OH1FlyersFan

The only problem with this is that Patrick won't last 20-30 games. That's inflated by a factor of 10. He'll have 2-3 games, uninjured, and then it'll be wheels off and we're right back where we started......

Last line of the article is the best -- “They don’t have a choice,” Vigneault said. “That’s just the way it is.” Good for him. Take charge, establish your authority, and do what you need to do to win. Somebody needs to get a firm grip on these guys and light a fire. It's been a somewhat lackadaisical preseason so far.

Thanks. That is tight. But at least all the major pieces seem to be locked in.

With Provorov and Konecny now both signed, how much is left to work with under the cap? I haven't been keeping track......

There, fixed it.

It's just an impression, but his penalties seem to come at the most inopportune times. But, you're right, his trend is down over the last few seasons with the Flyers. Total of 579 over his career. With the Flyers: 116, 93, 83, 63 PIM over the last four seasons. For comparison purposes, Orpik has 972, then Seabrook and Burns at 653 and 651, then a bunch of current players in the low 600's, then Gudas. You raise a good point on suspensions. Penalty minutes are one thing, but when you have to sit out an entire game, multiple games, because of a suspension, how many minutes off the ice has that added up to???

It may help more if the Flyers spend less time on the penalty kill courtesy of Gudas.....

I agree with that. It doesn't mean we should turn a blind eye. And that was my point. If we turn our eye on Kate, then we have to carefully and honestly examine everything, everyone else up and down the line and across all mediums, who may have ever done, said, sang, painted, written, you name it something similar. If we have a standard, we have to apply it equally to everyone and everything. Heck, even Abe Lincoln should be called into question - he gave speech in 1862 to a delegation of black ministers at the White House where he stated that he recognized slavery as a source of the Civil War and that slavery, by its very presence on this continent, had instilled violence. Lincoln proposed that the way to get around that violence was that the slaves needed to leave the country and that, in doing so, they would find a peaceful existence abroad, enabling whites to find a peaceful existence in the US. What are we supposed to do with that? It was before the Emancipation Proclamation, so his thinking may have evolved, but still, it's appropriate to question his motives.

And I bet that, given the time period during which Kate sang these songs, she and very few other people would have believed her decision to sing those songs was a poor one. They just didn't think that way - the way we do now. It's all relative. Like my Great Aunt who hated the Japanese for her entire life - and she lived to be 94 - well into the 1980's, because "they" killed her brother at Pearl Harbor in a sneak attack, no less. It was always interesting how the type of attack bothered her as much as the result of the attack.

I don't think they have statues of either. Just pointing out similarities for consistency's sake.

Exactly. When not put into context of that time, it may seem, to those in this day and age, absolutely horrifying. And we know what happens when people who are absolutely horrified by something react. So, if we are going to judge by our standard today, we should at least be consistent and remove all trace of Bing Crosby, his songs and movies. Anyone ever watch the Christmas movie "Holiday Inn"? Remember the song "Abraham" and the routine done in blackface? Fred Astaire was part of that too. Ban him. Johnny Cash covered "Pick a Bale of Cotton." Ban him. The song "Ol' Man River"? Racist. Ban it and anyone who has ever sung it. Pretty much every American folk song we sang as kids is racist. "Oh! Susanna", "Camptown Races", Jimmy Crack Corn", "I've Been working on the Railroad." Ban them all. And while we're going down this path - what about the MeToo movement? "The Lady is a Tramp"? Sexist. Ban Frank and anyone who ever sang it. These are just a small few of the more obvious and we've barely even scratched the surface but we're on a roll!! The only question is, where do we stop?

Nice to see this signing without Homer's obligatory 10 years and NTC.

Best post of the day. Very informative. Thank you!

Thanks for the intel guys.

Apparently I have some catching up to do. Did we need a RW??? Are these part of a bigger deal in the off-ing? http://flyers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=725255&navid=DL|PHI|home http://flyers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=725249

McGinn eventually gets traded to the Kings at some point next season and goes on to win Lord Stanley's Cup!

Flipped back and forth between the Flyers game and the Bluejackets game against Colorado tonight. The Jackets looked strong against Colorado. The Flyers looked good against St. Louis despite the loss. Both teams picked up a point in an overtime/SO loss. I think Thursday is going to be an awesome game against two hungry, evenly matched, high-energy teams. Looking forward to it. Glad the Flyers have home ice advantage in this one.

Yep. I'm glad they managed a point against the Blues, especially since Columbus picked up a point against Colorado. But I turned off the game tonight after overtime ended without a goal. I knew what would happen going to the shootout. Came back a few minutes later, checked the score, and was not disappointed. I sure hope for the Flyers sake they do away with this shootout at some point. They haven't, don't, and never will benefit from it. It's a ridiculous ploy to attract the masses to the game, anyway. Hate it. And not just because the Flyers suck at it.

@jammer2 -- Forget scared, now I'm plain mortified. I do fear Homer's kneejerk reaction more than the remaining schedule.

I take your point. The only point I'd continue to argue is that the debt WAS called and it was called as soon as they played themselves back into playoff contention. At that point, all was even and it was up to the team to play well enough to maintain that position. Like when the score is tied - new game. In this case, new season. That's the snapshot in time that matters going forward. I agree that two points in March can be made more important by the failure to pick up points in October. Well said. But that's true too of the failure to pick up points in March because of a blown call when there is even less time, especially given the teams on the remaining schedule, to make up those points. That's why, to me, such a failure is even more critical.

Just took a look at the schedule for the rest of the season. It scared the bejeezus out of me. Not good. Pittsburgh back to back, followed by St. Louis a couple of times, Dallas, multiple games against Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Toronto, the Rangers. Thankfully we have Buffalo on April 6 and Florida on April 8, but even then, you never know. The pessimistic Flyers fan that I am can see the possibility of losing the next 14 out of 17 games.

@radoran -- I get where you're coming from, but I disagree. Here's why. The Flyers did get off to a bad start and those losses meant points we didn't get that we could definitely have used. But then so does every other loss. Like the three losses in a row at the end of January against Boston, Columbus, and Carolina. Heck, I'd argue that the losses against Columbus alone mean more than the losses suffered at the start of the season. Each loss results in points that we didn't get that we need. If we were to weight for losses, the losses that happen at the end of the season, in such a tight playoff race count for more in terms of how critical they are. The other point I'd make is that we actually dug ourselves out of that early season hole and played well enough to put us into contention for a playoff spot. So, as far as I'm concerned that debt has been paid and we're back to square. We need to look at where we are right now and what happens to us from this point forward, not necessarily where we were last October. This blown call has more of a negative impact in the right here and now than losing six games did to start the season - again, an obstacle we've already overcome. Would it have been nice to have those points? Yes. But it doesn't really matter because the team worked hard and played itself back into contention. Now that we are in contention, it's bogus calls like the one on Tuesday and the resultant lost points that could actually determine our future. All credit to the team for getting out of the early season trouble it put itself into but when it also must overcome this type of officiating, it hardly makes it worth the effort.

I think the Devils keep Brodeur on the payroll for pretty much ever --- just for when they have to get that guaranteed win against the Flyers. They'll be wheeling this guy out when he's 80 and he'll still be beating the Flyers. That said, the officiating sucked. It sucks. And it will continue to suck. I'm at a loss as to what to do. Booing is a great release but it hasn't changed the behavior of a single official. Theoretically, the organization could throw its weight around with the League, but will they? And even if it does, will it really change anything? Nothing we can do about this game. I'd've been tempted to pull my team from the ice after this particularly awful blown call in protest - but then that's just pouting. That said, this lost point could be huge. If the Flyers miss the playoffs, then I'm breaking out the old pitchfork and torch and paying a little visit to the league offices. I still blame Bettman for everything that's wrong with this sport. Somebody needs to send a damn strong signal that this can't be tolerated.

The difference with Mason is that, unlike previous Flyers goalies I've watched -- most notably Bryz, he inspires a little more confidence than they did and doesn't give me that impending sense of doom and hopelessness that the other goaltenders we've put on the ice have. When he's in goal, if everyone else does their job, then I think we have a shot a winning a game. And he's stolen a few for us. Not saying Mason is in the elite ranks, but he's been a good, solid, even somewhat consistent player at a decent price. Especially when the team in front of him shows up.

He's what? 38 Years old? Perfect. Plays right wing? We have Voracek, Simmonds, Read......do we really need another? Or do we need another who is 38 years old? I don't think we do. But given his age, it may just be impossible for Flyers management to resist! They'll sign him and give him a 10 year contract at probably at some god-awfully high number, let's say $5 million a year, and a NTC.