction if they get the Ilya Bryzgalov they thought they were getting when they signed him last summer to a nine-year contract extension worth $51 million. Bryzgalov delivered excitement for the Flyers despite his inconsistency with a team-record shutout streak in March, but he also fell apart in the playoffs, posting a .887 save percentage in 11 games. If Bryzgalov can recapture the form he displayed with the Phoenix Coyotes, it will be a big boost to the Flyers, but as they showed by going after Weber, general manager Paul Holmgren and owner Ed Snider want more.
Trouble is, there isn't much "more" available at this point in the summer, and with a little less than $8 million in space under the salary cap, the Flyers don't have much room to add. They've met with Phoenix Coyotes winger Shane Doan, who would certainly be a nice addition, but they're hardly the only team pursuing the veteran. Alexander Semin is still on the market, and could potentially be a strong addition in Philly, but head coach Peter Laviolette already has one inconsistent Russian to worry about. The best option for Philadelphia, in all likelihood, is Anaheim Ducks winger Bobby Ryan.
Ryan has long been rumored as a "Plan B" for teams that missed out on Nash, and if the Flyers want to keep up with their rivals, that would be a great place to start. There's also a nice local touch there, as Ryan is from Cherry Hill, N.J., about 10 miles from the Flyers' practice facility in Voorhees, N.J. and less than 15 miles from the Wells Fargo Center.
Look for the Flyers to go hard after Ryan and/or Doan, but don't be too surprised to see them kick the tires on Semin if they run out of other options.
