BearOnIce

Let's make a slight correction. The D is crap.

Al Morganti says it is true. He and Coatsy are the face of the Flyers cable media. Just ask them.

How about Captain Terriffic Giroux step up and address the media on this? Just one more mistake they made this year.

Well said. Flyer fans obviously look at it differently than Flyer ownership/management. Bottom Line: That is a lot of money and crow to eat. They will re-tool the D, give Bryz a break from playing every game by using Mason, and have next year to evaluate. They still have next year to pull the trigger on Bryz amnesty. And next year is another year they don't have to pay amnesty. And they get to look at Mason and see if he could step in. Or at worst, begin to see if they need to go after a true #1. Chance favors the prepared mind. The Fylers have the bases covered. When all is said and done, this is a simple financial decision. Briere will be bought out via amnesty as they need his salary. He will be thanked for his service as a loyal Flyer.

He is in dark water.

Giroux's value has gone down this year, captain or no captain.

Is Snider going to be will to pay a little over $2M a year to Bryz for 14 years (no cap hit) for amnesty 3/4 buyout? I know the fans end up paying for this, but still..

@BearOnIce On Ice, Ollie looks good, for a big guy he can skate, he has been pretty sound. He could blossom into a good defensive player and hopefully lay out some big hits, if we bring him along slow and dont ruin him with overuse,when hes not ready for it. Unfortunately for us, he is excatly the same as most of our other defenseman....completely lacking in , puck rushing and shooting skills. We have plenty 0f 4,5 and 6 guys but no 1 and 2 guys. Other than Timmo, Coburn is our only other skating defenseman, and if he is used the right way, hes real good, he shouldnt be getting all the ice time and situational play, but since we have no legit 1-2 guys, Coburn is cracking from the pressure. Timmo is no longer 1-2 GUY and should not be playing the amount he does. I dont see how you can replace Coburn, we should start losing games and forget this playoff pipe dream, so we can draft a stud defenseman, then on top of that, a young forward and something else will buy us another defenseman, but it has to be a young cornerstone defenseman, not another washed up 35 year old Pronger. We need a legit 1 and 2 defenseman, we can only trade for one, the other must be drafted, if we fall out of the top 5 in the draft, the chances get slimmer. P.S. have you ever seen a team take more season ending injuries to their defense than the Flyers over the years? Rathje, Hatcher,Pronger, Mez, etc..... we have been trading for defense for 30 years... Dailey, Howe, Desjardins, Haller, Svoboda, Gauthier, , Pronger, Timmo, Mez, Coburn, Timmo,, so many more, its a joke that all our best defenseman have been traded for.... the only good dmen we ever drafted were Bladon, Watson and Behn Wilson. Its high time we drafted a cornerstone defenseman, especially after we blew it by passing up Doug Hamilton. We also do not want to draft any soft goofy euro puss, like Pitkanen, we want a tough Canadien or American kid, that can adjust quickly Great post RJ. Good perspective. Obviously you get more injuries when you play your best defensemen 20+ minutes a game every game because you have to because you have such a talent drop-off after them year after year. You don't internally develop defensemen you get this. I'm not high on Colburn. Underachiever, inconsistent, seldom steps up as 1-2 should when the chips are down. Bad under pressure. I am in the minority but not expecting trade movement you suggest in offseason. Flyers organization is delusional right now thinking defense will straighten itself out when defense is healthy again next season and Bryz will be better. They believe Schenn and Gervais are puck-moving defensemen solution. Oli L. is classic stay-at-home 5-6 or 7 pairing. Flyers counting on Pronger getting involved with defensemen next summer, carry-through.

The Great Tortilla is one of the best coaches in the league but unfortunately has a short shelf life because all these under 35 players today need their Momma. Bench Giroux period. CP20 will be coaching next year. There will be no additions to the defense but there will be a differnt "attitude". Probably a forward pick, that's it. A lot of the scrubbs you see playing the last 5 games will play in next years 82 game schedule.

A lot of these guys like Gus can play. Like you suggest, they just need more playing time. Do not be surprised if this team does little this summer with D men. I general consensus around WFC is that they just need some people to get healthy. They will draft a high forward.

Yea, $2.5-3.0M a year for three is a deal. Defensive wing. Playmaker. Sees the ice. Great passer. Rusty The Snail is bringing him down.

If it is only as bad as a broken leg or a little less, I'd play... if I were these defensemen. Too much going on to let the scrubbs make inroads.

Poltergeist expected mid-way through 3rd period. That is what you get when you don't take care of the tribe and build an Indian casino on the same land as the WFC.

His skating is good. His reach is like a condor. He plays responsibly in the corners. Nothing glaringly wrong. Good mechanics. But, Oli needs to get some of those CP20 mean streak large jagged square pills stuck up his ass before every game and then we will have a D speciment on our hands. He's a keeper and a good 3-4 at this point. Be interestin' to see who the Flyers replace Colburn with this summer. Free up that cap space boys.

Yes I can becuase they will outscore them and the goaltending is a wash.

Except for Colburn.

Good question. As far as the cap, I am sure that we a number of talented capologists among us that can give us the numbers but as you suggest may be a bit pro-active by Holmgren considering future contracts. I suggest the following players may be on the outside looking in: Coby, Mez, Gervais, Foster, Shelly, Red, Knuble. I believe based on this past week with Mason that Bryz and Briere will be amnesty buyouts. Gagne resigned for another year as well as Talbot.

I would not be surprised with Mason on board now to see the Bryz amnesty (as well as Briere) because the Flyers have some work to do with the D and that creates a lot of available money. I would have no problem moving Colburn and Mezaros. If Kimmo could get his minutes down he could go 2 more years. Luke Schenn is coming along. Oli is still some time away but a nice surprise. Gus is solid. Holmgren may be able to get a better than average return for Colburn and Mez.

I think this realy tells the story. "Anton Thun, Mason's agent, said he expected the 6-foot-4, 217-pound goalie to sign a one-year deal, perhaps as soon as next week. He can become a restricted free agent if he waits until after the season, and if he did, he would not receive less than his current $3.2 million salary, which carries a $2.9 salary-cap hit. Thun said Mason would sign for less. Mason was named rookie of the year with Columbus in 2008-09, but has struggled the last four seasons. He admitted he lost his confidence in Columbus and called the trade a "fresh start." "You don't find many guys that size that can move like him . . . [and] handle the puck," Flyers goalie coach Jeff Reese said. "And he's only 24 year old now, not even close to his prime." Sounds like the fix is in. Mason clearly wants a fresh start and a shot at the #1 G spot in Philly. Reese seems to support the idea. Perhaps Holmgren and Snider likewise? Perhaps discussions and commitments have already occured? The savings in money could go a long way for the Flyers defense and a forward. Give the historically low priority the Flyers organization places on goaltenders, I suspect Bryz and Briere are both amnesty bound and we will be seeing more of Steve Mason. I wonder the first game he gets a start in?

"When you’re missing that kind of talent, it’s a given your team is going to work its tail off. The key for the Flyers will be sustaining that level of enthusiasm and work ethic for an extended period of time. Guys who come up from the minors are often good for a spark over a short period of time, but they have trouble keeping it up, which pretty much explains why they’re minor leaguers in the first place." So, the obvious would say that the Flyers can only go so far with their fill-in players. Maybe yes. Maybe no. Next, given both the number and extent of injuries with this team at present, and respective of games upcoming, if the Flyers were to sneak in or even power in to the playoffs what players are going to be even able to come back from present injuries? I assume Mez, Talbot, and Briere are done for this year? Who do we have a chance of getting back and how soon? Does anyone believe this team can go anywhere in the playoffs without a return of some of the nucleus? I see the forwards in good shape actually for the most part. The defencemen have been a very interesting story to see unfold with the likes of Gervais, Luke Schenn, and Oli?

I think that we all appreciate your enthusiasm but winning streak notwithstanding, this team is battered and is in no shape to do much in the playoffs. Just getting to the playoffs would be a miracle. The D corps is decimated and may receive only slight help from injury returns. The goaltending remains suspect. This is time to see what is in the cupboard, maybe a few nice surprises, and make plans for the summer leading into next year. Your enthusiasm and your own heart is great to see though. Go Flyers!

Can you do something relative to "Bryz The Turtle" ducking his head on the 3rd Montreal goal last night to avoid putting a blemish on his special little goalie mask? I'm sure you could come up with something really good...

Buyout on!!!!

I believe you are correct! -_-

Reese is The Issue.