Holmgren doesn't see Flyers making major move

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WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The trade rumors involving the Flyers have been blowing in the wind for a while now.

Bob Dylan notwithstanding.

Despite the Flyers' terribly inconsistent play and the very tightness of this lockout-shortened season, general manager Paul Holmgren says he is not going to pull the trigger on a major deal.

“I think we have a nucleus of good, young players,” Holmgren said Tuesday night before the Flyers' taunt 3-2 win over the Jets.

“To talk about disrupting that is not something that I am in favor of doing. We have not played exactly how I thought we would have played.

“We’re missing some key people [Scott Hartnell and Andrej Meszaros] right now. We can’t use that as an excuse. Other teams have similar issues going. We’re going to ride this out for now.

“I don’t anticipate doing anything. Obviously, there is lots of talk going on right now. Everyone is doing their due diligence, but I don’t foresee us making a move.”

Hartnell’s absence has really impacted Claude Giroux, who had eight games this season without a point. He picked up an assist on Tuesday. He needs that big guy with the long, red locks to create some space for him on the ice.

“Obviously, the other teams are keying on Claude right now, doubling on him,” Holmgren said. “He’s missing his left wing, who helps a lot. Scotty is a key for Claude and a key for our team. He needs him to create a little space for him.”

Wayne Simmonds missed three games with a concussion and is trying to get back into being a physical guy who picks up points at the net.

“With Wayne coming back and getting a couple games under is belt will be beneficial to Claude,” Holmgren said. “I look for him to get going now. You can’t ask Claude to try harder because he is trying his hardest right now. Other teams are doing a good job on him. I feel the underneath guys now need to do a better job.”

Coach Peter Laviolette has been juggling his lines regularly to try and find chemistry and make up for lost bodies due to injury.

Laviolette changed all four of lines against the Jets in part because Sean Couturier was back home resting from the flu.

Max Talbot has yet to score a goal, but Holmgren said he doesn’t expect Talbot to recreate the career high in goals (19) he posted last season. Also, he feels Talbot’s role and specialty is defensive hockey and penalty kill.

He does feel Danny Briere, Jakub Voracek and Brayden Schenn all need to elevate their games. Voracek had two assists against the Jets and Schenn scored his second goal in three games.

“They all have to do a better job,” Holmgren said. “… As a team, we’re not operating on all cylinders and that is why we are having trouble.”

The Flyers came into the Jets' game with the second-fewest goals in the Atlantic Division -- 31. When a team is not scoring, flaws are exposed. And when it makes defensive gaffes, like it did Monday in Toronto, it leads to disastrous results on the ice.

Does this team miss Jaromir Jagr?

“Doesn’t make any sense to look back on that,” Holmgren replied. “Obviously, he was a big benefit to Claude and Scotty last year. Sometimes you have to move on.

“We were not in a situation last summer to do anything at that time. Whether we would have later, I still don’t know. But I have moved on from that.”

Holmgren said he is pleased with the progress the club has made in improving on special teams, particularly on the penalty kill. But he also feels the inconsistency on the power play has not enabled the Flyers to make up for goals elsewhere when it should.

“[Monday] night in Toronto, we had bad 7-8 minutes, down 4-1 and too many giveaways in our zone and center ice, and it cost us,” Holmgren said. “Yet, we had seven minutes in power-play time to get back in it and we didn’t get anything out of it.

“It’s a close league. If you are not on top of your game for 60 minutes, there’s a good chance you won’t win.”

He also thought the club had “turned the corner” by getting seven of eight points on the last homestand before this six-game road trip began.

“Then, we took a step backward in Toronto,” Holmgren said. “A lot of times in this league now, if you are standing still with the puck or you don’t move the puck right away, you will get in trouble.

“I don’t care who you are. We got into situations [in Toronto] where we didn’t win those little battles along the boards and on a couple goals we didn’t move the puck quick enough and got burned. We have to do a better job.”

Four games remain on the trip. Three are against teams higher in the standings -- New Jersey, Pittsburgh and Montreal.

What happens there could very well dictate if Holmgren is pushed to make a move.

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