canoli

@aziz - an urban legend? You must be joking. The TOs in R1 - particularly in G5 and G7 - crushed any chance at momentum or puck-possession advantage. Equally important, all that chasing tired out the skaters long before they should've been, over the game and over the series. The numbers over the season - 9th fewest I think you said - don't bother me or impress me; watching the games and seeing when and where the TOs happen, that's what concerns me. In G5 we had 9 in the 1st period. Nine, and most of them were terrible, handing the Rags are prime scoring chance. OTOH I'm sure the Flyers had reg season games where they committed 5 or 6 the whole game. When/where matters - the number of them over a season not so much. Of course TOs are not the problem per se, they're a symptom of a D that's lacking a steadying "voice" - an obvious #1 D-man - a guy who sets the tone for the defensive attitude. I'm not saying sell the farm to get Weber or anyone else. But we need someone who has the attitude and experience to corral those 6 players into something greater than the sum of 2+2+2.

haha! Nice! I really "heard it" last summer when his name came up...."he's soft" "he doesn't like to hit" etc. He's no world-beater and I wouldn't go after him now because he'd only be another 3-4 guy I guess. But the Flyers can't go into next season with Coburn/Streit or Coburn/Mac as top pair. Can they? Coburn can't be "the man." And the Isles proved that Mac is no 24-min #1 either. So unless we think the younger guys are ready to lead an NHL defense I don't know how the Flyers put together 3 pairs of D-men that is even a little bit feared / respected on the ice.

Well I definitely appreciate your point - getting better Team-Wide at managing the puck is mandatory. The Flyers go nowhere next spring if they keep turning pucks over at the rate they did this season. I just think a workhorse type of D-man, somebody like Bieksa maybe ? not saying him but a big-minute, dependable guy who can move the puck - I always liked Jack Johnson though I know I'm in the minority. Anyway I just think an improved D will help the Flyers more than say Vanek or whoever you get up front to go with Giroux/Jake. [edit: Vanek would do wonders for that top line no question. But I think the D is so shaky and under-confident, esp now with Kimmo looking at limited minutes...that the mistakes they make (that everybody makes) multiply during a game because they never recover; they've got no "VOICE" back there to right the ship after a bad sequence.]

forget forwards this summer concentrate the energy (and $$/cap space) on Defensive help! [edit: yes I know the UFA picture for D-men this summer isn't great. In fact it sucks. But let's see what Hextall can do; everyone should be considered "tradeable" except a small handful: Giroux, Mason, Couturier, Simmonds are my keepers, YMMV.]

I see the sense in making it a "real" upgrade at LW but I also think offense should be a secondary concern to the defense. Jake and Giroux are not done improving, neither is Simmonds and BSchenn. Most of the other guys - Hall, Rinaldo, Hartnell etc. - we know what we have, what we'll get. Or else they're the younger guys who we can't really count on to deliver even 50 pts. VLC is a question mark but the 4 I named could be a catalyst to a much more potent 5 on 5 attack. IF they improve the right way it will help the whole team. But I think the D is key. Get some defensive help and the offense automatically gets better. Unfortunately this summer's crop of UFA/RFA D-men - barring a few exceptions isn't very exciting. So it'll likely mean trading someone of value to get someone of value. One of the exceptions is PK Subban. He's changed for the better in a big way. He's not a defensive d-man but he would do wonders for the Flyers' game. I've gone from hating the guy to loving him. I think a lot of Flyers' fans might do the same if they see him more often.

who's to say for sure? His size / speed / skating ability and his intelligence look ready for NHL minutes. To skate alongside Giroux and Voracek? I don't know for sure but I think I like him better than blowning Big Money on Matt Moulson, thereby limiting Hextall's cap space to find some help on D. Look I'm not saying let's *hand* Akeson the top line; just don't discount the possibility out of hand, the way you seem to. The guy is 23; he's far from done developing his hockey IQ. What's with McGinn? Is he ever going to get another look? He's a LWer. Did he "wow" everyone with the Flyers? Not really, though that first stint was pretty impressive - 3 goals in 3 games, all from driving the net, doing exactly what we want Giroux and Jake to do more of. I would pass by the >$3mil forwards and put that money into finding defensive help. The D can't stay as is; maybe Lauridsen can grab a roster spot I don't know; I like him. But Mac, Streit, Coburn, LSchenn, Grossmann and maybe Kimmo - there's just not enough speed and puck-handling intelligence - not enough talent - to put together 2 sets of big-minute, all-situation pairs. [edit: and then we still need a 3rd pair plus a 7th plus depth - a 3rd pair that isnt' another Parent/Krajicek embarrassment. We've already got plenty of candidates for 3rd-pair guys; it's the 24-minute guy(s) we truly need if we're going to become a better team imho. The offense is in good shape all in all. I just rather spend the time, money and effort on the D, making them into something that's feared. Can it happen in one summer? Probably not. But let's not shoot ourselves in the foot (again) by blowing our cap space on forwards.]

the Flyers' season has been over for awhile - good to see the Sarcasm Factor is still going strong. I love Jokinen at his current (this past season) salary. Heading up to and probably over $3mil ... maybe we should see how we can shuffle the guys we already have. Yes it means so-and-so plays out of position - again. So what? BSchenn maybe ought to get used to the idea that he's a winger. And VLC...give him 2 months centering that 2nd line. WTF? He's not going anywhere. Akeson, Laughton, a couple AHL D-men...they're all waiting for a chance. Maybe it's time we give them a long, serious look.

It was a great R2 performance by MAF - barely outplayed by Lundqvist, if you can even call it that. Losing 3 in a row isn't on Fleury and winning 3 in a row isn't all about Lundqvist either. Both goalies were excellent... I would've liked to see Fleury's intensity in some of your Pens' skaters, esp in G6 and 7. Soft D (forwards) and losing too many battles. Meanwhile Fleury was scrambling, covering loose pucks and best of all - hardly any rebounds, and zero dangerous ones. Crazy to think - he was certainly a question mark coming into the POs for obvious reasons. And now after 2 rounds the hockey world can say without a doubt he held up his end, did all he could to help the Pens advance. If only he coulda scored a goal or 2...

they mentioned it last night - all the announcers - getting Suter up with Crosby was a smart move. I thought that line came to life right away. I don't remember how often that happened in the series...

Wow! You guys - who I respect - are actually discussing moving Malkin. or even Sidney Crosby!! Holy cow. Man I think that is nuts. Rux is absolutely right, get a "real" coach in there and build a dynasty. Seriously Pens' fans what exactly are you lacking? You want another tough guy to protect Sid? All the goons in the world won't help if they don't see the ice. Malkin is a game-breaker who goes through tough times early in a series. Crosby is a world-class, once-in-a-generation player. He is so far above Ovechkin as a hockey player - a complete player - it's not even close. Would Weber look great in Pitt gold? Of course. He'd look even better in O&B. But the Pens didn't lose because the talent level was too low - on either side of the ice. In the 5 games I saw from beginning to end they were outcompeted - period. They didn't even appoach the level of intensity the Rangers were playing with. Fleury was fine, can't blame it on goaltending. Nosa is right, that constant backing-in, giving up the blue line without a contest - WTF kinda PO hockey is THAT??

first order of business has to be the D - Kimmo is a question mark but if he comes back it can't be him and Coburn again as top pair playing the big minutes. And we can't make the same mistake the Isles did with Andy Mac - he's a 3/4 guy not a big-minutes guy. Luke is getting better but obviously he's not ready to skate 22 mins. I don't know who/how they make 3 solid pairs out of what they have...I guess they'll be making a trade. what happens to VLC is less of a concern to me because I kind of accept that he's here to stay. They'll have to deal with him somehow, whether it's 4th-line minutes and PP time or maybe they try him again - fresh start - as a scoring center. Maybe Laughton is ready maybe he's not I don't know, but VLC probably gets another look to start the year. I'm ready to see what Couturier can do offensively - I wonder if he's getting sick of being strictly a shutdown forward. Akeson will get a spot I guess. Hartnell will move down a line (or 2). So they just need someone on that top line LW spot. There isn't a lot to do - but what needs doing isn't going to be easy.

he did, no question the effort was there. I don't know whether he's still hurt or what but he sure never "found a way" as the saying goes. A lot of credit has to go to the Rags' Team D - us Flyers' fans experienced it for 7 games too and our best guy never "found a way" either. Still I was surprised that Crosby wasn't at least *some* kind of offensive factor - and let's face it he really wasn't. Like you said he skated hard, created some chances but the finish - the production - just didn't happen. Jones and JR were talking a bit about how frustrated he was and how he's letting that frustration hurt his game. I'm sure you heard it. They said it goes all the way back to the Boston series last spring. I don't know about that; as great as he is - and he's one of the best to ever play in the NHL - at some point you have to give the opposition credit for shutting him down. I'm no fan of 87 but I hardly blame him for losing 3 straight to the Rangers, who are playing like they're on a mission.

How do you envision this happening? As you know he's got a NMC....it would really be something if Hextall could make that happen this summer.

ha, lol, I know what you mean - when I first read your thoughts on the change I said to myself "me and Rux agree? Hmm, well I think that means I'm looking at this the right way." Seriously. Whenever your viewpoint is different than mine I still see how it could be the right way to look at the situation. I see Hextall as a Flyer through and through. He separated, got some distance the past 8 years and I'm sure he gained valuable experience in LA. Still it's only right to take a "wait and see" attitude toward his managment. since then I've read a little more about Hexy's style and what he wants to do, with the analytical data and all. It sounds good, and it appears that's something Homer didn't value very much - the "higher analysis" numbers (or whatever they call it). And we all read how unhappy he was when he learned we only had 3 or 4 draftees skating in a Phantoms' game this season...It sounds like he won't be nearly as quick to plug a hole with some "name" FA, and particulary not with a guy in his mid-30s. If that's true it's a big, smart step in the right direction!

You said "this was his first full season" a couple times now... but it wasn't at all. You seem to be implying he should be rated like a rookie but the last 2 years he skated every game on the Flyers' schedule but one. And then he's got the 54 games from his 1st year with the Flyers, plus ~10 with the Kings. All in all he's just about to hit 200 NHL games. hey Fan I I agree with you he deserves some slack for being young and maybe for a few other reasons... but pretending he's a rookie just isn't one of them.

wow...check out all the love for Zac Rinaldo all of a sudden! dig that. and here I thought I was the only one. Now if we could just straighten out some of you guys on Mr. Coburn.

sure looked that way watching the press conference. Some writer on philly.com makes the point better than me but basically it looked like the definition of a "Good Ol' Boys" club - those 3 together. hey it's great they like each other, nice to see Homer with something other than a scowl-in-the-making on his face. But you couldn't design a more obvious 3-of-a-kind.

@Polaris922 yeahyeah I know...I just felt a standard rebuttal was in order there...

No. They won't.

13th forward? eh...I guess. But I like when he's in the lineup, he brings energy and intensity that the Flyers need in their game. Without it they're barely an average team. Rinaldo isn't the only guy who brings that but he's one of our only heavy hitters, a guy who can change a game with 1 hit. Sometimes he changes it for the worse - ! - but not very often. The Flyers' talent level isn't high enough to win games on its own: they're not *really* a puck possession team and they won't be anytime soon. When the Flyers bang n crash the opposition enough those hits help open up the ice for the scorers. Zac Rinaldo, even at 8 minutes/night is key to setting that tone for the Flyers.

that it most certainly does!

exactly what I said earlier, which you rejected, that a "baseline is fluid, loose." well whatever - Mason is almost certainly okay if he can play the way he did on back-to-back nights. We don't have to worry about that cheap shot / embellishment in G81 anymore. But going forward? Yeah it sounds like the Flyers still need to get up to speed on how they handle their assets.

Extracting profit is sacrosanct in our culture and professional sports are no exception. In fact the "culture within a culture" of professional sports facilitates, even condones the pressure to profit at the expense of a player's health. Athletes are conditioned to "tough it out," to "get back out there, help the team." Protecting team assets is secondary to selling tickets. Nobody is to blame, it's just the way it is. That's why a doctor in good conscience can hand Mason his skates a day after treating him for a post-concussion headache, and why Mason laces em up without realizing he may be jeapordizing his career or worse. I get what you're saying. The Flyers should be the last team to treat a player's health lightly, with anything less than rigourous adherence to the protocol. But there's 2 problems with blaming them: for one, the protocol itself only addresses the immediate time-frame after the hit, and then there's the profit motive compounded with the unwritten rules that expect players to minimize their symptoms and "get back out there."

I didn't see an NHL baseline test described anywhere. Did I miss it? I read plenty of recommendations, lots of good ideas about erring on the side of caution. But nowhere did I see anything specific akin to "player must be symptom-free for ___ hours before returning to play." That's because there is no specific length of time for NHL players. The best the NHL can do is what they've already done, establish a protocol for guys who take a head shot. The bad news is the more we learn about concussions the closer we get to contact-free hockey. Or at least Greatly-Reduced-Contact hockey. [edit: only too true I'm afraid. Whoever thought Pronger would still be experiencing dizziness, headaches, etc. - and we're what, 3 years out from those hits? That's why I say the more we learn the faster we get to a time where it's hard to justify exposing athletes to such tremendous forces on the ice. The legal teams are already chomping at the bit to sue pro sports teams. The players are willing combatants but - as always - it comes down to money. on a related note, speeding up the game while publicly decrying head injuries sounds more and more disingenous.]

When a team trades for a guy like Hartnell it's because they need grit, a guy who creates havoc in front of the net. Point production is a distant secondary concern, and it's not even on the radar projected 4 years out. I believe there's plenty of teams Hartnell would help. He can't skate with the fast, more creative guys on any team. We proved that in Philly. But he's a good PP guy and on the right line he makes sense at $4.75. He may very well become Brayden Schenn's best friend next year - and Simmonds' too. But the "trade Hartnell" discussion is probably moot. I agree with you - maybe for different reasons - but you're right the Flyers won't even try to move him.