Remember those days when Holmgren played for the orange and black while busting some skulls? Remember his glory days behind the bench with an attitude that could scare Darroll Powe away from an empty net (video)? I don’t. I wasn’t alive for his playing days, and I certainly can’t remember his days behind the bench. The best I have are videos of him beating the crap out of some Bruin who got out of line or defending his teammate that just took a run from some underpaid goon to remind me of the attitude Holmgren carries beneath his wise, old general manager demeanor. When he does speak out about what the team is doing wrong his mannerisms are subtle and cliche at times, but behind the scenes you know that he is taking care of business.
A recent article on PhillyBurbs.com demonstrates just how well Holmgren is taking the second straight playoff exit at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins as well as some of the “issues” with the current Flyers’ roster.
–When asked about the players’ nightlife in Philadelphia:
“Am I concerned about it? Let me say this: The issue has been raised by (coach) John (Stevens) and myself with all the players. I think this all falls under the umbrella of discipline. It’s on-ice discipline – not overstaying-your-shift discipline – it’s off-ice discipline, it’s night before a game taking better care of ourselves. That’s a natural maturation process that a lot of our younger players are still going through. We’ve addressed that. So am I concerned about it? We’ll see how it goes this year. All our players have been talked to about it. Is it an issue? The fact that we’ve talked about it, I guess it is an issue.
If you look at our season, I don’t know if we were fatigued (at the end) but our record wasn’t what it needed to be going into the playoffs. In the Eastern finals, Pittsburgh and Carolina were the two teams playing. They were the best teams over the last 20 games (of the regular season). So did they take better care of themselves as a team? Why did they win and we stubbed our toe? We can’t win 82 games but, each loss, you can’t just say it’s one game. It’s unacceptable.”
That’s issue number one taken care of. If people think Emery is coming back to the NHL through Philadelphia just to party it up with the Olde City Crew along with Richards, Carter, and Lupul they should think again. If it came to Coach Stevens saying that he has addressed the issue, I’m not so sure I would be sold, but when Holmgren makes a point to say that the book is closed then it is most certainly closed. I can assure you there will be no more appearances at Temple parties. It’s a very good sign that Holmgren is taking a very active role in the discipline of the players within the organization especially with a goalie like Emery coming to town. Everyone saw how defeated and humble the “rock star” looked sitting next to Homer at the press conference. While Holmgren knows that winning 82 games a year is impossible, a loss to him is completely unacceptable. This mindset is the polar opposite to Stevens’, and it’s good to see it pushed on the players from the management at the highest level.
–When asked about John Stevens’ “discipline” strategy, or lack there of:
“I think John as a coach in the league is still learning. I expect John to get better in holding his players accountable. It goes back to the discipline umbrella, on ice, off ice, overstaying your shift, showing up late (for practice). The coach is in charge of 20 egos but he’s also responsible for directing the team to win. If John sees something he doesn’t like from an individual player, that’s up to him to put the hammer down on that player. John’s gotten better and I expect him to continue to get better.”
Stevens’ job is obviously not in jeopardy after two great, though ultimately disappointing, seasons of Flyers’ hockey. While Holmgren clearly likes the current coaching structure for Stevens’ players’-coach mentality, he has noticed that as a former head coach the “hammer” should be brought down a little more often. Penalties have been and will always be an issue, but that shouldn’t take away from the team’s discipline. As an organization the best the Flyers can do is play clean hockey despite the fact that there will be reputation calls thrown into the mix. Lazy penalties are unacceptable. The bigger problem is obviously the off-ice mentality of the majority of the team. Holmgren is already taking steps to correct that.
–When asked about Joffrey Lupul:
“He needs to be stronger, his upper body in particular. He needs to be in the best shape he’s ever been. This is a big year for him. He tends to drift every so often. If he’s on his game, he has a chance to be a 40-goal scorer. He does many things well, but he drifts in and out. He has to bring it every night.”
All of those things about Joffrey Lupul that you fans have noticed, have caught the attention of Holmgren as well. The “lazy” claims aren’t exactly fair, but they may not be too far off. The “best shape” comment makes me wonder if Lupul worked as hard last offseason as he should have. I expect for Joffrey to come back ready to play hockey as soon as camps open. Anything less would be problematic for himself and for whatever team he eventually gets traded to should he not make a better overall effort. It appears though that for now Lupul is a part of the future plans of the Philadelphia Flyers.
