flyer4ever

The 1st decision that needs to be made is what is the goal of this franchise. To me it appears that the goal each year is to limp into the playoffs, get a couple of home gate receipts, draft poorly and repeat. Then July 1st sign the biggest, slowest UFAs and repeat. If the goal is to win the Stanley Cup then there needs to be a serious shift in the culture in Flyerland. Right now it is a country club for ex Flyers with no accountability on anyone but the coach. How else do you explain getting outshot 18-5 in the 2nd period of GAME FREAKING 7. There needs to be an expectation of excellence, effort, respect, team work and commitment, by the players, the coaches, the GM, the scouts and the owner. I don't see it at any level right now. As for the players on the current roster, they are really not as bad as we all think, they just don't support each other on the ice as well as needed. They do skate without the puck, they do not work to be available to a teammate in trouble, they do not play as a five man unit. Boston, Chicago, Detroit, these are the systems that work, no dead wood, no laziness. Keep all the kids, give them one more year to develop and grow up, but gas all the 30plus slow movers.

Coburn will be here forever. This is the culture of the Flyers. Stay as long as you want. They should change the name of the team to the Philly Mediocres. Snider gets his 3 home gate receipts and all is well. Draft another mediocre guy at the 20 slot finish 8th next year, another successful season. The Philly Mediocres rock!

Wrong or right it has everything to do with compete. This team is lazy, they do not move their feet without the puck. They are on the wrong side of the puck more often than not and they spend way too much time reaching with one hand on the stick. Simple basic freaking hockey.

Game 7 your goalies have stolen 3 games to get you here and you play the worst period of hockey in your adult life. Shame on you all. What a bunch of freakin babies. Grow up and at least compete. Move your freaking feet. Unbelievable.

These are not the only 2 guys giving the puck away. There are 18 others. Coburn is high on something. Hartnell is a waste of skin. No compete, no battle, no skill tonight. Mediocre as usual.

so far tonight through 2 periods the Flyers have given a playoff effort less than 10 minutes. You cannot play hockey with one hand on your stick and reach for pucks. Don't be fooled by the zone time. The Rangers are very comfortable defending in their own end right now. Very disappointing how few players are paying the price in this game. Too many players are not moving without the puck. How can you not want to absolutely torch the freakin Rangers. COME ON!

Hey Murray Craven, I agree with you that Giroux has been great. However, This isn't peewee hockey, he is being paid a lot of money to be great every time he is on the ice. As far as leadership and maturity, I am not singling out Giroux, the team as a group still makes bonehead selfish plays when there is no need whatsoever. Zac Rinaldo is a perfect example. Cruising with a 4-0 lead in a must win game, Zac is playing a good game and then his freaking brain just shuts down and he takes an absolutely stupid penalty that will surely include a suspension. Mature teams with great leaders don't make these plays in playoff type games.

The Flyers have played some great games the past few weeks, but having said that they still lack maturity and leadership. This is exactly where they are in terms of talent in the league as well. Seems they have been in this scenario the past several seasons. You would think they would learn from past mistakes and play hard in October. The last 5 minutes in St Louis Tuesday is the Flyers in a nutshell. 2 man advantage for a minute and a half, not a single shot on goal. With a minute left Giroux takes a really selfish penalty after Backus dominates him for a shift. They managed to get a point but really should have had 2. Then they come home to play Columbus and play a soft perimiter game. Somebody has to step up in the locker room and make everybody accountable. It is going to be tough for them to make the playoffs, and it won't be the last week of the season that determines it. They have had 6 months to get to a comfort zone this season, and their entire hockey careers to realize the game is 60 minutes, not 55. I hope they make it, because drafting 15th won't get you a blue chipper.

Would really like to see this team be focussed for 60 minutes. How many times do they have to have naps to realize they are not good enough to sleep through the first 5 minutes of a game. Can you say leadership?

First, it's actually only 1.95 cents because our dollar is dipping, probably as a result of winning too many hockey gold medals in Sochi! LOL! The reality is this Flyer team is no closer to a Cup win than Buffalo, and they are doing what's needed to get there. This team seems driven to remain less than mediocre and strive for 2 or 3 home playoff gate receipts. Phooey!! Time to make the hard choices and stop being everybodys pal. Whoever won't be around in 5 years should be gone. Emery, Timonen, Hartnell, Lecavailer, Streit, Downey, Grossmann, should all be traded for whatever draft picks can be gotten. In case you haven't noticed, the game is for 20 somethings now, not mid 30's guys who are too slow. Those are all great guys but none who will lead to a Cup win. When I hear rumors about Buff and Mcdonald and other 30 year olds coming to the Flyers my skin crawls. It's time to get young AND FAST, and get some real character on this team, perhaps by drafting well.

Perhaps all these turnovers by the defence are caused by the forwards being lazy and not moving quickly without the puck to be able to support the d-men. This team has been lazy for 3 years, and getting slower by the minute.

I too would give Hextall the job, but GIVE him the job. It is quite obvious the culture of the hockey team is poisoned, and every member of the Flyers organization is responsible. Either that or the talent is vastly over-rated, in which case the scouting staff and player development group needs to be removed. There is also a complete lack of leadership, which is also obvious when you see how much the Schenns and Giroux have regressed this year. The third possibility is that Snider is satisfied with the results as long as the building is full every night. The entry draft is top heavy the next few years, so maybe now is the time to bottom out and draft early. I don't think I can stand any more long term contracts with NTC clauses for 35 year old dogs. It doesn't work. You have to draft well and develop and tweak with UFA's, not try and build your team with them. On the upside, it appears Mason is the real deal, and it seems that Couturier is starting to fill out. Hopefully they don't screw them up. Strength down the middle is where it all starts.

This collection of players appears to be in worse physical condition than every team they have played. Also, they seem to have less hockey sense than most. And finally they are soft, which you see in the number of times they reach with one hand on the stick to poke check when they should be moving their feet through the puck. Long way to go to fix this team. There are 4 or 5 players in the next couple of drafts you can build a team around. This should be the focus.

Keep believing people - some crazy things have happened in the hockey world recently - maybe the Flyers will be better tomorrow than they are today!

It's actually Alec Martinez, not Andy. I would do this deal, Clifford is the type of forward that wins you playoff games, Martinez has to skate better than Grossmann and might be more durable. Both are cap friendly.

My guess is Andy Martinez, a depth defenceman in LA, probably 4-5 in Philly. Big, nasty at times.

"IF" they can work out a manageable contract, Luongo might be the kind of guy to mentor Mason. He is a good team player and obviously a good goalie. If he remains a good goalie after coming to the goalie graveyard that is Philly it will be even better. I'm trying to stay positive.

Would not make this trade. Ducks need to give more for Coburn and #11. This deal would not be good asset management.

I like Yandle's game, but he does not have 25 hard minutes a game value. The other thing to keep in mind is the Flyers inability to improve young defencemen. If they can find a coach who can work with these guys then it will work. Coburn came to Philly with huge upside potential and has regressed more than not. He is only one of many. Whoever Holmgren overpays for he needs to get somebody who can teach these guys how to play in their own end, and that includes the forwards. I didn't even mention Buflugyn, he has way too much baggage. Lavvy can't keep Hartnell's head on straight, and look at the mess Bryz brings to the room. No way can he handle Buf.

Hockey Gods are alive and thriving in Pittsburgh. Matt Cooke (the oxygen thief) Jerome (I'm bigger than the game) Iginla, Crosby, Letang, Orpik, immature little whiny brats, all conspired against themselves. Looks good on ya Mario, you were a bit of a whiner yourself!

Did anyone bother to talk to anyone in Phoenix to find out what a headcase Bryz is. He has been about the same level of bad as the rest of the team this year, and some nights he has actually been the best Flyer, but the sideshow has to go. Very unstable. How can you trust this guy going forward next season? Who would sign in Philly as a UFA d-man with Bryz as the goalie? Who put the curse on the Flyers when it comes to goalies? When will it stop? I think Mason is the real deal. Hopefully the Flyers won't screw it up.

There is no reason he is not lighting it up, not with hall of fame sniper Craig Berube mentoring him! If you are a team commited to youth you need technical coaches, not cheer leaders from the alumni club. As far as the first ten minutes, the entire freaking team was asleep for the first 60 minutes. Once again Lavy showed his savvy preparing his team.

Hi there, Flyers fans. Funny how the short season can seem so long. I would axe Bryz immediately. Snider can afford it. The owners probably are able to tax defer buyout money anyway.Why else would they put it in the CBA. He's a nut. Time for some stability in Flyer land, especially in goal. I would keep Briere for now, hopefully he will be healthy and willing to accept a trade at some point next season. I also hope they are patient and don't think the cup is close. A few years away at best. Without depth on the blueline it won't happen. That has to be the priority right now. Mason is a big game goalie, he dominated the WJC a few years back. He will be fine. The forwards need a lot of maturing, especially Hartnell and Giroux, the 2 leaders of the group. This is where I think Briere can help. This draft is a key time for all teams, there is tremendous depth in this draft. Holmgren needs a good draft to build for the future. Stop winning these worthless games to solidify a solid 1st pick. I would also place a call to Larry Robinson and/or Jaques Laperriere about coaching the defence. These guys have proven their worth. Get someone who can get it done. If Yandle can be had at a reasonable price I would do it. You cannot have 5 young centers who all play a similar game. One of them can be used as an asset to acquire a stud d-man. Isn't it fun playing GM with a non-playoff team. Enjoy the nice spring weather!