Las Vegas, NV – Philadelphia Flyers forward Ian Laperriere was honored with the 2011 Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. The 37-year-old native of Quebec sustained a concussion and fractured orbital bone during the first round of the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs when he blocked a shot with his face. He was expected to miss the remainder of the postseason, but returned and helped the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals. However, concussion-related symptoms returned and he remained on the club’s long-term injury list this season, but he’s continued to serve the Flyers in several capacities, …
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: Avascular Necrosis and Ray Emery’s comeback
Ray Emery’s hockey career was hanging in the balance when diagnosed with avascular necrosis of the hip last March. An MRI done to evaluate some nagging groin and hip pain revealed the condition. His season was definitely over, and had this occurred 10-15 years ago, his career could very well have been over. He made the decision to have surgery that promised everyday function of his hip, “The success is kind of considered being mobile, not playing professional sports,” he said at the time. Avascular necrosis (AVN), also called osteonecrosis, can affect any bone in the body and can be a …
Looking ahead: A few thoughts on the offseason
Numbers Current Projected Cap Space for 2012: $1,980,845 [source] Projected Cap Increase for 2012: $3,000,000 [source] Total Projected Cap Space for 2012: $4,980,845 Notable Pending UFA forwards: VIlle Leino, Nikolay Zherdev Notable Pending RFA forwards: Andreas Nodl, Darroll Powe, Dan Carcillo Notable Pending UFA defensemen: Sean O’Donnell, Nick Boynton Notable Pending RFA defensemen: Danny Syvret Notable Pending UFA goaltenders: Brian Boucher Thoughts Defense It’s likely the Flyers won’t need anything more than a third pairing defensemen. They have a number of options available to them: Re-sign O’Donnell or Boynton, play Matt Walker, promote Erik Gustafsson, or re-up Danny Syvret and …
An in-depth look at Andreas Nodl, the trade deadline, and more with Geoff Detweiler
Broad Street Hockey has been very gracious to Flyers Faithful, linking to many of our stories since we joined the hockey blogging ranks this season. We greatly respect their opinions, as they are one of the top Flyer-centric hockey sites around. So, when we realized Andreas Nodl was a heated topic for Geoff Detweiler, it piqued our interest. We asked Geoff if he would care to share his thoughts on Nodl, the trade deadline, and more. He agreed to do so and provided some really great insights and perspective into these topics. Please read on as Geoff took the time …
What goaltending decision will the Flyers make?
The names of various goaltenders have popped up in conjunction with the Flyers recently. With the trade deadline a few weeks away, will Philadelphia make a move?
RICE & MICE: The pain of high ankle sprains
RICE & MICE will periodically review injuries that are common, uncommon or just plain unique in hockey. I hope to provide some insight to the “how’s, why’s, and when’s” of the injuries that might keep players out of the lineup. Let’s talk ankle sprains. Sprains commonly refer to stretching or tearing of ligaments. In a general sense, ligaments connect bone to bone and offer stability to joints. They allow a certain amount of flexibility to account for uneven surfaces when we walk and to keep the joints aligned and moving correctly and even act as shock absorbers to some extent. A …
Are the Flyers a better team?
This question was recently asked on the Flyers Forum and, admittedly, it caught me off guard. For all of the knee-jerk reactions we are accustomed to giving as fans of Philadelphia sports teams, I had a hard time saying no to this question. I wanted to lash out about how management backed themselves into a corner with the cap and it forced them to trade the beloved Simon Gagne for garbage, or about the illogical acquisition of overpaid defender, Andrej Meszaros, while plenty of good free agent defenders were available. I had a million reasons to complain about how I …