• March 29, 2024

Flyers Extend Centerman Ben Holmstrom

Toronto Maple Leafs v Philadelphia FlyersRenaud Lavoie of RDS reported this afternoon that the Philadelphia Flyers have signed forward Ben Holmstrom to a one-year contract extension.

The contract is worth $600,000 at the NHL level and $285,000 at the AHL level.

Holmstrom was first signed by the Flyers as a collegiate free agent in 2010. In 181 games with the Adirondack Phantoms, he has tallied 36 goals and 90 points.

Holmstrom has also been called up to the Flyers twice in the last two seasons, but he has yet to score his first NHL point.

He has been sidelined for the majority of the 2012-13 season due to a season ending ACL injury that required surgery. He has been skating recently, but has yet to take part in any practices.

It’s difficult to say whether Holmstrom has what it takes to contribute at the NHL level. He has a lot of character, evidenced by his being named the Phantoms’ captain, but he hasn’t “broken out” at the AHL level and produced some of the worst statistics among forwards in his limited NHL appearances.

If he can develop into a face-off man, that would be an improvement on the fourth line. In seven NHL games over the last two years, his record in the face-off circle is 20-for-46 (43%).

With Scott Laughton likely to make the Flyers out of camp next season (assuming he isn’t traded away), Holmstrom certainly has his work cut out for him to make the team. Hopefully having him back at full health will at least help the Phantoms improve their record so that maybe they could actually make the playoffs in Glens Falls, for once.

Josh Janet

Josh Janet was raised in Northern New Jersey, but by an odd set of circumstances, is a Philadelphia sports fan. While recently converted to the Phillies, Josh is a diehard Flyers fan and can be expected to stay on top of the latest NHL news.

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paulman
paulman
March 17, 2013 4:02 pm

Sounds like another sub-500 Season for Flyboys for 2014 to me, which is exactly which this Organization deserves.. Today’s style of Play in th eNHL has passed this Franchise by as the Flyers continue to miss on many Draft Picks, Poorly develop them in the Minor Leauges and then coddle the decent ones who become overhyped by the media and Fans that Snider likes..Keep Spending your $60-$80-$100 for Tickets, for nothing is going to change until Snider is gone or dead…

eagles0superbowls
eagles0superbowls
March 17, 2013 10:01 pm
Reply to  paulman

He also gets everyone in the media to refer to him as Mister Snider. LOL

eagles0superbowls
eagles0superbowls
March 17, 2013 9:57 pm

Scott Laughton on the Flyers next season? Didn’t see that coming. What about Tye McGinn?
Can anyone give an update on Nick Cousins, who I thought was ahead of Laughton on the development pyramid toward the NHL along with Shayne Gostisbehere?

RegalEagle
RegalEagle
March 18, 2013 12:34 am

Good stuff Josh.

Paulman.. I don’t get the venom for the flyers. This team has built competitive teams and is almost always in the post season. Outside of a handful of teams the Flyers have had the same problem as every other team… Getting that Goal Tender that plays LIGHTS OUT while also having talent on the team. The devils have ridden M.B. into the pool under the ice because it is just that hard to find a great one.

Holmgren can not predict that his star Defenseman was going to get a concussion that put him out. They took a shot with Bryz and some days its a moon shot and other days Bryz is an astronaught. They tried to get a deal in place with a few big Defensemen this off season but the lockout and such really messed with the plan.

The Flyers have a good FO and a Good Coach. The problem is there is an element of luck to this crazy thing called pro sports. If there weren’t we wouldn’t watch because the truly gifted would have Money Balled us all to death by now.

paulman
paulman
March 18, 2013 7:13 am

Half the NHL make the Playoffs, Flyers have historically been at the Top for Players Salaries.. 3 Finals Series in 38 Years you think is a good Post-Season Recoed, how many 1st Round Exits have they had the last 10-12 Years??
They have only gotten passed the 2nd Round once the last few years
Again, across the Street, Eagles make Playoffs 9 out of 13 Years,
Go to 5 Champiobship games and 1Super Bowl and they and the Coaches, Ownership, Front Office and yes, even some Players get villified all off-season
Until they are run out of Town..
A double standard exists with the Flyers and always has abd I am tired of the BS that Fans and Media and Owner Ed Snider..

jakedog
jakedog
March 18, 2013 8:45 am

Paulman, there’s a heightened level of accountability with the eagles, phillies

The flyers fans are far less critical, different breed, hipsters, woman, not many lunatics like our good friend dcar, they go with the flo, and I have also found that many flyers fans don’t root for our other teams, especially the eagles

This, bu the way, was not the case in the 70s, when the win starved city turned tie entire attention to the flyers when the won cups…

But the phillies won, sixers won, eagles beat cowboys, super bowl, and then the hard core fans returned to the other sports and largely have not returned

bugsyhawk
bugsyhawk
March 18, 2013 1:23 pm
Reply to  jakedog

Personally, I don’t know what the eff you guys are talking about. Philly is a football and because of recent success of the Phillies baseball city. Hockey is in 4th place like it is in most major cities that have all 4 sports teams, so why should we be different? They get about the same venom that the Sixers get when talking about their players shortcomings. Richards and Carter were getting the same level of crap that Iggy was getting while he was here. WTF do you think is going on with Bryz right now?

The team was popular in the 70s because it was relatively new, successful and because they used to fight everybody. The league has changed somewhat since then.

I am not sure what you guys want from them.. Yes half the league makes the playoffs, but it is not like the Flyers are always the 7-8th seed. They spend all of their cap money every year and they try to sign high price FAs or make trades every year unlike the Eagles. Neither the Eagles nor the Flyers have really had significant success (meaning championships).

I know that they have holes right now and I hope that they fix them. I don’t think that the GM or the coach are right for this current team. How is that different than the way that I feel about the Eagles up until this year?

As Josh stated Paul, stop watching then, but otherwise you are kinda full of it. You are expecting a sport that you have called marginal multiple times to dominate the press in a football first town. Do you really think that is realistic?

paulman
paulman
March 18, 2013 1:50 pm
Reply to  bugsyhawk

I believe the Flyers should be held to the same standard as the other Pro Teams in the City and not get a Free-Pass every Year because the Local Media is afraid and imtimidated by Ed Snider who coddles his Team and keeps the buddy-buddy System alive and well in Philly….
As soon as anyone is critical of the FLyers, everyone hits the Fan and I am like, what have the Flyers exactly accomplished and won on the ICe since the mid-70’s.. They are a good Franchise and do a lot of good things in the community, but why they continue to get a free-pass from everyone is beyond me…

bugsyhawk
bugsyhawk
March 18, 2013 2:18 pm
Reply to  paulman

Who is afraid to criticize the Flyers?

Is it that they aren’t critical or are they just talking about the Eagles/Phillies all of the time. The majority of Philly sports fans couldn’t pick Giroux or even Hartnell out of a lineup, but you want them to spend as much time criticizing them as they would the Eagles? There aren’t as many diehard fans, so you aren’t going to get as many angry people. That doesn’t mean that those of us that watch every game are not pissed about where this team is right now.

paulman
paulman
March 18, 2013 4:56 pm
Reply to  bugsyhawk

So because there are less Hockey Fans than the Eagles/Phils,
this means the Local Media and Casual Fans should dismiss their failures as that it’s ok simply to be “Competitive” and just be satisified in making a watered-down Playoff System where 1/2 the Teams make the Playoffs.. Is that what your saying Bugsy..
When was the last time a Philly SPorts Journalish broke down the root of the problems of the Flyers ooh let’s say the last 20 Years and the fact that they cannot or have not developed a Decent Goalie and or Defenseman for yaers and years.. Does a Professional Sport Team not deserve these Critiques and Questions on why the Flyers Fail year after year.. Who is ultimately responsible for Drafting,Scouting and Player Development for these are all Organizational Failuers that have been on-going for Years now..

bugsyhawk
bugsyhawk
March 19, 2013 10:07 am
Reply to  paulman

For the local media absolutely. They have to cater to their audience. Why would they produce a show about hockey when no one is going to watch it?

Every Flyers fan that I know is pretty upset right now both with the Bryz and the defense but where is opportunity to express that besides here and FB. And besides Angelo and team (because of Jonesy and Morganti) no one talks about it consistently because they don’t care about hockey or focus because there aren’t as many fans of the team. The conversations are all dominated by Eagles, Phils and a little 6ers.

bugsyhawk
bugsyhawk
March 19, 2013 10:10 am
Reply to  bugsyhawk

So to clarify, I am not saying that I or anyone else in Philly are ok with it. My point is that not enough people in the city are die hard hockey fans for the media to make a point of emphasis about it. The people that are fans of the team see their shortcomings and are not ok. I want the coach and the GM gone because they are not the right people to work with the young players on this team. And I also want to know why they drafted Laughton instead of a defensemen when that is really what they needed.

eagles0superbowls
eagles0superbowls
March 19, 2013 10:25 am
Reply to  bugsyhawk

very rarely do the Flyers draft D in 1st round and when they did , Luca Sbisa, they changed into a forward then traded him in year 2

paulman
paulman
March 19, 2013 10:34 am
Reply to  bugsyhawk

There are plenty of Flyers Fans in the Delaware Valley Bugs..
Hell, they’ve been Selling out for Years and Years.. Do you mean to tell me that it in a City the Size of Philadelphia that there are no true Sport/Hockey Jouranalist that follow the Team that can be Unbiased, Critical when needed ..

eagles0superbowls
eagles0superbowls
March 18, 2013 11:48 am

Nick Cousins 102 points, wow. Why is he not already in the NHL if he can score like that in Juniors? Schenn and Couturier move over, an offensive presence is coming. Good stuff JJ, I didn’t think there was much in the AHL so it is hopeful that these young players can fill in the roster after Briere, Knuble, & Fedotenko’s time is up.

eagles0superbowls
eagles0superbowls
March 19, 2013 9:14 am

the playoff nail in the coffin last night against Tampa. I was excited to get Andrej Meszaros back in the lineup ( I changed my mind )

paulman
paulman
March 19, 2013 9:29 am

It’s better for the Organization to not reach the Playoffs so they don’t get any false hopes that they are actually a good Team that is close to contending any time soon, for they are far from it..
Start moving/trading Veterans for Young Talent/Draft Picks
Then after the Season , Fire the Coach, the GM, the Player Personne Director, the Director of Scouting and Player Development and Drop Owner Snider in the Delaware River with “Cement Ice Skates” on and call it a day..

eagles0superbowls
eagles0superbowls
March 19, 2013 9:34 am
Reply to  paulman

Jay Snider might be a worse option

eagles0superbowls
eagles0superbowls
March 19, 2013 9:38 am

might be like trading in Paul Brown for Mike Brown in Cleveland or George Steinbrenner for his son in the Bronx

paulman
paulman
March 19, 2013 10:37 am

Your Probably right about that .. This Franchise is doomed…

bugsyhawk
bugsyhawk
March 19, 2013 10:13 am

They need to do what the Eagles did. Find someone like Gamble and then let him do his job in rebuilding this franchise. Easier said than done, but things need to be shaken up.

paulman
paulman
March 19, 2013 10:38 am
Reply to  bugsyhawk

The Cronyism that exists in the Flyers Organization is a joke, as it is with most Sport Franchises, that are owned by ego-maniacs