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Homer’s Do’s and Doh’s: Our favorite and least favorite deals under Paul Holmgren

Paul Holmgren became the interim General Manager of the Philadelphia Flyers on October 22, 2006. That interim title was removed only weeks later on November 11. Holmgren was able to take a team that finished last in the National Hockey League, and rebuild it to make a deep run all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals the very next season. Yes, some of Holmgren’s moves have been amazing, but he’s also a guy who has gotten this organization into some hot water with the salary cap and was forced to make deals that were head scratchers to say the …

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Flyers face decisions with crowded blue line

As I’m sure you are now aware, yesterday the Flyers signed Bruno Gervais to a two-year contract with a cap hit of $825k. That fact in itself isn’t too terrible. The guy is 27 years old, right handed (which must be Homer’s #1 requirement this offseason), and played over 14 minutes a night last season with Tampa Bay. In fact, he had two seasons with the Islanders where he averaged over 20 minutes a night. So the guy is probably a relatively adequate third pairing guy, that comes at a good price. However, that isn’t the problem. As Bill Meltzer …

couts draft

Will the rockets’ orange glare appear at the draft?

With the draft quickly approaching many Flyers fans are wondering when the first domino will fall; and what exactly will start the chain reaction. The draft is often considered either the last official act of the previous season or the first one of the new year, and the Flyers are no exception to treating it as an important time-frame. Since Paul Holmgren took over as general manager, the Flyers have made at least two moves each year at the draft, or during the week leading up to it. Date Sent Team Received 6/23/2011 Jeff Carter Columbus Blue Jackets Jakub Voracek, …

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CBA 101 Part 3: Slide Contracts

Per the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, every NHL team is permitted to have 50 players under contract in their entire organization; including players that are not with the parent club. This was the reason that the Flyers were required to include Jon Kalinski in the trade for Pavel Kubina. The Flyers already had 50 contracts, so they could not acquire Kubina without shedding a contract first. However, it is possible to have more than 50 players under contract if you have what are called “slide contracts,” as they do not count towards the 50-contract limit. In the event that an 18 …

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A Look Back at the Chris Pronger Trade

It was June 26, 2009. I was sitting in a Chinese buffet at the Plymouth Meeting Mall as my phone began to vibrate: CSN ALERT: Flyers trade F Joffrey Lupul, D Luca Sbisa, 2009 1st round pick, 2010 1st round pick, and a conditional 3rd round pick in 2010 or 2011 to Anaheim for D Chris Pronger and F Ryan Dingle. Immediately, I jumped up and exclaimed, “THE FLYERS GOT RYAN DINGLE!” Of course I began getting in touch with family members and hockey friends — not to discuss the bounty the Flyers gave up to trade for the All-star, …

Flight Plan Week of 11.27.2011

The Philadelphia Flyers won two of their four games this week. They were able to record comeback victories over the New York Islanders and the Montreal Canadiens, but they lost and were thoroughly outplayed by both the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers. It seems as if ever since Brayden Schenn broke his foot by blocking a shot, the rest of the team has been dropping like flies, missing a few games or weeks here or there. Chris Pronger has missed the last four games with a virus, Jaromir Jagr was out with a lower-body injury before returning too soon …

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 …

Flight Plan week of 12.26.2010

‘Tis the season for road trips as the Flyers head out west on their annual post-Christmas visit to the other conference and try to regain the top spot in the NHL after losing it to Pittsburgh as they remained idle during the Penguins’ last two games. The Penguins hold just a one point lead over the Flyers and the Fly guys have two games in hand as they’ve played 35 to Pittsburgh’s 37.  The Flyers obviously would love to forget what happened a week ago at home, but alas, they would do well not to as they got smoked in …

Flight Plan: Week of 10.17.2010

Flight Plan is a new column that will take a more in depth look at the Flyers’ upcoming opponents every week here at Flyers Faithful. The Philadelphia Flyers will face two teams this week going in opposite directions: the Anaheim Ducks and the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Both teams are gritty and fast, but are supposed to be rebuilding. The Ducks had a tough opening week whereas the Maple Leafs are the only team in the Eastern Conference that remains undefeated through their first few games of the season. The Flyers look to finish up their longest home stand of the …

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