A few years ago, I saw then-Phillies pitcher, Jamie Moyer, stumbling across a Philadelphia street on the outskirts of Old City at some point around 2:00 a.m. He looked a little disheveled — as anyone might at that hour of the morning — as he walked south across Walnut Street with a beautiful woman attached to his arm. Here he was, the venerable, patronly mentor to ace-in-the-making, Cole Hamels, out in a questionable situation. The founder of the Moyer Foundation, a man whom we all respected, may have been out partying with a woman may not have been his wife …
Offseason questions
After shocking the hockey world with the blockbuster trades of Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, the Flyers created a number of questions that need to be answered before the regular season starts. Many of these questions will be answered during free agency and training camp. It’s too difficult to answer many, if not all, of these questions now. Nevertheless, it is important to identify them to make better sense of unexpected moves if and when they happen. Here, we will try to identify as many of the major questions as we can. Will Brayden Schenn and/or Sean Couturier make the …
Then and Now: Janne Niinimaa
What do Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, and Janne Niinimaa all have in common? They were all drafted in the 1993 NHL Entry draft. How many were drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers? Only Janne Niinimaa. Pronger went second, to the Hartford Whalers, while Timonen could be considered the hidden gem of the draft going 250nd to the Los Angeles Kings. Well, we know what Pronger and Timonen are doing with their careers now, but what about Niinimaa? Before the aforementioned question is answered, let us remember Niinimaa’s brief time spent in Philly. Spending three seasons with Jokerit in the SM-liiga after …
Was trading for Bryzgalov’s rights a worthwhile risk?
To answer this question, we must first ask another one: What benefits are there to trading for the rights of a pending unrestricted free agent? Ideally, negotiating rights will allow you work out a reasonable deal before a player hits free agency. If this is the intent of a general manager, then he had better be sure that the player is willing to take a discount to sign now in lieu of testing the market. Also, he should be sure that the player wants to play in that city. In the case of Ilya Bryzgalov, his actions suggest that he …
Flyers acquire rights to Bryzgalov
The Flyers confirmed that the Flyers have traded prospect Matt Clackson, a 2012 3rd round draft pick, and future considerations to Phoenix for the rights to goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. Bryzgalov is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. The Flyers have until then to try to sign him. In 2010, the Flyers acquired Dan Hamhuis from Nashville for a conditional draft pick but failed to sign him. His rights were then traded to Pittsburgh but, ultimately, he signed with the Vancouver Canucks. In 2007, the Flyers traded a first round draft pick for the rights to Kimmo …
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 …
The case against Mike Richards
I’ve made it a point to stick up for Mike Richards recently. While the general consensus seems to be that the captain of a professional sports team should be someone who is public relations savvy, I prefer to believe that a captain should be someone who is capable of leading his team on the ice. If he’s great in front of a microphone, well then that’s just icing on the cake. The way I see it, for every smooth orator like Julius Caesar, there is a Genghis Khan. Each has very different skill sets but both were great leaders. After …
An open letter to Paul Holmgren
Dear Paul, We’ve had our differences in the past. The lack of value you see in draft picks and prospects worries me. Your willingness to give picks away in trade, and hand out no trade clauses like candy was mystifying at one point, but now I have become numb to it. Additionally, the idea of putting all of your eggs in one basket, like you did this season, is far from an approach I prefer take. There’s still no guarantee that you’ll win the Stanley Cup, as we saw, and now we’re left in the same spot where we always seem to …
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 …
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 …