Dynamo 47

I TOTALLY agree. I said in the beginning of his career that the Flyers basically took the Big Dog and nuetered him. I still blame Flyers management for his treatment early in his career but let me elaborate. When he first came into the league he was a bulldozer/pitbull. Unlike Gretzky and Mario who did receive some preferential treatment by the officials, players knew if they went near Gretzky they would have Semenko, McSorley, McClelland, etc on their ass. I think the Flyers never truly protectected their huge investment. Look at his rookie season. Had a very good year but also had a couple of fights but nothing major. The Flyers had Dave Brown so you would think Lindros would have been protected. Brownie had 78 PIMs in 70 games. 70 PENALTY Minutes? He sure as hell wasn't scoring and obviously wasn't enforcing. The next two seasons Lindros continued to fight his own battles and in the 94/95 season Eric played 46 games and NO FLYER HAD OVER 100 PIMS. NOT ONE? I think the key was in the 95/96 season.when Lindros fought McSorley. Eric held his own but NEVER should have happened. He was at the end of a shift after a goal and McSorley went after him. To his credit, he dropped the gloves with one of the best heavyweights in the league. Lindros was one of the best players in the league and NO WAY he should be fighting a goon. The whole damn team should have been on McSorley. While the roster was better the Cup year, I think a big part of the success was The Dan Line. Having Daniel Lacroix (163), Scott Daniels (237) and Dan Kordic (210) on the ice probably made Eric much more comfortable to play his game. Bottom line is he was big and could throw em but NEVER should have been in that position. The Flyers made such a huge investment in him that he should have had the same protection Bobby Clarke did when he played. Granted different era but still the same philosophy

His inconsistency is a concern of mine. That is primarily why I want him centering Schenn and Simmonds. Both guys are big, physical, and strong but beyond that, work their asses off on the forecheck and finishing their checks. I am hoping that their tenacity will rub off on Vinny and he will be more consistent. TOTALLY agree about the Jeff Carter defense.

Thanks for the article. Razor. I agree with Lappy. Training camps were notorious for the "Rudy" type guys to come in and run established guys, instigate fights to bring attention to themselves, etc. Aside from no scrimmages I also like the fact they really only invited draft picks and signing for players who might see the O&B someday. For some of the picks with less people present they get more individualized attention. Is anyone aware of if Pronger is attending the Dev Camp and if so is he working with Morin?

You really don't think Cousins makes it? Makes it as a center or not at all? Is it due to his all around game, size? Do you think Laughton has more potential than Couts? Because I don't think he makes the team and gets the 3rd line center role over Couts and I don't think having play 4th line center benefits him or helps his development.

So true which is why it's so damn hard to do it!

Excellent post and you should be his agent! I highlighted the stat above because what makes it even more impressive is that he was the last player to do it. When Lindros came into the league the league was transforming in style and we saw the beginning of Bettman hockey. I just shudder to think what he would do as a rookie in today's game.

Sorry to jump in but hard to argue with your logic. I always use the Pens as an example. They were dreadful for half a decade but they didn't buy any and every free agent out there and were patient with the draft. Shero stuck to his plan and got the building blocks for a Stanley Cup winner.by getting Crosby, Malkin, Fluery, Staal, etc. Had they used the Flyers blueprint they would have overspent on free agents and weakened their draft position. Another good example was Chicago and Boston. Look at the percentage of players who were on the finals roster who were actually drafted by them. A hell of a lot higher percentage than the Flyers for sure.

I think Lindros definitely should. If Cam Neely got in with his stats in a career cut short by injury then Lindros should as he has better stats than Cam Neely. Again just a shame of what if for his career as had he been healthy been an all time great. On Facebook that have a great photo of the Legion of Doom Line playing golf with the LCB line at the Flyers Alumni Golf Outing. It was nice to see Lindros back in the fold and I would hope the team admits him to the Flyers HOF this season. As evidenced by the Winter Classic, he is still hugely popular with hockey fans in Philly.

That's great! Laughter truly is the best medicine.

I agree we are better on paper. We added a mobile defenseman who will help the transition game. It was fairly obvious with Carle gone and only Kimo providing mobility and transition offense how badly we needed some help. Adding Streit to a healthy defensive corp of Schenn, Grossman, Mez, Coburn, and Kimo should make a huge difference on the back end. Glad Bryz is gone but he really did play in front of a horrible defense with a ton of AHL guys on most nights. Having a healthy defense along with the size, experience, and faceoff skills that Vinny provides is an upgrade. I just wish the NHL would have limited contracts to a max of 5 years. It would almost save some GM's from their own stupidity. I like locking up Giroux for 9 more years total but wish it would have been at a slightly lower cap hit. I think the team is better on paper this year and next but once those Streit, Vinny contracts go longer we could be in the same position as we were with Briere.

Interesting lineup of invitees. I am most curious to see how the following players perform: Cousins, Laughton, Mathers and Noebels. I think Cousins and Laughton are future NHL guys and could be trade bait for a defenseman due to our logjam at center. Mathers is a tough kid who will hit and can dropp the mitts with the best of them. He will be with the Phantoms but curious to see if he worked on other parts of his game. On defense my focus is on Shayne Gostisbehere and Samuel Morin. Shayne is a guy who I can see easily being in the NHL in 2 seasons and has the offense this team will need to replace Kimo. Morin is still a work in progress but big, physical defensemen who play a mean game are still highly valued. And as much as you can teach certain things you can't teach reach. I hope Pronger works with the kid on other parts of his game such as playing the passing lanes, using his reach, his footwork as he already has the attitude.

I would have liked to get a winger for one of the top two lines versus Vinny but I think the Vinny signing will work out well for the Flyers. Signing Vinny will help in several areas. He will definitely help the faceoff percentage as the Vin Man is one of the best in the league. He will help along the wall with his size and winning puck battles. He gives the Flyers two solid scoring lines if he centers Schenn and Simmonds. He is also younger, bigger, a better faceoff guy and cheaper than Briere I also think Streit will help alot on defense. We needed a mobile guy capable of putting up some points. He will give the team that. Assuming Mezaros and Grossman are healthy our defense will be much better. You have Kimo and Coburn, maybe Schenn and Streit, Gross and Mez and you have the Big O and Gus as extras. I also think we are better in goal. I think Bryz is addition by subtraction and Mason will return to form Overall I dont expect the team to seriously compete for a cup but the moves we made make us stronger going into this season. More importantly we kept the core of the team intact with Giroux, Jake, Couts, Schenn and Simmonds.

I am happy for Danny. He was always a class act with the Flyers and money come playoff time. I am happy he will be able to finish his career with his home town Le Habitants!

I actually think he thrives in Philly and here's why. I think his wings will be Simmonds and Schenn. Both guys are skilled, strong along the wall and in the corners and will generate a lot of shots and rebound opportunities. Perhaps the biggest reason which few seem to mention is that the Tampa system helped to keep his numbers down. They played a defense first system and often sat in the neutral zone and waited for play to come to them (remeber Pronger holding the puck and waiting for them to forecheck). With the Flyers he will be in an aggressive forechecking system. With big, strong wingers like Schenn and Simmonds forechecking and knocking guys off the puck I think he will get a lot more scoring chances with the Flyers.

To me aside from goaltending one of the biggest keys to the season is Hartnell. If he returns to the 30 goal player a couple of seasons ago we can roll out 4 decent lines. If he struggles he takes the first line down with him. I envision the lines as follows: Hartnell with Giroux and Jake, Schenn (moving to wing) with Vinny and Simmonds I think if Hartnell returns to form we have two solid scoring lines. I really like the potential of a Schenn, Vinny and Simmonds line as not only can they score but they will wear down the opposition and cause match up problems for the other teams top defensive pair. I see the 3rd line as Couts centering Read on one wing and possibly Talbot on the other. There is where if we make any move I wouldnt mind seeing Stalberg signed. He is big and fast and while he has been inconsistent, I think he would give the Flyers 3 potential scoring lines.

He is the heart and soul of the team and I think one of the top 5 or 6 players in the game. I am glad we locked him up but would have hoped for a slightly lower cap hit. I would have sold the long term security for a slightly lower, more cap friendly hit.

I would love to have Razor back. He played well with the Flyers in his return to the NHL prior to his injury and was fantastic last season. I think we are much better off this season with a randem of Mason and Emery than we were last year with Bryz and Leighton.

I am thinking the same thing.

Initially he was my top target if we went the free agent route but I have changed my thinking due to what he is asking and his injury history. My top target would be David Clarkson of the Devils now, I would think he might sign for $5m for 3 years (last contract was for 3 million). Cap friendly hit for a guy who will add more physicality and size to the wings and weaken an opponent in the process. I think he fills a need with a right handed shot, size, intensity and is a much better fit and more reliable than Vinny or Horton What are your thoughts on Clarkson and what do you think it would take to sign him? I would imagine he would be highly sought after.

That is true. You cannot make a masterpiece without the paint!

I agree. I think if healthy (big if) and hopefully more stability in goal with Mason, we are much better off starting the season than last year. If you figure pairings as follows it isnt too bad and play the season out and see where the chips fall. Kimo and Coburn Schenn and Streit Grossman and Mezaros Gus/Big O as extras Streit adds some offensive capability and a RH shot on the power play. Gross and Mez being healthy will save Kimo some minutes and Gus and O provide two different looks with mobility and physicality. I would like to get bigger on the wing which is why if I left the defense intact I would shoot for someone like Horton as a free agent. He would add size and scoring ability to the wing plus experience and is still young enough to be part of the core for 3-4 years

I definitely agree with number one and said it over and over again. Had they not won those meaningless games we were picking 6/7 and get Nurse. Another couple losses here or there and Jones could have fallen in our laps. I honestly thought when he fell to 4 the Flyers might offer Coburn and the 11th for the 4th pick and the right to pick Jones.

I agree and gotta love anyone who uses the military alphabet to express their point!

Thank you! I loved how so many people were jumping all over the pick primarily based on what the draft analysts said. All they naysayers had to hear was "typical Flyer", "defenseman seldom fight" and were all over it. The kid already has some intangibles you can't teach. He is big and he plays big and mean. He is also far from a goon but can fight when needed. People seem to forget he played in the CHL Prospect game and also part of the U18 World Championships. International Scouting Service - Could be a stud if he puts it all together... a very intriguing prospect. My point is that most of the players drafted (aside from a few) are considered prospects and no sure thing.

That is a concern to me (development time). We all know the Flyers history with developing defensemen and something needs to change as the lower levels. They are clearly not doing something right as simply do not develop NHL caliber defensemen in our system.