Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Flyers sign 3 Big D-Men

The Philadelphia Flyers are set to make a big splash in the free agent market on Tuesday.
Amid reports the team had come to terms with defencemen Derian Hatcher and Mike Rathje, the Flyers say a "multiplayer announcement" would be made on Tuesday.
After losing out in the Adam Foote sweepstakes, it appears general manager Bob Clarke has turned his sights to Hatcher, who was bought out last week by the Detroit Red Wings.
"Well, we've got a lot of lines in the water and we'll just have to see how it goes," Clarke tells the Philadelphia Daily News while refusing to specify which players the team is after.
Aside from Hatcher and Rathje, the Flyers are said to have also targeted Adrian Aucoin and Brian Rafalski.
Kevin Epp, the agent for free agent defenseman Scott Niedermayer, says he's disappointed the Flyers have not called. It's believed Niedermayer's reported $7-million asking price was just too high for Clarke.
Clarke has reportedly budgeted $6.5-million to try and shore up the Flyers glaring need for a big defenseman.

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