What likely seems a no-brainer to most - especially to fans of the Philadelphia Flyers who are probably thinking they can get used to this whole consistent winning thing - may not, in fact, be so simple. Shayne Gostisbehere, the Flyers' electrifying young defenseman who has now collected 14 points in 18 NHL games, not to mention three overtime game-winning goals, isn't certain to stick with the big club following the Christmas break. With veteran Mark Streit, a guy who plays a similar game and fills a role much like Gostisbehere has over the last month or so, and his $5.25 million cap hit expected to come off the long-term injured reserve list sometime in the near future, money suddenly looks tight for Flyers GM Ron Hextall.
But from the sounds of a Saturday report from Sam Carchidi of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Hextall's immediate plans seem to involve finding a way to keep Streit and the man dubbed "Ghost" around for the remainder of the season.
Per Carchidi, "Ghost" was seen boarding the Flyers' team plane to California on Saturday. Nothing has been confirmed, but with Streit expected to come off LTIR on Sunday that does seem to indicate that both puck-moving defensemen will stick around.
Of course, Hextall has plenty of roster reshaping and financial trimming left to do. He's worked magic on the Philly lineup to this point, but turning the team into a consistent winner and potential Cup contender is going to take quite a bit more effort.
Streit, despite his cap hit, is likely a guy drawing trade interest from other teams. And it's no secret that Hextall would love to move a guy like Luke Schenn off his blueline and his ledger.
But for now, Hextall's likely to assign a player to the Phantoms and move forward with the suddenly surging team as-is. Just don't be surprised if the roster looks very different once the trade deadline passes.
