Turco to Philly?
Tough times a-head for Marty Turco? NEWARK, N.J. – Before a flake of snow could ac*****ulate on the ground in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, the internet was brimming with a flurry of Flyers rumors.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t about Ray Emery and his injury concerns.
Rather, it was about another goaltender: the Dallas Stars’ Marty Turco, who quickly became a trending topic on Twitter.
Turco officially became expendable by the Stars on Tuesday when they acquired Kari Lehtonen from Atlanta for defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy and a 4th round pick. The deal was finalized late Tuesday night.
Turco’s name, though, has been connected with the Flyers in the rumor mill for weeks.
Rogers Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos was the first to report on Tuesday that the Flyers are at the top of the list for Turco, helping fuel the frenzy.
That potential move could be interesting, given Ray Emery’s current health situation and Michael Leighton’s experience in the NHL playoffs – coupled with the fact that Turco will be an unrestricted free agent come July 1.
But here’s why Turco coming to Philadelphia is more than a long shot:
1. Salary – Turco’s cap hit is $5.7 million. That means the Flyers would need to sacrifice about $5.2 million in salary in a trade with the Stars just to fit him under the cap this season.
To recap, the Flyers’ list of no-trade or no-movement clauses: Simon Gagne, Danny Briere and Kimmo Timonen.
2. Playoff history: Is Marty Turco the goaltender that the Flyers think will put them over the top? Turco holds a bunch of Stars records (wins, shutouts, games played) and a modern NHL record (1.72 GAA in a season, 2002-03) but his success has never converted to the playoffs. Since Turco became Dallas’ full-time starter in 2002-03, the Stars have gone to the playoffs every year but one. Those trips have included four first round exits and one trip the Western Conference Semifinals.
The Flyers went that far with Marty Biron in 2007-08. He walked as a free agent last July.
3. The short-term: Do the Flyers want to sacrifice a potential impact player for their playoff run in order to acquire Turco, who wouldn’t be guaranteed to be Flyers’ property come 2010-11?
That’s the same dilemma this franchise faced when weighing Ilya Kovalchuk.
4. The long-term: If the Flyers do acquire Turco, is he definitely the Flyers’ long-term solution? A change in scenery may do Turco some good. While his stats have never been horrible, this season hasn’t been his best in Dallas.
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