Philadelphia Flyers GM Paul Holmgren seems determined to add a veteran No. 1 goaltender to his squad's crease. According to a CSNPhilly.com report, Holmgren has gained permission from the San Jose Sharks to chat up unrestricted free agent netminder Evgeni Nabokov, who is seeking a new home. (Read this for more info.)
Before turning his eye to Nabokov, however, Holmgren had quietly received the green light from Dallas to speak to another soon-to-be-free netminder, Stars UFA Marty Turco.
In fact, Holmgren offered Turco a three-year deal worth roughly $6 million (or a bit more than $2 million per season). The 34-year-old Turco, who confirmed the offer via text message, politely declined, opting Thursday to test the market.
To read about a conversation E.J. witnessed this weekend in Los Angeles that could give hints about where Ilya Kovalchuk might be headed, plus other notes from the draft and the upcoming free-agent signing period, you must be an Insider.
E.J. Hradek
Senior Writer, ESPN The MagazineABOUT THIS BLOG
E.J. Hradek
E.J. Hradek is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine, joining the staff prior to its launch in 1998. He began covering hockey as a writer/editor for Hockey Illustrated in 1989. The following year, he beat the Stars to Dallas (by three years), taking over as the editor of Beckett Hockey Monthly. When the Stars finally did arrive in Big D, he hosted a weekly hockey radio show and tried (unsuccessfully) to convert ESPN's Skip Bayless to the greatest game on ice.
In 1996, Hradek left Dallas, but not the Stars. Relocating back to the New York area, he became a part-time pro scout for the club, seeing more than 100 NHL/AHL games for each of the next two seasons. The scouting gig was a great learning experience, offering a different view of the game.
Hradek grew up in Tuckahoe, N.Y., about a 40-minute train ride from New York City. Despite the proximity to the Rangers, Hradek embraced the Islanders when the expansion franchise debuted in 1972. Eight years later, he was part of the sellout crowd at the Nassau Coliseum that witnessed the Islanders' first Stanley Cup championship.
