caluso

i think this was an excellent trade by Gomer. i cant believe i just wrote that! he is young, mobile and blocks a ton of shots. he's very solid and his presence should help streit a lot. it should also solidify the other two pairings as he allows timonen to be reunited with coburn, and schenn to be paired with grossmann. people compare him to carle and i get that, but, having watched a ton of islander games, i can say he is a lot better than carle was. also, i know that he wants top-tier money, but we have timonen coming off the cap and i think he is someone who can help in the long haul.

I love this guy! plays hard every shift, fights for his teammates (literally). great teammate. i know the kings won the cup with richards but i love that trade more and more with each passing day.

since you brought up timonen, i think we should use him sparingly when he gets healthy. he's my favorite flyer, but it is painfully obvious how slow he's gotten; his heart won't allow him to quit, though. a warrior.

i have been really impressed with the competitiveness of the team these last three games. if we could sustain that... and, our gap control has been fantastic. i hate to oversimplify things, but when we aren't impersonating the keystone kops in our own zone, we are pretty good.

as i said, i am truly not sure. only time will tell. he's a great player, no doubt, but...

starting next year - excluding any buyouts - he will be tied for the 8th/9th highest player in the league and the 4th highest paid forward. is he worth that?

thats funny. and sad, at the same time. when will they take Gomer's keys away?

i never compared giroux to stamkos. and, again, i like giroux. i am just not sure he is worth 8 million per year. and if your argument is that if giroux - and the top line - play well, then so will the team. ok, makes sense, especially because the top line sees a disproportionate amount of ice time. but, if you are trying to convince me that giroux is "carrying" the team, then i don't buy it.

"A hero refers to characters who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self sacrifice—that is, heroism—for some greater good of all humanity." Giroux is far from a "hero." I am not saying he is a disappointment, but he aint a hero. I like Giroux, I think he has amazing hands and plays as if he cares - most of the time. The real question is: is he worth 8 million per year in a hard salary cap league? I am not sure. I disagree with a lot of what you posted. Who does he make better? Why has his line had at least 4 different wingers, outside of Voracek, already this year? In fact, last year Giroux said he was lucky to be playing with Voracek, who is always looking to set Giroux up, for better or worse. Also, you said that "he has things to his game that other elite players don't have." Can you be more specific. The biggest assertion which I wholeheartedly disagree with is that "he can take control of the game and often does." Really? How many games has he singlehandedly won for us? Like I said, I like Giroux, but I think your perception of him is a little unrealistic.

bingo! initially, i thought one of Gomer's strengths was drafting talent but the organization's player development was seriously flawed. after a few years of seeing the talent Gomer has acquired, i am not so sure my initial impression was correct. however, it doesn't change the fact that the organization lacks vision and lacks the systems to grow their own talent. and that has to be an issue with the whole organization, AHL to NHL. with the hard salary cap, it is imperative to develop your own. other "winning" organizations seem to find a way to do it. why can't we? one of my biggest gripes with laviolette was his staunch insistence on relegating younger players to the third and fourth line irrespective of how they were playing. giroux is a perfect example. it was clear to me early on that this guy was special but it took a while - too long, in my opinion - before he was given more responsibility, responsibility that he clearly earned. in my opinion, if a player is hustling and busting his butt, he should be rewarded and i don't care if he's a rookie or 10 year vet. it's that simple. the flip side of that is true, too. if your first round pick is dogging it, he should ride the pine.

a lot of what he said is spot on. interestingly, the flyers seem to play their best when they are free-wheeling, a style that doesn't work in the east against the rangers, bruins, devils, blue jackets, hurricane.... not only that, they need stupendous goaltending in order to have a shot since their team d is horrible! even during that mini hot streak, it was the outstanding goaltending that kept them afloat. when the goaltending is merely average, they have very little chance of prevailing.

brilliant! i can't tell you how many times i was left shaking my head after Gomer threw in yet another second rounder - as if they don't matter.

i agree with you - and you can add girardi to that list. it's funny and sad, but the flyers lack a vision as an organization. what type of team do they want to have? what's the plan? it seems like they are always chasing last year's cup winner: if a small, quick, talented team wins the cup, that's who they try to become. if, the following year, a team like the big bad bruins win, then they try to model themselves after them. they are incapable of building a team and developing players because they lack their OWN vision. hiring laviolette who plays one style and favors a specific type of player, then hiring berube who plays another system and favors another type of player.....it's not good for player development. in order to succeed, construct a team with a vision, the flyers would need to make every decision built around a fundamental core of beliefs. unfortunately, they have no idea what those are.

you would keep mason and read. read? really....

everybody not named simmonds should be available for the right price. the real question is do you trust Gomer to get fair value or the right pieces in return? i was not against trading JVR, for example, but i was dead set against acquiring schenn for him. and, now that i hear we could have had yandle instead of schenn.....yikes.

i agree with what jammer says, too. and, i hope you guys are right. as i said, a big part of the future is tied to schenn and couturier so i hope they develop into the players we all want them to be. as for the state of the team, i must say that i am perplexed. why is it that they don't show up, don't compete, for so many games, so many shifts? i really don't understand it. i know the team is flawed - heck, every team is flawed - but to not compete.......really inexcusable. and, dare i say it, is it time to start worrying about mason? how crazy would it be if he went into the tank moments after landing a new deal?

by the way, your opinion means more to me than hers. i was just saying... i was actually shocked you got my reference to schenn's happen of "swordfighting" for the puck instead of actually getting in their and battling. i didn't see today's game but i am not disputing schenn's talent as much as his work ethic and hockey iq. having said that, the move he made the other day, when he put the puck behind his back on the rush, was sick. also, you make great points and i actually agree with a lot of what you posted. i really hope that it all works out for schenn and the flyers. the team is so screwed up right now.

i think your post is terrific, honestly. and, for the record, i don't expect schenn to be a superstar - just competitive. i hate the way he battles for the puck - all stick, no body - while his (former) linemates simmonds and hartnell wage war. also, for the record, i never said he was "worthless" just mediocre. and, no matter what you say, his stats bear that out. furthermore, i think schenn, like richards was, is miscast as s second liner. a lot of people on this board cut schenn slack because he is "only" 22. my argument is/was that he isn't precocious or special; in fact, he is mediocre when compared to other players his age. many people on this board think he is on the verge of greatness because he wears o & b, while i don't. sarah baicker speculated that the flyers won't be re-signing schenn and i think she might be right. only time will tell.

stamkos is 23. and both tarasenko and kane are outperforming schenn on a ppg basis. this whole thread took a turn when king knut stated that schenn would be a top 6 forward on every team. i responded that there are dozens of players schenn's age or younger who i would rather have. and, that hasn't changed. in fact, after researching the wealth of young talent in the nhl, schenn is even more mediocre by comparison. again, the free ride that schenn is being given because he is 22 makes no sense to me. has he improved? a little. does his improvement or the rate of improvement excite me about his future? no! he has been in the nhl for over 2 years now and is performing at a decent level, not a spectacular one. he certainly isn't a top 6 forward on every team! is schenn's play worthy of all the blind support he has received? i say, no, you say, yes. only time will tell...

and, by the way, i didn't include evander kane, stamkos, tarasenko, hertl and monahan on that list- all guys i would take over schenn. my point is, the nhl is filled with young players (yes, dozens!) who are actually playing well - irrespective of their age. and while i hope schenn develops, he should be expected to produce AT HIS AGE. anyway, i enjoy the banter and i hope you know that i respect your posts.

matt duchesne, j eberle, r nugent-hopkins, ryan johansen, g landeskog, jeff skinner, reilly smith, n kadri, b saad, jaden schwartz, ryan o'reilly, d stepan, taylor hall, mikkel boedker, n mackinnon, marcus johansson, tyler seguin, j tavares, eric karlsson, tyler johnson, chris kreider are all 23 or younger and are outscoring schenn on a per game basis. that's 20, by my count. i only mention the 20 players because it seems like everybody is using youth as an excuse for scehnn and i dont buy that. schenn lacks a consistent effort and effort should be given irrespective of age. also, full disclosure, i am aware that there is more to a player than the points he scores. however, schenn is lousy at faceoffs and is a mediocre defender.

you said, and i quote, that he would be a top 6 player on every team. he is this team's second line center. his stats show that he would be a third line center almost everywhere else. as for being the fourth best here, he is mediocre on a team void of talent. look, i want to be clear, i am all for developing young players. but to continually cut players slack because they are "young" is dangerous - especially if those players lack effort. effort doesn't come with age. i was appalled when we traded Bob, for example. also, i have been simmonds biggest supporter because he busts his butt every shift. schenn has been gifted his role here and, in my opinion, doesn't work hard enough to merit that.

let's look at schenn's numbers in a different light: he is tied for 95th overall in the nhl. you still think he is a second line center on every team? and, if you believe that schenn has been one of the best players on the team, we really have to agree to disagree.

come on man, look at the numbers and take your o and b goggles off. schenn has been given every opportunity to succeed and his numbers are what they are: mediocre. i am not making his stats up and i am not blinded by my loyalty to the flyers. he is on pace for 49 points and yet you think he would be a first or second liner on every team. come on, man, wake up! with the exception of the devils, there isn't one other team in the east where schenn would be a top 6 guy. when have i seen coots' skating be an issue? umm, every game. having said that, i love the way couturier plays the game. he cares. but let's be honest, his play this year has been wildly erratic and his reputation as a shutdown defender is taking a serious hit lately. just look at the numbers and put emotion aside: 23 points, minus 2. as i said, the future of this team is tied to these two guys and i hope they perform well. thus far, i have been disappointed

do you think schenn plays hard? schenn is 22. at 22 there is no excuse for taking shifts off. if you don't play hard when you are new to the league, when will you? also, there are dozens of players in this league who are younger than schenn yet are out - playing, outscoring him. if he's not ready for the big time at 22, then maybe he shouldn't be here. also, do you think schenn has the offensive prowess of leach? right now, he is playing with simmonds (who never takes a shift off) and hartnell who create tons of space and opportunities for him. yet, most of the time, i am left wondering where schenn is. i hope that couturier and schenn turn out to be superstars in this league. i really do. however, i have serious doubts about both players and if those doubts turn out to be true, then the flyers will be stuck in the mud for several more years. time will tell.