OH1FlyersFan

I much prefer guys like Rinaldo and Carcillo (during his one good year here) who are agitators, have skill, are fast, and will fight to protect teammates in the heat of the moment.

That's why I like Simmonds too.

The game has all ready changed. I think you have to ask the question what teams play every night with a legit heavyweight?

That's true. If it's a multilateral disarmament, then it's not such a big deal. It's harder to accept if it's unilateral. We'd be leaving ourselves exposed - because until teams stop putting those guys on the roster, period, you'll have to deal with it. But I think I've seen it - the game changing across the league. I think it will always be there, I don't think that it will ever go away unless there's an outright ban and the League makes it illegal. It just feels like there is less fighting. I haven't looked at the stats, but that might be an interesting project some weekend. How are the number of fighting majors trending over the last 5 or 10 seasons.

I find it hard to put it all on Bryz tonight. I thought he was pretty good. That first goal was fast. It was a really quick shot. But Pronger should have been able to keep Dandanov, or whatever, from getting around him. That shouldn't have been a shot in the first place. The second goal was a mad scramble. Again, the way I saw it, Pronger was in front of the shooter and went down - kinda did the splits. At best, maybe both Bryz and Pronger were responsible on that one.

Did he return after his fight? I watched the entire game and now that I think about it, I don't recall hearing his name mentioned after his fight.

I know this topic has been done to death, but I want to get my thoughts down. It begs the questions -- other than Simmonds, who doesn't shy from a scrap, who else do we have to drop the gloves? Shelley? He wasn't in the lineup tonight either, was he? Do we need to keep a guy like that around or has the complexion of this team changed to the point where we move away from that all together?

I have to think there's a happy medium somewhere. I love the fighting and grew up on it. It's part of Flyers legend. I believe it plays a real role, it sets a tone, you have to defend your guys, it can be a momentum changer, you have to be able to police the game. If there has been a shift away from that on this team, I'll miss it. It'll make me real nervous for our guys when we play against a big, physical team with a legit heavyweight. But that said, I can understand why and also see the benefits of such a shift away from the brawling. So, I guess what I'm saying is I'm torn and will continue to wrestle with my take on fighting, which, as hard as it is to say - may be softening! lol.

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I find that VERY interesting. So you're saying that if Toronto picked him up and then wanted him on the Leafs, they'd have to deal with re-entry waivers? Seems kind of unfair to both the player and the team looking to pick him up. I mean, if that were the case it's just another reason a player would continue to rot in the AHL, which I believe the waiver thing is supposed to help prevent. Why would I bring a player up through re-entry when I know another team is interested in him? I'd basically be giving him away AND covering some of his pay? The only way I would do that is if the organization was short on actual cash, which the Flyers aren't.

If he's put on waivers I bet the Bluejackets pick him up before anybody.

I spent so much time hating this guy when he was with Pittsburgh and the Rangers that I really never bothered to learn anything about him as a person. The more I hear and read this kind of stuff, the more I respect him and the more I wish we could have had him with us during his prime. Now I'm afraid I won't be able to enjoy watching him play in a Flyers uniform for very long. But every second he is, I'm going to appreciate it all the more.

Good game tonight. Florida's no slouch. Defense looked good. Pronger needs a little work. From my perspective, both those goals were on him. He went down right as that second shot was coming in on goal. Penalty kill looked great, though. Pretty happy to get two points tonight.

that would be me. And the reason may seem "strange" to you but hoping Jagr fails has been ingrained into me over many years of hating the guy.

Nobody expected him to play 2-way hockey this year. At best his supporters were hoping he'd contribute on the PP and knock home 20 or 25, while accepting the fact that he doesn't play D.

But I hardly recognize #68 this year - do you? Assuming you watched him over his career...have you ever seen him play so aggressively on both sides of the red line? I haven't. Ever.

If he's still playing 2-way hockey next spring I'll really be impressed. I already am of course, how can you not be? I'm still not happy he's a Flyer because...old habits die hard I guess. I'd much prefer someone else combining with Giroux and producing all the success they're having. But I'll get over it. Esp if Jagr is still playing the same way come spring time.

I'm actually glad I don't have to hate Jagr anymore. lol. It took so much freakin' energy over the years. I love seeing him in the O&B now and genuinely hope he succeeds. From what I've read, he's been good for the team, on and off the ice. That was needed.

It's pretty much a foregone conclusion that if the Flyers have to go to a shootout, they will lose. But has anyone else noticed their tendency, in overtime, to get off to a great start, look really good, control the puck, put pressure on the opposing team, dictate play, but then give it up so that the opposing team can come down and score on what's usually their first shot on goal? It's maddening. If we can win in regulation, then our chances drop dramatically. I just don't know what we do about that. It's maddening.

Apparently, a maintenance day.

Thanks. That's good. Glad it wasn't anything serious with his wrist.

Hmmm....trading a glass jaw for a glass foot. j/k. All things being equal, could we have won with just Forsberg? I'll echo what some others have already said. I'd also say we would have had a very good chance of winning a Cup. Because it wasn't just Forsberg that went in that trade. We lost Forsberg, Mike Ricci, Ron Hextall (although he came back), Chris Simon, Kerry Huffman, Steve Duchesne, two first-round picks and $15 million. In my opinion, that's a pretty huge payout for what we got in return - and that's without the benefit of hindsight, knowing how things turned out. The two first round picks alone are worth their weight in gold. But then we have a tendency to trade first round picks like Carter pops liver pills. While Lindros had some great seasons for the Flyers, especially 95-96 and 98-99, he just couldn't manage to do it by himself and it was unrealistic to expect that. They tried to build the team around one guy and it just didn't work. Sounds kinda familiar. That's why I don't like putting all your eggs in one basket. We have a really good mix on this Flyers team now and I think that makes us more competitive and likely to win a Cup than if we had "The" guy. We're positioned better now than at any time during the 90's. That's why we have to be careful doling out those huge, long-term contracts to guys like Bryz and even Pronger.

My reaction to the trades was "the Flyers got better, younger and cheaper" and I still feel that way.

Leino is NOT a $4M forward. Carter is NOT the playmaking center Rick Nash has been waiting for. Richards was NOT ready to be an NHL captain.

That said, those three are better than those stats and they will improve.

Yeah, they were so excited to have Carter here in Columbus. He was the final piece of the puzzle. Everything Nash needed. I tried to tell them on one of their blogs that Carter could end up being a major disappointment, that he wasn't going to be a panacea - based on my time watching him play for the Flyers. They didn't want to hear it. I think it's starting to sink in now, though. The Columbus paper is saying he could play in Thursday's game against the Hawks, though. First game back in like a month.

I saw the post - Gustafson not at practice. But haven't read it yet. Is it his wrist? I saw him rubbing it during the last game and the trainer was looking at it on the bench. I remember thinking, uh oh.

im not gonna call it a lock down loss...but as many have mentioned before me...the Flyers always play down to the competition. Look what happen vs. MTL a few games ago. MTL had a healthy losing streak going and the Flyers allowed them to put a 5 spot on us. Same with Winnipeg. That team does not exactly strike fear in me and look what happend.

Hopefully JVR is out of Lavy's doghouse and gives it a full effort. Plus if Wellwood did get called up...I love the kids energy.

That's my concern. Looks unfounded tonight, though. That Montreal game and Winnipeg really killed me. That's why I'm always just a little nervous.

Columbus suck so bad they're considering bringing hitch back in to finish his deal. anemic offense, pourous defense and horrible goaltending. they've really got it all.

You called it. So far, so good tonight. Let's hope the Flyers don't lay back and get sloppy lazy! They're looking good, though. That Giroux goal was schweeeet.

Columbus suck so bad they're considering bringing hitch back in to finish his deal. anemic offense, pourous defense and horrible goaltending. they've really got it all.

That's why I'm a little nervous. lol.

"Where'd Everyone Go" by Buffalo Rick

Do you see any particular laziness or lack of effort by JVR? I don't know that I do. I just think he's off to a little bit of a slow start and is stuck on a line that just doesn't make sense to me. That said, I have no problem sitting a kid down for a game and letting him watch. Hopefully it lights a fire.

I wasn't seeing it either. At least not compared to parts of his first season during which I thought his streakiness was more obvious. But that was a learning season. But this year, I could point at other players before JVR. I find this pretty interesting. Wonder if this is the only thing going on or if it's something else.

It's also a lot quicker. The screens change in an instant.

That's exactly what I was noticing. So far my favorite thing about this site. Other than not dealing with Rick, Gutless, et. al.

Ok, I'm intrigued! I just signed up! This site looks good. Now, those of us that are here NEED to have patience and GET NUMBERS to it. I think this could work. i will be over on the other forum recruiting without lecturing. Plus, I might just open up on Rick whome, despite viscious attacks on me I have ignored. Get it out of the system or should I?

I say go for it too. Leave the old forum to them. They're welcome to it.

I blame Stevens...then Richards...then Carter.

Then Shelley and Hartnell.

Funny stuff!! I think that'd be my order too. With Hartnell dropping a few spots since his play's improved. What I want to know is do you think they practice this stuff?? They ought to take a day and do nothing by penalty shots. Heck, Talbot looked better and more poised than Simmonds.

I totally agree. We can't take this game for granted. Look what happened to Detroit - they went to Columbus and ended up losing 4-1 to a floundering Jackets team a few weeks ago. And we do often seem to rise to the level of our opposition - which in this case isn't that high. The Flyers do have a tendency to come out real lazy. On the other hand, if they stay focused and limit bad mistakes we have a great opportunity here to pick up 2 points.

Thought this was interesting. From our local newspaper --

--Forward Derick Brassard said he planned to eat dinner with former linemate and current Flyer Jakub Voracek tonight in Philadelphia. “There is a good chance he is going to buy,” Brassard said.

Tough loss tonight. I hate these shootouts. Looks to me like the Flyers are playing in fits and starts. We need a solid, consistent game. Good thing, maybe it's a good thing, we have the Bluejackets coming in to town for the next game on Saturday. I watched both games tonight - Flyers and Jackets. Watched the post game interviews with the Jackets. They are an extremely down and demoralized team. We let a game slip away tonight. I think we can get it back Saturday. Right game at the right time to rebound. We'll be the hungrier of the two teams for sure. This could be the game we need to get our legs back under us. But then I thought the same thing against Winnipeg.......

Love the new forum more and more!

I'll add my thanks too! Glad to be aboard. Still getting used to the new format, but very cool. So much better.