PhilsFanDrew

@OccamsRazor Also fair to point out the level of competition the Flyers were racking up points in that stretch wasn't very stiff. I think that more than Raffl's play helped G and Jake's production.

I think Snider wants to win another Cup as much or more than profit. As much as Snider loves to make money he also likes his ego stroked and wants to keep a sterling legacy in Philadelphia. Winning the Cup again would do both for him. I honestly think Snider's mentality is field the best on paper lineup that his money can buy and hope that the more often you are in the playoffs, the more chances you have to break through and go all the way. I don't agree with this philosophy but that has been the Flyer way.

Well the Flyers did steal their goal song (Bro Hymn) a few years back. If its good for the goose...

The hole in your argument is that Giroux is not Crosby, he's not that type of player that can automatically make average players around him better. Raffl while I agree is young and a rookie is not a natural goal scorer and he doesn't belong on the 1st line. Trying to say that G and Jake need to be the ones scoring the goals is the square peg, round hole dilemmna. G and Jake are natural playmakers. It would be like the Flyers wanting Simon Gagne in his prime to be more of a playmaker when his strength is shooting. Players need to be assigned roles and put in positions that play to their strengths. Giroux while I think is a star in this league is not a superstar like Crosby and needs another star (ideally a goal scorer) on his wing to get the most production out of him.

@radoran Moulson is an intriguing name. He has been a consistent 30 goal scorer. His contract expires at $3.9 million. He's going to expect a pay bump so I'd try to sign him for $5.25, 4 years. I wouldn't go much higher than that.

Actually I think if Giroux had a winger like Gagne in his prime he puts up over 100 pts a season. Heck I don't even think Giroux needs a 40+ goal scorer on his line to break 100 pts. He needs wingers than can pot 25-30 goals. I agree that he is not in the class of a Crosby who can make average players around him that much better but I do believe with the right pieces around him he would consistently meet or exceed his 93 pts career high.

@flyercanuck Agreed. Even if you don't have the best defensive scouting if you have enough draft picks the law of averages would suggest you are going to hit on someone.

The ticket prices are outrageous anymore. I remember a couple years back going to a Pens/Flyers playoff game and I got upper level tickets maybe 9th row on Stub Hub and paid more than face value. Today that same seat is more in face value for a regular season game than I paid 2nd hand with markup for a playoff game.

These are numbers from last season. Datsuyk is a -2 right now. Just shows that no matter how well you are known for being a solid 2 way player you can still be a minus player on mediocre to bad defensive team.

I don't want to come across as a Giroux apologist or make excuses for him because there are times this year I have been frustrated with his play. After a dreadful start to the season where he wasn't even close to a PPG pace he is now at 47 pts in 53 games. That is playing mostly with Michael Raffl and Jake Voracek. Raffl has no business being a 1st line player in this league and Voracek doesn't really compliment Giroux because he is a similar player looking to make plays not finish them. I understand the frustration of not getting the money's worth out of Giroux but I think some if not most of that has to fall on the GM for not getting the pieces to compliment him. Ideally Giroux's numbers should be like Joe Thorton. I understand they both play a different game but the bulk of Giroux's points should be assists not goals. With the right pieces I believe he could easily be a 25-30 goal, 70+ assist player which would never make people question how much he makes.

My question is, "Was Couturier ever drafted to be a top 6 forward?" Correct me if I am wrong but wasn't the buzz about him on draft day being a "Jordan Staal type" defensive first, shutdown 3rd line center with some offensive upside? I'd say he's pacing himself to be that kind of player.

@OccamsRazor +1. I'm happy Homer hasn't made any rash moves. Showing restraint and patience with a young core is a good thing. The folly of the Flyers organization has always been the mindset that they are only 1 or 2 trades away from being a legit contender. The meat isn't ready to go on the grill yet, its still marinating.

I like it. 3 years is perfect, it shows committment that he is the starter going forward but leaves him incentive to play for a bigger deal since he is young. Comparing to other past deals as far as money goes is irrelevant. As others said the cap is anticipated to go up and when it does it so does the market price.

@jammer2 Perfectly stated. Meszaros is not going to be in Flyers plans for the future. Gus may or may not be so its time to let him play on a regular basis and give him an actual look instead of this meandering approach they have taken so far.

Come on man he was 3 goals under his career high in only 48 games played. His career high mark was in 75 games, he was clearly on pace to having his best season as a pro last year.

IMO if you undo the trades and Richards and Carter are back I don't see this team being much better than what they are. The major blows have been losing Pronger to injury, Carle in free agency, and Timonen declining due to age. That is a #1, #2, and a strong puck moving defensemen that have not been replaced.

I disagree. Guys like Briere, Leino, Hartnell, Pronger, and yes even Leighton had much more of an impact on getting the Flyers to the Finals in 2010. Richards was ok but everyone overrates his performance because of "the shift". Yeah it was a great individual play from start to finish and it made for a nice cutesy "History Will be Made" commercial but it really was a bad misplay by Halak and a fortunate bounce right up to his stick. Totally agree and if we had Richards and Carter we would still be without Chris Pronger and Matt Carle. The injury and loss of a legit #1 D-man and our best puck moving D-man in my opinion is the bigger reason why the Flyers haven't been able to sustain success and be a legit contender. Also factor in the Snider panicked and traded away a young athletic goalie with lots of promise and forced Homer to sign an albatross contract to a mentally unstable weirdo.

I think you are taking what JVR and Bob did last year and projecting that on to what a trade would have fetched for the Flyers. The problem is they never had that level of individual success with the Flyers like they did with TOR and CBJ respectively. Also it is very difficult to package a trade like that with a goalie. Perhaps there were teams out there that would have moved a steady D man for JVR and another forward but had no need for Bob.

I wanna see how they start doing against better teams. Lets be honest out of their recent stretch of games they haven't played many really good teams. Vancouver was probably the best team they played on the road trip and it was a game they were outplayed. Fortunately Mason was able to steal that one for them. Tomorrow should be a good test. They have recently struggled against the Bolts and TB is a top 3 team in the East. I'm not trying to poo poo what they have done just trying to keep things in perspective. I like the way the team is going but they aren't a legit contender yet.

I will predominately be watching the Eagles game. Maybe at half time I will throw on the game for a few minutes until the 2nd half begins. I actually consider myself more a Flyers fan than Eagles fan but the Phoenix/Flyers matchup does not intrigue me. Perhaps if it were Flyers/Pens or Flyers/Rags, etc I would be switching back and forth between both but its going to be 90/10 Eagles/Flyers tonight.

@radoran Funny you call JVR a "30 goal scorer" even though he has never reached 30 in his career. I understand he's on pace to do so this year and that he is still young and hasn't entered his prime so there is definitely the possibility that he will consistently put up 30+. It is also possible for him to go the other way. Last year was a lockout year, and this year they are 1/2 way through. So out of 4 years in the NHL if you mesh last season into the 1st half of this season he has had one really good season. I'm not saying he's a fluke or suggesting that he won't turn into the consistent 30 goal scorer. I just think there isn't enough there to suggest its a sure thing. The only one thing that is definitely certain is that Toronto has won the trade as L Schenn has yet to be the player the Flyers thought they were getting.

This article doesn't really have any numbers or data that supports suspensions are making the game safer. Its nothing more than an explanation of the supposed theory behind using suspensions to take the brutal and permanent injuries. In fact I would argue these new rules and the handling of suspensions makes the game less safe. Instead of players taking their safety into their own hands and watching out for themselves they put themselves in vulnerable positions on the ice with the hopes that these rules and suspensions will have their back. The problem is they don't. Its really up to each individual player to look out for their own safety. I'm not suggesting the league should be anything goes and no rules but there is an overreach here.

Because they are stacked at center. You just keep Giroux on 1, Move B Schenn from wing to C on the 2nd line, and keep Couts on 3, Hall on 4. With Vinny in the line up they move Schenn to mostly play wing which is not his natural position.

I agree. I've seen worse at faster speed into the boards that was nothing more than a 2 minute roughing penalty. I don't think a suspension is warranted but wouldn't be surprised to see him get at least 2 games because the NHL is a sham league anymore.

I agree that they need to start living up to potential but I don't buy into the whole "Well Richards and Carter won a cup so its a bad trade" argument either. At least if Simmonds, Schenn, Voracek, Couts don't work out they can eventually move on relatively soon. All of those players are tradeable and don't have albatross contracts. If you kept Richards and Carter you are stuck with them for many years. That can be a good or bad thing. Although being made the cornerstones of the franchise it did not appear they were handling it well following the Stanley Cup appearance in 2010. They did much better when they were brought on in supporting roles for LA.