caluso

Bryz's lifetime save percentage is .914 and as a flyer, it is .907. hardly the same.

- Mason can't tie Bryz's jock (for the record, Bryz's save percentage as a flyer is .907). Why did we give up a third rounder for this guy? Seriously, Holmgren acquired a 2 for Bob - who had unlimited potential and a great work ethic (and i said so at the time on the Flyers forum), yet he gave up a 3 for Mason who might be the worst goalie in the league. There's something wrong with that math! As Flyercanuck said, you can't make this stuff up.

Thank you Paul Holmgren, resident comedian - the jokes keep coming. Are we to believe that the Flyers are going to amnesty Bryz's contract for Mason. Really???????? For all of Bryz's warts, he has been one of the few bright spots; and, I daresay, if he wasn't forced to play EVERY game, his stats and play would have been even better (but, when the resident comedian doesnt have a legitimate backup on the team...) Has anyone in the Flyers personnel department (and I use that term loosely) seen how badly Mason has played the last 4 years? Since his roookie season, his save percentage of .899 ranks 39 out of 39 for goalies who have played at least 100 games. Terrible! And, this is the guy that Reese "believes in" and this is the guy who is going to replace Bryz. Hysterical. Then again, why was I dumb enough to think that our resident comedian could judge goaltending talent: he traded Bob and cut Ericksson, Seriously, the laughs keep coming. As long as this idiot is making personnel decisions, we will be without the Cup. FIRE HOLMGREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the other goalie i was talking about was Joacim Eriksson.who is developing into a stud prospect in sweden, after we released him, of course. the following was written at the time: http://gcobb.com/2011/06/03/flyers-release-top-goaltending-prospect-eriksson/ sadly, he is now an elite top-flight prospect overseas. when i read that he has turned onto a bonafide goalie prospect,, i got sick and burst out laughing at the same time. our leader, Gomer, has no idea what he's doing. honestly, how many of us would have our jobs if we made as many mistakes as Gomer did / does. i daresay, NONE the reality is that we haven't won a cup in years, largely because of poor management - management that is void of a vision and void of a plan. meltzer, from hockeybuzz, said it best when he said, "My biggest gripe with the Flyers' organization -- and this absolutely starts at the very top with Ed Snider as the biggest culprit -- is that the organization reverses its roster-building course too often in a seeming effort to retroactively win a previous year's Stanley Cup. They are bold but too often in a reactive rather than proactive way." Exactly, we are trend FOLLOWERS, always trying to catch up, never leading, never staying true to our plan. and, with Gomer in charge, that figures to continue. sadly.

Holmgren has no regard for draft picks. None. He actually traded a 4th rounder (which would have been a THIRD if we made the playoffs) for Gagne who was washed up 3 years ago. Really, did he need to give up ANYTHING for him?

Holmgren isn't even in the same league as HALF of the GM's, a lot of whom are constrained financially and still field legitimate teams that can compete for Cups. Look at how he has failed to find a top-flight goalie and then when he has one - make that two - he either trades them or cuts them. Ridiculous! Look at the absurd contracts he has handed out and his botched attempts at managing the cap (he admitted in retrospect that he didn't know the over 35 rule after he extended Pronger, for example. Please, this is the friggin NHL!!!!) The only thing I hope for is that the next GM isn't named Burke or Clarke. Sadly, we are in a bleak period because of him with little hope in sight (read: no farm system or cap room)

a big difference between us and the pens - crosby aside - is the GM. if the flyers were in the hunt for Iggy what would Gomer have offered up? 3 firsts, Giroux, Timo and a zamboni driver. Shero acquired morrow, murphy and iggy and gave up very little; in fact, he kept his top prospects. had Gomer been their GM, crosby would be gone along with malkin. as long as they have shero and we have gomer, we will always be chasing the pens. it's that simple.

We would be down 4 goals tonight if it wasn't for Bryz. Let's hope he has one more period in him. Crucial, crucial game.

Am i the only one who noticed Couturier turn that 5 on 4 advantage into a 5 on 3 by standing in one spot and doing NOTHING during the penalty kill? Am i the only one to watch him lose puck battle after puck battle and then stand idly by while the Pens get scoring chance after scoring chance. PLEASE, PLEASE trade this clown - who is living off of one playoff series- for a young d-man.

i think your post is spot on and very insightful. what upside is there to keep knuble, trade a pick for gagne, yet waive sestito? it is the same stuff year affter year. we need to do what successful teams do and start building from the net on out; and, it s evident that gomer cannot identify top-notch goaltending.

For the sake of accuracy, Briere's contract gets very favorable the next two years. Not that i want him on the team because i do not. If we could trade him to Boston for a G prospect or D-man, I would do it in a second. Playing for the Bruins might get him to waive his NMC. We can only hope....

i think if we take a hard look at what has transpired during Gomer's regime, this team's failure should not come as a surprise. in fact, i think we'd see that it was inevitable. i really think we need new management and leadership, one with less tolerance and more accountability. and one that understands that this is a hard salary cap league where draft picks matter (you cannot keep dumping young players and draft picks for stopgap veterans. how is your talent pool going to improve?) and handing out outrageous contracts bite you in the ass (way too many of those to list but Timonen's extension is laughable - and he is my favorite flyer; Gomer really doesn't get it.) for years, this team has not competed for the full 60 minutes. years. it's been the same sad story time and time again, a good period followed by two bad ones. no leadership, no accountability. i am sick of seeing that idiot Laviolette glowering behind the bench as if he's done everything he could, and the team is letting him down. far from it! just look at how the he has handled couturier this season, who has been awful, passive and lazy time and time again: it took half the season before he was demoted to the fourth line (why is he even with the big club, anyway). additionally, and by contrast, rinaldo has played inspired, physical hockey every game, every shift and yet his ice time has hardly increased. you should earn your playing time, it shouldn't be handed to you (didn't we learn anything from the richards / carter era?). perhaps if this were a meritocracy, the team would compete harder.

i would definitely trade coburn for a talented youg player or number 1. he's good but not great and i think there are several bubble teams in need of a d-man who would pay that price, believing that the good coburn will reappear come playoff time.. compare coburn's play with grossmann's. grossmann competes EVERY shift, Every game while i am not sure what coburn is going to do at any given moment. as for "plugging the holes with veterans for the playoffs," STOP THE INSANITY! that's what got us in this mess. Gomer has consistently patched holes with stopgap veterans - usually at the expense of youth or picks. additionally, do you think we can make the playoffs or have success if we get in. i don;t think we can get on another run like we did a few years ago or duplicate the kings' success last year - our d isn't good enough to win low scoring playoff games (even with a good coburn). this is a hard salary cap league - you must have good, young talent for sustained success nowadays. that, and a goalie. we have no farm system (i know we have a young team, just not a good young team) and no goalie ... a bad combination for the future.

why would Couturier be untouchable? i know he's young, but he is having an absolutely horrible year: listless, passive, lazy and he is a terribly slow skater.

We are just a bad team. Period. And, I hate to say that I saw it coming, but.... Holmgren needs to go: he can't manage the salary cap, he has no regard for draft choices (did we really need to give up a draft pick for gagne; really!) and he has yet to figure out that the NHL is a hard salary cap league. Lavy and his "system" are a joke: The Flyers don't play hard for 60minutes, they have no defensive system in their own zone, and the team has clearly tuned him out. It's time to unload players who might have value elsewhere (Briere, Coburn, Fedotenko, Timonen, Talbot, Read) and acquire draft picks (novel idea, Gomer, but try it).

I also am not drinking the cool-aid and i was couturier's biggest supporter last year. The objective fact is he is NOT playing well this year: 6 points and minus 3 while also being demoted from the first penalty killing unit.

Van Do you not remember the year Leclair almost single-handedly carried us to the finals? Couturier is young, but so is O'Reilly - who is already producing. You said I was a troll. Why, because I disagree with your illogical reasoning? Please, gimme a break

gomer is really terrible at his job. timo is my favorite player - his effort is still inspirational - but it pains me to watch him nowadays. he has lost way more than a step.

they just re-signed Timo for a whopping 6 mil. he aint going anywhere. briere is an interesting trade chip, though. he might have some value. while briere is a great teammate, he is too small and his play has dropped off precipitously.

There are plenty of players who are Triple A stars but can't cut it at the Major league level. I think both Couturier and Schenn are decent players (certainly not superstars) and to deem them "untradeable" is crazy. To deem anybody untradeable is crazy. Like Radoran posted, after the two trades were made last year, I thought that the light finally went on and that the Flyers finally realized you need to build from within and build with youth in this era of the hard salary cap. Sadly, I was mistaken as Gomer has repeatedly gone for the quick-fix in lieu of long-term success. With a barren farm system and salary cap problems,the future looks bleak.

i think couturier might improve with experience but i think he has a lower ceiling than bergeron. and, i think he has a lower ceiling than o'reilly.

"chasing the dragon" is brilliant! How many bad, stopgap, moves does our fearless leader, Gomer, have to make - while sacrificing the team's future - before someone takes away his keys? Historically, Gomer has thrown away draft pick after draft pick trying for the short-term fix. While it has kept the team competitive, it has really hindered them from managing the salary cap (that, plus Gomer is a moron and didn't understand how the former CBA worked; reference the pronger extension) and developing a farm system. Since this is a hard salary cap league, the Flyers are in a really bad spot - years from challenging for a Cup. Does anybody believe B Schenn is really a star-in-the-waiting? By the way, he is making 3 + million for his mediocre play. Does anybody believe that Couturier is going to get faster and quicker as he gets older? I think he gets slower and develops into nothing more than a third line center. Who is going to play D? Let me rephrase that, how long can Timo keep playing? The organization needs an overhaul. Its time for a change in management.

"the next patrice bergeron"?????? couturier doesn't have the speed or explosiveness for that to happen. not to mention, couturier is not physical and gets pushed around all over the ice. meanwhile o'reilly is only 2 years older and has much more potential.

In a second. yes! couturier is very, very slow and will never be more than a third line center

The Flyers actually lead the league in hits so their physicality isn't the problem. The team is really poorly coached: They have no idea how to operate in their own zone Their special teams aren't special As you astutely pointed out, the Flyers are almost always slow starting games and/or periods As someone else posted, I really can't see a "system at work" when I watch them play. The Left-wing Lock has a catchy name but not much else going for it. The team desperately needs a new GM We have the worst minor league system in hockey. The worst! We are always in cap hell Holmgren throws away draft picks like they are worthless, most of the time, hoping for a quick fix; sacrificing the future for short-term mediocrity. If you add 1, 2 and 3 together, it is a very bad omen for the future.