Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said today he was "disappointed" when he found out Tuesday afternoon that Nashville had matched the Flyers' offer sheet for restricted free agent defenseman Shea Weber.
"We took a shot," Holmgren said. "It didn't work."
Holmgren, as has been the case, continued to talk optimistically about his team and expressed repeatedly how much he liked it. He tried to put forward the idea that he was especially enamored with his defense, which will be without concussed Chris Pronger and suffered a very significant loss when Matt Carle signed with Tampa Bay. The Flyers did acquire Bruno Gervais, who has never established himself as a top-four (or even five) type of defender.
But Holmgren said his efforts to get Weber shouldn't be construed as any knock against his current defensive alignment.
"I really like our defense," Holmgren said. "What we tried to do was add one of the best players in the league to our team. We're trying to add to it without subtracting."
To that end, Holmgren might also have been implying that any future trading efforts would not include primary building pieces such as Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn. So despite Holmgren's obvious interest in trying to get sniper Bobby Ryan out of Anaheim, doing so without dealing one of his young core players seems out of the question.
Other than that, the Flyers likely will try to swing something to improve the defense Holmgren likes so much. Dan Boyle might be graying and has a pricey contract, but that's one veteran that could help.
Holmgren also admitted he retains interest in free agent forward Shane Doan, but said he expects him to re-sign with Phoenix. That said ... "If he's ready to make a move," Holmgren said, "we'd be interested."