Hey Paul, I hope you’re doing well. Did you get my last letter? I understand if you haven’t had time to read it. After all, you’ve been a busy man. I’m writing you again today to express another concern of mine. In recent years, you’ve made Scottie Upshall cry, shocked R.J. Umberger, broke Simon Gagne’s heart, saw Nikolay Zherdev escape giddily after being waived, and sent Jeff Carter into seclusion. Including Joffrey Lupul, you’ve signed three players to significant deals and traded them before the no-trade clause kicked in. You also shipped out at least that many players who were …
Let the dust settle
Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it. The Flyers finally have their bona-fide starter. They have some size and grit. They have wingers. They have cap space, and draft picks, and prospects. As Dick Enberg is fond of saying…Oh my! They got all of the assets that we perceived to be lacking in the franchise and for the low, low price of the captain and one of the alternates. The cost is nothing more than a top-tier, team-leading scorer and a heart-and-soul, leave-it-all-on-the-ice leader. Really, it’s a mere pittance. First-line centers. Cornerstones. Franchise players. That’s it. Anyone …
Bring Back Gagne? A look at the pros and cons.
We have 25 days until free agency and I’m sure each and every one of those days will be rumor laden until July 1 arrives. Paul Holmgren was fairly active last season, adding Andrej Meszaros, Sean O’Donnell, Jody Shelley and Nikolay Zherdev, while retaining Darroll Powe and Daniel Carcillo. However all of that activity caused casualties of the cap. Arron Asham signed with Pittsburgh as a free agent and Simon Gagne, the longest- tenured Flyer at the time, waived his no-trade clause in a much maligned deal with Tampa Bay, while we took on Matt Walker — or more precisely, his two hip surgeries. …
Is Paul Holmgren still the right man for the job?
Paul Holmgren is a bold man, sure of what he wants and unflinching in his actions. He is willing to pay extra to beat the surge of activity to get his man. As a result, he’s built a team capable — in theory and in his own mind — of competing for the Stanley Cup. However, these actions are adding up and taking an increasing toll on a team that put its eggs in one basket for the 2011 season. That ultimately-failed course has been run, and the team did not win the Cup, yet again, and it is now …
RICE & MICE: The sports hernia
Danny Briere has had a couple, Mike Richards has had at least one, Dan Carcillo had one last offseason and now, Kris Versteeg is the latest Flyer to undergo surgery to repair a sports hernia. A sports hernia is different from a traditional inguinal hernia that occurs when there is a significant area of the abdominal wall in the area of the inguinal canal that allows a pouch of herniated tissue to bulge through and cause pain. The inguinal canal is created by several abdominal muscles and ligaments and through the canal passes the spermatic cord and the ilioinguinal nerve …
2010-2011 Flyers Season: Closed
The Lulz feature was originally inspired by the lolcats site but features hockey pictures with funny, quirky, ironic or just plain mean captions. This feature should run weekly on Mondays, just to try to make your Monday a little brighter.
What’s wrong with the Flyers?
It’s too easy to blame Brian Boucher for this loss. After all, he gave up four goals on 20 shots and was pulled from the game. Regrettably, he has not performed above his abilities during the playoffs this season. He’s let in some soft goals and been pulled more times than a sixteen-year old’s wang. His .800 SV% tonight was also woeful at best, but let’s not hang him out to dry just yet. Bill Meltzer likes to state that bad things happen when you don’t move your feet. The Flyers skaters are providing him with plenty of evidence to …
Thomas Saves 52 In Bruins 3-2 OT Win
A goal 31 seconds into the game and 54 shots on net weren’t enough for the Flyers to win tonight as the Bruins grabbed a 2-0 series lead heading into Boston. Tim Thomas had 52 saves on the night including 32 in the third period and overtime. David Krejci scored his third goal of the series 14 minutes into overtime while James van Riemsdyk had a two-goal night as the Flyers look to win both games in Boston to even the series at two. A strong start was something the Flyers lacked last game. This game the Flyers dictated play …
Bruins Pound Flyers 7-3 In Game 1
The Bruins aren’t the Sabres and the Flyers learned that the hard way Saturday afternoon, dropping the opening game of the Eastern Conference Semifinals 7-3. Tim Thomas had 31 saves on 34 shots while both David Krejci and Brad Marchand had two-goal games to help the Bruins win. Patrice Bergeron had three assists as Boston grabbed the 1-0 lead in the series. It was the first time since 1988 that Boston scored at least seven times in a playoff game, and it was the first time in five years that Philadelphia allowed that many. In front of their home crowd, …
Leino Nets Winner In Overtime, Forces Game 7
The game wasn’t pretty, but it’s what the Flyers needed; a win. Lacking consistency in net, the Flyers fought back from a 3-1 deficit after the first period and found a way to force the game to overtime with a Scott Hartnell third period goal setting up the deciding marker by Ville Leino in overtime to win 5-4. Danny Briere had two goals and Mike Richards had two assists while Brian Boucher got the win making 24 saves on 25 shots after relieving Michael Leighton to start the second period. Sunday’s game started off eerily similar to Friday’s Game 5. Two …