OH1FlyersFan

If by going with players like...... StreitGillLecavalier - even though he's only 33 and it may be controversial to put him on this list, I'll add him anyway. Though he is one of our very few goal scorers.Timmo - on the roster for another year at age 38Mason - young, could be really good but snakebit after playing in Columbus. Hopefully able to rebound but I won't hold my breath..........Snider thinks the Flyers will be competitive and that this lineup will put the team in position to challenge for a Cup, then he may be right - they may be overrating some of their players. They DO need to figure that out. And I agree with delcofan and jmdodgesrt. Giroux needs to figure out if he's going to be the greatest player in the world again. Or just overrated.

I agree. It's kinda nice to not have that concern hanging over our head along with all the others.....occasional weak goal or no. You get what you pay for - and considering what we're paying for our goaltenders, the return has been a wash at the very least. Now that we have no coach, and the confusion that comes with transitioning to a new system, new leadership, etc., with trade rumors already flying, with an offense not able to score -- I'm very happy that the goaltenders are holding their own. But then I guess when you're anticipating goaltending problems of Hindenburg-ian proportion, and it turns out to be not quite that bad, it's a little easier to find the positive.

Considering goaltending was a question mark to start the season, I've actually been pretty pleasantly suprised with how our goaltenders have been able to keep us in games. They've met, if not exceeded, expecations. The offense has performed dismally. When your "vaunted" offense (wasn't Giroux the best player in the world only two seasons ago??) can score only 1 goal a game, you can have the best minder in net and it won't make a bit of difference.....you'll still lose. Totally disappointed in the first line and they aren't getting any support from the second or third. These guys need to shake off the cobwebs, dust, whatever it is and get their collective heads in the games. We knew defense was weak, but this is just head-shakingly sad.

Speaking of LTIR is Rathje still on there??? How many guys can we put on LTIR? Looking at the age of our defense, it's possible we could see somewhere around 50% of them. Just havin' some fun, boys!!!

Thanks Jack! Helpful.

I totally agree, Rux. That's not how I believe we should win a Cup either. But I often think that's what Flyers management believe though - at least as evidenced by past acquisitions, by their past actions. I was assuming that's what they were maybe/perhaps/probably thinking in this case.

I haven't read every post yet, so apologies if this has come up - when comparing Cleary to Gagne, my question is who is more healthy. If Cleary is more likely to hold up over the course of the season better, and if he's less injury prone or has less of a history of injuries, then I can see why they'd let Gagne go over Cleary. For me, that would be a major consideration.

This quote is from the article and sums it up for me: "He’s an asset the Wings would have taken back, but they couldn’t find the cap space nor did they have a desire to go three years with him. Because Ken Holland, unlike some general managers with crew cuts and Flyers cufflinks, understands the need to filter young players into specific roles." http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/flyers-baffling-3-deal-dan-cleary-130259523--nhl.html We can't keep doing this. We have to start giving opportunities to our young players. Trust the talent we have coming up. Maybe this means we just don't have anyone in the system. I don't buy that, though. Is Cleary the guy that's going to win us a Cup this season, the one missing piece? I doubt it. And because he isn't, don't do it!! Save the money for a solid defenseman.

For me, that raises the question -- were those snowbirds ever fans of the NHL to begin with? If they were then the chances of them supporting a team in Florida is higher, I suppose, than if they weren't or if they lived in one of the western states. And if they are fans of the game, then my guess is they don't "root" for one of the Florida teams they still root for whatever team they were following up north - a team that may get into town only several times a season. Retirees aren't as mobile as they once were - more likely to watch on tv and less likely to attend in person or purchase merchandise perhaps if on a fixed income. So is there any real bump for these teams from retirees? I wonder. I'd paint Columbus with the same brush as the Florida teams. We've struggled. Maybe it's been because we haven't had competitive teams, maybe because the sport can't compete with OSU football, or maybe because there just isn't an interest in hockey. I'm a lifelong resident of Columbus but my mom and her family are from Philly. That's why the Flyers are my adopted team and I've been a fan for the last 39 years. Many of my friends are Penguins and Red Wings fans. I won't shift my allegiance to the Jackets, I'll always be a Flyers fan - spending my money there rather than in/on Columbus. That can't help these small/out of the traditional hockey market teams either. I think it's always going to be a struggle.

No worries. Sorry I missed that.

I guess it beats "Neopolitan", but what the heck? This is going to take some getting used to. Right now, I don't like it. This is the best the League could come up with? The word isn't even related to the others - which could be time zones or geographic designations, locations -- I'd say bodies of water but I can't find a Central Sea, Lake, or Ocean. "Metropolitan" speaks to a densely populated urban core. I live in Columbus, home of the Bluejackets....and we don't have one of those. So it doesn't even work in that respect. Ha.

I thought Kuato WAS Buffalo Rick and that most of the time he was just having a surreal and absurd conversation with himself intentionally designed to rile the rest of the Board. And then I realized that was giving him way too much credit!

@doom88 and @murraycraven -- you guys said exactly what my gut's telling me too. Agree!

Just read this article. First, let me say that I like the make up of this Flyers team as it currently is. I think we've done about as good as we can do this offseason to try to fill the holes. We've improved at many positions. Overall, in my opinion this is a better team. I'm content to let things stand, go into the season as is, and see where this team takes us. That said, could we use a superstar defenseman, someone who could be that last piece of the puzzle? Sure. But at what cost to our young core? Not sure, given who we have in the development pipeline for defense, that that's the best way to go now. Now having said THAT, I read with interest this article about the glut of d-men that LA is sitting on and how close to, in fact over, the cap they are. Speculation is they will be parting with one or more. With Hextall now here, we have an LA connection. He knows the players and personalities. Does he go after any of their d-men to shore up our corps? Do we even need to at this point? Do they have anyone we want? From the article --- " What does this all mean? I think it's safe to say that at some point this summer we will see Lombardi orchestrate a trade to free up some cap space and reduce the number of defensemen on the team. Purely based on conjecture, I could see the Kings moving forward Jarret Stoll and his $3,250,000 plus Martinez and his $1.1 million for another forward." Could that "another forward" be someone like Read? It may be tempting. Just wondering. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/los-angeles-kings-begin-offseason-loading-defensemen-000000603.html

Waiting in the wings. The line of succession has just been established. Good news. Future bodes well. It'll be interesting to see what he does with his new assignment in the present.

And Bourdon has injury issues. I hope our old guys, Streit and Timo, can hold up. Grossman also has had concussion issues and Mez has been plagued as well by the shoulder injury he just can't shake. But if you see him gone, then that's less of a concern. I like the mix of young and old (or experienced), but the injury bug still concerns me greatly. We have a handful of guys who have a history and could be out in a heartbeat after one bad play. Coburn has at least been healthy. Maybe they should try to hold onto him....... This article if from about this time last year and it plays like a broken record. http://www.broadstreethockey.com/2012/8/7/3225497/andrej-meszaros-injury-defense-flyers

It comes from his French-sounding name. Everyone knows those frenchies are all soft.

Maybe. My problem with him was he always fired high and wide. The guy was pretty adept at missing the net.

Like Prime Minister's Question time on CSPAN. Make him justify his fitness for holding that position!

And I would have rather had this test monkey in goal last season! Couldn't have been any worse, probably would have been better.

Here's an interesting twist. Flyers looking at Pietrangelo? Does that mean Coburn or one of our forwards goes? Lyle Richardson reported the following yesterday -- this is all from the article in the Hockey News: The Flyers are reportedly watching defenseman Pietrangelo, 23, made the NHL’s second all-star team in 2012 and is considered among the best defensemen in the league. He's coming off an entry-level contract that paid him more than $3-million per season in base salary and bonuses and could seek an eight-year deal that doubles his old salary. With the Blues inking Derek Roy to a one-year, $4-million contract on Saturday, they have only about $7.85 million in cap space. GM Doug Armstrong told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he believes he can get Pietrangelo, Chris Stewart and goalie Jake Allen “under the umbrella,” but that won't happen without shedding some salary. <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.stltoday....84ab88ae6.html" href="http://www.stltoday....84ab88ae6.html" target="_blank rel=" external"="" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; color: rgb(226, 0, 26); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.666666984558105px;">Armstrong acknowledged the possibility he may have to move some bodies around, claiming the Blues have “very valuable pieces” that shouldn't be difficult to move. Armstrong may be referring to David Perron (cap hit of $3.8 million), T.J. Oshie ($4.17 million) and Jaroslav Halak ($3.75 million) – players who have been mentioned in recent trade rumors. As for the possibility of Pietrangelo becoming an offer sheet target, Armstrong has already warned his fellow GMs the Blues will match any offer. Edit: Here's the link. That's cleaner than my cut and paste job. http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/52763-Three-teams-looking-for-defense.html

Come on, G! Focus on defense!! Use your influence to secure the services of some capable d-man.

Not very encouraging. He must have taken a heck of a shot. Glad there's been some improvement but it's been a slow recovery which isn't a good sign. I know these things may take years to get over, that it's better to go slow and be safe rather than sorry, but, when you read between the lines, this doesn't bode well. I worry that he'll have lingering issues and the next big hit he takes after being cleared to play will put him right back on the injury list or end his career. He's a decent D-man and was coming along nicely, but if the D plans are so crowded, wouldn't now be a good time to cut bait with MAB? There's a good chance he'll never be the same. Yet another reason to do what is necessary to shore up the defense now. Glad that the franchise went that direction in the draft, acquire and develop young talent, but (and I'm stating the obvious to you guys) there's much more work to be done. Mez is another concern. He and MAB go down again and we're left with a not-so-crowded plan for defense and then we have to scramble to fix the problem mid season. Maybe there's something else yet to come in the off season. “I’m not there yet, but I’m getting there,” Bourdon said. “I’m much better and moving in the right direction. The doctors are optimistic.” Bourdon said his headaches have gone away and that his eyesight is improving. He said he has some blurred vision “maybe 10 percent” of the time, but that it has improved dramatically from when he was injured. http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/sports/flyers/Recovering-Bourdon-in-Flyers-crowded-D-plans.html

I agree....and both of my grandmothers are dead, God rest their souls,.......and still better.

Well, he's already picked two better than what we had so, so far so good. Maybe he'll leave the coaching up to Lavy. But I like the idea of one goalie playing so well he makes it simple for everyone!