Usually when the big news du jour is splayed out over media both old and new, the rush to judgment and the rush to publish creates headlines like “Why X is X” or the opposite “Why X is Y,” as if the authors subtly question your intelligence and need to suck you in with the promise of an argument or debate, or a simple explanation of the issue at hand. But when it comes to the status of Claude Giroux, his concussion and his potential return as soon as tonight in Dallas, I owe it to the readers of this site not to …
Flight Plan 12.18.2011
The Philadelphia Flyers had won seven straight and were rolling along despite missing their best forward, their best defenseman, and a few others. Saturday afternoon, that all came to a head. The Flyers were blanked, blown out by the Boston Bruins in the Flyers’ final home game of 2011, by a score of 6-0. If that wasn’t sobering enough, Philadelphia has almost certainly lost another center to a concussion as 19-year old rookie Sean Couturier took a shot in the back of the head from Kimmo Timonen. If, or more likely when, Couturier is diagnosed with a concussion that will …
Point/Counterpoint: Barry Hanrahan, not Paul Holmgren, deserves blame for cap mismanagement, bad contracts
Point/Counterpoint is a new series which argues both sides of a topic relevant to the Philadelphia Flyers. Today, Nina G and I discuss who deserves the blame for cap mismanagement and the bad contracts that have been handed out to players. Point By Marcello De Feo In theory, when something goes wrong within an organization, the blame should ultimately fall to the person at the top, the one in charge of making all final decisions. In this case, that would be Paul Holmgren. He is the general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers and the one who signs his name on …
The case for Ryan Suter
Allow me to preface this column by stating that I believe the Flyers have no urgent need to add a defensemen. Kimmo Timonen, Matt Carle, Andrej Meszaros, and Braydon Coburn are more than capable of shouldering the load with the likes of Marc-Andre Bourdon, Kevin Marshall, and Erik Gustafsson eating up some minutes as well. However, if the Flyers do, indeed decide to pursue a defender at some — the trade deadline seems to be the most realistic option — then Ryan Suter could be the primary target for the Flyers. The 26-year-old defender for the Nashville Predators comes from …
Pronger out for the year
The inevitable has occurred. Flyers GM Paul Holmgren revealed on Thursday night that defenseman and captain Chris Pronger will be shut down for the rest of the year and the playoffs. “After consultation with respected concussion specialists Dr. Joseph Maroon and Dr. Micky Collins, it is the opinion of both doctors that Chris is suffering from severe post concussion syndrome. It is the recommendation of Doctors Maroon and Collins that Chris not return to play for the Philadelphia Flyers for the remainder of the 2011-12 season or playoffs. Chris will continue to receive treatment and therapy with the hope that …