Remember when...

[flyercanuck]

Remember when the Flyers always suffered from mediocre goaltending? Remember dreaming of the day we'd finally get an elite 'tender? Remember when they brought in Bryz and people actually thought it was a good idea? Remember when he was 30th in goalie stats and we all thought THAT was bad. Don't you wish we could go back to those days?

Our "lost in the woods" saviour who only needs to figure things out, and gets paid TEN ******* MILLION to do just that...or not, now sits SIXTIETH in the league in GAA. And that's the good news. Somehow, he's managed to be even worse in save percentage where he comes in at an amazing SIXTY-SIXTH in a league of 30 teams where theres only 2 players at his position per team. So we officially have the #1 WORST goalie in the NHL who also happens to be the highest paid player in the league in the same season. Bravo!!!

[flyerrod]

Bryz needs one of those hunting Jackets you buy for your mother in law.........one of the ones with antlers on the hood.........he can wear it while he is strolling around lost in the woods.

[Vincent05]

@flyercanuck

We can always still dream. I think it comes back to haunt the Flyers for how they screw Hextall for money and Cechmanek for calling out his teammates. I guess this is payback or as Bryz calls it "Karma".

I wouldn't mind another Cechmanek here, dude can flat out stop pucks and I don't care if he calls out his teammates for not scoring. It may be wrong but he has the right to when playing at that high level. I rather that happened then blaming your teammates for not clearing the crease or deflecting pucks that you can't seem to stop. Oh well, we have another 8 1/2 seasons of more excuses as to why Bryz flat out sucks unless Snider bites the bullet and buy him out.

[flyercanuck]

@flyerrod

Of all the lameass goalies this franchise has had over the last 25 years, he's the first one I actually hate. Yes it has to do with the money and term the idiots in management gave him. But with all the great young talent this team has, and the divine intervention out of the stupid Pronger contract, it's sad that we have THIS hanging over us until Giroux is an old man.

[flyercanuck]

@Vincent05

It's always nice to have someone you can blame.

[doom88]

Instead Bryz threw the D under the bus while playing like garbage himself. Excuses...

[SoCalFlyfan]

@flyercanuck -that was the most depressing post i think i've ever read on a flyers forum. the sad thing is there's nothing any of us can do about it.

even worse, when you think about it we have roughly 17 million wrapped up in players who are not making a difference whether we win or lose every night (bryz,pronger,briere)..and if you want to throw in jv'rs 4.5 million next year that's roughly 21.5 million in salary that potentially does nothing to determine an outcome of a game.

[flyercanuck]

@SoCalFlyfan

Sorry, meant to be humourous, but now that you mention it...

Hopefully those signings finally put an end to the "Win now" thinking that's gone on forever in Philly. I hated the Briere signing, though his play in postseason shut me up temporarily. The problem is, a great year doesn't make a 6 year contract worth it, unless you win a cup. Never liked the Pronger trade, and hated the Bryz deal from day one. I think it's much more enjoyable to watch guys like Giroux, Couturier, Schenn, Read, Bourdon Bob etc grow together as a team than bring in some guy who's best days are behind him hoping he can turn back time. I'd even rather be frustrated with JVR and his "should I show up tonight?" game...at least he's tradeable.

[SoCalFlyfan]

@flyercanuck -totally agree. i would prefer building a team like nashville from the back end out rounded with younger forwards who work hard with a a couple stars like giroux and couturier thrown into the mix. i like our forwards for the most part aside from briere and jvr. i like guys like talbot who aren't the most skilled but bring it every shift along with harry z, rinaldo, read, schenn, simmonds, etc. -it's easier to swallow a mediocre season when you have a bunch of kids with potential fighting for roster spots as opposed to 5 and 6 mil. albatross contract guys who get paid regardless of the effort they give every night.

anyway, for the 21million we'll have invested in briere,jvr,bryz, and pronger you could buy about 10 maxime talbots or 20 matt reads and still have a #1 goalie (bob) and a serviceable defense.

[doom88]

I like the Flyers competiting every year. That's why you play sports. To win. Dicking around for a few years collecting high draft picks is garbage.

The mgmt doesn't always execute plans well, but they try. Timonen and Hartnell were good moves, as were Coburn, Mesz, and Carle. Forsberg to Philly was good (I know the controversy, but if he actually was actually as healthy as he believed, there would be zero debate). Parent was a good try that didn't work out. Briere was a decent move, especially in comparison to other deals at that time around the league.

Players want to go to Philly in part because it's a first class organization, part because of an intense fan base, and the commitment to a winning culture. Obviously it hasn't worked out in years, but it is a far cry from Washington and Buffalo. More often than not, the effort is there, but the Flyers have this horrible goaltending curse where their goalies suck / get careers cut short / wither away - and the opposing goalies play like gold medal super elites every ******* game.

Point to hammer home, I'd rather go for it 100% and fail than to never try at all.

[brelic]

@flyercanuck -totally agree. i would prefer building a team like nashville from the back end out rounded with younger forwards who work hard with a a couple stars like giroux and couturier thrown into the mix. i like our forwards for the most part aside from briere and jvr. i like guys like talbot who aren't the most skilled but bring it every shift along with harry z, rinaldo, read, schenn, simmonds, etc. -it's easier to swallow a mediocre season when you have a bunch of kids with potential fighting for roster spots as opposed to 5 and 6 mil. albatross contract guys who get paid regardless of the effort they give every night.

anyway, for the 21million we'll have invested in briere,jvr,bryz, and pronger you could buy about 10 maxime talbots or 20 matt reads and still have a #1 goalie (bob) and a serviceable defense.

I don't really have a problem with Briere. I mean, what you say is true... it's not that often that he's an impact player. But, as @doom88 said, it was the best of the lot during the Year of the Centermen, and the most reasonable contract. However, this is the point of the contract where it starts to go downhill. He has 3 years remaining after this season, and at 34, his best years are behind him.

You can't deny that he's a clutch performer. He's a PPG playoff guy over his career. Will he continue that trend for the next 4 playoffs? Who knows? It's kinda crazy that 5 years later, he's still the highest paid forward on our team.

That being said, I'd have no problem moving him if he agreed. I used to think Giroux was the only untouchable on this team, but I agree with everyone else on the board that Couturier is an untouchable too.

Everyone else is fair game.

[OccamsRazor]

Remember when the Flyers always suffered from mediocre goaltending? Remember dreaming of the day we'd finally get an elite 'tender? Remember when they brought in Bryz and people actually thought it was a good idea? Remember when he was 30th in goalie stats and we all thought THAT was bad. Don't you wish we could go back to those days?

Our "lost in the woods" saviour who only needs to figure things out, and gets paid TEN ******* MILLION to do just that...or not, now sits SIXTIETH in the league in GAA. And that's the good news. Somehow, he's managed to be even worse in save percentage where he comes in at an amazing SIXTY-SIXTH in a league of 30 teams where theres only 2 players at his position per team. So we officially have the #1 WORST goalie in the NHL who also happens to be the highest paid player in the league in the same season. Bravo!!!

Thanks for reminding me and ruining my day before it starts...breaking out the liquor....66th ain't so bad...right?

[Poulin20]

Bryz needs one of those hunting <acronym title='Columbus Blue Jackets'>Jackets</acronym> you buy for your mother in law.........one of the ones with antlers on the hood.........he can wear it while he is strolling around lost in the woods.

Lol that was from an old cartoon I remember that mother in law jacket routine.

[flyercanuck]

I like the Flyers competiting every year. That's why you play sports. To win. Dicking around for a few years collecting high draft picks is garbage.

The mgmt doesn't always execute plans well, but they try. Timonen and Hartnell were good moves, as were Coburn, Mesz, and Carle. Forsberg to Philly was good (I know the controversy, but if he actually was actually as healthy as he believed, there would be zero debate). Parent was a good try that didn't work out. Briere was a decent move, especially in comparison to other deals at that time around the league.

Players want to go to Philly in part because it's a first class organization, part because of an intense fan base, and the commitment to a winning culture. Obviously it hasn't worked out in years, but it is a far cry from Washington and Buffalo. More often than not, the effort is there, but the Flyers have this horrible goaltending curse where their goalies suck / get careers cut short / wither away - and the opposing goalies play like gold medal super elites every ******* game.

Point to hammer home, I'd rather go for it 100% and fail than to never try at all.

I guess it all depends on how long you've been watching them be competetive, and NEVER winning. They have the 2nd best winning percentage in the regular season in NHL history. But as far as being champions go, they're behind such juggernauts as the Islanders, Oilers, Devils, Senators and Leafs. It ain't working.

[Mad Dog]

@flyerrod

Of all the lameass goalies this franchise has had over the last 25 years, he's the first one I actually hate.

And guess what? All those lamest goalies had very respectable numbers at least in the regular season. And they didn't cost a fortune.

This is really the first goalie - who also happened to be the most expensive - in the Flyers recent history who is absolutely horrid. Bryzgalov seems to be more interested in entertaining the media and acting like a comedian than stopping the puck.

I can't see them going to the playoffs with this guy, and that's the worst news.... after, of course, the fact that he is here for eternity. The players don't seem to trust him. Granted, Bob is not a savior either, but at least the team looks much sharper in front of him.

Depressing.....

Edited January 15, 2012 by Mad Dog

[doom88]

I guess it all depends on how long you've been watching them be competetive, and NEVER winning. They have the 2nd best winning percentage in the regular season in NHL history. But as far as being champions go, they're behind such juggernauts as the Islanders, Oilers, Devils, Senators and Leafs. It ain't working.

The last Leafs dynasty was when there were only six teams in the league. The Oilers (Gretzky), Devils (Brodeur), and Islanders (?) had beyond elite players and a sufficient supporting cast.

(Insert Lindros argument here).

Dynasties are hard to run now with the cap in place, however, that doesn't mean Philly can't break through and win the Cup using their current model. I know this is a polarizing point, but I don't think losing until you get enough top picks to win it all is in the spirit of the sport (and even when the Flyers should have had the top pick, they lost the lottery too). Effort is. I would not like it one bit if the Flyers ran their organization like the Pens.

There are 30 teams now (duh), and it is hard to win a championship, but that will make it so much more delicious. This year I think the Flyers have an outside shot if they get a crease clearing defenseman, and run with Bob. Seriously. Lavy can coach, and the players can play. The team is deep, and while I do worry about how they would fare in a physical series, I kind of have a feeling that the young guys will rise to the occasion. I can even volunteer a slogan for the playoff push: "Do It For Timonen"

I don't want Philly to lose to win. No suck for Luck (NFL reference), or any of that nonsense. Do it with pride.

[Spinorama]

He has 3 years remaining after this season, and at 34, his best years are behind him.

the bright side is his style of play doesn't wear down as most of the bigger guys in the league. As long as he doesn't lose a step, he should be fine.

[Spinorama]

Thanks for reminding me and ruining my day before it starts...breaking out the liquor...

well it is sunday... what the heck!

[aziz]

It ain't working.

yet

sucking for years collecting picks doesn't always work, either. nothing always works. a team does what they can to get into the second season and they see where the chips fall. plug holes, make smart trades, hold onto promising prospects, and hope. sitting pat with a flawed team only guarantees short term failure, it does nothing to increase long term chances.

[xganarchy]

Another thing to consider is a team has to have a "perfect storm" of sorts. You need those cheap contracts/players to come in at just the right time, whether that be a rookie/young guy who hasn't earned a big paycheck yet (Read, Couturier, etc) or an aging vet who has to accept a cheap contract to stay in the league. It IS refreshing to see young guys who come in and play great like Read and Couts have, but to say you could get 10 of them instead of a high priced guy is a little misleading. I'd take a team of hardworkers over primadonnas too but that doesn't always get the job done.

This season the team would have looked great if Pronger was healthy, Briere was consistent, and Bryzgalov lived up to expectations. Jagr, Read, Couts were all just rolls of the dice that worked out.

[Vincent05]

This season the team would have looked great if Pronger was healthy, Briere was consistent, and Bryzgalov lived up to expectations. Jagr, Read, Couts were all just rolls of the dice that worked out.

You do know this is Philly right? There's always something wrong or someone playing like sh!t on a yearly basis. Always seems like it's if this or if that then this is the year we win it all.

[xganarchy]

You do know this is Philly right? There's always something wrong or someone playing like sh!t on a yearly basis. Always seems like it's if this or if that then this is the year we win it all.

lol so true, being a Philly fan is extremely difficult, it seems like every year there's at least ONE of our sports teams that fails to live up to expectations. But could you imagine if Jagr, Couts, Read, Hartnell & Giroux were having down seasons as well? We may have been looking at a top 10 pick. I was surprised at the start of the season, got my hopes up after being ready to miss the playoffs, and now those hopes are being dashed. Normal Philly sports fan year though :-/

[brelic]

lol so true, being a Philly fan is extremely difficult, it seems like every year there's at least ONE of our sports teams that fails to live up to expectations. But could you imagine if Jagr, Couts, Read, Hartnell & Giroux were having down seasons as well? We may have been looking at a top 10 pick. I was surprised at the start of the season, got my hopes up after being ready to miss the playoffs, and now those hopes are being dashed. Normal Philly sports fan year though :-/

People, people... we are 6th in the league! And all of this without our captain and a goaltender who is playing like a sieve!

I personally expected the team to fight for a playoff spot and maybe squeak in somehwere between 6th and 8th in the conference. We are 2nd in points (but 4th because of the stupid seeding).

Tough crowd!!

[xganarchy]

People, people... we are 6th in the league! And all of this without our captain and a goaltender who is playing like a sieve!

I personally expected the team to fight for a playoff spot and maybe squeak in somehwere between 6th and 8th in the conference. We are 2nd in points (but 4th because of the stupid seeding).

Tough crowd!!

Another trait of a typical Philly fan! (being overly critical). I guess just b/c they've been doing a lot worse than earlier this season, I keep preparing myself to see them drop to the lower half of the playoff seedings (which still is better than what i expected before the season).

[Vincent05]

@brelic

It's not a tough crowd, it's the honest truth Bre. How many times have we been let down? I know this year the expectation is low, heck no one would've believe how they are playing this year so far.