Mad Dog

I don't know if it's even appropriate to compare Letang with Weber. Letang is a decent player. I will actually give him an above-average mark. Weber is an absolute superstar in every aspect of the game and in every meaning of this word.

I think there is a difference between what we *want* to see and what's feasible. Of course I want to see this team win the Cup, one day... hopefully sooner rather than later. This cupless drought, quite frankly, is getting old. Everything is possible of course, but I think one must be overly optimistic (or borderline delusional) to honestly believe this is a championship-caliber team. At some point, they will need to play Boston, and I just can't see them beating that team in a 7-game series. They can play with the rest of the Eastern Conference teams who made the playoffs, but not the Bruins. I am sure this is not what Berube is telling his players, but every angle I look from, I just don't see how they can get past that team.

That was a fun series to watch. Lindros utterly dominated the last several games of it.

I think the Bruins is a recipe for a disaster for the Flyers. Against the Rangers and Pens, they do have a better than a good chance.

I don't want to change the subject of the thread, but Scott Stevens *was* a clean player. You can say his hits were vicious, nasty and the outcomes of those hits were unfortunate, yes. I won’t argue with that for even three seconds. But in 99% of the time, he was not assessed even minor penalties. He acted within the rules. One can argue those rules may have been interpreted differently today, but that's neither here or there. I hate to be blatant about this, but to me it's pretty simple: if you are not whistled for the penalty, as hard as the hit may look like, it's a clean hit. And I am sure has Stevens played on the Flyers, the Flyers fans were singing an entirely different tune.

Don't you think he already knows?

Details, details...

@canoli Oshie is a very good player. But this is sixth full season in the NHL (I think), and so far he has been good, but nothing jaw-dropping. Maybe he finally arrived, and even this season he was not really *that* spectacular. Again, a good player, sure... But I wonder if what we have seen this season is his potential, and if that's the case, I won't even consider trading Schenn for him straight. I am not sure I would agree on Bergeron also. I know it's a matter of opinion, and I will say Patrice Bergeron is an excellent player and has a big impact on the game. But I don't know if I will go as far as say that I will trade any Flyer not named Giroux for him. For one, consistancy has not been his mark since he entered the league. At 28 he has plenty of hockey left in him of course, but I am just not ready to say I would take Voracek, Simmonds or Schenn for Bergeron right now. In any case, I don't think it's as automatic of a decision as you make it sound. The point of the discussion is that there was a claim made that the Flyers lack skills. And my counter-argument that skill-wise - at least on the offensive end - they are not really *that* far behind some of the elite teams. Goaltending and defense is a different story. But as was demonstrated, the Flyers proved not only they can compete with those elite teams (Pittsburgh, Boston, Chicago and St. Louis), but they actually *beat* those teams this season. Yes, they don't have a luxury of having a workhorse star defenseman on their team and Mason has a lot to prove this post-season, but offensively I don't see a huge drop-off either statistically or play-wise. And when people start making refrences to Alex Steen and Oshie, that just makes me laugh.

Seriously... TJ Oshie and Alex Steen... Really? I'll take Voracek alone over them any day of the week seven days a week. People also keep forgetting that in Hitch's system, the true value and contribution of a player is significantly skewed. Hitch is well known for making players maximize their potential. He may be the best in business in that regard. I am willing to bet on just about ANY OTHER TEAM, Alex Steen will be lost and, as FC noted, he *was* lost prior to ending up in St. Louis. Boston players, specifically Krejci, Bergeron and Lucic are very, very good players. But no way in terms of talent they are superior to Giroux, Voracek, Simmonds, and Schenn. What Boston does have that the Flyers don't is better goaltending and defense. So does St. Louis, especially with adding Miller. But I content offensively, these teams are not more skilled thatn the Flyers. No friggin' way.

I am still confused. Did the Flyers not beat Pittsburgh, Chicago, St. Louis, and lost to Boston only by virtue of shootouts... the game, in which, by the way, they overperformed the Bruins. I agree that Mason is not elite. And as I mentioned in my previous post to you, in the playoffs goaltending is absolutely a big - maybe the biggest - key to success. I also conceded that the defense has some holes to fill. The Flyers don't have a player of Chara's or Duncan Keith's caliber. But offensively, I simply don't see their talent level being inferior to the other teams. Sorry...

Sorry, Howie, but I am going to ask to substantiate your statement before accepting it at its face value. Please define skills to me... As of today, they have five 20+ goal scorers. B Schenn and VLC each have 18 goals. Boston has four 20+ scorers. So does Chicago. St Louis Blues (the second best team in the league) has TJ Oshie, Backes and Steen who score well, but are these players really what you call stars? I didn't mean to single your post out, but people can't just make these blanket statements. I don't know exactly what more the Flyers fans can want from this roster skill-wise. If you tell me they have underachieved, sure... I won't disagree. It’s quite obvious from this regular season record. But I disagree it's due to the lack of talent. The days of talent-packed Montreal Canadians and Edmonton Oilers are long gone. How much raw talent or skill did the Devils of the 2000's have? How much talent the Dallas Stars have when they won the Cup? These days you win with great goaltending, solid defense, determination and commitment. It is debatable the Flyers have *that*. But they do have skills.

Even though you put a smiley at the end, I actually think - and fear - this is true. It really starts looking to me like in their final push for the playoff spot, they got burnt out. Believe it or not, I don't think the talent gap between them and the Bruins is really that wide. It was not really evident the last time these two teams met. In fact, I thought in that game the Flyers actually dominated in many stretches of the game, which was supported by the stats. Yes, the defense continues making some mistakes, but overall, I think the lack of talent is really not that glaring as some people make it sound to be. THey played fine with the cream of the league - Chicago, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and, yes, the Bruins. I honestly think they are just plain tired. And if that's the case, I hope they will get their legs back by the time the playoffs begin.

The title of this thread looks very symbolic, doesn't it? Flyers goalie? A weak link? lol Where have we heard this before? But seriously, no, I don't think he is. The Flyers could have done much worse than going into the playoffs with Mason. This is be the biggest and most important spring of his career without a doubt. I think this spring will define his status in this league for many years to come. My concern is not Mason, but the Flyers defense. And his performance and stats will get skewed as a result of inconsistent defense paying in front of him. But it all depends who the Flyers draw in the first round,

Yes, I think you put it perfectly. I don't know if tehre is anything else to add to it. And I realize putting asses in the seats is one of the drivers in decision-making processes. But the Flyers almost re-defined this. lol. Even the Rangers are not keeping up with that anymore.

Trying to figure out why he was even signed in the first place may be a difficult task. Clearly, he was not signed with a sole purpose to address the center position needs, because at the time he was signed - as I am sure many people remember - there was no such deficit in centers on the roster. I even recall many people expressing a concern that this would probably mean bumbing Schenn off the top two lines or playing him out of position. I don't know how many people remember, but during the press conference when Homer introduced VLC, he was singing praises to VLC, saying he is one of the most exciting and skilled players in the league and how he would bring an increased level of excitement... blah blah blah.... As I was listening to that presser, I could not help but get a very distinct feeling that this was yet another Snider's move. The guy just can't help himself. He is obssessed with bringing *names* to the roster. Never mind there is hardly a NEED for those players aside from any othr potential implications of such signings. It's almost like the guy lives in his own world and has his own agenda.

@B21 I watched the hit... *I* think it ws a clean hit, albeit borderline clean. The only problem I have is the league is just being true to themsleves and show very little consistency. I hate to sound homerish on this, but I agree with FC - if Rinaldo makes this hit, he goes to the box and gets suspended for at least a game. I have no doubt in my mind that what would happen. Again, not so much problem with the hit itslef, but a big problem with inconsitency. How teh hell are the players going to know what's leagal and what's not when the NHL calls it differently every damn time.

Not that I am defending Hartnell by any means, but unless I missed something, I don't think he goes out to intentionally injure someobody. Yes, he slashes and crosschecks with te best of them, but so does half of the league.

Completely agree, Jammer. Being a Flyer fan for decades tought me to stop investing any emotions in this team, which, of cousre is very hard to do when you are a true die-hard fan of a given team. But the Flyers betrayed us way too many times for years, every time finding a new way to disappoint, which invariably follows by Snider coming out and making a long list of excuses. They *do* look legit and picking at the right time, but again, we saw it way too many times before.

I think AMac plays *some* role in L Schenn's resurgance, but I can't imagine he is solely responsible. It's hard to speculate, really... To me L Scheen is an enigma in this league and it was fitting that JVR was traded for him because these two guys have one thing in common - big expectations / potentials and spotty performance. It's a hit or miss with Schenn. The question will always be which L Schenn will show up to play. I am glad he is playing well now, but I will wait before I get excited until I see some consistency, and by consistancy I mean at least one full season, not a qurter of the season, not two weeks of the season followed by crappy play, but one full season. He showed us he can do it.

Pinch me... it finally starts looking like Homer is learning.

I've been critical of Homer for some of his idiotic moves over his tenure, but I have to give credit where credit belongs. This was a steal of the draft... or so it seems on the surafce. Of course we won't know until Hagg plays at least *some* games in the NHL, but again, given where he was taken in the draft and based on all the scouting reports, one has to feel excited.

We talked about this in the chat box last night. The Flyers HAVE to sign him (I understand his contract is up after this year, right?) and find a way to give him some meaningful ice time come next season. He needs to at least cement his place on the third line, if not higher. But that may be difficult.

You are giving Gummy way too much credit.

@brelic Depends on what you are in the mood for, but that whole area is PACKED with things to do. And what makes NY unique, it got the name of the "City that never sleeps" for a reason. Many of the places are literally open all night long, which is just about the only city in this entire country. So by the time the game is over, there are still tons of things to do if you are up for that. Harrington's Bar and Grill and Hard Rock Cafe are both pretty nice places to hang out beofre and after the game. Plenty of choices of beer and great food. You can never go wrong by stopping at the Times Square. I've never seen more dynamic and life place anywhere in the world (maybe with the exception of Rio, Brazil and Venece, Italy). High Line Park, 5th Avenue, Rockefeller Center, Broadway, I mean.... geez.

Because the point is, he was experiencing the effects of the injuries from the past year / pre-season. And his injuries start welling up to the surface only now – typical of how the Flyers handle things around these parts… If he was 100% healthy to start the season, then yes, I would agree that he deserved a fair criticism. But if he was hurting, I don't know why it would be unfair to admit now that perhaps some of the earlier criticism was unjustified. I guess the only thing I will say to this is if.... IF... he was in fact not 100% healthy, he should’ve pulled himself out of the lineup. Only the player knows his body, his pain threshold, and how his injuries affect his performance. This aspect is hard to quantify and there are more variables in this, which is why this part belongs in a different conversation.