State of the Flyers.....Laperrière & Giroux

Next up in State of the Flyers is Ian Laperrière and Claude Giroux. Laperrière spent his 1st 2 seasons with St Louis and the Rangers, before spending his next 9 seasons in Los Angeles. After that, "Lappy" played his next 4 season with the Avalanche. In just over 1000 career NHL games he has amounted 118 goals and 1794 penalty minutes. Ian does whatever is necessary for the team, he can fight, block shots, work the penalty kill, and hopefully mentor the young guys. He is a "pro's pro" as witnessed by him wearing the "A" in Colorado. As for his role in Philly, I see him being a less hairy version of Scott Hartnell, I can see John Stevens bouncing him around a little bit from line to line to help provide a little bit of a spark and toughness. Dont expect Lappy to light up the scoreboard, but I think his contributions to the team will reach far beyond the scoresheet. Prediction: 12 goals

Take a look at the picture of Giroux at the top of the post, you're going to be seeing alot of that this year. This guy is going to be a stud for many many years to come (if Chris Therien says your going to end up being a top 5 player in the league, you must be good right?) Drafted 22nd overall in the 2006 draft (Bob Clarke actually forgot his name at the podium) Giroux has turned out to be exactly what the orange and black envisioned; a quick, smart hockey player with a keen eye for the net. He played 2 games on an emergency callup during the 07/08 season, then after failing to make the roster out of training camp last year, he was called up mid-way through the season, and has never looked back. In 42 games, he amassed 9 goals and 18 assists. He then was arguably the Flyers best player in their 1st round loss to the Penguins, totaling 2 goals and 3 assists in 6 games, not to mention an intense fight against Tyler Kennedy in game 3 (I was there and the place erupted when he dropped the gloves!) Expect Giroux to see the ice time of the now departed Joffrey Lupul, word on the street is that coach Stevens is planning on putting him on the top line with Carter & Hartnell...that should be fun to watch. No matter who his linemates are, I expect Giroux to be incredible in his first full NHL season, and Bundy is right, he could end up being one of the best players in the league within the next 5 years. Prediction -33 goals

Next up: Aaron Asham & Darroll Powe