idahophilly

besides, we have 74 games left... Doesn't look good today (actually it does because Berube is thinking outside the box) but tomorrow is another day... Live to fight it...

The next five games are critical? Yes, I would agree with that. If it goes bad then a fire sale? No, no way. Since most of our kindling wood is youngsters I say no way. hell no way. We would be dealing from a position of extreme weakness. Every team wants our YOUNG players, not Timo or Harts (Timo goes off the books anyway and that nets us 6 million plus the cap is going up big time, everyone seems to agree upon that. Stay the coarse and play the younger players and put a plan in place for next year to get Morin and Laughton in the lineup. Maybe even Raffl and McGinn also...

People hear now me. I have posted from the beginning. This might be the most useless or frivolous topic I ever started. I'm sorry about that but it's the perfect time to. Now that the pre season "season" is over and Berube has a work week to work with, here is my frivolous question. Brace yourself! Comment... Let your questions be asked... Let your hopes out... Your fears... Your predictions... I ask a simple question and here it is. "?" Yep... Profound isn't it... For me that sums up how I feel. Just a big question mark...

Well, the way i see it is that we are gonna win the cup this year... But after all these decades, Snider wants something even bigger! He wants the ultimate comeback to win the cup. See , when we were down 0-3 against Boston and down 0-3 in that game and we came back to win the series all it did was wet his appetite. So, now we are gonna dig a HUGE hole just to make the playoffs and then WHAM!!! We win out 25 games straight at the end of the season and go on to win the cup. EPIC my friends. Pure genius...

No, no, no! You all have it wrong. This is all by design. We are lolling them to sleep. Giroux and company have been waiting for just this game to SUPRISE the Pens on TV! Heck, Hartnell Lacav are not really hurt! We may even give them a 2-3 goal lead and then when we are 2 min into the game Lavvy will come running out and take to the bench once again. All by design my friends. We have them right where we want them...

I'm prepared to go to yellow alert if the same effort as last night happens again today and they drop a third game to start the season. I'm not talking panic by any stretch, just getting prepared..... There still will be 79 more games to go.

This I agree with. I don't get that signing unless it's a freaking favor or something.....

Very possible. But my experience has taught me that logic and statistics don't always add up to to reality. You may very well be right on the out come but my gut tells me otherwise. And as far as the goal tender statistics go I could care a less... A Emery/Mason duo is way better than Bryz. The only thing holding our defence back is a lack of buy in from the fowards. That can be solved. We'll know in the first 5-10 games if they have a chance...

I have not spoken much so far but after looking at predictions from so many sites that I lost count, I don't see anyone giving the Flyers much of a chance at all. Some even had them near last place. I know the pre-season was bad to say the least but is was just the pre-season. I might be wrong, but I think they are gonna surprise many. Maybe I'm just being optimistic but that's what I'm feeling. And no, I'm not going to panic if they lose the first 1-2 games (if 3 then I go on yellow alert)... Anyone else disagree with all the predictions? Heck, Philly.com even said they need to be stronger at center! Really? Giroux??? Vinny??? Couts??? Many teams would like that. Not saying they will win the division by any means but they are better than all the "experts" are saying. What say you?

I'd be OK seeing that final outcome but I think you have gone around the bend! Joking aside, Ottawa could be serious sleeper team this year.

I hope he makes it. It's just fun to see the unexpected...

It's not from a league. It's just from my collection of travel/transportation memorobilia and needed some item that was Pennsylvania related. I can get you a pretty high res jpeg if you want one.... Good to here from you Jammer. Been a long road back...

I hope we are flying high again. Last year was debacle ! I'm not looking this up for lack of time but didn't they have 5 out of 6 guys playing who where AHL/Rookies at one point. I know I was telling a casual fan "yep, Flyers lost another one today"... Then we had the Universe ending Bryz-aster and sophomore slumps from just about everyone, even when it wasnt a sophomore year for some of them. Throw in short season in which it is nearly impossible to recover and we got we got.... But, ...............This season looks better... Really, it does in every way as mentioned above. No sarcasm....

A fun read whether you agree with each assesment or not. The Flyers one was ............. well....... true.... Richard Cloutier Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSS• Archive• CONTACT Good afternoon. Hmmm...What do you say I let you off the hook from my last blog? You were a wonderful audience, btw. What can I say? There are days when I'm here to entertain you, and there are days when you're here to entertain me. I haven't don't a blog like this in a while. 30 comments, one for each NHL team. Everyone gets some attention, whether they want it or not. 1. Anaheim Ducks - Log-jam in net. They still have Hiller and Fasth, and both should be the starter. But then you got John Gibson and some Frederik Andersen guy sitting around. Sooner or later, a goalie will be dealt for an eventual Selanne or Koivu replacement. 2. Boston Bruins - I keep hearing Brad Marchand is being shopped as a way for the Bruins to deal with the cap ceiling. Why? I'd never trade this guy. 3. Buffalo Sabres - Which player will make the NHL first: Mikhail Grigorenko or Zemgus Girgensons? I ripped this off from someone else on Twitter. It sounds like Girgensons will be the NHL regular first, but he's a future 3rd line guy. Between Hodgson, Grigorenko and Girgensons, the Sabres are set down the middle for years. They should really go full rebuild: Deal Vanek for two young quality prospects; deal Stafford for one...buyout Leino, deal Miller if you can. Move Ennis for a winger with size...Hodgson, Grig, Girg, four players from moving Vanek, Stafford and Ennis, plus Pysyk, Ristolainen, Armia, Myers, Ehrhoff, Foligno and Enroth...You have a team with enough high end young talent that you should be beating everyone in about three seasons. Amazing core just sitting there waiting to be pulled together. 4. Calgary Flames - My gut tells me Sean Monahan will be the NHL Calder Trophy winner as top rookie this season. Don't ask me why; it just does. 5. Carolina Hurricanes - Another one of those teams where I don't understand what their management is doing. Tons of power up front, and absolutely zero on defense. This team isn't going anywhere this season. 6. Chicago Blackhawks - They'll win the cup again in 2014. 7. Colorado Avalanche - So who gets dealt first for a defenseman: Paul Stastny or Ryan O'Reilly? Keep in mind O'Reilly can't be dealt until February, but he's worth way more on the trade market than Stastny. The pile up at center in Colorado is incredible, and the team blows everywhere else. 8. Columbus Blue Jackets - Sooner or later, the Jackets are going to need to bring in a true #1 center. As good as the D and goaltending is, and is decent as the wingers on the roster are, the gaping hole at center is going to cost this team playoff opportunities. 9. Dallas Stars - This team is my pick to be the disappointment of the season. Which is funny, because last year, and I said they'd be the disappointment of the season. The roster is a confused mess. 10. Detroit Red Wings - This is the opposite of Dallas: I can't see any flaws with the Wings roster. Although I get the feeling that at some point, they'll move a forward to get a defenseman. 11. Edmonton Oilers - It sounds like Oilers GM Craig MacTavish is done making deals until the pre-season. At that point, a number of things may result in an Oilers trade or two. For example, if Denis Grebeshkov and Anton Belov look like solid NHL defenseman, it creates a log jam. So will Oscar Klefbom if he plays too well to belong in the AHL. Smid, NSchultz, JSchultz, Petry, Grebeshkov, Belov, Klefbom and Ference gives the Oilers eight NHL-level defensemen, with Corey Potter and Philip Larsen also sitting around waiting to see what happens to them. Chances are Grebeshkov is the Oilers #7 guy, Potter and Larsen both gets waived (and sent to the AHL if unclaimed), and Klefbom goes to the AHL, leaving the Oilers with pairings something like Smid/Petry, Ference/Belov and NSchultz/JSchultz. But I still think Klefbom will be too good for the AHL, and most likely Nick Schultz will be dealt to make room for him. 12. Florida Panthers - Have we decided yet if Aleksander Barkov needs to spend a year in the Finnish military first before he can come to the NHL? 13. Los Angeles Kings - After seeing the stupidity that is Zach Bogosian's new contract, how mad do you think Slava Voynov is? I'd take Voynov over Bogosian every time, and he earns a million less per season. Voynov's contract made sense; Bogosian's didn't. 14. Minnesota Wild - I like how once every off-season a team proves that going UFA crazy always backfires. The Wild are no closer to becoming a playoff threat, and now, they're losing $30mil per season. What have we learned? 15. Montreal Canadiens - If PK Subban is left off of Team Canada's roster for the Olympics it will be a damn tragedy. The boy has all sorts of game, and on the big ice surface, he'd be a machine. 16. Nashville Predators - Take Shea Weber and Pekka Rinne out of this roster and you have everyone's second line. This is a managerial miscalculation if you've ever seen one. The Preds are craving full rebuild mode, and Weber + Rinne could be turned into five solid good young players. 17. New Jersey Devils - Even though they lost Kovalchuk, they gained Clowe and Jagr, so the situation up front in NJ is not the issue. The D though...Yuck. 18. New York Islanders - I'm still waiting for the Islanders to sacrifice one of their incredible young centers to bring in a top line winger to play with Tavares. They could have Ales Hemsky cheap if they wanted him, but I'm not sure he's the guy they're looking for. 19. New York Rangers - This just might be the hardest team in the league to understand. They have plenty of talented guys and lotsa youth. Depth at all positions...what's the problem? I still don't know, and because I don't know, I can't recommend a solution, either. They'll struggle again, and it won't make sense. Going from the biggest loudmouth coach in the league to the most arrogant coach in the league isn't a solution to anything. 20. Ottawa Senators - How good would this team be if GM Bryan Murray was allowed to spend as much as he wants? That Bobby Ryan trade was genius. 21. Philadelphia Flyers - Yet another place Ryan Miller or Tim Thomas could end up. An absolute dartboard of a roster, what makes me sad here is that the team will eventually deal away their good young players (Schenn x 2 and Couturier) to make room for crusty has-beens. Disastrously run franchise. 22. Phoenix Coyotes - So are they staying or going? I've lost track. And why haven't they dealt Keith Yandle to bring in a couple forward yet? 23. Pittsburgh Penguins - This has to be the best terrible team in the league. Proof positive that you need roster depth if you want to go anywhere. Cap management is everything. How sad is it that the only way forth for the Penguins is to first either deal Fleury (if you can find someone interested, which is likely not possible have the way he's played the last two springs), Letang or Malkin? They have way too much money tied up in way too few players. The Letang deal in particular is a death sentence. 24. San Jose Sharks - The back end of this team is awful, even if you move Brent Burns back to playing defense. What did the GM of the Sharks do all summer, aside from tanning? 25. St. Louis Blues - Neither Halak or Elliott are good enough to win a cup. Tim Thomas or Ryan Miller is going to end up here by the end of the season. 26. Tampa Bay Lightning - I can't believe people want to keep Martin St. Louis off the Olympic list because he's old. Dude lead the NHL in scoring last season. He rocks. 27. Toronto Maple Leafs - Nazem Kadri is perhaps a $3.5mil re-sign on a one year deal? Situation reminds me of Gagner last year. He got $3.2mil. And after what we just saw with Bogosian, Cody Franson is worth at least $4.5mil per, which, between the two players, pushing the Leafs over the cap limit. It's got to be JM Liles who bites the bullet? No one else on the roster makes sense, unless they do a huge move to shift Phaneuf for a much younger, cheaper player. 28. Vancouver Canucks - Do we know yet if Roberto Luongo even wants to be in Vancouver? Didn't he just fire his agent? I would laugh if 10 games into the season, he started demanding to be moved. 29. Washington Capitals - I keep waiting for the Capitals to do something this off-season. There is a potential Oilers/Capitals deal here, as I can't see how Caps management could go into this season with their current group of six. Nick Schultz would fit as a 4/5/6 option. 30. Winnipeg Jets - That Zach Bogosian deal is one of the worst contracts I've seen in a long, long time. Seven years with a No Movement Clause at $5.142mil per? The guy only started looking like a decent defenseman during last year's half-season. Have the Jets lost their minds? I don't mind Blake Wheeler's deal as much, although I question if he's a 30g per season guy.

I don't know but I bet they play 82 games in the regular season. Wouldn't it be funny if all the teams did? :blink:

Mac T must be under incredible pressure. The writer ? It's gotta be Vodka, not Scotch.

I know this is from hockeybuzz (Richard Cloutier). But, the Flyers reference is great and there is some truth to it, even if over exxagerated. However, we feel pain and complain about the Flyers!!!??? Just FEEL what this blogger feels about his team. I'm glad we are the Flyers. Bad or good, we got something to talk about. Zzzzzzz... Life of an Oilers blogger in mid-July. Zzzzzzz... I could write about who the new captain will be. Will it be Hall? Eberle? Gagner? Nick Schultz? Smyth? Someone else? Zzzzzzz... Dustin Penner. The Oilers might have interest in him. They might not. Did they ever? I doubt it. People who are as bored as I am tried convincing the masses that there was a chance, in an effort to keep us awake. Word is, he's gonna sign with the Ducks. One year deal, $2mil. Exciting, no? Even if he signed with us instead of them, exciting, no. Zzzzzzz... According to the biggest bust in NHL Entry Draft history Brian Lawton, this is the worst time ever for the Oilers to try and deal Ales Hemsky. I'll bet you today was as bad as yesterday, which was as bad at the draft, and was as bad as the trading deadline. Just deal him for whatever and get it over with. He's not going to magically turn into a 1st round pick no matter how long we hold onto him. Not ending the situation just gives the fan base false hope and distracts them from their golf game. Zzzzzzz... People texting me to say Eric Belanger signed in the KHL. I stopped caring about Belanger the second the Oilers bought him out. Zzzzzzz... People saying to me Ben Eager isn't done. He's a head-case. One day, he's there, the next game, he isn't. We don't need guys like that on the roster. Why people are concerned about where he fits into the roster mystifies me. Don't care, don't care, don't care. Zzzzzzz... MacTavish telling people the Oilers are done this summer. Well, that not exactly what he said. He's full of crap. No GM of any team is ever done. Ever. The Oilers are at 46 contracts right now, so they almost need to dump people before they add anyone else. It's not that complicated though. I can think of about five guys who could be dealt for draft picks that the Oilers, organizationally-speaking, would never miss. And why aren't more teams acting like the Flyers? Sign anyone; do whatever you want. $100mil in cap and 75 contracts. You don't see anyone with that franchise being concerned. Why are the Oilers? Zzzzzzz... Sam Gagner has been given the first arbitration date, which is July 22. I'm guessing the NHL doesn't want to hear about this situation any more than the rest of us do. Thank goodness it's the 22nd. That means we'll get an end to this soap opera over the next week, and therefore, won't need to talk about it anymore. Will they sign him to a long-term deal? Short term? Will it go to arbitration? Will he be traded first? Does anybody know? Does anybody care? Zzzzzzz....

Well... that was graphic! True though...

maybe this was addressed later on but who "forced" them to give that contract? Owners will be.... well owners.... Get that check book out!!!!

"just wanna win" isn't the question. In what time frame is the question. I don't have the answer and won't pretend to. It's the tortoise and the hare race. I admit I'm iimpatiencent so that means I'll have some exciting seasons but will lose the race...

Why? For the same reason you don't send a platoon of privates into battle. They need leadership. They need the Gunny to be that stabilizing force. You have to have a balance....

LOL ! I like that. Good analysis (sp?)....

LOL... Well, I can respect your opinion for sure! You do know that no matter WHAT he did you would feel the same way? To short a contract? To long? To much money? NMC? Draft picks given up? Not given up? To old? To young? Not worth the money? Should have offered more? Should have offered less?, Trade up?, Trade down?, Sign the role player? Don't?, Big time Vet? Let the young guys go with it? Not?....ect.... The guy can't win. Maybe for you it's easy. But as they say: You can pls some of the people most of the time but not most of the people some of the time....

Come on Mad Dog! ?????? I thought the sky was falling? Lavy makes his picks in the draft and most flipped out but within 24 hours thought it was not so bad. Then he gets Lacav, the top foward free agent. Scream " fire Homer" even though they have NO idea what's gonna happen 2 years from now. He gets one of the top D-man free agents in Streit and addresses one of our needs in a puck moving d-man and power play specialist (as is Lacav as I call him). OOps! We need a goal tender. Well I'll be.... He goes out and gets Emery away from Chicago who seemed to have him locked up. Oh, and Emery was the top UFA goal tender as I recall without having to trade for him. All this and the nucleus is STILL intact (though a trade is likely). And finally, he locks up G for 8 years so we don't have that distraction and he knows what the cap situation going foward is. Yep, Homer is an idiot...

Hmmm... I detect a slight positive view of Homer here on the board. Curious.....