Done Deal! JR to LA!

[Guest Marcelo Cordoba]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=132419&hubName=nhl

[Hooah4 12]

Styles goes Hollywood! Good luck JR. We'll miss you in Philly. B)

[vivaotravez12 0]

JR is not a Flyer...take a few days for it to sink in...I just rerealized the other day Rex was gone...Foppa coming to city of Brotherly Love makes it a bit easier though.

[troy 12]

Although i'm sad to see him go, this deal is good for all parties, i dont think JR was fully comitted to being in Philly this year. And LA will be a great market for his future broadcasting career.

[EBondo 233]

I'll miss him, but it's something that had to be done. I wish him the best of luck in LA. Now if we can just get rid of Eric Desjardains(sp) and Donald Brashear...

[troy 12]

[/quoteHockeyMidget Posted on Aug 4 2005, 01:50 PM] . . .Now if we can just get rid of Eric Desjardains(sp) and Donald Brashear...

I think Desjardins will benefit from playing lessmins with the new d-men, but I could easily part with Brashear, though the Flyers need an enforcer

[vivaotravez12 0]

If the NHL enforces all the rules like they should, or the officials anyway, and with the game being more "wide open" and a quicker pace, there won't be much room nor need for enforcers like Brash, and that may be one reason Fridge is gone.

Anyone know how Frolov is, or where hes playing? It be nice if he were a future consideration...

[LegoDoom 0]

I hope Desjardins doesn't play less minutes. That would mean that Johnsson would as well.

[ponty 0]

[/quoteHockeyMidget Posted on Aug 4 2005, 01:50 PM] . . .Now if we can just get rid of Eric Desjardains(sp) and Donald Brashear...

I think Desjardins will benefit from playing lessmins with the new d-men, but I could easily part with Brashear, though the Flyers need an enforcer

Damn now I got to update my pic with the Avs greatest signing to date this year ... Mr. Pierre Turgeon! :o

[Miike 1]

The avs re-signed Alex Tanguay. They also got Brisebois. Get rid of Foote for Brisebois. I think was stupid.

[Crazy Otto 0]

i dont think JR was fully comitted to being in Philly this year.

I don't agree, JR was truly committed to the Flyers and really seemed to be bummed out about leaving.

Philadelphia Daily News:

Posted on Fri, Aug. 05, 2005

Roenick emotional over trade to Kings

By ED BARKOWITZ

barkowe@phillynews.com

Bob Clarke emerged from his office at about 1 o'clock yesterday afternoon with a glum look on his face. It was the kind of expression a guy gets when he sells his very first car.

"Well, we traded J.R. to Los Angeles," he told a group of reporters.

And, with that, Jeremy Roenick's 3-year Flyers career was over.

Minutes after the Flyers found out on Wednesday there was a possibility to sign Peter Forsberg, they knew they would have to lose some salary in exchange. Signing Forsberg to a $5.7 million deal put the Flyers over the $39 million cap for this season. Trading Roenick, and his $4.94 million salary was the solution.

Flyers owner Ed Snider said getting Forsberg was an opportunity that was too good to squander.

"In the final analysis," Snider said, "these opportunities [acquiring Forsberg] come along once in a lifetime and you can't pass that up."

Clarke sent Roenick and the 2006 third-round pick he acquired from Nashville for defenseman Danny Markov on Tuesday to the Kings for future considerations, which the GM acknowledged was going to be "not much."

"My heart is really hurt," said Roenick, who seemed to well up with emotion. "Philly is a tough place to leave because it's one of the best organizations in pro sports. They have some of the classiest people in management and without a doubt the best owner. It hurts to know that they are going to have a good team this year and I'm not going to be a part of it."

Roenick lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., and agreed to waive his no-trade clause provided the Flyers could send him west. Phoenix and Los Angeles were at the top of his list.

"I'm going to miss Jeremy Roenick," Snider said. "He was a class act for our club and when I think of all the injuries he played through, particularly in the playoffs the year before last... you don't meet guys like that too often."

The marriage between Roenick and the Flyers wasn't always smooth and often it was Roenick's tongue that put the match to the gasoline. He frequently butted heads with coach Ken Hitchcock and said things that left Clarke bewildered. Both men acknowledged that, but both said that was not going to be Roenick's legacy here.

"J.R. was everything that we thought he'd be," Clarke said. "He never took a night off and he was exceptionally good with [the media]. Sometimes we wish he would have thought a little more before he said some things, but at no time did he ever not give everything to this team or this organization."

Roenick said the highlight of his Flyers career was in 2004, 6 weeks after suffering a broken jaw against the Rangers.

"I'll never forget playing in the first game after my jaw injury and the ovation that I got when I stepped on the ice," he said. "How wonderful the fans and public treated me. Their energy to me was tremendous. I really feel honored to say I wore a Flyers jersey."

Trading Roenick, though, all came down to economics. Well, economics and a chance to add arguably the best player in the game.

"The decision to sign Peter was an easy one," Clarke said. "When we had a chance to get Peter, we just said, 'Hell, we'd be dumb not to do something like that.' Had we not gotten Forsberg, we never would have traded J.R."