rickmac19

I think Mr. Snider's comments about Hextall tell us what we need to know. It sounds like Hextall outworks anyone Snider has seen in his front office, fiendishly so. You can rest confidently that Hextall looked at this thing frontwards and backwards, upside down and sideways. I think he made a great decision. As Snider alluded to, Hextall could have chased a re-tread, but they had all been fired for some reason. Not the best logic, as I don't know why the Bruins cleaned out Julien and the Sharks may find out that McClellan should have stayed while others went. But all that to say, any of those had as much of a chance to work out or fail as Hakstol, really. And I don't think that anyone could argue that Hakstol certainly "fits" better than anyone available. Hextall shot the pink elephant in the room and said, "Yeah, he has no experience, but he'll get some." Ten games into the playoffs (if the Flyers wade that far in), nobody's a rookie anyway. Would we fans rather the team backed up the armored truck for Babcock? Mikey, who recently had a thing for throwing his own guys under the bus on his own team? The Flyers have problems--one starts with a "40" and he makes about 100,000 times that in salary. Overpaid and underproducing defensemen signed until your kid finishes college. No backup goaltender, and some enigmatic "core" players who seem like they have more potential than they show. Plus, players coming up who might help but log-jammed off the roster because of salary issues. What would Babcock make of all of this? Would he make it all work? Sacrifice the future for the now? Sacrifice the now for the future? I don't know, but I remain skeptical that if the Flyers even convinced him to come to Philadelphia, how he would have fared and who would receive blame for any failure. I think Hextall made an excellent choice. I think he will position the club for a shot at the Cup in a five-year window starting in a couple of years. By the way, he's not trying to undo everything Holmgren did--it just looks that way! Ha!

Right. Uncle Ed needs to walk him out tomorrow for that very reason. I don't want him pushing buttons anymore. He's trying to get out of the hole by digging...

Ya.

He's done. This dog won't hunt, and Homer trained the dog. I don't think he made any crazy moves in and of themselves, but the math totals to a negative sum, and a big one: Who is Luke Schenn and why did the Flyers trade JvR for him? Why did the Flyers give Timonen a $6 million deal? The Flyers traded Mike Richards for the blossoming Simmonds and Brayden Schenn--where's the flower there? The Flyers traded Jeff Carter for Jake Voracek and Sean Couturier--seeming like a huge mistake at this minute The Flyers allowed Matt Carle to "walk," for asking too much money--maybe not, considering I think even the most ardent fan would find himself hard-pressed to sketch out what Mark Streit brings to the table Now it looks like the Flyers might have waited too long to "pull the trigger" on any rumored offers that came in for Coburn The Flyers signed Ilya Bryzgalov to a giant contract, precluding any other option, only to have that turn into a massive disaster Their intuition did, however, lead them to the right move with Steve Mason (which only covered the blunder of not hanging on to see Bobrovsky develop). Others on this forum could add more logs to this inferno. I know that Holmgren wants to win as much as any individual on the planet, and that he has tried as hard as possible. I feel shocked at where the Flyers find themselves right now as I look at their lineup on paper and even in warm-ups. Either something went fundamentally and manically wrong in that dressing room, or the Flyers and Holmgren came out the loser in most every deal they made and traded away a decent team for a struggling one. They can give the reins to Mr. Hextall, but this thing doesn't need stitches, it needs open-heart surgery.

I saw him Tuesday and he looked average. I thought he would bust a move to say, "Keep me on the team," but no. He is as slow as growing grass. He's positionally sound, and of course has pool noodle arms, so he's tough to turn. I don't know why he got invited to camp in the first place, I think Holmgren thought the Predators capped him just because he wasn't worth the money, not because he was washed. I think he's pretty close to the latter. Holmgren's comments seem to indicate he's a good "room" guy, but with a corps that already has a Timonen and a Streit, how many "room" guys does a team need? It's not like they'll ice Lauridsen, Gustafsson and a Morin this year and need a vet. Puzzled thoroughly, so I put the over/under at "he makes the team," just because I never understood his invitation in the first place.

I think Gagne has the wrong build and plays the wrong game for that third-line left-wing spot. I think Cleary's game worked great for that. (That doesn't mean the Flyers needed to offer him a fully-funded retirement program.) I do see Laughton as a much better fit for that role, and expect him to embrace it and do well. As Simon said himself, he rocked and rolled on the top line last year, with skill players. Except the Flyers aren't accepting any applications for the top six right now. Did the Flyers lead him on? Well, I for one remained under the impression that Gagne would get that "Cleary offer--" hang out in camp until Pronger's LTIR kicks enough money into the kitty to pay him.. Were I Gagne, I would taste some sour grapes right now if I were him, too. But, that whining and $5 will get him a caramel macchiato, so... How much did Holmgren imply versus how much did Gagne read into what he said and infer--I don't know. Would I like a little better treatment for Simon, the man? Yes. The hockey player? Not sure all of the past and his current abilities warrant a roster spot for him on the Flyers today. Thankfully, no line formed to sign him after the Flyers passed, although Sauve would maintain that he fended off all other interested teams. Recchi 2005, deja vu all over again.

So Kovalchucklehead tweets that he still wants to win a Stanley Cup, helping Devils fans wipe that crocodile tear from their faces. Devils fans should dance in the streets that he bolted. The Devils dodged a bullet! I haven't seen any player yet who has lived up to a long-term deal, playing worth what he's paid in every year of the deal, so, You can't tell me that 17 red would not have had a bad wheel or bruised melon by the middle of that deal, and that the Evils would not still have to shell out wheelbarrows of that very scarce resource to him no matter what. They could potentially pay him $1 million per goal! So now, let's say he wants to return. The other 29 should vote, "Same deal." We'll reinstate him, but he has to run on the same contract. (We'll even spot him the years he played in the K, just to show how nice and understanding we are.) I think the NHL wants to strongly discourage a revolving door between it and the AHL far-eastern division. Start here.

I still say the building literally rocked--I felt it move under my feet! I do remember feeling anger at Spectrum playoff crowds for the "stuffed shirt" effect, even though the top tier--like you say--kept it rowdy. As the Flyers moved toward the Finals, crowds got more... serious? You could tell the people in the building had more in their checking accounts, let's say that. I still for the life of me cannot figure out the lame cheer on Ilkka Sinisalo's game one winner in overtime against the Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Finals of 1987. Sinisalo took like a third poke at a puck that goalie Brian Hayward (Roy too scared) tried to cover up, and indeed covered from the referee's view. I felt certain that the referees would wave it off, but they let it stand and the Flyers won a game that the Canadiens owned (see the drubbing of two nights later). The fans kind of walked out with a theater clap. I went nuts! I couldn't believe that a.) the Flyers didn't get screwed by the refs and have the goal waved off, and b.) that they had won a game that the Canadiens had physically owned. That kind of indifference annoyed me--especially that fans left quietly.

I hate to say it, but I lived in St. Louis in the late '90s. Couldn't remember who got with who's wife (and I do not want to slander anyone), but I had people who knew the players personally refer to it as accepted fact, and the reason one player got traded out of town. I'm thinking it was a couple of Hall-Of-Famers, actually; I can't remember, but no one questioned that it happened.

Yes, but at least he stepped outside for some "fresh air." Maybe it's the best of both worlds--a Flyers hall of famer who watched a top-notch general manager in another organization go about his business. Clarke had a good bit of success with the North Stars and Panthers before returning (from exile). It didn't help Clarke that as the Flyers steamrolled the league in 1999, Lindros punctured his lung with his stick, and that Recchi overworked himself, Desjardins got the freakiest of thumb injuries, and Zhamnov disappeared as LeClair went looking for him in 2004--both of those teams had the "table set" by Clarke to win Cups. I know, I know, what's Matt Ellison doing now?

I sure don't mind the Flyers taking Dean Lombardi's best guy away from him. Of course it seemed eventual, but Lombardi left the Flyers after the Flyers gave him a place to park after those above Lombardi at the Sharks ordered a "fire sale" and then blamed Lombardi for the "fire drill" of a mess the Sharks became. No problem; surely Lombardi helped the Flyers, but repaid their kindness by TAKING HEXTALL with him to the Kings. THANKS A LOT, dude! I give him credit for winning a Stanley Cup (and Hextall, too), but he picked a fine way to thank the Flyers for the port in the storm they gave Lombardi by yanking Hextall out the door with him.

I feel tempted to say "no," but when I remember the class of Bernie Federko, Rod Langway, and Clark Gillies, I say, "SURE! Why not!?!?!?"

Anyone else surprised that no other NHL team has signed Bryzgalov, for any amount of money?

Over how many years? Do years on the bandwagon get factored in?

I don't know what kind of hearing Ritch Winter thought he would get for his client Bryzgalov by doing this, but complaining that the team in front of you tries to block too many shots probably won't get the crease-roaming cosmonaut invited to too many camps. Bryzgalov's statistics tell everyone that of every 10 shots the Flyers blocked, they certainly stopped one goal. That seems like as good of an investment of effort on the rink as any. We just watched a Stanley Cup Final where players from both teams jammed the lanes and blocked shot after shot. I watched Crawford and Rask bend low to see through legs and sticks. Somehow they did this quite well. Did Winter mean to telegraph to the NHL that his client doesn't do very well if the defense in front of him tries to block shots? Isn't that like saying, "My pitcher's ERA goes up when his team scores a lot of runs for him?" I think we can all fairly say that Bryzgalov is a good goaltender. When he's "in the zone," he can play very well. I think the fact that he rarely "stood on his head," or "stole games" factored most heavily into the Flyers thinking to consume his contract. I don't think they asked themselves whether Bryzgalov were a good goalie, but rather, "Is he worth the money we're investing in him at his position?" I'm glad to defend Bryzgalov as a goaltender, and the Flyers' move to sign him, but I took issue most with how many shots he SAW (point-blank) that didn't end up in the webbing of his trapper, but rather in the netting between the goalposts. Winter did not mention in his comments, however, Bryzgalov's colossal and legendary struggle in shootouts (the time at which a standings point certainly sits on the table for the taking). I do not think Winter acted wisely in throwing Laviolette and Reese under the bus. In the same breath, he criticized Laviolette's system for clogging the lanes, but for not backchecking? Help me understand here, please. Truthfully, Bryzgalov is who he is. In a nod to Bill Parcells, "You are who your record says you are." Bryzgalov's record says he's a .905 goalie, basically, maybe .910 on a sunny day with slushy ice. If he wants confetti thrown on his head, he'll need to raise that to the .920-.930 region. Until then, Winter should lay low and Bryzgalov should work on his history degree before teaching classes.