Howie58

Doom: Agreed, but in the grand scheme, we would have more than one "educable" prospect. Howie

Well Sheldon Souray gets 11 million from the West...shoot, if that is the case, Carle is worth 6 http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=399732

Greetings: The "real" problem isn't Leighton. The pickings are slim. The problem is an "organeyezhation" that doesn't develop goalies. Leighton commented on how happy he is to be working with Jeff Reiss again. Shoot...why isn't there a young prospect Reiss is grooming for backup? Peace, Howie

Alaska: I hope you are right. One thing for sure; we seem to be a favorite trading partner of Scott Howson. Shoot, you'd think he would learn that the Homermeister is going to probably fleece him. Best, Howie

On paper our D is pretty good. In practice, the 10 bagger Pitt put up against us might say otherwise, and for a Flyers team to be 20 in the league in GAA...strange. That said, 600K goes a long way towards paying for a backup, so even if there is some payout, there was a method to doing this. Howie

Greetings: I posted elsewhere and repeat here that for goaltending, I have to think we might be a "suspect" location. We don't seem to develop them and the track record of "imports" other than Parent/Favell (Boston farm system, I think) isn't inspiring. For other positions, I think we would be an excellent home. Best, Howie

I was reading and noted that the guy did not play one game with us in 11-12. So I suspect Bourdon is the anointed seventh man. Bartulis had his chances. I guess the brass saw more upside elsewhere. One commentary on him on Yahoo questioned character/grit. Peace, Howie

JK: Thank you for posting this. I think someone will pick up a fairly good AHLer and occasional seventh D. Best, Howie

Sammi: Good to hear from you and hope all is well. Wolski started well with the Panthers but dropped off. Garrison is sort of a surprise...thought the guy had potential. You know more than me....many wondered why Tallon paid a declining Jovo millions and dumped this guy. Peace, Howie

Good Morning: My neighborhood Panthers are not offering Wolksi and Garrison contracts. http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/players/3658 Wolksi has some good offensive skills. Former first rounder. At 4 million, no dice. But for less than half the guy could help us on the shoot-out. Garrison...sort of a surprise to me...has a cannon shot. Peace, Howie

BOI: Howdy and I hope you are well. I believe a move for a top 4 defender can't be ruled out. Granted, Schenn's addition makes that less likely but I think Homer wants to build the D. I think the question is with Carle resigning? If that happens the D need drops. If not, I smell a trade. Best, Howie

Van: Good to hear from you; had some Cab earlier tonight. No, I stand corrected and meant goal. Sorry for my unclear reference. If I could send you some good stuff, electronically, I would. Actually, I just ordered some wine from a place called "Wine Insiders" that was good and very fairly priced....my first mail order of wine, something that was illegal until a few years ago and still not allowed in many states. Homer finds comfort in former players. So I might prefer Clemmenson it would not surprise me to find Biron here. Nitty might be too much of a stretch. Best, Howie

Podein: I hope you are right. The big picture tell me that we are facing a redo of the defense. It may take some time to gel. Howie

Jammer: Glad we have a set of ears/eyes in Toronto. I think this is a good trade for the players involved; it allows for the proverbial "reset" of their careers. And I wish both well. My fear is that Schenn will have a lot of pressure on him as part of a rebuilt defense. But I wonder if the rebuild will work with Lavy's coaching style. Peace, Howard

Poulin: Nice hearing from you. I have flown into YYZ a few times; last girlfriend's hometown. I give at least a 50/50 shot he hits 35 goals up there. But I think this is a good trade. We need help on D and having the Schenns together might help both improve their game with mutual support. Best, Howie P.S. I haven't flow into ROC for over 30 years..my grandmother lived there. But your comment brought back good memories.

I wouldn't be overjoyed at Leighton coming back. But if this is what happens, it happens. Let's face it, he is not the sole reason we lost two years ago. And fast forward to our 10 goal blow-out with Pittsburgh a few months ago. What's sad is that our organization just can't seem to develop people..even backups. If I were a young player, the O and B would not be high on my list of NHL squads. We seem to grind them out or trade them too soon. Peace, Howie

Howdy: I don't think we miss him. Schenn helps us more than an oft-injured JVR. The salary savings goes toward a backup goalie. I won't say he was a bust but it's clear JVR did not meet expectations. Frankly, I think Burke must have felt that Schenn was disgruntled in YYZ. Peace, Howie

Greetings: I am beginning to wonder if the Flyers Brain Trust sees the draft as more of a crap shoot and stockpile for the AHL than a direct feed (other than perhaps some first round people). Maybe they feel one Read a year makes more sense than the draft. Peace, Howie

Well, I suspect these rounds will be G + D. Our organization's development of goalies has been...well, "sub-par." Maybe we begin to break our own traditions. Best, Howie

Greetings: I am not surprised we went after someone with a shutdown mindset. We need it. But I also suspect someone is going in a trade and this is a precursor. What I also suspect it says is that D is going to be dealt with not only by trade but with rebuild over a year or two. Maybe the brass is unwilling to lock up 6 million in a long-term contract. If we see today's moves in the D and G areas, we have a better sense of strategy. Best, Howie

Howdy; good to hear from you. Well, we see in a few minutes if there is any "juice" in the first round. But I guess we have to see. Peace, Howie

Greetings: The trade is no surprise. What we got in return is fairly significant. I wonder if we keep all these picks or flip some of them. Meanwhile, Scott Howson and Homer seem to have rapport. Best, Howie

Look, Rux is correct if we think about Flyers over their history but Podein is accurate as well. Homer is bright enough to know that we are in a new era. There have been no repeat champs since the strike and I think player turnover under the cap will be higher, and youth is important in that structure. That said, Homer may be tempted to get a senior statesman for fear his current D is lacking to the point we fall apart. I and most other fans would take a year or two of sub-par play to build the D through draft and marginal trades (like Grossman). But Snider and others may not. On paper, our forward corps is darn good and should get better. I hope Homer preserves it. Peace, Howie

HF & Sar: I hope we don't give up too much to pick up a top-four D-Man. For once in my life I'd like to see a group of young players grow together and be a contender for several years. Howie

Greetings: I am sure you've been reading the Inquirer and whomever about our lack of D, Pronger's LTIR, etc. With some fermented red stuff and a bad commute from downtown Miami under my belt, I think it boils down to a long- or short-term fix. Does Homer sacrifice a forward and maybe our #20 + Bob to get a blue chipper with immediate return or does he give up assets for another pick that he uses defensively, and maybe he goes for two picks on D, hoping that with a Carle resigning, Bourdon, and a cheaper pick up he has a respectable D while he grows his forwards. No Cup this coming year but he retains a nucleus of excellent forwards and builds a defense slowly, knowing that with Kimmo off the books next year (and certainty about the cap) he goes after big buck mid-career type. OK, just a thought.