King Randy Jones

Ok, forget everything from my last post. Randy Jones was claimed today by the Los Angeles Kings. Pretty good move for them, I dont know much about the depth of their roster, but they acquired an adequate defensemen, for only half of his cap hit. The bitch of the whole situation is that the Flyers are on the hook for the other half of the cap hit, even though he's not playing for them. As long as Gagne is on IR, this wont be a problem, but if Gags comes back, then we will be pressed up pretty close to the cap. Just wouldnt be the Flyers without some cap issues would it?

Randy Jones....why the hell not?

With Simon Gagne being put on long term IR, the Flyers now have the cap space to fit Randy Jones in (assuming he clears through waivers). I'm not a big Jones fan, but at this point, I think its good to have him with the big club. First off, the defense sucks this year, with the exception of Pronger and Carle. Timonen looks like a shell of his former self so far, and Coburn looks alot like Steve Eminger to me. I think Jones will play the best hockey of his career. I'm sure he'll say all the right things, but he couldn't have been happy with being sent to the minors. He'll want to play well enough that the team will have no choice but to keep him with the big club. Not to mention, this is the last year of his contract, I can guarantee that he wont get the $3 million a year contract that the Flyers gave him a couple years ago, but if he can prove to be a servicable 4th/5th defensmen, there will be a few team who would be willing to offer him a decent contract.

In other news...it looks like the Flyers wont sign Shanahan.....thank God. This, along with Gagne being out for a while (probably most of the rest of the season) means that guys like JVR, Giroux, etc have to step up and help fill the score sheet, as I would assume that Stevens will load the first 2 lines, roll out an energy line as the 3rd line (Powe, Carcillo, ?) and the 4th line will see little time.

Take notes from the Phillies, Flyers.....get your shit going!!!!
LETS GO FLYERS & PHILLIES!!!!!!!

Flyers play Caps tonight....maybe

The Flyers are scheduled to play the Washington Capitals tonight, whether they decide to actually show up or not is another question. Sunday nights game vs San Jose was one of the worst games I have ever been to, absolutley zero effort from the orange and black all night. But its hard to get upset about that, we've gotten used to the up and down efforts from the team under the "coaching" of John Stevens, and as long as he's behind the bench, it will never change, and they wont win the cup, let alone get through the East, there, I said it, get mad if you want, but you know its true.

In other news...there are rumors running rampant throughout the web about the severity of Gagne's injury. Ranging from a groin strain, to an abdominal strain, to a hernia, which could require surgery, which could potentially be season ending. The only thing for certain, is that he is out of the lineup tonight.

Brendan freakin' Shannahan!? are you kidding!? The rumor God's are saying the Flyers are potentially interested in the 62 year old winger. Lets be clear, I'm against this 10000% If this were the Shanny from 1998, then I'd be on board, but this guy has nothing left. He left the Devils because he didnt want to be a 4th line player. Which means he couldnt crack one of the top 3 lines in Jersey, and they have far less offensive talent than the Flyers. Tell me how he could make it on one of the top 3 lines here? But I guess it wouldnt be the Flyers without them making room for a washed up veteran at the expense of taking minutes away from younger, better players.

Can you tell I'm frustrated with this team??

Richards needs to mature

There I said it. Apparently, the captain is boycotting the media in response to recurring questions about the Center City partying that allegedly occurred often throughout the last couple seasons. These questions started to pop up again last week when former Flyer Joffrey Lupul returned. There were rumors that Lupe was traded for among other reasons, the front office was trying to break up the young party guys on the team.

As captain, by NHL rules, Richards had to participate in the post game Q&A with reporters. When asked questions about things from last nights game, he responded with short answers like "its big" "also big" & "why bother"

Now if he doesn't want continued questions about the alleged partying, that's fine. Simply tell all the reporters not to ask them anymore, they are professionals too, they will respect your request. But to act like a 12 year old is not very captain like, in fact, its not captain like at all. I know I'll probably catch hell for this, but Richards is not a very good captain...right now. Im sure he will be in a few years, but he simply isnt ready for it right now. He is a great on-ice captain, he brings it every single night, but there is more to being a captain than just playing well, you have to be a mature leader, you have to be able to keep things going when you are winning, and help get things turned around when you are losing, and right now, I just dont see Richards as that guy.

I would like to see the "C" go to Pronger, since he seems to be the leader anyway. That way Richards can step back to watch & learn from a guy who has been there and done that. Then in a few years, Richie can step back into the role and be much more prepared for it.

This is a team that is more than capable of winning the Stanley Cup, but in order to do that, you not only need to play well, but you need to have a true leader.

Flyers out of vacation days

How bout that!? The Flyers returned from another vacation last night, and they won! How bout that!? A solid team win. Didn't get alot from the big guys (outside of Prongers goal), instead, relying on goals from Asham and D-Powe. Defensively, they looked much better than they have in the previous couple games, however Emery needs to learn to not allow rebounds as much. Highlight of the night went to Claude Giroux for his shootout goal, it looked like something you would do on NHL 10. The Flyers have off tonight, but then play back to back over the weekend. I expect to see Brian Boucher get his first start of the season in one of those games

For the most part, the Flyers will have a somewhat normal schedule for the rest of the year, not having nearly a week off in between games, seriously, how does that happen in the first place? So hopefully they've bonded enough to last the season, cause its time to get serious and channel their inner Phillie

LETS GO FLYERS & LETS GO PHILLIES!!!!

Stevens job on the line tommorow night

Well probably not, but it should be. Lets review the Flyers season so far.....
After the first 2 games, I hopped on my private jet and went to Vegas and put all my money on the Flyers going undefeated and winning the Stanley Cup-and why not? They put together 2 full 60 minute efforts against quality teams, on the road. After that, they didn't look great defensively in the home opener, but still managed to win. After that, in what was the biggest game of the season so far against the arch rival Penguins, they put together a horrible defensive effort and lose. Then a typical John Stevens team showed up against the Ducks, looked great for 40 minutes and then blew it in the 3rd. After a week of team bonding, they came out flat against a bad Florida team and lost. They have had almost another week off, and they better come out on fire Thursday against a desperate Boston team, if not, John Stevens should be fired. This team is way to talented to underacheive and be inconsistent. Now I realize even if they lose, Stevens will keep his job, Holmgren has stuck with him through some tough times, but I think I speak for all Flyers fans when I say that we cant stand the inconsistency, this team is good enough to be the best in the league, so its time for them to start playing like it...EVERY NIGHT

Maybe they should watch the game tonight to see what a true championship team plays like....GO PHILLIES!!!

Gameday-The Pussycats

The Flyers are back from vacation tonight as they take on the Panthers in warm sunny Florida. Hopefully none of the guys got too seasick and they all will be available tonight. In all seriousness, it will be interesting to see how they come out after nearly a week off with presumably not alot of practice time. One assumes that they dont need their best to beat a team like the Panthers, but Rockies fans assumed that they had won game 4. Hopefully the orange and black dont overlook tonight and look forward to another vacation after this game, seeing as they dont play again until the 22nd (schedule makers, are you serious??) I look for the top line of Carter Hartnell and Briere to dominate.....

Flyers-6
Pussycats-2

Team Bonding....why??

The Flyers dont play again until Friday night, but until then, they are doing their annual "team bonding" This year it involves fishing, boating and other warm weather outdoorsy stuff. My question is, why? Shouldnt they spend their 5 days off either taking a chance to lay back and relax for a couple days (which you dont often get a chance to during the season) or maybe get in a couple extra practices (maybe work on not sitting on a 2 goal lead in the 3rd?)

Maybe I'm still a little pissed off that they've lost 2 out of 3, but I just dont see why this bonding stuff is necessary or how it will help them win games. Arent they around each other pretty much every day from September until May (hopefully) June? Arent they "bonding" then?

Im curious to see what perennial championship teams in every sport handling "team bonding" I have no evidence, but I assume that teams like the Patriots, Colts, Steelers, Spurs, Red Wings, Penguins, Phillies, Red Sox, etc, spend their spare time working on getting better, and that is why those teams all win championships

Flyers play uninspired 3rd period...lose to Ducks

Ugh, well that was a frustrating game to watch. At least to me, it looked very similar to games from the last couple of years; solid 1st 2 periods, then sit back and relax in the 3rd. They apparently thought that a 2 goal lead was plenty, and played not to lose in the final 20 minutes, and guess what...they still friggin' lost.

-Emery looked better than he did on Tues & Thurs, but gives up alot of rebounds
-Coburn all of a sudden stinks
-It wasnt just Coburn, the D as a whole seemed to not be very sharp
-Is it me, or is Giroux not making any impact?
-Is it me, or is Gagne not making any impact?

The orange and black now have nearly a week off before they play again-Friday night vs the Panthers, hopefully Stevens can coach em' up a little this week and they can start to look like they did in the 1st 2 games

Finally, to all the people sitting in my section last night: Dont stand up and walk out right in the middle of the play!!! Wait for a freakin' stoppage in play! I swear, at least a dozen people did it last night, it gets really annoying!

Flyers Pens Rivalry Taken To New Level

Just your typical everyday Flyers/Pens game...Hartnell allegedly bites Letang, Pronger ragdolls that little piece of shit Kunitz, Flyers lose.

Now I realize the most important thing is that the Flyers didnt play very well and lost, but a serious tone for the rest of the season series between these 2 teams was set at the end of last nights game when Mike Richards plowed into Goofy the Dog (I mean Marc Andre Fleury) and the Scott Hartnell & Kris Letang got into a scrum which culminated with an accused biting incident. But my favorite moment was typical Pronger, during the scrum, he skated in with bad intentions and went right after Chris Kunitz, the look on Kunitz's face was absolutely priceless, it was as if he was saying "Oh my God, its Chris fucking Pronger!!"

The bottom line is the Flyers need to play better in order to consistently beat teams like the Caps and Penguins, but I cant wait for the next Flyers Pens matchup, I cant guarantee a Flyers win, but I can guarantee it will be physical

Watching post game live last night, I couldnt help but notice the anger in John Stevens voice. As well as the anger in Pronger during his interview, this will be a different team after losses this year. I fully expect this team to come out on fire against Lupul and the Ducks on Saturday

A complete team, for the 1st time in a while

What a game last night. It had just about everything; back and forth action, a lot of goals, a hat trick, and an exciting finish. Not to bad for a home opener.

This team has really impressed me so far. They have shown that they can beat you in so many ways. If needed, they can shut you out, or they can just go back and forth with you and come out on top. The point is, for the 1st time in a while, this is a complete team. They are not just relying on one player or one aspect of the team. They are solid at every position, (just about every roster spot for that matter) and that makes this team very good. I know its early, but if they can keep this up, they will be dangerous to face in April, May, and hopefully June.

Thats how you do it!!

For just about the entire John Stevens' era, my biggest complaint was the lack of a complete 60 minute effort, and that lack of effort has cost them countless games over the last couple seasons. Well so far in the 09/10 season, that hasn't been a problem. 2 games, 2 complete 60 minute efforts, 2 impressive wins. Now I think its been more a reflection of personnel changes than it is coaching, but regardless, the Flyers have looked incredible in the early season. Carter & Richards have picked up where they left off, JVR looks like he belongs, Pronger is, well, Pronger, the defense isnt giving up 35-40 shots a game as they have the last couple years, and most importantly, the shots that are taken, Emery has taken care of. Now I realize that its just about impossible to look as good all season as they have the first 2 games, but if they can look this good more often than not, this will be an exciting, dangerous team to play against.

Up this week; a very important couple of games to determine how serious a contender this team can be; 2 home games against the 2 best teams in the East, Washington & Pittsburgh. Mr. Pronger, you were brought here for one reason and one reason alone, we have no doubts that you'll handle your business

How about D-Powe scoring last night?! Is it too soon to think about the Hart Trophy?

LETS GO FLYERS!!!!!!

I told you so...

As predicted here, Ray Emery had a shutout in his first game as a Flyer. Despite falling short of my prediction of 32 saves (he only had 28) he looked sharp in his first NHL game in nearly 2 years. Some observations from last night......

-JVR looked pretty good in his first career game
-Pronger did nothing spectacular, but every time he was on the ice (nearly half the game) you could just feel his presence out there
-Gagne looks to be showing no effects from his hamstring/groin/hip problem
-Carcillo will continue to be the stupidest player on the team
-Most importantly, they played hard for 60 minutes last night, not 20, not 40, but a full 60 minutes. Now lets just hope they do that night in and night out.

Get you red bull ready for tonight, because Devil's games can and will put you to sleep. The only thing I hate more than the neutral zone trap is running out of beer while watching a game. Hopefully the Flyers can make the most of their scoring opportunities tonight, and hopefully I wont run out of beer!
Prediction:
Flyers 3
Devils 2

Finally....Its Gameday!!!

For the 1st time in over 5 months, the Flyers will play a meaningful game. They open their season tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. This is by no means a cakewalk game, Carolina is a solid team, as evidenced by their trip to the conference finals last season.

The theme for tonights game is: "you dont get a second chance to make a first impression" with that in mind....

How will JVR & Pyrola look in their first regular season game after both having an impressive training camp & preseason

How will Chris Pronger look in his first game as a Flyer...the answer...GREAT!!!

How will Danny Briere look after his season from hell last year

How will the biggest risk/reward signing in Flyers history; Ray Emery look in his first NHL game since early 2007...the answer, 32 save shutout!


I think this will be a highly competitive, very entertaining game to watch tonight....
Flyers- 3
Canes- 0

Sit back and enjoy....Flyers hockey is back.....its gonna be a fun season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!