radoran

Leino isn't injured - but he's in Ruff's doghouse all right. Dropped him off the first line, then the second line. I think he was skating 4 for a few games. Leino, IMO, needs stability in linemates and sustained playing time. He's not going to get it in Buffalo.

My reaction to the trades was "the Flyers got better, younger and cheaper" and I still feel that way. Leino is NOT a $4M forward. Carter is NOT the playmaking center Rick Nash has been waiting for. Richards was NOT ready to be an NHL captain. That said, those three are better than those stats and they will improve.

Another problem is that the Flyers didn't learn that lesson...

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=599197&cmpid=nhl-rxl-fb "A big problem for the Blues this season has been special teams play. St. Louis is last in the League at just 7.5 percent on the power play" I'm sure that'll be the "easiest thing to fix" down there... They just need to make sure that they have a GPS on where "the room" is. And, not that I particularly care about the Blue Jackets, but that team's not entirely the coach's fault. There is a point at which players need to play and simply turning on the coaching carousel isn't always the best move. Arniel didn't give up multiple odd-man rushes. He hasn't give up goals in the first four shots of EVERY game this season (a stat which astonishes me...). Plus, with RJ and Crater on board, would Hitchcock have been the best choice, anyway?

Hey there FG - good to see you on board here! Timmo's off after next season so that space will open up. I don't think he was on the "downside of his career" when they signed him - but that was four whole seasons ago. I think you need to compare this D to other teams. I don't think they're hands down "the best" but they do have a solid Top 5 - even with the mistakes you mention. And there are mistakes. But, honestly, everybody makes them. Coburn and Carle frustrate me. Meszaros less. Pronger/Timonen I'm good with. Walker/Lilja make a not bad 6/7 pair. The problem is that the D is too expensive - which is what most "writers" are looking at in terms of "quality".

We have some Really Cool bars in Philly :-)

Lilja and Walker seem to me to be the definition of "real 5/6" guys. Especially once Pronger's back: Pronger, Timonen, Meszaros, Coburn, Carle, Walker/Lilja Seems to fit perfectly. The real problems comes in paying your "5" (Carle or Coburn) $3.4M or $3.8M. If you're looking to trade for a "real 5/6" then I think saving some salary on either Carle or Coburn would be the way to go before Schenn. That said, I don't think we need to "fix" the D and I don't expect any game-changing deals until next Spring.

I'm all in for the Pietrangelo trade. Sbisa, not so much. Schenn would likely be on this roster if not for the salary cap problems. His cap hit as I understand it is less than it would have been had he made the opening day roster. He went down and put up immediate numbers in the AHL. He was brought up, playing 3/4 line time as I recall, and didn't set the world on fire, but hardly looked out of place. LA didn't "give up" on Schenn by trading him, they acquired Mike Richards. You can't get a good player for spare parts (usually...*) and certainly not a captain with a 12 year contract. The Flyers wouldn't "give up" on Schenn to trade him for a solid player that fills a need. St. Louis isn't dealing Pietrangelo for Schenn. And no one is trading anything for Schenn for at least the next month, if not early next year. Nobody trades for a player with a broken foot.* * Mike Millbury is no longer employed as a GM in the National Hockey League.

I love this thread. Thanks for bringing it back. Good to be here and to see friends old and new!

Definite kudos to Shanahan for showing the reasons and the history. I don't recall anything like this before? Is it new to the NHL or are other leagues doing it? Great fan interaction for the NHL.