Lucky13

2 for tripping?! How that's not 5 and a call from Shanny is beyond comprehension. Just disgraceful.

I remember the Flyers drafting Woywitka and there being some buzz about him at the time, but I don't recall him playing much, at least not for the big club...? Checking his stats, it looks like he didn't see real NHL time until he was with the Blues.

I agree that Gus has looked a bit jittery at times out there. But he's also looked quite good at times, and has definitely progressed from last season. Basically, about what I'd expect from a young, undersized, puck-moving D working to break into the league. I think this might be the hardest position/role to grow into at the NHL level. Small forwards can make plenty of mistakes early on as long as they're putting up points, but small defensemen have to be exceptionally good positionally since that's the foundation of their game...And that's tough to do right out of the gate. As for Gus, the kid can flat out skate, and definitely has good puck skills. I'm optimistic that he can develop into a nice replacement for Matt Carle if the Flyers can manage to coach and develop him properly [cough]. Here's hoping... Can anyone remember the last D the Flyers drafted who became a regular starter for the big club...? There were a few (Sbisa, Bourdon, Marshall, Bartulis, etc) who played partial seasons or were frequent callups, but I think the last guys they pulled this off with were Seidenberg and Pitkanen?! Wow.

I don't have any problem with Coburn really. Sometimes it's frustrating because he shows flashes of greatness, so it feels like there's a lot of unrealized potential there. And maybe there is. But he's a very reliable & durable, if unspectacular, #2 - #3 defenseman with a decent cap hit...and if that turns out to be his ceiling, I can live with that. Of course like the rest of us I'd love to see his hockey IQ visibly go up a few points, and his shots hit the net a bit more often, and his size used to be more dominant in our end of the ice. But that's the difference between a #1 D and a #2 or #3.

I liked Sestito. Not saying he's a game-changer or anything, but the guy skated pretty well and could play reliable 4th line minutes while providing a heavyweight physical presence when needed, and did so for peanut$. The flyers don't have anyone else fitting that description on the roster... I know the team has a ton of depth at forward so maybe the front office just felt he'd have too much trouble cracking into the lineup. I would have liked to see Sestito develop in the O&B, or at least be packaged up in a trade that brought something back, but oh well. Good luck to him in Vancouver!

He's really made a lot of progress in his game, not least learning to keep his emotions in check and pick his spots. He's actually been drawing penalties this year by getting under the other team's skin, getting them to do something stupid, and not retaliating. I've also noticed him busting his *ss backchecking and making some smart defensive plays & coverages. And of course he's got great speed. Gotta love the guy for his effort & heart. I'm looking forward to watching him continue to develop, he's got me wondering how a good a player he can really become.

That's just laughable. What an idiot. I love Briere's quote though: ""I might have played once against him in Winnipeg. Maybe we have our history in PlayStation. That's probably where he remembers me from."

I could see the Sens making a move at the deadline, but they only have a temporary hole to fill, vs. the Flyers who need to acquire a long-term solution. So they might not necessarily be competing for the same players.

I was really hoping the Flyers & Kimmo would do something like this at the trade deadline, then re-sign him to a 1- or even 2-year deal in the off-season. It's one of the only ways the team could get better on D without trading a top young forward. As long as he's healthy #44 would be a highly valuable rental for a contending team. Maybe they explored it and Kimmo said no? I hope they at least discussed the possibility... The only other move I can see to significantly improve the D without sacrificing Schenn or Couturier would be to trade Briere. Which would not make me happy either :/

Didn't realize Engelland was a legit player, I thought he was just a goon, but you've seen a lot more of him. Asham is/was just about the toughest middleweight around...He's a good comparison for Rinaldo and that would be one h*ll of a fight.

This was how I saw it at the time. Nice to know Rinaldo checked in with the ref. I felt a little bad about the last punch as well, but it wasn't quite over the line -- Crombeen was not down on the ice yet, and I think it's too much to ask the guy throwing to realize that quickly that his opponent is dazed. After all, Crombeen did get up after the fight and start skating away, it was only after a few strides that he really started to look wobbly. Lecavalier's last punch on Talbot, however, was dirty and is a perfect example of going one too far, which Rinaldo didn't do. Vinny should get a refresher on the code from someone his own size - like Sestito - in the next Flyers / Bolts game, IMO.

He's a middleweight for sure, but a damn good one. He's already mostly fighting guys who are bigger than him. I wouldn't want to see him go up against any of the guys you mentioned, but then Rinaldo can actually skate and play the game and take a regular shift -- those other guys are obsolescent goons.

I think this scenario might be our best/only chance to get better on D without giving up (at least) one of our best young forwards. Obviously this would net us a young prospect that would still need some time to develop, but it seems like a win/win -- Assuming Kimmo re-signs here in the off-season. Kimmo's value at the deadline will be very high. Imagine being a contender and being able to bump your #6 defenseman out of your playoff lineup and replace him with Timonen. That's a serious difference-maker. Homer probably needs to start this conversation with #44's agent fairly soon...

100% agreed. I don't think Subban's attitude would be good for this team, which is pretty Prima Donna-free right now, and I'm liking it that way.

So far everyone's talking about Couturier or maybe Schenn as trade bait for Subban (or whomever) ... How do folks feel about possibly trading Read or Voracek? Personally I'd hate to part with any of these guys of course, but given the weak FA market this summer, a trade might be the only way to get significantly better on D.

Ya, I think you're right. There were the reports of Wellwood slacking a bit in Adirondack during the lockout. But as long as he keeps his effort up, I like what he brings to the lineup for sure. Maybe the Flyers can platoon Rinaldo & Sestito (assuming the rest of the regulars are healthy) to get Sestito some more playing time.

He looked good out there last night, the guy can play. That interference call against him was total BS, the guy he hit had just played the puck with his glove. I think it might be a case of Lavi putting him OR Rinaldo in the lineup, but probably not both. Unless maybe you dress Rinaldo instead of Wellwood? Anyway, I'd like to see Sestito get more games.

^ What Dynamo47 said...Our biggest problem is on D. Without Pronger, there's just not enough talent there. Coaching and scheme and the other things people have mentioned, these of course can always be debated and tweaked and improved, and Bryz might not be "the answer" in net for 7 more years, but ultimately the Flyers are too thin on defense. For a number of years now, the Flyers have been unable or unwilling to draft and develop quality top-pair defensemen. In the last 10 years, Philly has used their 1st round pick for 2 defensemen: Luca Sbisa (2008) and Joni Pitkanen (2002). They now have a superabundance of what are realistically #4 through #7 NHL defensemen, but no #1 and and a great but aging #2 (Kimmo). After Timonen, Meszaros and Coburn are the best we've got -- both nice players but not able to be the cornerstone of a D-corps. At the end of the day, if the Flyers want to win anytime soon, I think they'll have to trade some of their young, top-flight talent at forward (specifically, center) for some young, top-flight talent on defense. We basically have 5 guys who could/should be 1st or 2nd line centers: Giroux Briere Couturier B. Schenn Laughton (* eventually, probably?) With the offer sheet for Weber having failed, and no big-time FAs hitting the market this summer (Timonen is by far the best of the bunch), I don't see another way for the Flyers to get the defenseman they need. It's frustrating. Ugh.

I think you nailed it right there. I always liked Richards too, but Giroux seems much more mature, and more focused on constantly bettering himself as a hockey player. Put another way, they're both great players...but Giroux also seems to be a true professional. I think some of this is down to Briere's influence during G's first couple years with the Flyers. Last year, particularly in the playoffs, he showed he's a natural leader on the ice. He probably still has a lot to learn re: off the ice leadership (not saying he's done anything wrong, just that there's a lot he hasn't yet been exposed to). I hope the club provides him with the tools he needs in terms of things like media training -- it always seemed to me like Richards was just kind of hung out there to dry again and again, but who knows? In any case, I think G will be a great Captain. Briere, Kimmo and Pronger will provide great role models. The future looks bright for Flyers fans.

Claude, Kimmo, and Danny B seem like a really solid leadership group. As good as any in the league, I would say. Two well-respected ex-captains to mentor a young Giroux - I think this is gonna be a blast for Flyers fans to watch over the coming years.

Briere's point totals would likely be even higher had he not been forced to play wing for long stretches in order to accommodate good old Frosted Tips Carter, who refused to make the switch. This always bugged me, because Briere was clearly much more effective at center, whereas Carter plays the same game no matter where you line him up on the ice. Danny has been a class act and a very good performer for the Flyers, on and off the ice, since day one. I wasn't sure what to think when he was signed to that big contract, but he's made a believer out of me. I agree with Rad's point above too, that sometime right around the Briere/Drury/Gomez summer was when the overly-long, mathematically clever contracts started to become commonplace, and hoping the new CBA effectively squelches these.

I can't understand how Leighton could possibly be ahead of Boosh on the depth chart...!?

I think FC's right...Anyone born on US territory has US citizenship. Plus he would have Canadian citizenship through his parents. So I think he's probably a dual citizen, would explain why there's confusion among different sources.

Holy @&^#. Deal of the century if we get Weber for picks. My instinct is he would not have signed the offer sheet if he expected the Preds to match it, since I'm of the opinion he wants out of Nashville, and wouldn't want to be locked up there for 14 years. Trying now to Keep Calm And Carry On.

Wow. That's a lotta coin, I'll admit I'm surprised. I really liked what Jagr brought to the table last season and would have been OK with re-signing him. But not at $4.5M. Honestly, I thought he might take a hometown discount to stay, but apparently he's at least still partially motiveated by the $$$. Although we don't know what, if any, offer the Flyers put in front of him -- will be interesting to see if any details about that emerge in the next few days...