Flyers Clearing Cap Space?

1) With the fallout of yesterdays trouncing by the Sabres the The Flyers placed defenseman Nolan Baumgartner, forwards Niko Dimitrakos and Petr Nedved on waivers. From what we have been told Baumgatener won't be demoted to The Phantoms if he clears wavers, but the other 2 will be.
2) This will only fuel the speculation that Clarke is about to pull the trigger on a deal. The demotion of Nedved alone frees up 2.3 mil of cap space. Baumgartner another million. Leaving the Flyers with about 5-6 mil of space to play with.
3) Now, it is possible these transactions weren't the prelude to further moves by Clarke, but let the rumors begin. Hmmm, what do the Flyers need? Well most would say goaltending, but we disagree.
4) Besides, Clarke HATES to admit a mistake, so we expect him to stick with Niittymaki as the # 1 tender when he returns from injury. His back up is another matter. Despite playing valiantly last night Esche had already worn thin his welcome in Philly. Last night's 9 goals won't help. So a deal for another back up and the waiving/trading of Esche wouldn't surprise us
5) No, the real Achilles heel of the Flyers is their woefully SLOW defense. We don't care how much weight Hatcher's lost he's still not ready for the new NHL. Unfortunatly for Clarke, and Flyer fans their aren't too many available, if any, good skating defensemen on the block right now. (Please don't start the Leetch crap!) Maybe 5-10 years ago, but Leetch is NOT the answer to the Flyers problems.
6) Therefore IF Clarke wants to panic, and we do not think he will, he may want to trade one of his promising young forwards, like Carter or Umberger for a proven blue liner. FAUXRUMORS will keep our ears open if we hear of any imminent moves. Even as we prepare to depart for Atlanta, we will stay on top of things.
As always, keep it here for the latest!