toughbrotherlylove

Yupp, I heard from another source that he is pretty close to being signed to a extension

The cap ceiling for the summer was increased to $70.3 million. Leaves Flyers roughly $9.1 mill without prongs on LTIR, and obviously before Carle and Jagrs extensions go through. So the Flyers in actuality could even acquire Webers rights and have more than enough to sign him long term, not that it is going to happen though.

Just thought I would share this info that I just read from @HockeyyInsiderr on twitter: "#Flyers an Jagr have a VERBAL AGREEMENT in place. 1 year extension #DONE. Salary agreed upon, still discussing bonuses, announced next week." "MORE on #Flyers: Talks with #Preds for Suter seem to NOT be going well. Reason? From source close to Suter: He does NOT want to play in PHI!" "PRONGER update/ #Flyers trying to downplay it, but Prongers status is VERY BAD as of right now. Career in jeopardy. Long recovery road." "To offset this major problem, #Flyers trying HARD to land #1 d-man (Suter/Enstrom main targets); also AGREED to extension on Carle #OFFICIAL" "Carle and Jagr resignings should be announced sometime next week. #Flyers" Ok fans, what do you make of all this news? follow me on Twitter: @EbbonDerr Check my blog daily: www.toughbrotherlylove.squarespace.com

Just thought I would share this info that I just read from @HockeyyInsiderr on twitter: "#Flyers an Jagr have a VERBAL AGREEMENT in place. 1 year extension #DONE. Salary agreed upon, still discussing bonuses, announced next week." "MORE on #Flyers: Talks with #Preds for Suter seem to NOT be going well. Reason? From source close to Suter: He does NOT want to play in PHI!" "PRONGER update/ #Flyers trying to downplay it, but Prongers status is VERY BAD as of right now. Career in jeopardy. Long recovery road." "To offset this major problem, #Flyers trying HARD to land #1 d-man (Suter/Enstrom main targets); also AGREED to extension on Carle #OFFICIAL" "Carle and Jagr resignings should be announced sometime next week. #Flyers" Ok fans, what do you make of all this news? follow me on Twitter: @EbbonDerr Check my blog daily: www.toughbrotherlylove.squarespace.com

The last few weeks there have been articles relating of this topic. One was John Bourke’s on finding a veteran backup for Bryz. Another was Bill Meltzer’s on HockeyBuzz where he stated the Flyers should hold onto Bob because he has not been backup long enough to affirm he is not suited for that particular role. I am just going to answer this right away Bob should be traded. Now before the Bob supporters jump over me for saying this I have my reasons. Last offseason when the Flyers signed Bryzgalov to his $51 million contract, they made it clear to their players, fans and the NHL that he is going to be the goalie in Philly for the foreseeable future. Whether you like it or not it does not matter. If you ask me, who are we to funnel Bob into a backup role? The only thing we can do is support the team and trust that our GM knows what he is doing. With all that being said, why should we hold Bob back from what he could be? It would be doing a disservice to Bob and to the Flyers to keep him pinned on the bench and only starting roughly 20 games. Why not explore the options of trading Bob to a team that can utilize his skill set and get something in return for him? Plus in trading Bob and signing a less expensive more experienced backup, who accepts his role as a back up, will save some small but crucial cap space. Considering Philly always works towards the ceiling, it could be bennificial. I also understand with negotiations of the new CBA there could be talks in regards to bonus cushions and could reduce Bobs cap hit. Also rumors of Philly being involved in trying to acquire Vokoun (which I am glad they did not) also would have us believe Bob is on his way out at some point, possibly at the draft in a package deal to move up? Some notable goalies that would be available via UFA would be Clemmensen, although reports say Florida has offered a contract extension to him recently (previous cap hit $1.2), Mason (previous cap hit $1.85), and Biron (previous cap hit $875k) to name some. Another scenario Bill Meltzer brought up in his article on HockeyBuzz was the possibility of letting Niko Hovinen challenge Bob for a back up spot and then make a decision from there, on what to do with Bob. Personally I am not a fan of this for one reason. I believe it will hinder the development of Hovinen. When is the last time you saw the Flyers fully take their time and develop a goaltender? It happened to Bob also. I still believe Bob needed some seasoning and experience as a starter in the AHL to hone in on his skillset. If that was done I think Bob would have been a much better goalie than he is today. Hovinen had an excellent year over in Finland with the Pelicans, 41 games started 21 wins a 2.26 gaa, .921 sv% with 5 shutouts. He is a monster, being listed on some sites as 6”7. That big body allows him to cover a large portion of the net, he is very athletic, great technique and is said to have a great work ethic. He is primed to make the journey across the Atlantic and assume a hefty workload in the AHL next season. If the Flyers take their time and develop this kid properly, watch out. But that is a big IF. I understand Bob is a likeable guy, and by all means I am not saying he is a bad goalie, because he is not. His reaction time and side-to-side movement are unearthly. With that being said Bryz’s contract puts Bob out of the future plans with the Flyers and they would be wise to cash in on some of his value, whatever that may be. Follow me on twitter @EbbonDerr and check out my blog site www.toughbrotherlylove.squarespace.com

The last few weeks there have been articles relating of this topic. One was John Bourke’s on finding a veteran backup for Bryz. Another was Bill Meltzer’s on HockeyBuzz where he stated the Flyers should hold onto Bob because he has not been backup long enough to affirm he is not suited for that particular role. I am just going to answer this right away Bob should be traded. Now before the Bob supporters jump over me for saying this I have my reasons. Last offseason when the Flyers signed Bryzgalov to his $51 million contract, they made it clear to their players, fans and the NHL that he is going to be the goalie in Philly for the foreseeable future. Whether you like it or not it does not matter. If you ask me, who are we to funnel Bob into a backup role? The only thing we can do is support the team and trust that our GM knows what he is doing. With all that being said, why should we hold Bob back from what he could be? It would be doing a disservice to Bob and to the Flyers to keep him pinned on the bench and only starting roughly 20 games. Why not explore the options of trading Bob to a team that can utilize his skill set and get something in return for him? Plus in trading Bob and signing a less expensive more experienced backup, who accepts his role as a back up, will save some small but crucial cap space. Considering Philly always works towards the ceiling, it could be bennificial. I also understand with negotiations of the new CBA there could be talks in regards to bonus cushions and could reduce Bobs cap hit. Also rumors of Philly being involved in trying to acquire Vokoun (which I am glad they did not) also would have us believe Bob is on his way out at some point, possibly at the draft in a package deal to move up? Some notable goalies that would be available via UFA would be Clemmensen, although reports say Florida has offered a contract extension to him recently (previous cap hit $1.2), Mason (previous cap hit $1.85), and Biron (previous cap hit $875k) to name some. Another scenario Bill Meltzer brought up in his article on HockeyBuzz was the possibility of letting Niko Hovinen challenge Bob for a back up spot and then make a decision from there, on what to do with Bob. Personally I am not a fan of this for one reason. I believe it will hinder the development of Hovinen. When is the last time you saw the Flyers fully take their time and develop a goaltender? It happened to Bob also. I still believe Bob needed some seasoning and experience as a starter in the AHL to hone in on his skillset. If that was done I think Bob would have been a much better goalie than he is today. Hovinen had an excellent year over in Finland with the Pelicans, 41 games started 21 wins a 2.26 gaa, .921 sv% with 5 shutouts. He is a monster, being listed on some sites as 6”7. That big body allows him to cover a large portion of the net, he is very athletic, great technique and is said to have a great work ethic. He is primed to make the journey across the Atlantic and assume a hefty workload in the AHL next season. If the Flyers take their time and develop this kid properly, watch out. But that is a big IF. I understand Bob is a likeable guy, and by all means I am not saying he is a bad goalie, because he is not. His reaction time and side-to-side movement are unearthly. With that being said Bryz’s contract puts Bob out of the future plans with the Flyers and they would be wise to cash in on some of his value, whatever that may be. Follow me on twitter @EbbonDerr and check out my blog site www.toughbrotherlylove.squarespace.com

Lol I thought about that too, but I believe it is only a madden cover curse. The last 3 years of NHL cover athletes were Patrick Kane(zee hockey player, sorry I had to), Johnathan Towes, and Steven Stamkos. I don't have to remind any Flyers fan of what Kane did to the Flyers in the SCF the year he was on the cover. Towes set a career high in points when he was on the cover the following year. And this year Stamkos scored 60 goals. So we'll see but if G gets the cover history says he'll have a big year somehow, hopefully it is a ovetime game winner of the SCF.

Wanted to start off by saying sorry for the long absence with posts. With summer being here and Flyers not playing, work and vacations posting is hard to come by. I decided to make this next post about, in my mind, the most impressive rookie in the orange and black this season, number 14 Sean Couturier. I admit when the Flyers decided to keep him up in the NHL after his allotted games were completed, I was a little nervous. Couturier showed amazing promise, especially with his time in the Q, but I was nervous for two main reasons. First reason was his role on the team. A kid with that much talent, I felt, should not be subject to a 4th line role seeing scarce minutes. Thus I thought it would have been better for his development to play one more season in the Q to refine his skill set and give him a proper workload. I did however understand that it would be a “man playing among boys” and probably would not be much of a challenge for Sean back in the Q. However on the reverse side, how I stated previously, it might be too big of a jump to play in the NHL and hinder his development with low minutes. I had the pleasure to watch Couturier in action when the Flyers prospects played the Capitals prospects down at the Wells Fargo Center. You could see his potential with every shift, but also could see there is a lot of work to be done in his development. I paid close attention to him throughout preseason and early on in the regular season, one of his glaring weaknesses was his strength. Watching highlights/games of him in the Q you could tell a big part of his game was protecting the puck while being hard to knock off the puck and then making plays from there. Only being 18 years old (at the time) I did not expect him to come in at the NHL and be a powerhouse on the puck but you could easily see his was not where he needed to be physically. Early on you could see Couturier getting bodied off the puck easily an unable to shield off defending players simply because of their maturity and strength compared to his. Whelp I had my foot shoved in my mouth by the end of the season. The amount of progress in this young players game was phenomenal. You could tell very much Couturier gained strength throughout the season and was more of an animal along the boards. Every time he ended a shift it always left me saying, “how is this kid doing all this at 19 years of age?” Now while Couturier did not put up flashy numbers or make crazy highlight reel plays, he still put up respectable numbers for a 19 year old (13G, 14A, and a +18) while also being the teams best defensive forward. Now I know Matt Read was crazy good this year as well (as a rookie), but the amount of improvement and poise that Sean Couturier had as the season progressed really impressed me, and is why he is in my mind the Flyers most impressive rookie. Also I have recognize his face offs. There were only 5 other rookie centers in the league with better face off percentage then Couturier and four of them took at least 400 less face offs. Couturier operated at 47% while attempting 804 face offs this season. Looking forward to the upcoming 2012-2013 season (hopefully), I would love to see Couturier move away from a strict defensive role and be more involved with the offense. We are talking about a kid who at age 17 and 18 put up back-to-back 96-point seasons in the Q. This kid can be an offensive beast, and he will be in the NHL at some point. I truly believe throughout the offseason Couturier will work his rear end off to become stronger and faster. He is too much of a smart, respectable and modest player not to. As far as I am concerned after Giroux, Couturier is the next name on the “Do not touch list” (meaning trade). The Flyers would be doing Sean, the team and the city of Philadelphia a disservice if they did not tap into the offensive potential of this kid. Other notes: Keep voting for Giroux to put him on the cover of NHL13, 24 hours left for voting! Lets get a Flyer on the cover! Follow me on twitter: @EbbonDerr And as always check into my blog site: www.toughbrotherlylove.squarespace.com

Wanted to start off by saying sorry for the long absence with posts. With summer being here and Flyers not playing, work and vacations posting is hard to come by. I decided to make this next post about, in my mind, the most impressive rookie in the orange and black this season, number 14 Sean Couturier. I admit when the Flyers decided to keep him up in the NHL after his allotted games were completed, I was a little nervous. Couturier showed amazing promise, especially with his time in the Q, but I was nervous for two main reasons. First reason was his role on the team. A kid with that much talent, I felt, should not be subject to a 4th line role seeing scarce minutes. Thus I thought it would have been better for his development to play one more season in the Q to refine his skill set and give him a proper workload. I did however understand that it would be a “man playing among boys” and probably would not be much of a challenge for Sean back in the Q. However on the reverse side, how I stated previously, it might be too big of a jump to play in the NHL and hinder his development with low minutes. I had the pleasure to watch Couturier in action when the Flyers prospects played the Capitals prospects down at the Wells Fargo Center. You could see his potential with every shift, but also could see there is a lot of work to be done in his development. I paid close attention to him throughout preseason and early on in the regular season, one of his glaring weaknesses was his strength. Watching highlights/games of him in the Q you could tell a big part of his game was protecting the puck while being hard to knock off the puck and then making plays from there. Only being 18 years old (at the time) I did not expect him to come in at the NHL and be a powerhouse on the puck but you could easily see his was not where he needed to be physically. Early on you could see Couturier getting bodied off the puck easily an unable to shield off defending players simply because of their maturity and strength compared to his. Whelp I had my foot shoved in my mouth by the end of the season. The amount of progress in this young players game was phenomenal. You could tell very much Couturier gained strength throughout the season and was more of an animal along the boards. Every time he ended a shift it always left me saying, “how is this kid doing all this at 19 years of age?” Now while Couturier did not put up flashy numbers or make crazy highlight reel plays, he still put up respectable numbers for a 19 year old (13G, 14A, and a +18) while also being the teams best defensive forward. Now I know Matt Read was crazy good this year as well (as a rookie), but the amount of improvement and poise that Sean Couturier had as the season progressed really impressed me, and is why he is in my mind the Flyers most impressive rookie. Also I have recognize his face offs. There were only 5 other rookie centers in the league with better face off percentage then Couturier and four of them took at least 400 less face offs. Couturier operated at 47% while attempting 804 face offs this season. Looking forward to the upcoming 2012-2013 season (hopefully), I would love to see Couturier move away from a strict defensive role and be more involved with the offense. We are talking about a kid who at age 17 and 18 put up back-to-back 96-point seasons in the Q. This kid can be an offensive beast, and he will be in the NHL at some point. I truly believe throughout the offseason Couturier will work his rear end off to become stronger and faster. He is too much of a smart, respectable and modest player not to. As far as I am concerned after Giroux, Couturier is the next name on the “Do not touch list” (meaning trade). The Flyers would be doing Sean, the team and the city of Philadelphia a disservice if they did not tap into the offensive potential of this kid. Other notes: Keep voting for Giroux to put him on the cover of NHL13, 24 hours left for voting! Lets get a Flyer on the cover! Follow me on twitter: @EbbonDerr And as always check into my blog site: www.toughbrotherlylove.squarespace.com