Bertmega

@Vanflyer The Rags play is very boring indeed. I feel like I am in a time machine watching the game from a bar in the late 90's.

Yes. This is the UFA I would target if I were Hextall. I like his offensive game; however, his defensive game is something that is less desired. It would be nice to see what he gets on the open market. The good news is Holmgren is gone so there shouldn't be a gross over payment and I'd expect he'd net around 3.5mm a year for maybe 5 years. The downside is that the Wild have an crap ton of cap space and may lock him up long term. I think a lot of tinkering revolves around moving either VLC or Hartnell.

I would really like to see a Montreal NYR conference finals. The speed of the Canadians would give the Rangers fits and to see the Price vs. Lundqvist goalie clinic would make for some great hockey. Although my Flyers are out, I have to say I really have enjoyed these playoffs. The new format makes them so much more enjoyable too. In all honesty I want to see the Canadians win, but I suspect it will be the Broons.

@canoli I agree with a NTC/NMC making it hard to shop the guy, but playing on a 4th line with a grinder and a Phantom call-up has to hurt the ego. It will probably cost the Flyers to move the guy, but Hextall's first order of business should be to clean up some of the issues that his predecessor left him. I like the idea of rolling four solid lines, but in the end that cuts out Giroux's minutes and that should not happen under any circumstances. I could see something along the lines of either the Flyers retaining some of his salary and they get a low pick/prospect, or they retain no salary, but take another teams cap headache.

I just can't see the Penguins losing this on home ice. All in all it's been a puzzling series that revolves around Lundqvist. Like the Flyers, the Penguins seem to be putting too much effort into solving the Rangers goalie. From my stand point, I would put all my eggs into deflating the Rangers' defense and just pepper the living $*** out of Lundqvist. The style of play that the Rangers bring is just appalling. It reminds me of the 90-00's Devils minus the blatant trap. It's defense first, clog the neutral zone, pounce on the opportunity type hockey. It is boring and it is something that I'd expect to see 15 years ago. In any case, I think the Penguins are going to come out on fire. The keys to this game is: Crosby and Fleury. Crosby has to lead by example, 9 pts and a minus 3 isn't getting it done. Fleury needs to be a wall in net and probably let his defense handle the puck rather than himself. If the Rangers win, they certainly earned it and staved off the best two opponents in the division. My thoughts going forward: Pitt v Boston or NYR vs MTL would be the best match up for good hockey.

Nope, pass.... I would rather keep VLC

I thought Holmgren was far better of a GM than Clarke. Clarke had zero patience with the youth and was not too good at assessing talent. However, somewhere around the second or third year of Holmgren's tenure he started to go full Clarke on us and was falling into the same habits as his predecessor. I think Hexy will try and build a proper team and stock the farm, but at the end of the day, if the old man (Snider) isn't happy, you can bet the farm that Hexy will fall into the questionable veteran acquisition over youth movement. Aside from the defense, this team is in far better shape than the one that Holmgren inherited, so that is certainly a plus. I think we will see some tweaks on the defense, but nothing major. Also, I think we will see VLC shipped out of town, and perhaps a solid LW'er for the 1st line. If those three things can be achieved this summer, I would pleased out of the gate with Hextall's GM'ing.

Dylan Larkin.

Wait F'n Steve Eminger didn't make the list of all time stupidity, or Carcillo? WTF Tim?

I was listening to some local dreck yesterday and they stated how much work Hextall has in front of him and implied that the team is an absolute mess. I just don't see it. The forward core is young and in decent standings, the defense is suspect, but not the worst in the league. An impact defender could change all that. Goaltending is, for once, not an issue. So at the end of the day, if Ron can unload VLC and get a decent winger to play with Giroux and perhaps an impact defener (not Weber, but something decent) this team is not too far off imo. Imagine: Vanek-Giroux-Voracek Hartnell-Schenn-Simmonds Akerson-Couturier-Read Rinaldo-Hall-Raffl Macdonald-Schenn (hopefully ready for the big minutes) Coburn-Striet Gus-Grossman

Players I never want to see again in Orange & Black: Booger Pitkanen Pavel Brendl Jiri Dopita Dan Carcillo Michael Leighton Ilya Bryzgalov Kyle Calder Mike York Kris Versteeg VLC

Mike Keenan? I know he is coaching somewhere in the world, but if he can keep his attitude in check, he may be a good mind to help a new GM. Maybe Trotz, but I am not too sure how he is on the business end of things. Our luck, it will be some recycled player: Primeau, LeClair, or LOL Boucher. Could you imagine two former goalies running the front office?!?!

@flyercanuck Jones would be nice. I like Ellis from the standpoint that he can move the puck and run a pp, but his size scares me. I haven't really seen enough of Ghost other than 3-4 games. I do see that Ellis is due for a new contract though, so that may squash my idea right there. But in agreeance with you, I'd absolutely love to have Jones on the Flyers. I'd hate to part ways with a versatile winger like Read, but in order to move an albatross of a contract (VLC) that may be the cost of doing business.

Remember guys, Holmgren said that Flyers fans are going to love this guy.....

@brelic 1) Mason 2) VLC 3) Get rid of VLC

The Flyers have some offensive talent to spare. VLC and Read for Ellis and a 2nd? Or VLC and Read for Jones and a 4th?

Good for Peter L. I am glad he is back in hockey as a coach. However, I am not too sure if the Preds are offensively gifted enough to play his run and gun style though. Maybe we could see some significant roster moves there this summer. Maybe Hartnell and VLC for some picks??? Wishful thinking???

I would do a 1st this year and next, Giroux, Voracek, Simmonds, both Schenns, Couturier, and Mason..... That should get it done.......

I would do a 1st this year and next, Giroux, Voracek, Simmonds, both Schenns, Couturier, and Mason..... That should get it done.......

@brelic Okay, okay, I'll re-phrase it; most of us saying In Homer We Trust. Granted I was an avid hockeybuzzer back then, so maybe it was just reserved for that forum...

@brelic I know, I just didn't want to go down that road..... Paul did some questionable things that year. Umberger, Eminger, Carcillo. I think it was at that point that we all stopped saying "In Homer We Trust"....

@jcs379 Regarding Pronger, without him there is no 2009-10 cup run. They needed out from Lupul and his contract, so I was ok with him going. Sbisa would be nice to have around, but I don't see him as the answer. The picks hurt, but 2009 = John Moore and 2010 = Emerson Etem. Both are meh picks if you ask me. With that said, I do not think the Pronger move was all that bad. Regarding JvR, hindsight is 20/20, but he had stretches where he was invisible. Again, I do not like the trade at all, but I can see where the org was coming from. It's just too bad that they traded a solid LW'er for Luke Schenn. Weber, I agree. Not worth the cost and the commitment.

They will retain half his salary and move him. I think this should be the final nail in the coffin for Holmgren. They cannot operate a functional business by throwing money down the toilet whenever the moment calls for it. I would like to see him gone and far gone from this team. It was an absolute disaster having him as yet another centerman on this team. I'd hate to see them move Schenn or shelve Laughton for yet another year, so they can have the most expensive forth line in hockey. Granted Schenn can be frustrating, but he is young and may turn out to be a very good player. That is my two cents.