Image Courtesy of Amy Irving: https://www.facebook.com/38Photography

2013 Year In Review: Danny Briere

By Hal G
Posted on 05/24/2013 at 11:00 am

It pains me to write Danny Briere’s year in review. Briere came to Philadelphia in the offseason of 2007, the year after the Flyers had just missed the playoffs, bringing with him a new attitude for the Flyers franchise. Along with Briere was a much-scrutinized contract that would pay the five-foot-ten, 179-pound player 52 million dollars over eight years with an annual cap hit of 6.5 million. Briere’s worth was proven immediately as he recorded the second-highest point total of his career, registering 31 goals and 41 assists in 79 games. It was not Briere’s regular season performance that would …

Flyers Year In Review: The Ugly

By Hal G
Posted on 05/17/2013 at 1:00 pm

Ah yes, we get to the fun part of my three-part year in review: The Ugly. I’ve discussed the Good and the Bad, but now it’s time to look at everything that was just so horrendous and led to the Flyers missing the playoffs. Without further ado… Ilya Bryzgalov: I told you that there would be more on Bryz later. This ugly version of Bryzgalov has nothing to do with his performance on the ice, but rather what happened to and with Bryzgalov off the ice. Since Bryz stepped foot in Philadelphia, he has been a lightning rod of criticism. …

2013 Year In Review: Braydon Coburn

By Hal G
Posted on 05/17/2013 at 11:00 am

Six foot-five inches, two hundred-twenty pounds, the ability to make the big hit, block a shot, lead a rush, and be the quarterback on a power play — Braydon Coburn possess all of those qualities and more. But what happened to Braydon Coburn during the 2013 season? To be quite blunt, Coburn’s struggles epitomized the Flyers 2013 season. Coburn came to Philadelphia in 2006, the last time the Flyers missed the playoffs prior to this year, via a trade with the Atlanta Thrashers for defenseman Alexei Zhitnik. He was the crown jewel of new general manager Paul Holmgren’s salary dump …

Flyers Year In Review: The Bad

By Hal G
Posted on 05/10/2013 at 1:00 pm

The Flyers season may have been a downer, but there were still positives to take out of it. Such positives were the strong play of Jakub Voracek, Luke Schenn, and the young kids on defense. Now, we take a look at the Bad. Braydon Coburn: Mistakenly, I chose Coburn as my dark-horse for the Norris trophy this year. Coburn has all the tools to be a top-tier defenseman. He has size, speed, offensive skills and awareness, as well as strong defensive prowess. Coburn plays all three phases of the game. Yet, this was not a good year for him. In …

2013 Year In Review: Claude Giroux

By Hal G
Posted on 05/10/2013 at 11:00 am

The story of Claude Giroux as a Philadelphia Flyer will forever be a success for one simple reason: it could have been Bobby Sanguinetti. As the infamous story goes, the Flyers desperately wanted the American defenseman. The New York Rangers, sitting one spot ahead of the Flyers, in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft chose Sanguinetti, leaving the Flyers to frantically chose Giroux with the 22nd pick. The draft announcement by then-General Manager Bob Clarke was even better, as he forgot Giroux’s name. Giroux is one of the homegrown stars in the NHL and, more specifically, the Flyers. He signed a …

Image courtesy of Amy Irvin (http://www.Facebook.com/38Photography)

The Flyers Season In Review: The Good

By Hal G
Posted on 05/03/2013 at 1:00 pm

The Flyers season is over. We fans went on a long ride through a short amount of time. 48 games in fewer than 100 days. Blood, sweat, tears, injuries and fatigue plagued this 2013 Flyers team from the start of the season. But, let’s not forget, the Flyers gave us plenty of memories from this year. Here is my three-part season in review looking back at the Good, the bad, and the Ugly. The Good: Jakub Voracek Steps Out: In similar fashion to Scott Hartnell the year before, Voracek started slowly, but finished the season strong. Voracek coming off a …

A Stick Tap to Boston and an Ode to Sports

By Hal G
Posted on 04/26/2013 at 1:00 pm

Sports are an amazing thing. Games, and the athletic culture which wraps around society as part of the 24-hour news cycle, are needed in a variety of ways. This was all too obvious over the past couple of weeks. Sports, and the refuge it provides from the nastiness of the outside world, were a big reason that we, as a country, were able to move forward after the horrendous bombings that took place at the Boston Marathon on April 15. My thoughts are not here to belittle what happened on that fateful Monday. Three people lost their lives in the …

Big thank you to the great Estebomb for the photoshop

Hey Flyers, Quit Playing Games With My Heart

By Hal G
Posted on 04/05/2013 at 1:00 pm

I’m not taking the bait. I don’t want to. It is not happening. I refuse! I love my Flyers, but I will not begin to now believe that this team is hitting their stride and will make the playoffs. No way, no how! I said it two weeks ago: a loss to the Penguins and Rangers and the season was done. Finished. Caput! What did the Flyers do? Lost in overtime to the Penguins and got dismantled by the Rangers, so not exactly out of it then. The Flyers followed that Rangers loss with a shootout loss to the Islanders!??! …

Things I want to think, but not sure I’m allowed to

By Hal G
Posted on 03/29/2013 at 1:00 pm

With the Flyers all but eliminated from the playoff race, I figured I’d turn my weekly column into something more fun this week (well, fun for me, but something you readers may hate). So, without further ado, here is…“Things I want to think, but not sure I’m allowed to (because I’m a Philadelphia sports fan)”: On the Pittsburgh Penguins On the Flyers Faithful podcast, intrepid rumormeister Eklund described Sidney Crosby as a “grinder,” and I cannot disagree with him. He is the best grinder of all time, and the way he plays, it makes it harder and harder for me …

Image courtesy of Amy Irving http://www.facebook.com/38Photography

“All-Star Break” Just What Flyers Need

By Hal G
Posted on 03/22/2013 at 1:00 pm

The Flyers are just plain bad. I said it weeks ago and still believe it today. There was always the possibility of this happening. No training camp, combined with the loss of veteran leaders like Jaromir Jagr and Matt Carle with no one to replace them, led the Flyers to this situation. There was always a feeling that the Flyers could struggle, but never this drastically. The Flyers, in the midst of a six-day layoff from their frenetic 48-game schedule, sit three games under the .500 mark with a 13-16-1 record. They are 4-6-0 in their last ten games and …

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