Why the Philadelphia Flyers Need to Get Rid of Scott Hartnell

The Philadelphia Flyers have had a pretty good start to the season, and their new acquisitions have been playing well. They have come together pretty quickly, and at this point, it looks like GM Paul Holmgren made good decisions this offseason.

However, one move that he didn't make that would be extremely beneficial to the team is getting rid of Scott Hartnell.

Hartnell is a big feisty winger that can score goals and is liked by many fans. However, for myself and other fans that watch closely and know hockey well, it's easy see the gaping flaws in Hartnell's game.

He is clumsy, overly aggressive and makes awful decisions with and without the puck. He takes stupid penalties at bad times in games and passes terribly.

Last night against the Capitals, his awful pass in his own zone went straight to the stick of a Capitals player, who put in the first goal of the game for the Caps and turned the momentum to them.

He does score goals, however, and that can't be overlooked. But this season, coach Peter Laviolette has clearly seen that his mistakes outweigh his contributions, because he has averaged significantly less minutes this year than his previous years with the team, about five minutes below his career average.

However, none of these are even the main reasons why Hartnell needs to be moved. No, Hartnell needs to be moved because on top of all these flaws in his game, he is getting paid $4.2 million, the second-highest salary for Flyer forwards behind Danny Briere.

Granted, it would be tough to get another team to take on this contract, but Holmgren should do whatever he can to make it happen. The player we get in return doesn't matter at all; with rookies Sean Couturier and Matt Read playing well and with Brayden Schenn waiting in the wings, depth isn't an issue. Take any player that any team would give for Hartnell.

Or maybe, just maybe, Holmgren could go all out and offer Hartnell and Sergei Bobrovsky in hopes of acquiring a good winger. Improbable, but it's still worth a shot.

In short, Hartnell needs to go. His bad decisions and dumb mistakes will not be missed, and neither will his big contract.   

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