PhilsFanDrew

I can't imagine his trade value is really all that high right now. He has a decent cap hit and recent injury issues so I question how much we would get back that could help us 1-2 years from now. Then again I was surprised to find out Paul Gaustad was traded for a 1st round pick so if you get an offer that you can't refuse he's certainly not untradeable.

I wouldn't trade Read because the likely compensation in the way of player/picks won't be commensurate to what Read brings to the team. Remember, Read is 26 and was an undrafted free agent signing so his value isn't likely as high as we think it is as far as pieces coming back in a trade. Schenn, Couterier, and Laughton would likely fetch better in a trade, not that I advocate trading them all or even one of them.

@brelic@ruxpin You mean with Timonen, Hartnell, Talbot, Briere, etc that their was a lack of off the ice influence and vet leadership? I find that argument flimsy at best and even if were to buy in completely he's still not worth a cap hit of $4.55 million.

I get people being unsettled about losing Carle but why Jagr? Do you think if he is playing this year that Voracek has a breakout year? I don't. Who would you rather have that standout season. A young, budding talent who hasn't reached their prime or an aged vet who is on the twilight of his career? Jagr broke down by the end of last season. He wasn't nearly as effective coming down the stretch and in the playoffs as he was in the beginning of the season.

The GF/GA doesn't completely tell the story. They may be statistically top 3 in GF but when you factor in the fact that they have played more games and a couple games where they scored 6+ goals (Panthers, Isles, Pens) its not as if the goals have come consistently. In 12 games this year they have scored 2 or less goals. It also helps that their PP has crept into the top 10 after a very disappointing start. In the beginning of the season the goals were lacking and the goalie was good and the D was adequate. Recently the offense has opened up and the goaltending has been inconsistent and the D continues to have bad breakdowns. If the Flyers can start getting off to better starts and playing 60 minutes and get the goaltending, defense, and offense playing consistently they will make the playoffs.

I personally don't buy into the whole experience factor with younger/inexperienced players praising the vets for their vast wisdom. I think its nothing more than complementary "player speak". Its just about giving media types a sound byte to run with and fans glom onto it as if its some meaningful revelation.

I don't know how their "playoff experience" helps a guy like Quick steal games. Sorry you can have their experience all you want but with anything less than Quick they don't win the cup period.

Not to mention you likely don't get the most out of Giroux last year and going forward if Richards and Carter are still here as both of them together would retain the role as franchise players. Especially after their no trade and enormous cap hit would have went into effect.

This will be an interesting game. I actually think we will learn a lot more about this team from this game than we did last night against Pitt. They always get up for the Pens especially at Consol so I don't want to put too much stock in that game as turning the corner from the rough start. To me turning the corner would be a nice 4-2, 5-3 win tonight at home and keeping the momentum going. If they suffer an emotional let down tonight then they are right back to square one again.

I totally agree. The Flyers can't dwell on Emery. They had to move on because the risk of not moving on was greater than any potential reward that he would have returned to top form. He played well for the Flyers before his condition took him out but he wasn't lighting it up enough to provide management any justification to try to salvage him. Remember the Flyers took a gamble signing him in the first place. He came with the reputation of being a head case and a potential locker room divider. I'm sure Ray is playing well with Chicago but lets be honest. You can put any slightly above average goalie on that team and they would likely be equally successful.

The way I look at it is that Giroux is the franchise right now. Even if he didn't wear the "C" it is his team. Young players being named Captain is common in the NHL (See Crosby, Ovechkin, Toews, Landeskog, etc). Could the pressure of the captaincy be getting to him? Sure its definitely possible. I think another reason he got off to the slow start this season is the instability in his lines. Hartnell goes down with injury then they put Simmonds on his line and he gets hurt. Then he was playing with McGinn who is a nice player but really has no business on the top line with Giroux. I am glad to see Lavy put Voracek on his line with Read. I think sometimes Claude naturally wants to be a playmaker and passes up shot opportunities to make the extra pass. With Voracek who is strictly a passer he knows he will be asked to shoot more on that line. Voracek and Read can also skate wide with speed which should open up the middle for G. We'll see how it shakes out hopefully the game today is the spark he needs to ramp up his offensive production.

I'm going to be optimistic and say 4-2 Flyers (4th a late EN goal by Talbot). I think Giroux gets out of his slump and has a 3 pt night (1G, 2A) and Bryz continues to play well.

Is Mike Richards really a top player? I mean he is a great player to have don't get me wrong I loved Richie but he's at best a borderline all star. Plus without moving Richards and Carter, Giroux likely doesn't blossom into the player he has become. I still think we made out pretty good on the deal right now because essentially the Richards and Carter trade netted us Schenn, Simmonds, Voracek, and Couturier. Would you rather have Richards and Carter over those four?

I agree we need a puck moving D man but at what cost? Some here seem to think we are deep offensively. With Hartnell out for how long, the loss of JVR and Jagr this offseason this team isn't exactly deep with forwards anymore. Sure trading someone like Schenn our Couturier for Subban would solve the puck moving defenseman problem but it would also widen the lack of depth at forward. I understand you have to trade talent to get talent but to be honest there really isn't a surplus of talent at one particular position on this team that would allow us to make a deal where we don't lose a whole lot to pick up what we need.

@aziz Another good thing about Carle was he was never hurt. The last two seasons he didn't miss a game. I know people love the physical guys that bang bodies but that takes its toll on your own body and many times the physical D men find themselves in and out of a lineup.

@flyercanuck He's definitely noticable out there and not in a bad way. He's a hard worker and doesn't look out of place out there. I still think he goes back to juniors. The impression I got was that he would play for a week (5 games) and then get sent down and Danny B would be near ready to go by then. Once Danny B comes back there really isn't a spot in the lineup for him.

I agree from a leadership standpoint but not so much from a production standpoint. A compressed schedule isn't going to favor someone who was already starting to breakdown 1/2 way through a standard season.

I dunno how many PP goals did they have? I seem to remember G, Hartsy, and Simmer tallying more than either of those 2 on the PP.

@caluso The Rangers bangers? Really? Gaborik? Richards? Nash? Callahan maybe but they struggled for offense last year. Without Lundquist they are a very mediocre team.

I tend to agree with much of what you said. It sucks to lose Jags but that was way too much money. Some say the shortened season will help Jagr but I completely disagree. Jagr couldn't even make it through 1/2 of last season without breaking down a bit. Now he will be in a situation of playing back to backs, 3 games in 4 days regularly. Not good for an aging body. I do agree his leadership, work ethic and presence will be missed though. I agree more about losing Carle. It's not so much losing Carle himself but the skill set he brought to the lineup. I would have been ok letting him go as long as he was replaced by someone who has a similar ability to move the puck and get involved offensively. I thought they addressed enough size and physicality with Grossmann. Getting Luke Schenn was just going overboard IMO. I hope Luke pans out but as of right now I see him as a stubborn player who refuses to adjust his game to the NHL level. Still getting beat wide and finding himself out of position and its not because of lack of physical ability. Its between the ears. I hope I am wrong but I can see them taking a step backwards this year. Hopefully Homer doesn't panic and blow it up again. I like this team they are just missing a couple pieces and some seasoning.

@RonJeremy I know he was a frustrating player to many fans but this team is missing Matt Carle right now. He was everything you said they are missing and Homer let him walk. I don't like the salary he got in TB but in todays NHL that is the going rate.

I don't know about you but I was not expecting a 1 for 9 start to the PP.

Agree with others about not going after Ryan. Maybe bring in Doan and resign Voracek and call it a summer. Can always add a D-man at the deadline. I still think this team could make some noise in the playoffs. Sucks not to get Weber because he would have easily made them preseason contenders.

@hf101 I think this whole developing prospects in the minors is a bit overrated. The Hershey Bears had a great AHL team for awhile and their players moved up to Washington and haven't won squat. I think if you actually look back at the quality of players the Flyers draft in the 1st round and the undrafted free agent signings that turned into NHL players they have actually done quite well for themselves. The biggest gripe I have about their drafting is the inability to draft and develop a franchise goalie. Thats really the only thing that has held them back.

@mojo1917 I'd try to re-up Voracek for a 2 year deal for $7,250,000. He would still be young enough at 25/26 to cash in on a big money contract if his numbers would eventually warrant it. I also wouldn't be surprised mid season to see Giroux sign for a 10+ years big money contract. They did the same thing with Richards when he still had one more year left on a current contract.