Berard get a tryout with Philly....

[#19 Joe Thornton]

could there possibly be a fit there?...maybe,we shall see..

[duballstar014]

I like it. Holmgren said it was pretty much out of the blue. They hadnt planned on calling Berard at all, but Berard\'s agent said he was willing to come on a tryout basis. Homer is excited to see it hopefully spark some competition, and honestly I am too. This is a hell of a lot better than our tryout D last year...cough..Fitz..cough..patrick..cough..barf

[strider2k2]

I don\'t see how this could possibly be a bad thing. Either the competition lights a fire under some of the young guys and gets them to play a bit better or we have a decent plan B. I\'m always a fan of having options.

[fzusher]

If they splice his genes with Derian Hatcher\'s they get either the ultimate NHL D - or Vitaly Vishnevsky :S

[duballstar014]

I like it fzusher! :laugh:

[HockeyHobo]

I can\'t see him making the team, there are too many ahead of him.

On the flip side why invite a player if you don\'t think he could make your team, so could be a dark horse for some points here.

[duballstar014]

UKflames wrote:

On the flip side why invite a player if you don\'t think he could make your team, so could be a dark horse for some points here.

Berard\'s agent asked for a tryout and the Flyers granted it. With all the offseason D acquistions, bringing a veteran like Berard is really smart IMO because it adds to the competitiveness. Here\'s how I think it will play out...

Option#1 - Berard comes into camp, works hard and shows calm poise, which is somewhat contagious. The offseason D pickups see this and work even harder to make the team, but also learn a thing or two about what it takes to make an NHL club. He adds veteran presence to the tryout, and makes the team as a 7th defenseman. He plays most of the year for the Phantoms and serves primarily as a mentor.

Option#2 Berard, 31, comes into camp inspired to play with some talent finally (most of his teams have been mediocre talent at best), and starts really meshing with some of the guys and shows some offensive flair. The Flyers, who notice that the talent around him has rekindled his abilities, sign him to a 1 year deal. Berard notches about 35 pts (40-45 with a key injury to another Flyer D), is used sparingly on the PP, and has other GM\'s wondering why they didnt sign him. The development of Parent, Jones, and Coburn also accelerates. Hatcher is 100% out of the picture at this point.

I\'m guessing it\'ll be option 1, but what\'s an offseason without dreams?