iban3z

Yesterday the Flyers submitted their opening day roster. They did so without making any trades. “It’s tricky, but that’s all part of being a GM” said Paul Holmgren. When asked if a trade was going to help them get compliant Homer simply responded “No I don’t see that happening.” Below is the Flyers’ Roster (for now). An asterisk marks those who new to the roster. FORWARDS (12) #10 - Brayden Schenn #14 - Sean Couturier #17 - Wayne Simmonds #19 - Scott Hartnell #21 - Scott Laughton * #24 - Matt Read #25 - Max Talbot #28 - Claude Giroux #36 - Zac Rinaldo #37 - Jay Rosehill #40 - Vincent Lecavalier * #93 - Jakub Voracek DEFENSE (7) #5 - Braydon Coburn #8 - Nicklas Grossmann #22 - Luke Schenn #26 - Erik Gustafsson #32 - Mark Streit * #41 - Andrej Meszaros #44 - Kimmo Timonen GOALTENDERS (2) #29 - Ray Emery * #35 - Steve Mason * I marked Scott Laughton because he only played a few games last season before being sent back to Juniors. According to Holmgren, they may also go that route again this year. Holmgren said it was “too soon” to fully commit to keeping Laughton for a full season. So basically he may be on a 9 game tryout. Peter Laviolette has yet to name a starter for the opening night, although I expect it to be Ray Emery. The Flyers probably will wait several games to fully commit to naming a starter. However, both are capable of playing #1 and it is a major upgrade from last year. Mark Streit has looked good in the Preseason and for a 35 year old, seems to have a lot left in the tank. Hall Gill is still without a contract. Holmgren stated “He liked what he saw “in Gill. I simply don’t see the reason for another Defenseman in their late 30s to be added on their roster. I know he brings experience and leadership but if you look at this roster, there are several who are qualified leaders. Timonen, Hartnell,Giroux, Lecavalier, and Talbot. Vinny Lecavalier is also prepared to make his Flyers debut. This is an upgrade over Briere in my opinion because he’s slightly younger and more skilled. Plus he knows what it takes to win a cup. Playing with Superstars Marin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos for several years brings a wealth of knowledge to the team. The top line which will consist of Hartnell-Giroux-Voracek has big expectations. Voracek who had a breakout year last year, is expected to only get better and Captain Claude is expected to rise above his performance last year. (Even though I think 48pts in 48 games is really good.) Since Giroux was labeled as “the best player in the world” by Coach Lavy, he’s expected to be a top 5 player in the NHL. He finished 15th overall last year. Hartnell was very disappointed in his performance last year. He broke his foot 3 games in, missed 16 games and wasn’t in shape. He’s spent all summer training for this season. "He's in the best shape of his life. His body fat is 7 percent lower than it's ever been.” said Holmgren. Hartnell also needs to live up to the 37 goal performance he had in 2011/12 season. Brayden Schenn is in the final year of his contract and is still looking to have a breakout year. He’s going to want to earn a contract. The Flyers are also counting that he has a great year. He’s young, he’s fast he just needs to prove he can play at the level of his potential. The only question mark is the defense. If the Flyers can keep a healthy Meszaros and a healthy Grossman, throw in Streit and you have yourself an upgraded and powerful Defense. The issue you ask? The system. The Flyers play an offensive minded system and their Defense are “Defensive minded.” The Flyers don’t have a stable puck carrying Defenseman, nor can they (as of now), properly make clear cut passes through the defensive zone. That will all fall on coaching but not just on Lavy. The assistant coaches are responsible as well to work on their game. We’ll see how it all pans out. The Flyers don’t just have high expectations from the front office and ownership, but from the fans as well.

I'm like any other fan, I want to see good hockey and I want the Flyers to win! However, I'm just happy it's hockey season and I get to go to some Flyers games again! Also the NHL Package is cheaper this year by $20.00 but never the less, cheaper.

I firmly believe that Dan Bylsma is in a hotter seat. The Pens have been placed with a "Cup or bust" label and since 2012 when they got embarrassed by the Flyers and again last year by Boston, I think he's gotta get a Division and another Deep playoff 6-7 run. That team plays a system where most of their players get injured and they lose a lot of man games. Lavy I'd say is in the top 5, with Todd Mclellan, Carolina's head coach, and the two you said.

@Samifan Really Bobby Ryan?? For me Team: Canucks Player: Rick Nash

I'm a big fan of Huberdeau. He's going to be a treasure to watch for sure. I like their team, but I think a well rounded coach in in order.

How does Hartnell Suck? He was rushed back from Injury last year and I don’t count ANYONES stats except Voraceks and Giriouxs from last year’s mulligan. But 11/12: 37G,30A 67 PTS 10/11: 24 G, 25 A 49 PtS 09/10: 14G 30A 44 Pts 08/09: 30G, 30A 60 Pts 07/08: 24G,19 A 43 Pts Other than a Lockout shortened season which had it been full, he was on pace for 20+ goals, and 09/10 he’s consistently scored more than 20 goals per season and has more than 40 PTS per season since 2005. He’s got 485 PTS in 875 games. That’s pretty decent to me. He’s not a superstar, so you can’t expect him to put up PTS like Giroux or Crosby. He’s a power forward that not only gives you 40+ PTS per season, he wins battles on the boards, plays 2way hockey and stands up for his team mates. He’s not the best skater, I’ll give you that, but saying he sucks is baffling. He is also good in the Clutch. Do you remember the 2010 post season? He had 17pts in 23 games, scored a goal and an assist in the down 0-3 game 7 and scored the Tying goal in Game 6 in the SCF. You’re entitled to your opinion, but I hate when people say Hartnell sucks when he’s got the stats to back up that he doesn’t.

My record since 2008. On Cup Predictions from the beginning of the season: Year Prediction (Winner) Outcome Prediction (Loser) 2008 Red Wings Won Cup Flyers 2009 Red Wings Lost Cup Penguins 2010 Blackhawks Won Cup Flyers 2011 Bruins Won Cup Sharks 2012 Kings (as a joke actually) Won Cup Rangers 2013 Blackhawks Won Cup Canadians I predict the Senators will win it this year VS. the Ducks

I want to start a following on Goalie Prospect Anthony Stolarz. I think he's going to be a great Goalie in the future and I think it would be cool to say, "Hey I followed that guy in Juniors!" So feel free to talk about him, his play, etc.... Here's his info from OHL Website: Anthony StolarzLondon Knights Name Anthony Stolarz / Number 43 / Position Goaltender / Shoots Left / Height 6.06 / Weight 220 / Birthdate January 20, 1994 OHL Priority Selection: LDN Free Agent 2012 - U. Nebraska-Omaha (CCHA) NHL Entry Draft: PHL 2012 (2nd Rnd, 45th) Previous Clubs: New Jersey Hitmen Jr.A. (EmJHL) & Corpus Christi Ice Rays Jr.A. (NAHL) Season Team GP GA Mins Saves GAA SV % W L OTL 2013-14 London Knights 2 3 120 66 1.50 0.957 2 0 0 2012-13 London Knights 20 44 1153 508 2.29 0.920 13 3 1 Total: 22 47 1273 574 2.22 0.924 15 3 1 Playoffs: 2013 London Knights 18 47 1115 562 2.53 0.923 13 4 1 Total: 18 47 1115 562 2.53 0.923 13 4 1 And his college Stats: (From HockeyDB.com) Season Team Lge GP A PIM Min GA EN SO GAA W L T Svs Pct2011-12 Corpus Christi IceRays NAHL 50 4 4 2939 139 0 3 2.84 23 22 4 1602 0.920 2012-13 U. of Nebraska-Omaha WCHA 8 0 0 421 18 0 1 2.56 2 5 0 1 58 0.898

There is no question in my mind that if the Flyers have a under .500 record within the first 10-20 games, Lavy will be fired. The question is, who’s out there to replace him? I don’t think our PP will be any better until Craig Berube is let go. He was a hell of a hockey player, but as an assistant coach, I don’t think he’s the guy to be one of our coaches. The Flyers love giving alumni those jobs and I think it haunts them. Brining in Hextall as an Assistant GM, further proves this. I was hoping the Flyers would blow it up and remove all the Alumni from the front office and rebuild I think Emery will be our starter with Mason playing well as a back-up. I think Heeter is a AHLer for life, kind of like Neil Little. Stolarz should be NHL ready within 2 years. Our Defenseman are Defensive Defenseman except Brayden Coburn who’s more of an offensive Defenseman but if very poor at it. Girioux and Voracek should be in line for a top PTS season. Theres a plethora of talent throughout the NHL who I think can make the top 10 hard for players. (Ovi, Stamkos, Malkin, Crosby, Nugent-Hopkins, Towes, Huberdeau, Taveres, St Louis, Eric Stahl, Kessel, Datsyuk) Girioux placed 15th in the top PTS leaders last season with 1PTS per game. (48 Games 49 PTS). Voracek was 18th on that list and I think Voracek is going to keep getting better and better.

Every year, they're picked to win it all and they have a good team, but they're not as good and haven't been as good as the 2009 team. They're getting older, more injuries are happening and people have figured out Bylsma's system.

He's a solid Player. I've always like him. He's the type of player I'd want on my team. I've been surprised by the subpar performance the Oilers have given the past few years. With Gagner, Hall, Nuget-Hopkins, Eberle and Justin Shultz in the back, they have a good core to be a very successful team. Their Goaltending isn't back either, Devan Dubnyk had a .920 Save % with a 2.57 GAA but with his record of 14-16-6 you wouldn't know it. I expect them to be a good team this year.

I think the Emery/Mason combo will be fine. I'm more concerned on our defensive corps, playing an offensive system. A system that this Defense isn't build to play. That also comes back to the coach.

Thanks, I'm happy to be back and to write again! I did forget about Grossman, but I think is can also be traded too. Although I'd prefer Coburn to see a trade.

This is my first blog in a year. I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth from the Lockout but this is a game that I love. I play it, I live it and I breathe it. If I had any type of talent passed my amateur talent, I’d be playing professional Ice hockey. But since I don’t, I can only observe the pros and write about them. So onto the Flyers and on what can we’ve seen during the preseason. The Flyers had a very poor preseason going 1-5-1. The only thing that you can say that went well was, we got to see a good look at the Flyers Future. 1st round pick (11th overall) Sam Morin, surprised several coaches, fans and team mates during his brief stay in training camp. “He makes plays that are pure hockey plays, which you don’t expect from an 18-year-old,” said John Paddock Director of Player personnel. “He was really composed out there with the puck. That’s the thing that jumped out at me. Playing in his first exhibition in the NHL, I thought he was tremendous. He did some really good things with the puck.” added Assistant coach Craig Berube. Morin will play this year in Juniors and will work on his game and probably will put on some muscle. He will have a better chance of cracking the lineup next year and by the looks of things, he’ll be a very good defenseman once he’s developed. We only got to see goalie prospect Anthony Stolarz for half a game in the first preseason contest. Stolarz looked strong stopping 15 of 16 shots. He’s played in 2 games so far this season with the London Knights with a shutout in his first game and winning the 2nd. Last season, he played in 20 games for the Knights going 13-3-1 with a shutout and a .920 Save % and a 2.29 GAA. He’s a good two years before he’s NHL ready and perhaps he could finally be the Flyers savior in goal. And maybe the Flyers won’t ship this one off in a trade and be patient for Stolarz to develop. (I’m referring to the Bobrovsky trade) The Flyers look like they have decided who they’re going to roll with on opening night. On Saturday the Flyers waived Dman Bruno Gervais, Adam Hall, and sent down Chris VandeVelde. On Friday they sent Austrian winger Raffl and Dman Lauridsen to the Phantoms. Hal Gills future still remains up in the air and I hope the Flyers don’t end up taking him. Although he brings a wealth of experience, Gill is 38 years old, and not the Defenseman he once was. The Flyers need to get younger hand have quite a few younger defenseman capable of handling the 6th and 7th positions. Your top 5 are, Timmonen, Meszaros, Coburn, Streit and Schenn. By making all these cuts, the Flyers have decided they are going to commit on young center Scott Laughton. I think Laughton will be a good player in this league, but the Flyers need to put him on a 3rd line. He won’t develop playing limited minutes on the 4th line. He does have a 9 game window. The Flyers could send him back to Juniors and not have year on his contract count. But once, he plays that 10th game, he’s here for good. The Flyers shouldn’t have any issues on offensive this year as they have plenty of skaters you can put the puck into the back of the net. I still think the issue is the defense. I’m not saying they’re bad, but Peter Laviolette’s system is offensive minded and I don’t think this Blue line can handle it. Lavy may have to change it up soon because he’s on a short leash and maybe even shorter after a 1-5-1 preseason. The Flyers open up the season at home versus the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. If you're going, get there early. Flyers fans who are known for being passionate, loud and crazy have their work cut out from what I've seen from Jets, Rangers and Habs fans. We can do better than them!

It sure has been a quiet offseason for the Flyers. That was however, up until July 18 when the Flyers signed RFA Shea Weber to a huge offer sheet. With just a day remaining for Nashville to match, one has to wonder what the Flyers are going to do with offense. If Nashville does not match and the Flyers get Weber without having to work out a trade, the Flyers will have $4.9 million remaining in Salary. They still have RFA Jakub Voracek that needs to be signed and he is looking for a raise from his $2.25 mil from the previous season. The Flyers have lost two big forwards in Jagr and JVR when it comes to points, but many people would point out, not nearly as many from the previous offseason. (Richards/Carter) The Flyers are going to need some offense regardless. If they do work out a trade, most likely Read and or Voracek will be dealt and that will make four offensive departures this offseason. Fans may point out that Bobby Ryan is still being shopped, but the asking price is still high for Ryan. Also who do you trade for him if the Flyers end up losing Read and Voracek? Holmgrim is not looking to blow this young team up again as he did last year. The last thing he wants to do is trade five players to bring in two. Best case scenario, the Flyers get Weber without Nashville matching and could end up trading Read or Voracek, plus a D-man (Coburn or Meszaros) in a package deal for Ryan. The Ducks could believe that they could ask a high price for Ryan, but remember Ryan’s comments, indicating that he does not want to play for Anaheim anymore. The front office knows this and the last thing an organization wants, is an unwanted player in their locker room. The team who is the most patient will obtain Ryan and probably at a reasonable cost. Still could the Flyers afford Ryan if the price did drop? If you look at the Flyers current roster here is the breakdown: F- Danny Briere. Cap hit of $6.5mil. The NHL’s most consistent scorer when it comes to the post season. His veteran presence and leadership as well as his skill level would hurt the Flyers if he were to be dealt. F-Scott Hartnell. Cap hit of $4.2mil. It wasn’t long ago where Hartnell was at the top of the rumor mill of being traded. That was before Hartnell has the best season of his career by leading the team in goals and earning his first trip to the NHL all star game. Even before Hartnell became a scoring leader, he still had put up 20+goals five out of six seasons and he’s that gritty player that will win battles off the boards, drop the gloves and give it his all every night. Trading him will only downgrade the team’s size which they’re already lacking in the offensive dept. Not to mention even though he’s in a contract year, he’s willing to come back at a discount. F-Max Talbot. Cap hit of $1.75mil. Talbot also had a career season with the Flyers and was a huge player on their PK and is a younger version of Ian Laperriere. He will sacrifice himself for the team and to win games. He’s also a veteran presence with Stanley Cup experience. Dealing him could cripple the PK. F-Wayne Simmonds. Cap hit of 1.75. Simmonds, like Talbot and Hartnell, had his best season last year with 28G, 21A for 49 PTS. He’s a younger version of Hartnell. He’s very valuable on the PP, isn’t afraid to drop the gloves and has tremendous potential of being a career 30 goal scorer. His salary is friendly to the Flyers and given if another player is traded, his responsibility will only increase. His name isn’t something you’ll hear every night on the NHL Network, but he is one of those valuable role players that will make whichever team he is on, better. Trading him would come back to haunt the Flyers. F-Matt Read Cap hit $900,000. Read was an undrafted rookie and probably made plenty of NHL scouts, smack their heads. Read is probably the Flyers’ biggest trade piece because of his rookie season and potential to be a star in the NHL. However his $900k is good for the team asking for him, but no good for the Flyers. If he was moved, another big salary player would have to go with him. The untouchable players I’ve labeled are: Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier and Brayden Scehnn. Some may also forget that there is a young player looking to make a name for himself, who is buried down in the Flyers roster. I’m talking about Eric Wellwood. Wellwood has some of the fastest skating I’ve seen since Simon Gagne’s rookie year. He played very well in replace of an injured JVR playing 24 games scoring 5G and 9A. I expect him to make the roster and play on the 3rd line. We had nine rookies make suit up last year for the Flyers, so why not give him a shot? We’ll have to wait and see what were working with here, since a lot can happen between now and the deadline for Weber. Will the Flyers become a better team Wednesday night? As a Flyers fan, I can only say, “I sure hope so!” Follow me on Twitter @iban3zhead

It’s been the story of the Flyers’ life this season. Bad bounces + deflections = a goal past Ilya Bryzgalov. Nothing changed during last night’s finale of a Home-and-Home series against the Ottawa Senators. With just 1:11 left in the third, Filip Kuba took a shot from the point that changed direction and went passed Bryzgalov. That was the 2nd time that game that a Sens goal went off a Flyers’ stick. However, the Flyers had plenty of chances to take command of the game, but failed to cash in on special teams. The Flyers went 1 for 6 on the Power Play. The other thing that may have cost the Flyers some chances was the return of Jagr. Normally that would be a good thing, but Jagr didn’t look the same. It appeared he was favoring some sort of injury which was probably his groin. Jagr, who doesn’t like to miss much time, only missed two games which is really not typical for a groin injury. Most Groin injuries take at least 10-14 days to heal and that’s if it’s not serious. Groin injuries could actually take months to heal and may require surgery if it’s the worst case scenario. (See Briere three years ago.) The Flyers are struggling to stay consistent since their seven game win streak last month. At first, the Flyers reacted well to the news of losing team captain, Chris Pronger but now I think the absence is catching up to them. Since December 17, the Flyers have gone 5-6-1. Not great numbers if your team has players named; Claude Giroux, Jaromir Jagr, Danny Briere and Ilya Bryzgalov. The Flyers Defense seems lost. I don’t think it’s the talent we have because the Flyers on paper have one of the deepest Defenses in the NHL. I think it’s the direction that’s causing the Flyers’ D to loosen their ends. Kimmo Timmonen is the leader of the Defense right now. Kimmo needs to band this defense together and get them going. Matt Carle and Brayden Coburn tend to disappear in some games which are causing them issues. Coburn and Carle are turning over the puck in the defensive zone with failed clears or lapse in communication and it’s costing them. Marc-Andre Burdon turned over the puck in the game against Chicago. He was being pressured and attempted a pass but it landed right on the tape of a Blackhawk and led to the game tying goal. The Defense needs to look up first before they pass. A lot of blind passes are happening and it’s not working. The Defense needs to slow the pace down and look around. If they don’t find any options and are being pressured, the need to just get rid of it. Let me clarify; don’t attempt to carry the puck through a man, or pass it when being pressured. Flipping it out of the zone is the safest choice. Turnovers on the defensive are leading to too many goals. The other issue with the Flyers that could be costing them would be their discipline. The Flyers are currently number one in PIMs in the NHL. 200 of their 240 penalties are minors. Their PK ranks at 16th with 82.5%. This is disastrous. The Flyers can’t afford to be spending time on the PK and using energy night in and night out not only on the PK but on the attack if they’re playing “catch-up.” Down the stretch the Flyers need to establish some consistency with the defense, limit their penalties and rest some key players. The Flyers have a good checking line to keep the puck in the zone and help wear down their opponents, but they won’t be on the ice if the Flyers are trailing. This also makes their stars more vulnerable to injuries. The Flyers cannot afford any more injuries to the defense. Even though I believe the Flyers have plenty of depth with the defense I expect them to make a move within the next month. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens due to the cap and certain players playing very well. Last year Hartnell would have been trade bait but since he’s become the 2nd player in points on the team and a very valuable asset to the “G” line, I don’t see him going anywhere. (He also has a NTC.) Homer is a hard GM to read. Nobody thought he’d move Mike Richards or Jeff Carter especially after signing him to an 11 year contract. Unless the Flyers find consistency, someone is going to be brought in. I know the Flyers faithful are shouting for Shea Weber. Can we bring another big name in? Time will tell. The Flyers are in full control of their destiny. NHL Trivia: Which two teams opened the 1997-98 regular season, with a two-game series in Tokyo Japan?

Ring around the goalie, pocket full of? Nothing rhymes with goalie that would sound relevant. However, some may look at the Flyers current goalie situation as a ring around. To begin, Bryz started off the season playing very well going 3-1-1 in his first five games which included a shutout, something the Flyers didn’t see last season. Then Bryz began to slowly decline and admitted after the Winnipeg game that he “was lost in the woods” and that he had “zero” confidence in himself, but Lavy kept with him and Bryz found what the Flyers believe he had when they signed him to a nine year contract. Since the Flyers went a season high of winning seven straight games, the Flyers and Bryzgalov were met with a familiar foe, inconsistency. The Flyers have played seven games since the winning streak had ended in a 6-0 defeat against the reigning Stanley Cup Champion, the Boston Bruins, and have gone 2-4-1 and have only scored 15 goals during that span. The goalies, have given up 23 goals in those seven games. This is not something the Flyers want to see, neither is this, what the fans expect to see. However the Flyers have seen their fair share of triple deflections that superman couldn’t stop, or crazy bounces that happen to find their way passed the goal line and even miraculously falling right on the opposition’s tape for an easy garbage goal. These goals are going to happen and unfortunately, it’s been happening more than once and on a regular basis for the Flyers. On the contrary, several goals are pretty legit goals that were created by gifted set-ups, crashing the net and of course the power play. I’ve seen several goals that were scored due to a lapse of defense. I’ve seen several defensemen, stop covering their man and go after the puck carrier, leaving the open man alone in the front of the net. This happened several times during the Tampa game as Stamkos (The guy who you should never stop covering) was left alone on the door step and guess what happened? He scored two against the Flyers that night. However, you can blame the defense for only so long however, and it can’t be on injuries. Yes they’re playing without their top defenseman and captain, Chris Pronger, but when your defense is getting beat you have that last line of defense for a reason. It’s a very good $52 Million reason at that if you’re paying close attention. Bryzgalov and Bobrovsky have let in their share of weak goals this season including the most recent two goals that Mike Rupp scored in the Winter Classic. Mike Rupp should not being scoring goals from the circle on a goalie like Sergei Bobrovsky. This brings me to Lavy’s decision to start Bobrovsky over Bryz. Lavy decided to go with who’s been hotter more recently and realized that even though the Classic was the “mid season big stage,” he gave the start to a goalie who’s been trying to prove himself and has been playing well. On the other hand, I disagreed with the decision, only because Bryz seems to be lacking confidence right now. Lavy played him before with the “lost in the woods” debacle and he turned out to play a successful slew of games. I think sitting Bryz for the Winter Classic does send him a message, but it could send him the wrong message. Like it or not, Bryz is the guy. The contract states that. The team needs to buy into that, the coaches need to buy into that, the FANS need to buy in to that and most importantly, Bryzgalov and Bobrovsky need to buy into that. This guy needs his confidence back. Playing him during a extremely important divisional game on National Television shows that you (the coach) have confidence that he’s going to turn it around and play the way you expect him to play. As long as you have two goalies capable at playing the number one position and the coach keeps going with the hotter hand with each string of games, you’re going to have the same mistake and problem the Flyers had last year. It was a nightmare and if we have this, then all we’ve is set ourselves back. You can blame the goalie on a loss, you can blame the defense on a loss but many seem to forget the score and take a look at the offense at the end of the game. As Bill Clement would say “In order to win the game, you have to score goals.” Yes the Defense can blow a game, the goalie can blow a game and the offense can come out flat and blow the game. In the end, you lose as a team and you win as a team. With the Flyers’ PP and PK numbers and their ability to not play the first period, the Flyers have bigger problems then just their goaltending. Look at the big picture, it’s a team game. The Team wins the Stanley Cup, not the goalie. Next we’ll cover the boy on the milk carton, James VanRiemsdyk in the III part of this blog. Follow me on Twitter for Flyers and NHL Updates @iban3zhead.

What is four out of five? Four is the place the Flyers sit at, out of the Top 5 teams in the Eastern Conference. Four out of the last five Flyer injuries were “head” injuries. Finally, four out of five represents the current Flyers five game span, four losses. (Before Pittsburgh Game) Many fans have some concern and are asking questions. Is our defense missing Pronger and do we need to make a trade for an upgrade? Is Ilya Bryzgalov the goalie we asked for when he signed the 9 year, 50+ million dollar contract? Where is the JVR from last years’ playoffs? All valid questions and a lot of fans who have posted on several message boards are worried and upset. Also for a lot of those forum posters who are quick to post before they think, I’ll walk you through some of the issues and why we shouldn’t be too concerned. Over the next three days we’ll cover these topics. Today we’ll look at the Defense. I’m always concerned about the Flyers defense with or without Pronger. The Flyers have some serious depth at defense which include; Erik Gustafsson, Marc-Andre Burdon, and Kevin Marshall. All of these players have shown they can carry their own in the NHL. I actually think Burdon and Marshall are better than some of our veteran players. If you break it down, Kimmo Timmonen has carried much of the load. He’s a warrior, who spends his off days working on his conditioning and prepping for the next game. His defensive-mind is much like Pronger’s and is a huge team leader both on and off the ice. He is our number one without Pronger. Then there is Matt Carle, who’s been Pronger’s partner. He plays really well and seems to be getting more mature on the blue line, game in and game out. The mistakes that he used to make are becoming more of ancient history. The Flyers will need him to continue this type of play to continue their success. Andrej Meszaros has finally come out of his early season funk and is looking like the Defenseman we saw last season. I’d currently rank him 2nd next to Timmonen on the squad. He’s been playing the puck well, creating turnovers and he like to carry the puck and create chances. The defensemen who scare me are Andreas Lijia and Brayden Coburn. Coburn, shows flashes of greatness from time to time. His skate speed is his biggest asset. He also can clear the porch if the opportunity arises. However he is constantly turning over the puck in his own zone and several times it has led to goals. He’ll also take his eye off his man in the zone and cover someone else’s man, leaving him open in front of the goalie. That all can’t be blamed on him however, it is a lapse in communication. Whether it’s on his part or a teammates’ your communication needs to be established when you’re defending your zone. Bryzgalov threw his D-men under the bus earlier this season, claiming they had a communication problem. (This came after Bryzgalov played the puck to Coburn, but Coburn didn’t take it, thus leading to a goal.) Coburn is a streaky defenseman, who can play very well, but can cost you a goal. Lijia has been a downgrade from Sean O’Donnell who signed with Chicago during the offseason. Lijia lacks speed and his defensive sense is more on an AHL Level. During his injury, his presence wasn’t missed at all, and since his return, he has struggled as the sixth defenseman. I wouldn’t be surprised one, Gustafsson returns from injury, we’ll see him scratch in favor of Burdon or maybe even Marshall if he is called back up. For now, both Lijia and Coburn need to find their strengths and ride them. The coaching staff also needs to point out their weaknesses and help them develop. The great thing about a professional hockey player is that they never stop developing until they hang their skates up. Every game is a learning opportunity. With the Flyers depth at Defense and playing well, minus the little spurt they’ve had over the last five games, I don’t see them making a move. Most Flyer fans have been calling for a trade that would bring in Shea Webber. I don’t see that happening for several reasons. Reason one, being he’s out with a concussion. Before his injury I still didn’t see him being moved. For one, he has one season left on his contract. The Flyers would also have to move major salary in order to get him on the roster. I don’t see the Flyers moving a core player for a rental player. With Pronger coming back next year, Weber would not sign in the offseason. I can’t see that helping the team, even short term. I also don’t see them trading for anyone, personally. The Flyers have played very well without Pronger and with the defensive depth I think they’ll be just fine. Each team is going to have their droughts and I’m comfortable with them having it at Christmas, rather than April. Tomorrow we’ll look at Bryzgalov and is he really to blame for the Flyers’ current sinking streak? Look for tomorrow’s blog. Follow me on Twitter @iban3zhead

It tough that they're injured but you have to look at your GM and see if he's done a good job with depth and the farm system. Very few teams have good depth and this is where good GMS and great GMs differ.

Interesting you went with Toews, over Ovechkin, Stamkos, Kane, Giroux, Kopatar, even Illya Kovalchuck. Toews is a great young talent and one hell of a leader, but I think Giroux is much more of an NHL Face than Towes and Ovechkin, given his status, a bigger face than Giroux.

Since the beginning of the 2011-2012 season, Claude Giroux, Sidney Crosby, Jeff Skinner, Brayden Schenn, Daniel Paille, Peter Muller, Joey Hishon, Radek Martinek, Marek Zidlicky, Nino Niederreriter, Michael Sauer, Milan Michalek, Zbynek Michalek, Kris Letang and Andy Mcdonald have all been diagnosed with concussions. While the NHL attempts to remove hits to the head, some hits are just regular hits that lead to these concussions. With the technology in today’s sports it’s really hard to figure out how these concussions keep happening. Since the Lock-out the NHL has attempted to “speed” the game up. They eliminated the two line pass, put in a trapezoid behind the goal-line, added the shoot-out to eliminate ties and ensure a winner, the tag-up offsides and moved the blue lines back to create a bigger offensive zone and minimize the neutral zone. All things that have sped the game up and some of those changes were for the good of the game. I love the Tag-up offsides or the elimination of the two line pass. However, since the game has sped up the number of injuries has nearly doubled. (All Injuries) One has to ask, has the game become too fast? I think a fast NHL can be good for the game itself. It allows players with fineness to excel and bring in new fans. It establishes a faced pace game with non-stop movement, something other sports like Baseball and football lack and even basketball lack. It makes the game exciting. Edge of your seat non-stop action! The bad you ask? The speed of the game also makes it hard to see those bone-crushing hits like we’ve seen in the 90’s, 80’s and 70’s that made us jump out of our seats. We’d crave those hits, however with the speed of the new NHL, those hits are almost eliminated. Players are now protected by penalties such as charging, clipping, and hitting from behind. Bone-crushing hits are being eliminated because of the speed. The speed of the game is causing these injuries. The equipment is far more advanced than the 70’s and 80’s and even though the hits may be of the same caliber, the speed of the hit is the difference. I think the NHL needs to evaluate the game again. It’s not the “lack of protection” in equipment that’s causing injuries, it’s the speed. The hits of hockey are part of the game just like fighting, you can’t eliminate them. It also leaves a big hole, because with new rules on hits constantly changing and with the inconsistency of discipline, the players aren’t sure what hits are ok, other than direct shots to the head. The NHL needs to slow the game down just a bit. Not bring back the style of the 80’s, but make it a more controlled tempo game where players need to slow down. If you take away hitting from the game, you’ll protect the players for sure, but you’ll damage the game and the NHL is already having a tough time trying to bring in new fans. But this should be more of a concern than the talks of banning fighting. Fighting will fill seats and is part of the emotion the players share during the game. I want the NHL to keep the up-tempo of the game, but they need to figure a way to slow it down, slightly. This way the fineness players can still shine, there's constant end-to-end action and the big hits don't injure nearly as often. Some of the games' best players are being hurt and if you really want to protect them, you’ll slow the game down just a little bit.

Ruff is a hard nosed coach. He's a great coach in my opinion, however as we all know, tenure at one team can lead to a coaches style to become stale. Perhaps he's coach far too long at Buffalo. He'd be great for LA.