The Flyers have announced that they’ve extended a training camp invite to Michael Nylander, the forward most recently of the Washington Capitals. Actually, that’s kind of a lie. He was loaned to the Florida Panthers in September 2010 by the Caps organization, and he played just seven games with Florida’s AHL affiliate in Rochester before breaking his neck in a late October game against Grand Rapids.
Nylander hasn’t played a game since, and at age 38, it’s shocking that he’s even giving it another go. (He turns 39 on October 3.) The Flyers have opted to give him a shot, and while it’s unlikely to work out — Nylander is a center, he’s old and the Caps were happy to finally get rid of him when they did — it’s one of those moves with no risk and the potential for some reward.
Via Nylander’s SB Nation profile page, a look at what he brings to the table:
Assets: Has terrific playmaking ability and excellent vision. When hot, he’s an assist machine. Improved his defensive game with experience.
Flaws: Does not possess a knack for scoring goals, and too often will pass up a shot in the slot area. Plays a passive game and can get pushed around physically.
The big problem the Caps had with Nylander was his contract, but that’s all gone now and he’s just fighting to keep his NHL career in tact. One final go of it, if you were. It’s a lot like Bill Guerin coming to Flyers camp last year, then failing to get a contract offer. He ultimately retired. We’ll see what happens next month with Nylander.
For what it’s worth, Henrik Zetterberg likes his chances of making an NHL comeback… and he did play well with Jaromir Jagr when they were both with the Rangers… hmmmm ….
