Phinally Philly

So, as fate would have it, the four Flyers I put on my Round 1 version of Flyers Playoff Hero are the ones who were the most successful.

Claude Giroux had an incredible 4 goals in 5 games finishing with 6 points. Mike Richards had 8 points total off of 2 goals and 6 assists.

Chris Pronger and Danny Briere both finished with 2 goals and 3 assists a piece for 5 points.

Then there was Dan Carcillo who had 2 goals and an assist including an OT game-winner. How about Laperriere and Betts, the bash brothers, diving in front of absolutely everything?

And you know that Brian Boucher guy? The goalie who was picked to cost the Flyers a 2nd round appearance when dueling Martin Broduer? Boucher currently leads the NHL playoff goaltenders in GAA with 1.59 and in SV% with 0.940. Not too shabby, eh?

So who is it now?

Giroux, Richards, or Briere? Can one of the forwards take over this round against a very good Boston defense?

What about Timonen or Pronger, or even Boucher?

Here is the line-up without Carter, Gagne, and Laperriere for the start of the series.

Things could change, and Gagne could be back midway through. You decide.

Carcillo — Richards — Giroux
Hartnell — Briere -- Leino
vanRiemsdyk — Ross — Asham
Powe — Betts — Nodl
(Gagne) — (Carter) — (Laperriere)

Pronger — Carle
Timonen — Coburn
Parent — Krajicek
Bartilus — Syvret

Boucher
Backlund
(Leighton)

So…

Who expected that?

It’s certainly been an exciting ride since the time the Flyers beat the Rangers in that shootout. That is if you’ve watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year. Being a Division winner in the East this year was like the mark of death as all top three seeds fell; we obviously beat New Jersey in 5, Boston beat out Buffalo in 6, and the Canadiens pulled off the impossible by beating the Capitals in 7 after a 3-1 deficit. The other team to advance was Pittsburgh.

That leaves us with the Penguins (4) vs. the Canadiens (8) and the Bruins (6) vs. the Flyers (7).

Knowing that Washington’s offense wouldn’t stay dormant for another round, it’s probably a good thing we didn’t face the Capitals. Even so, the Bruins have their own unique set of challenges we have to overcome.

It’s time for the Spring Classic: the Phialdelphia Flyers vs. the Boston Bruins. We all of course remember how this year’s Winter Classic ended; in OT in come-from-behind fashion as the Bruins became the first Winter Classic home team to come away with victory.

The Flyers went 2-1-1 against Boston this year including an OT loss on January 1st when it looked like the Bruins had too many men on the ice.

Now the Flyers will seek a little bit of revenge, and though the Winter Classic was Leighton vs. Thomas, starting in net for this series will be Boucher and Rask.

Boucher, a New England native, has played 2 games against the Bruins this year accounting for a 1.35 GAA and a 0.949 SV%. Rask has played 2 games against the Flyers this year accounting for a 1.92 GAA and a 0.944 SV%.

In the playoffs, Boucher has won 4 of 5 games played and leads the league both with a 1.59 GAA and a 0.940 SV%. Rask has won 4 of 6 games played for a 2.18 GAA and a 0.927 SV%.

However, with offensive injuries on either team, this series might come down to who can score. The Bruins are averaging 2.67 goals-forced per game while the Flyers are averaging an even 3.00. There’s no question that the Flyers have the stronger defense, but dealing with Chara comes with its own problems.

The series will definitely be an interesting one. It will be the first Flyers vs. Bruins playoff match-up since 1978.

We definitely know what big games against the Bruins are like:

We even know what they’re like from before many of us were born thanks to YouTube.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows though. Boston is going to be physical, but they’re beatable. We do have to deal with some injuries. As most know, Ian Laperriere is the latest to go down, but the good news is that Gagne could be making an appearance at some point during this series. Bruins have their own injuries and moved out their only true sniper, Phil Kessel, out to Toronto last year.

Rask is a good goalie who we will have to exploit. We need to make life miserable for him, and it will be up to call-ups Ville Leino, Patrick Maroon, and Andreas Nodl to help make a positive impact on the series.

Boosh took care of his unfinished business from a decade ago against the New Jersey Devils, and now he has a bone to pick with his home region after not getting the go-ahead to play them in the Winter Classic.

Let the excitement begin.

The action starts in an early game this Saturday. We got the Rangers, we got the Devils, and now the we go back up I-95 to give our regards to the Bruins.

• Saturday, May 1st — 12:30 PM @Boston
• Monday, May 3rd — 7:00 PM @Boston
• Wednesday, May 5th — 7:00 PM @Philadelphia
• Friday, May 7th — 7:00 PM @Philadelphia
• Monday, May 10th — 7:00 PM @Boston (if necessary)
• Wednesday, May 12th — TBD @Philadelphia (if necessary)
• Friday, May 14th — 7:00 PM @Boston (if necessary)

(I hope everyone’s ready for round two.)

A disconnected locker room never looked this good.

What’s the phrase I’m looking for?

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

Abraham Lincoln said that over 150 years ago, and it’s still true to this day. However, the opposite is also true. A unified locker room is capable of incredible things.

So what happened to all of the “locker room discord” that had been floating around for months?

The story itself about a feud between the veterans and the young core has died out almost completely. It was spotted last back on April 4th when Chuck Gormley put together his best attempt to explain why the Flyers’ season was falling apart right before the playoffs.

For most of this season, there have been chat room debates over whether Chris Pronger would serve as a better captain than Mike Richards.

Following Friday night’s 1-0 home loss to the Canadiens, Pronger vacated the locker room quickly, leaving a crowd of reporters around Richards, who looked up and said, “I’m not going first.”

Whether Pronger’s quick exit was intended to let the captain address the team’s shortcomings in one of its most important games is debatable, but Richards did not exactly provide the leadership expected from a 25-year-old with 10 years remaining on a $69 million contract.

The perceived power struggle between Pronger and Richards could be just the tip of a Flyers iceberg that will certainly be explored in the offseason.

With games against the Red Wings and Maple Leafs followed by a crucial home-and-home set with the energized Rangers, the Flyers are about to find out what they’re made of.

The Flyers will either prove they are as good as many predicted back in October, or they will be forever linked to the Phillies’ monumental collapse 46 years ago.

While Gormely, and many other Philly beat writers were trying to make a story where there really wasn’t one, a few have been saying all along that the locker room dramatics were just more nonsense.

How about the cries for Richards to give up his position as captain to Pronger since he was obviously not ready to lead this team?

They have all vanished to the tune of 8 points in 5 games. Richards is tied for third in postseason scoring with the Great Ovechkin, behind both Crosby and Nicklas Backstrom. Giroux has 6 points in 5 games. Briere and Pronger, the man supposedly at war with Richards, each are pacing at a point per game.

The Flyers have done the supposedly impossible by knocking off the 2nd seeded Devils in nonchalant fashion. The series was fairly easy with Parise quieted by strong defensive play and Kovalchuk looking almost foolish as he tried desperately to do everything himself.

These Devils were a team that was supposed to click at the right time with a gigantic weapon in acquisition Ilya Kovalchuk. Instead the Flyers forecheck, defensive depth, and awareness around both nets turned them into fairly easy first-round fodder. The Flyers were “banging home the junk” and “clearing out the trash” to borrow some phrases from The Mighty Ducks movies.

Pronger and Timonen have combined for 33 blocked shots. The rest of the roster has combined for another 52. That’s 85 blocked shots in 5 games.

Speaking of blocked shots, how about those Holmgren acquisitions? Still think he is a terrible General Manger who isn’t able to put a functional team on the ice?

A lot of the hatred headed his way is largely undeserved. Despite jokes about his “What can you do?” comment, there was really nothing he could have done. Did you want to give up Giroux, JVR, or Carter for Kovalchuk or Vokoun at this point? Perhaps you wanted to throw some of that defensive depth and futures Montreal’s way for Price or Halak when that blueline has absolutely anchored this team through the first series and will only get more important?

I don’t even need to touch on Pronger’s Norris-worthy season. In the playoffs he’s been even better.

Betts and Laperriere? Just look at Lappy’s face and tell me they aren’t doing their part. The Wonder Twins have helped kill 87.5% of the Devils’ powerplay. New Jersey has only scored four powerplay goals despite having an unimaginable 32, that’s right I said 32, chances with an extra man.

Carcillo? He’s a hero. I think everyone still calling him Downshall can switch to Carbomb now. His explosive nature, now under control somewhat thanks to Laviolette, has been important to the Flyers’ success. The extra goals? What can I say? Forecheckers need love too.

What about Boucher, who came out to play a decade after the epic implosion that was the 2000 postseason? He’s only stepped his game up when the games have mattered the most. The softies have virtually disappeared. Granted a lot of that has to do with a more confident group of skaters and I can’t necessarily promise his success will continue, but Flyers’ fans can be happy that they get a chance to rest before the next series.

Leino, who was a healthy scratch for the playoffs so far, stepped right into his role without missing a beat. He looked great last night even if he didn’t get himself on the score sheet. Injuries haven’t killed the Flyers just yet. They still have a chance.

So who is next?

Well, the Flyers are the first team to move into the next round. The Senators came up with a miraculous 3OT win last night against the Penguins to fend off elimination for at least one more game. The Bruins lead the Sabres 3 to 1, as do the Capitals over the Canadiens.

If the Capitals do beat the Canadiens, which is likely to happen at this point, everyone can get ready for some trips to the good old District of Columbia.

Since we likely have the Capitals, it’s safe to assume we’re already preparing for them as of today. Their defense, much like the Devils’, is weak and susceptible to a strong forecheck. We can beat the Capitals if we can play like we did in this series; play hard on the forecheck and use or defense depth as an advantage to thwart the likes of Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom, and Knuble. Boucher will have to be on his game, and we will still need all the offense we can get. That of course is made much harder by the fact that Gagne and Carter won’t be making appearances.

What can you do? We just have to soldier forward and hope for some rest as the other teams fight to move on.

In another note, everyone needs to have a round; have a beer or two on behalf of Ian Laperriere. The man is an absolute warrior. I’m glad he’s okay. Everyone’s glad he’s okay. I understand his decision to wear a shield from now on. You have to keep safe for your family, just never stop being an absolute warrior. You are Flyers Hockey.

Jeff Carter had been uncharacteristically quiet in the first three games of the series. Game 4 was a different story as his goals sandwich goals by both Dannys. 4-1 is a good way to go up 3-1 in the series after all.

As I expected, while Laviolette has remained a strong force and likely catalyst for the Flyers’ amazing advantage, the team has come out to shine more in the last few games. The team has been getting better and better. They’re winning battles, forcing turnovers, and buzzing in front of Brodeur. That’s how you win games. That’s how you win in the playoffs.

Richards, who had two points in each of the first three games was held without a point, but that’s exactly what makes the Flyers deadly. If someone isn’t scoring, they have the depth to keep the waves coming. Even though he was absent on the score sheet, he was a force on the ice. As was Giroux, once again.

Boucher has been everything we could’ve hoped for so far. We do however know how this played out in 2000. The Flyers need to get this out early in 5 or 6. They don’t want to give the Devils a chance at a game 7. It’s easy to say that they can close this series out, but the Devils are a desperate team with a few rattled, desperate forwards. One game at a time and take the win when you see the opportunity.

Gagne, who has always been a Brodeur-killer, missed a healthy chunk of this game, including the ending, with a lower body injury. No details have been provided, but I will keep everyone up to date on twitter: @shafer22.

There’s some more to announce, but I’ll update that through twitter. Possibly a little more analysis both on our win and our recent HUGE acquisition for this summer coming tomorrow. Go out and celebrate!

If you haven’t seen it yet:

Game one is in the books.

The Flyers pulled up ahead 2-0 and held on for the 2-1 win as the game clock wound down.

The Flyers didn’t necessarily play a bad game and definitely weren’t flat in the first period. They came out physical. Still, after a 0-0 game through 20 minutes of regulation, according to Pronger it was Laviolette’s locker room “discussion” that brought out a dominating second period. Laviolette apparently tore into the team for playing sloppy. Suddenly the Flyers are moving the puck quicker to keep the Devils chasing the puck around.

The Devils like to keep the game at their speed. Their particular tempo helps them slow down the rush in the neutral zone and burst forth offensively with turnovers. As soon as the Flyers started moving the puck, the Devils were off tempo and chasing. Laviolette had them pressure hard in the forecheck to generate the offensive surge from the Devils’ zone and not on the neutral zone breakout. This played well against the Devils since their defense is generally weak when not playing in the neutral zone.

Since Devils’ coach Lemaire is not one to change on a whim, the Flyers will have to do more of the same thing. The Devils will however get their neutral zone turnovers and charge Boucher on the rush. It’s going to take Boucher claiming at least two more games this series in order to win it. He can let the offense win one for him, but if he can hold his ground for at least two more victories, the Flyers have a good shot at moving on.

After the game, Lemaire commented on Laviolette’s press conference. Laviolette seemed a little disappointed with his team despite great performances by Carle, Boucher, Pronger, Richards, and Laperriere. Said Lemaire, “The flyers don’t think they played so well against us, but we thought we played pretty well.”

Stevens would have loved the victory. Laviolette is not satisfied. You can guarantee Pronger isn’t either.

Here’s a little bit from Pronger before the game:

On the playoffs, in general:

“Everybody relishes the playoffs, what it encompasses and what it’s all about. It’s the hardest trophy in pro sports to win, with the physical attrition and mental attrition that happens in the playoffs. You’ve got to be prepared to do whatever it takes for what essentially boils down to two months.”

“The playoffs are more physical, so you need to play more physical. You’re trying to grind and wear down the other team, and play hard on their top players and wear on them. You may not get them in Game 1. You may not get them in Game 2. But, hopefully by Game 5 or 6 the price that they have to pay to get to those tougher areas has taken its toll.”

“I think we all understand that the regular season is a long grind, and when you get to the playoffs it’s even more of a grind and even harder. You start with 16 teams and it whittles down pretty quickly. You have to be prepared to leave it all on the ice each and every shift. Each shift is very important, from momentum, to not allowing your opponent to get an inch out there. You have to have that war mentality. There are little battles all over the ice, but you need to win those to win the war.”

“We just played six months to get to this point and have this opportunity. All 16 teams believe they have a chance, and it’s up to us to impose our will and our desire on the other team.”

On his playoff experience:

“You want to get back there and you want to experience it. You want to go through the experience with the team and fight all the battles and all the wars together, and have that feeling at the end of the year that you’ve accomplished something, and you’ve done it as a team. You’ve had your ups and downs and different adversities that you’ve faced throughout the course of a season, but you’re able to put it together for a two month stretch play the best hockey of your life.”

“As a veteran player on the team, you look around the room and we have a lot of young players that haven’t been through too many playoff series or battles in the NHL. I’ve had my fair share, and hopefully can use that experience to help us.”

So, are you a believer yet?

I wonder if Barry Melrose has changed his mind.

The orange and the black have made the postseason in 14 of the last 15 seasons. Over 15 years, that number is tied only by the New Jersey Devils and beaten only by the Detroit Red Wings.

Every year the Flyers have someone who stands out in the playoffs. Even in first round exits the Flyers have had a hero, usually an unlikely one, who made his presence known in the playoffs.

Last year it was Claude Giroux. The year before it was RJ Umberger who dominated the Canadiens.  In 2006, it was Peter Forsberg. Back in the last year before the lockout, Keith Primeau became a legend.

Of course, back in 2000 it was our very own Brian Boucher.

Unlikely or not, there will be someone who leaves everything on the ice for a chance at a Stanley Cup. So who will it be now?

Claude Giroux

Giroux made the soon-to-be Stanley Cup champions look foolish last year, but is he a deadly postseason performer every year? Well, back in 2007-08, when he was a 20-year-old playing in the QMJHL playoffs, he carried his Gatineau Olympiques to a championship while winning the Guy Lafleur Trophy for postseason MVP. He did this to the tune of 17 goals and 34 assists for 51 points in 19 games. Only one player got more in 19 or less games. That man’s name is Mario Lemieux. Needless to say, Giroux’s 2.68 PPG average during that playoff run became the stuff of legend, as did his Gordie Howe Hat Trick last year. Could he be the 2010 Flyers’ playoff MVP?

Mike Richards

Through a torrent of largely undeserved media dramatics, Richards has quietly dominated the ice since the end of the Olympics. Granted, his presence was not always felt on the score sheet, but on the ice he has been a legitimate factor. He is leading by example regardless of how many feel about the media’s blatant speculations. This year, unlike last postseason, both of his shoulders are healthy. He’s a proven leader and winner having performed extremely well while taking his OHL team to the very to of Canadian Junior Hockey, while taking the Phantoms to their 2nd Calder Cup, and while journeying with Team Canada to a Gold Medal. Richards thrives in high pressure on the ice. Can he dominate the NHL playoffs this year?

Chris Pronger

With 51 points in postseason play since the lockout, Chris Pronger just beats out Nicklas Lidstrom as the top offensive defenseman in the playoffs in the new era NHL. This year he has the kind of season where he has a right to expect a little love from those deciding on who gets the Norris Trophy, but for Pronger, the playoffs are a new beast. He picked the first New York game of this last home-and-home to have his worst game of the year. You can’t fault him for that, but he came out the next game, with the season on the line, and took over. Gaborik was a non-factor. That’s what he does. He’s carried an 8th seed to the Stanley Cup Finals before. Can he carry this team?

Danny Briere

This man lives and breathes postseason. It wasn’t until this past year that Sidney Crosby passed Briere’s post-lockout glory of being the top scoring forward in the playoffs in the new-era NHL. He brings the offensive game in the postseason and leaves everything on the ice. As critical as people have been about his contract, this is why he was brought here. He’s quietly had very good outings for the Flyers in the playoffs since joining the team. Is this when Briere opens the floodgates?

Who will it be? Could it be a Flyers’ home-town favorite in Gagne?

Or Carter who has stepped up his game when the team needed it the most all season?

Or maybe someone we don’t expect like Hartnell or Carcillo?

Maybe even Boucher again?

Here’s the postseason depth chart. You make the decision.

Gagne -- Richards -- Carcillo
Hartnell -- Carter -- Briere
vanRiemsdyk -- Giroux -- Asham
Powe -- Betts -- Laperriere
Pyorala -- Kalinski -- Leino
Laliberte - Nodl -- Cote

Pronger -- Carle
Timonen -- Coburn
Parent -- Krajicek
Bartilus -- Syvret
Lehtivuori -- Marshall

Boucher
Duchesne
(Backlund)
(Leighton)

So…

Who expected that?

You know what? Screw it.

This team was a Stanley Cup favorite at the start of the season. We had the offense, we had just gotten Pronger, and Emery had experience going to the Finals. We saw something special when vanRiemsdyk made the team. We saw Emery start the year off with a shutout. Everything looked good early. A few little blips but nothing severe in the early season. We started off the season 12-5-1.

That’s when all hell broke lose. Not trusting Boucher, then head coach John Stevens held an injured Ray Emery in the lineup. We lost one, then another, and then another. Emery was finally sent into surgery, but Boucher, while proving capable, was not getting offensive support. The team could not find the confidence it needed with Boucher in net. The Stanley Cup favorites went on a death spiral to the bottom of the Atlantic which saw John Stevens fired and Peter Laviolette hired. It still wasn’t easy sailing as the team continued to struggle while Laviolette tried to implement an entirely new system focused on conditioning, accountability, and discipline. Flyers go a horrific 3-13-1.

On December 23rd, 2009, the last Flyers game before the Christmas holiday, Michael Leighton gets his first start of the season in a Flyers’ jersey. Leighton, like Boucher, was someone who had a brief stint with the Flyers earlier this decade but was much less successful. Because of the Emery injury, he was claimed off waivers from Carolina, and when Boucher went down in a 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on December 21st, he was the last goalie on the roster with NHL experience. Another disaster quickly turned into a blessing for the Flyers who jumped into a resurgence. They won 4 straight and lost in OT during the Winter Classic. It was just what the team needed to get back on track. They had confidence in Leighton, and when Emery eventually came back, the winning continued. The Flyers stretched Leighton for months in a stint that saw Emery return and once again leave, possibly forever because of a newly discovered genetically deteriorating hip. Even though Emery’s career is in trouble, Leighton is single-handedly saving the Flyers’ season. The team surges back into the playoff picture by going 20-8-2.

Disaster strikes again. Leighton goes down for possibly up to 8-10 weeks, and Boucher is thrust back into the starting role. The Flyers start to stumble. Eventually they turn to rookie Johan Backlund, who gets hurt less than 40 minutes into his NHL debut. The team is forced to ride Boucher out and through at least a stint of the postseason, provided they make it. Boucher closes out at 6-9-2.

To call this season a roller coaster would be an understatement. If you want to look at a good example, look no further than our final home-and-home against the Rangers.

Let’s all be honest for a second. How many people thought we were doomed after losing that tight game in New York?

Now, how many people are a little more excited about how things turned out?

I mean, we’re playing a team that we went 5-1 against during the regular season, that has a soft defense that’s easily solved if we play a steady forecheck, that has a forward core that is not exactly gelling, that will have a hard time scoring if Pronger is matched up against Parise while Timonen is matched up on Kovalchuk, and that Boucher has a little bit of anger towards.

You know that this team is coming out to play. I’ve said it many times before, and we’re still a team built for the playoffs.

Since 2000, we’ve made it to the Eastern Conference finals with worse teams on the backs of Boucher, Esche, and Biron. Now, 10 years later, we’re hoping Boucher has a little revenge planned for the team that did the impossible on their way to the finals by coming back from a 3-1 deficit to win. That’s also the series where Lindros’ career was virtually ended.

It’s okay to feel uneasy. Nobody expected us to get this far based on where we came from. We went 33-17-3 under Emery and Leighton. We finished 8-18-3 under Boucher.

Still, there is a glimmer of hope in Philadelphia:

Boucher, in the last three games, has saved our season twice. He’s definitely done this before.

He is not the best goalie in the world, but he is someone that will leave everything on the ice for you.

So is this Brian Boucher’s Unfinished Business 10 years later, or is this the prelude to an offseason where we finally get a goalie to carry this elite team (while hoping he doesn’t get hurt like Emery)? I guarantee we will get a goalie regardless. Holmgren knows how to fix holes. Just ask team MVP and Norris candidate Chris Pronger.

Defense wins championships, and regardless of what those ties at TSN say, this defense is top 3 in the NHL.

Haters are going to hate on how we ended the Rangers’ season. Still, this postseason birth was something we knew we deserved. We are a far better team than our final record shows, even with Boucher in net.

I give us a legitimate shot to beat anyone other than Pittsburgh, only because we already know how that series is going to go. We match up well against Washington and New Jersey’s soft defense. We have the scoring to overstep Buffalo’s thin offense. Even though we likely won’t face Boston, Montreal, or Ottawa, you can’t possibly be afraid of them.

Don’t forget that Carter’s healthy. He definitely looked it when he set up that game-tying goal by Matt Carle yesterday. Richards has been a force for about a month now. Pronger and Briere are both among the top two performers at their respective positions in the playoffs since the lockout.

There are things to be excited about. After all, half the battle was making it into the postseason. 16 wins is all that stands in our way now. We’ll have to earn them, but we definitely have the talent to do so. With the exception of Leighton and Emery, we’re as healthy as we’re ever going to be.

The action starts Wednesday. Even if you don’t think we have a chance to win the Cup this year, knocking out the Rangers and the Devils in one year would be well worth it.

• Wednesday, April 14th -- 7:30 PM @New Jersey
• Friday, April 16th -- 7:30 PM @New Jersey
• Sunday, April 18th -- 6:00 PM @Philadelphia
• Tuesday, April 20th -- 7:30 PM @Philadelphia
• Thursday, April 22nd -- 7:00 PM @New Jersey (if necessary)
• Sunday, April 25th -- TBD @Philadelphia (if necessary)
• Tuesday, April 27th -- 7:30 PM @New Jersey (if necessary)

(video thanks to HFBoards member Sa Cyred)

Everyone has been hyping these last two games against the New York Rangers all season almost to the point where you’d think this was all predestined by some higher power.

Crazy as it may be, the Flyers and Rangers are each down to their final two games this season; a home-and-home against each other for the right to advance to the postseason.

It really doesn’t matter how we ended up here. Everyone knows the story of Ray Emery’s deteriorating hip by now. If you don’t then let’s just say that thanks to genetics, Emery’s career may be over. That’s a fairly unwelcome mid-season surprise. Leighton’s injury was equally unfortunate when you consider that combined they are 32-17-3 for the season. Boucher is 8-17-3.

The key thing now is that the Flyers control their own fate. They win one of these two games and the make the playoffs. The Rangers have to win both in regulation.

Oh, and Jeff Carter could be back for tomorrow night’s game. He’s a game-time decision. It’s likely that Ville Leino is out in favor of Arron Asham if Carter is good to go.

Two games. There’s no need to speculate beyond that. We want New Jersey or Buffalo, which means we want 6th or 7th place. It’s still possible, but our best chance is if we win out. We want to beat the Rangers and send them home crying. Nothing right now matters beyond that.

This is what it’s all about. You should prepare for a dog fight.

OTHER NEWS:

• Still no word on how soon Michael Leighton could be ready if the Flyers make it through the first round of the postseason.
• The Flyers have said that they would like their top prospect, goaltender Joacim Eriksson, to stay another season in Sweden to get some SEL experience even though, according to the organization, he is excited about the opportunity of coming over. It still remains to be seen which SEL organization he will suit up for.
• Cornell University superstar goaltender Ben Scrivens has yet to decide on a destination. It is widely believed that the Flyers and Maple Leafs are the only two teams realistically left in the hunt. The 23-year-old has a career 2.00 GAA and a 0.927 SV% over the course of 117 games played in four seasons at Cornell.
• Sergei Bobrovsky, the Russian goaltender who many feel could even be better than Capitals’ rookie goalie Semyon Varlamov, has yet to make his decision as well. The Flyers are the only known team still in the running for Bobrovsky, who wants to make it in the NHL. He has had two straight years of dominance between the pipes for one of the KHL’s worst teams with 2.49 GAA and 0.927 SV% in 32 games last season as well as a 2.72 GAA and 0.919 SV% this season.
• 22-year-old Finnish goaltender Jussi Rynnas from the SM-Liiga in Finland has finished up his North American tour where he met with general managers around the NHL. The 6’4 late bloomer had a dominating season with a 2.50 GAA and 0.929 SV% in 31 games but has decided to officially turn his attention overseas. Though he has committed to an NHL experience, he hasn’t yet decided on a team. He has narrowed his choices down to Philadelphia, Dallas, Phoenix, Minnesota, and Montreal.
• With Montreal’s deepening interest in some free-agent goalie prospects, it seems more and more likely that they will part with one of Halak or Price this offseason, if it was even a question before. They want cap space so it is doubtful that a higher paid player from the Flyers could drag one of them away, though it seems as though Montreal has had previous interest in Hartnell. It is still extremely unlikely that either James vanRiemsdyk or Claude Giroux are moved for goaltending help this summer, even for one of Montreal’s talented young netminders. The market strongly favors the Flyers, and there are numerous directions they could take. If the organization would not move one for Kovalchuk or Vokoun, it’s doubtful that they move one for Price or Halak. If the Canadiens feel the need to continue to upgrade their weak defensive core, Braydon Coburn could be the deal-maker.
• It’s looking more and more likely that Andrei Popov, fresh off a breakout season in the KHL, will be headed over to join the Phantoms for next season. Popov put up 15 goals and 11 assists for 26 points playing on the third line at center, a position he’s not used to, all while spending a good chunk of the season either injured or recovering from injury. He will give the Phantoms a nice offensive boost as soon as he makes his decision. Though his team was booted from the KHL postseason, he is currently down in the Russian junior league playing like a man amongst boys despite only being 21.
• Defensive prospect Simon Bertilsson is still under contract for the 2010-11 season with Brynas IF of the SEL. While the transfer agreement allows the Flyers to possibly bring him over, it’s doubtful he will be coming. He played a lot of this season hurt and will want to get himself better with another year of Elitserien action. Injuries are the likely factor in his not participating in the World Junior Championships this past winter, but he plans to make the journey next year in Buffalo, NY.
• Recent college grad and Flyers’ signee Erik Gustafsson has become the talk of the town up Glens Falls, NY where the Adirondack Phantoms call home. He has a goal and 4 assists in 3 games played.

The bizarre shifts and turns this season have found the Flyers exactly where they never expected: in a dog fight to even make the playoffs.

Believe it or not, they have made the postseason in 13 of the last 14 years with the only exception being 2006-07 when they were last in the NHL.

The Flyers were never a last place team this year even though they came close. Still, many feel that missing the playoffs with this roster is unacceptable. This has led many to blame Holmgren and his decision to make no move for a goaltender at the Trade Deadline right after the Olympic Break.

Is the pressure finally getting to him?

In a statement released this morning, Holmgren is willing to resign from his position as Flyers’ General Manager effective immediately should the Orange and Black not make it to the postseason.

This surprising news comes right on the heels of the Flyers Season Ticket Holder Town Hall, where Peter Luukko, the President of Comcast-Spectacor, said that Paul Holmgren’s position is safe regardless of the outcome this season.

Holmgren, however, said he will take full responsibility for how this season plays out.

It is unsure of who the Flyers will look for to replace him should they not make the postseason, but with only three spots open for five teams competing, it’ll be a race to the finish. Rumors say it could be Bobby Clarke forcing, or effectively swapping, positions with Holmgren from inside the organization in order to get his old job back and attempt to correct some of the mistakes Holmgren has made.

Carcillo Suspension:

This is what Carcillo was suspended two games for. Watch it, study it, review it, and make your final decision. You can always refer back to the flowchart.

The real April Fools joke this year, beyond whatever your friends decide to pull, may be the fact that Dan Carcillo will be out of the Flyers’ line-up tonight.

Has everyone calmed down a bit yet?

Has it been a long five games before finally getting that out of the way the other day? Of course it has. It’s been a frustrating stretch filled with finger pointing, media antics, and fan offseason preparations.

Now that people have calmed down after a solid win, we can approach the issues a little more realistically.

Officiating

But first, let’s get your blood pumping a little.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

You’d think by now the NHL would have looked into these Penguins vs. Flyers match-ups for “tampering.” Again, I’m not trying to promote conspiracy, but it’s time for people to take a realistic view on this situation. The Flyers never catch anything more than a trip to the penalty box when they play the Penguins.

Again, it’s in the NHL’s best interest at this point to come out and explain the rationale behind some of the calls made in these games, particularly yesterday’s game, which some people are calling the worst officiated game in modern NHL history. It’s getting old, and it’s about time the NHL answered for some of the people they employ.

That goes double for the Ottawa game. The officials in that game were just as horrendous.

I try to call out officiating only when necessary or blatantly obvious. There have been three occasions where the NHL has needed to fine referees based on their actions during Flyers games this season. Yes, in case you were wondering, I am calling the integrity of the league into question.

I have no problem with phantom calls or even the occasional make-up call to make things a little more interesting. However, let’s make sure we’re not making it so one team isn’t even allowed to compete. That’s all I ask. Well that, or explain your actions.

The Team Behind Boucher

Now, with all of that behind us, I’d like to take a look at what changed from the games we played over the course of the stretch and the game tonight.

Boucher has now started 20 games as a Flyer in 2009-10. Last night was his 6th win. That’s right. You heard me correctly. Boucher has a record of 6-15-3 this season. That means the collective of Healthy Emery, Injured Emery, Healthy Leighton, Injured Leighton, and Backlund, who started one game, hold a record of 32-17-3.

What this means is that for some reason the Flyers don’t come to play for Boucher. They played very well for Emery, who is better than Boucher. They played well for Leighton, who is technically worse than Boucher. They didn’t play half bad for Backlund either considering the bizarre officiating.

Still, this team has 82 points currently. 67 of those points over the course of 52 games belong to goalies other than Boucher. 15 belong to Boucher in 24 games. Without Boucher in net, the Flyers were pacing for 126 points this season. With Boucher? Just 51.

The numbers are far too crazy to be a coincidence. This also probably has a lot to do with the confidence of this team. Before tonight they never once seemed confident in Boucher.

It is true that earlier in the season, during the slump, Boucher was playing well while the Flyers gave him absolutely no offensive support. He suddenly goes down, and Leighton has a phenomenal run. Leighton goes down, and we’re back to square one with Boucher.

I’m not saying that Boucher means the end to our season. I don’t think it’s as simple as a chemistry issue. There are too many factors involved to get a true reading on how this works. Even so, it’s definitely some food for thought.

Fact and Fiction

The other day I got a very lengthy and thorough response which basically sum up the fans’ view of Flyers’ hockey. The fans deserve their say of course. We are all an integral part of what makes this organization tick. In fact, today at the start of the Season Ticket Holder Town Hall Meetings many of these same issues will be brought to the attention of the brass within the Flyers’ organization. I’m just going to give my opinions on these matters here for now. I’ll deal with the Town Hall at a later date when they have all concluded.

The following is a response session for a comment posted by zechohman on an article found here.

This recent “collapse” that the Flyers are going through has really made me rethink the direction I thought the Flyers were going towards. Like most, I thought this team was going to make a deep run into the playoffs, and who could blame me when major sports writers thought the same thing, though this mess we are in now has me thinking this team needs to go through a complete overhaul from the top to the bottom.

I don’t blame you for thinking this team had a chance at a deep run in the playoffs. I thought that as well. I’m sure many others thought that. It’s totally reasonable to expect a deep playoff run with this team. It was reasonable to expect one last season as well, but as everyone already knows, we lost in the first round despite handedly outplaying the eventual Stanley Cup Champions for the majority of the series. In some of those games, we absolutely couldn’t buy a goal.

This season, it’s a healthy combination of issues leading to our record. Confidence has been a major part of that and may even be the leading cause. When this team is losing you can tell they feel suffocated our choked. Then they fight back and often try to do too much. Then they get even more frustrated at their lack of offensive output, and it turns into an even longer slump.

Even so, these scoring slumps are deceptive. Scoring is down league wide this season. Right now the Flyers are in 8th averaging 2.87 goals forced per game. The team was tied for 4th last year with 3.17 goals forced per game. The 8th place team that year was averaging 3.06. So the offensive numbers, while frustrating, are normal. Our offense could stand some consistency, but it is certainly still elite.

Now, you’d think with all of that talent offensively and arguably the deepest defense in the NHL including a Norris favorite leading the charge, we’d have a much better record. Obviously things aren’t adding up, but if you read this entire article you noticed our frustratingly horrific record with Boucher in net: 6-15-3.

In an 82 game season at Boucher pace, we’d finish with 51 points. Even the last placed Edmonton Oilers have made it to 55 points already. With every goalie other than Boucher, we are 32-17-3 which gives us a pace of 106 points, which would be second in the NHL behind the Washington Capitals.

I’m not going to blame Emery for getting hurt, Leighton for getting hurt, or Boucher for the team’s terrible play when he is in net. However, this is obviously a team that needs to have a specific goalie. Boucher, at this point, is clearly not that goalie for whatever reason. Even more unfortunately for us, he’s the goalie we’re stuck with unless we can hold on long enough for Leighton’s return.

Still, this is not a team you implode and start over with. Believe it or not, this team is a consistent goaltender away from being a powerhouse. Emery was great, but it appears as though his career might be over. Leighton might be a flash in the pan. This offseason we need to move a little bit of our defensive depth (one of Coburn, Carle, or Parent) in order to pick up some extra goaltending. That’s all.

First, management needs to change. Ed Snider fails to see that hockey has changed since 75′. If the Flyers wanna win and play cap era hockey they need management that has NEVER worn the orange and black.

The Flyers organization, thanks to it’s management, leadership, and fundamentals, is the second winningest franchise (based on percentage) in NHL history. They have two Stanley Cups, a great legacy, easily the most loyal fanbase south of the Canadian border, and more than one legend for every decade. The organization has accomplished this by keeping things internal. This organization believes in “once a Flyer, always a Flyer.” They are easily one of, if not the, classiest organization in the NHL. They care about history, and they care about their players. It’s what has brought this organization success on the ice, around the Philadelphia region, and across the hockey world as former members of this organization seem to always consider Philly their favorite.

I mean, there’s a good reason that when Jeremy Roenick retired he thanked us, the city of Philadelphia, fans, and organization for everything we had done for him. He thanked everyone else, but you could tell he holds us in his heart. It’s the same story with everyone who comes here.

Regardless of whether or not you think the current management is doing a good job, this organization should and will stay internal.

Also, this team is nothing like the teams of the 70′s. Hockey has evolved in every generation, and this team has evolved with every generation. That’s another reason it was able to obtain the second highest winning percentage in NHL history as well as the third highest postseason appearance percentage in NHL history.

Paul Holmgren has created a mess that even Burke would have a hard time digging out of. I agree you can’t blame Homer for this goalie injury epidemic.

Paul Holmgren has certainly made some mistakes that were readily visible by many fans even before he made them. Even so, the vast majority of his mistakes look far different in hindsight than in the time he was making the decision. On top of that, Holmgren has done far more good than bad. The organization is in a very good position to win a Stanley Cup over the next decade thanks to Holmgren. I won’t go into detail now because I assume I will be at some point through the course of this session.

For years the Flyers have settled for cheap goalies. The only recent team I can think of that won a Stanley Cup was the Red Wings, but look at how that team was built. Putting them off to the side, if you look at past teams that won, they had star goalies making money. The Flyers need to see that until the money rolls to goaltending they can’t get much more done.

I disagree with this completely. The Red Wings are not the only team in the modern era to win the just average goaltending. Marc-Andre Fleury, Cam Ward, and J.S. Giguere are all just average to above-average goaltenders that are products of their environment. Oddly enough, many people don’t realize that goaltending is probably the least important position to spend a lot of money on. This is because skaters greatly influence the goaltending position, their stats, and how well they play. Any average goaltender behind an elite team can get hot enough to win the Stanley Cup.

The only elite goalies to win a Stanley Cup in the last 20 years are Martin Brodeur (3), Dominik Hasek, Patrick Roy (3), and Ed Belfour. 8 of the last 20 teams to win the Stanley Cup did so because of elite goaltending. When you look at teams to make it to the Finals, the number is even more skewed.

The reality of the position is that, since it is largely based on the team and not the actual goaltender, you end up finding so many goaltenders with the skill necessary to compete at a high level behind an elite team that goaltending becomes largely interchangeable.

The reason that the Flyers have not won a Stanley Cup since the 70′s is not because of some fatal flaw with goaltending. Not once has goaltending been the reason they were ousted from the playoffs. It could be this year, but that’s only after plenty of injuries between the pipes.

In fact, Leighton is a perfect example of the point I’m trying to make about goaltending. You should take a look at his pre-Philadelphia stats and then his 2009-10 season. You’ll see exactly what I’m talking about when I say that the team makes the goaltender.

There’s also something to be said for chemistry with a goaltender, and this is the real area where the Flyers have failed in terms of goaltending since Hextall. The Flyers have not gotten comfortable with any goaltender for a variety of different reasons whether it be play, chemistry, salary, or age. This offseason that will likely change thanks to the unfortunate injuries to Emery and Leighton.

There is good news. Anthony SanFilippo, who I trust the most out of the Philly area collective of beat writers, got some news from an anonymous inside source:

“We can’t go into next year with the same situation or a similar situation in goal that we have right now. What happened this year is really nobody’s fault. Ray (Emery) came in here and did everything we asked and was good until he got hurt. We got lucky with (Michael) Leighton, but we can’t expect to win doing things this way in goal.

“It’s already been decided that our No. 1 priority for next season is to get a goalie. We have to go out and get that player and commit to him as our guy.

“It’s probably going to mean somebody is going to have to be traded away, especially if we go after a young goalie on another team, but that’s what we’re going to have to do. We can’t keep going the way we have been. The goalie has to be the most important target and we don’t want to keep replacing one veteran with another. We want to get a guy who can be our goalie for several years…. We have to go in another direction.”

All this really does is prove what I mentioned in my article from last Friday: Emery and Leighton’s injuries have forced the organization’s hand. It has changed the organizational mentality to an extent, and we will be going after a young goaltender this offseason. I even included a list of our young goaltender possibilities in that article.

I do agree the goalies in the system have some light. Nicola Riopel and Joacim Eriksson have posted solid numbers, and I saw Carter Hutton play in Hershey on Sunday. He came up big, but only 2 games. You can’t get much from that.

One thing that Holmgren does very well is scout. He’s a great judge of talent and character. He employs great scouts who can also find these things in players. He also is very shrewd about building a prospect pool. He knows when he needs to work on something. Goaltending is certainly an organization weakness he’s planning to attack. He’s already attacked our forward prospect pool a lot this season, and we haven’t even gotten to the draft.

Anyway, back to goaltending. Nicola Riopel, Joacim Eriksson, and Carter Hutton are just the top of the barrel. The Flyers have sent scout Neil Little to check out Jussi Rynnas and Sergei Bobrovsky heavily. Both are incredible young talents. Many think Bobrovsky is even better than Simeon Varlamov of the Washington Capitals. Like the Swedish Johan Backlund, the Flyers are actively searching for goaltending talent everywhere possible, even Finland and Russia. Though Backlund is older now and likely won’t return to the team next year, both Rynnas and Bobrovsky are still prospect age. I hope we can manage either of them.

There’s also a rumor starting to spread that Eriksson could be headed over to North America. I would rather him get at least one season in the Swedish Elite League, but apparently he wants to head over. I’m sure the organization is working this out as well.

Now back to this mess of a hockey team. Homer has traded away a team that had younger players, like Sharp and other draft picks, and made this team a joke of an organization. Snider will not fire Homer just like he couldn’t bring himself to fire Clarke.

On December 5th, 2005 during the 2005-06 season, we moved Sharp and Eric Meloche for Matt Ellison and a pick that turned in Jonathan Matsumoto. Ignoring the fact that Holmgren wouldn’t become the GM for roughly another year, this was a deal that looked like a change of scenery move. It should have ended up trading two career AHL forwards for two career AHL forwards, but Patrick Sharp surprised a lot of people. Those kinds of trades happen. It’s not fair to judge Bobby Clarke in hindsight. There’s a reason he made that move, and it wasn’t because he expected Sharp to be a break-out sniping winger.

Honestly, as one of the best drafting organizations in NHL history, I’m not worried about moving picks, prospects, and young players to the extent that Holmgren has. We have a stellar young core with a solid group of complimentary prospects in the pool. I have absolutely no problem with that, and you shouldn’t either.

We are hardly a joke of an organization. As I said, we are one of the most storied, one of the best drafting, and one of the classiest organizations in the NHL.

The trades Homer has made has been questionable to put it nicely. Yes he’s made some steal. Like getting Coburn, but look at him now.

Coburn has in fact regressed since his rookie season. However, he is still far better now than he was last year. He was terrible last season, and it all culminated during the early portion of this season. Right now, he’s steadily improving. A lot of his problems were confidence related anyway. He definitely has all the tools, but for a while, he was second guessing himself. You could tell when he got caught flat-footed and skaters begin to go around him. He’s made some great strides to get back to form.

Besides, if you’re going to talk about steals, you should probably include Leino for Tollefsen+ as well as the Forsberg trade, which was just all kinds of awesome. Seriously, the Forsberg trade was like Christmas. Leino and Coburn were like birthdays. How about picking up impact guys like Krajicek and Leighton off waivers? If you’re going to blame Holmgren for the bad, you have to give him credit for the good.

Matt Carle. Sorry but between him and Coburn, I don’t know who turns the puck over more. Yes, he has good stats but when playing next to Pronger its hard to look bad. Getting Carle we  got rid of Eminger and head case Steve Downie. Though we got Eminger because we traded a 1st round pick. Though im not sure if it was John Carlson they drafted with are pick, wouldnt it be nice to have him in our system?

Carle isn’t nearly as bad as he was last season either. It’s easy to go and say it’s all thanks to Pronger, but you need to watch Carle a little more closely. He’s a different defenseman. A lot of the reason he is able to play like he does is because of his confidence in Pronger next to him. Having a future hall-of-famer and current Norris front runner right next to you has its perks. It’s not as though Pronger is necessarily masking Carle’s mistakes, but he is giving Carle the freedom to play how he wants to.

Will this turn into how Carle plays all the time? Maybe. It’s a risky style, but it fits Laviolette’s system nicely as long as he has someone competent to play with on the other side.

Frankly, for what we gave up for him, Carle is a legitimate steal. Eminger is terrible and Steve Downie obviously was a headcase. The pick we gave up for Eminger sucked because it turned out we could’ve gotten Jersey-boy John Carlson or even goalie Jacob Markstrom, the guy who is shadowing Joacim Eriksson in Brynas’ system over in Sweden.

Still, you can’t dwell on those picks. You don’t really know what you would’ve had. Would I have traded that pick for Eminger? No. Would I have traded that pick for Carle? Yes, I would have. Downie getting thrown in sucks, but he was going to be an issue here anyway.

Upshall trade, yes it was for cap reason but if Homer knew how to manage the cap he wouldn’t of had to trade a 2nd round pick to go with Upshall for Carcillo.

The 2nd rounder included in that deal was brutal, and the deal was basically to let Giroux stay in the lineup. An interesting fact about that deal that not many knew about was that it was reported that Upshall wanted $3.50m per year. At 30 points a season, he wasn’t worth that. At 50 points? Probably, but we really had no room for that. Our cap situation forced us to include a 2nd round pick, but picking up Carcillo definitely didn’t suck.

Trading Umberger again cause Homer cant manage the cap. Though Sharp wasn’t from him it just shows young and possible prospects that we could of had.

Trading Umberger was going to happen in a cap world regardless. You can’t hold onto everyone. Sharp sucks, but you have to let that go. He really didn’t show any signs of an NHL future. Umberger was a decision made by the organization. We were going to lose either Umberger or Carter. That was set in stone.

You’re upset about all these assets we’ve lost, but you fail to see the assets we’ve been able to keep because we’ve made these trades. Another important factor are non-trades. Things like not trading Carter and a 1st for Kaberle at the trade deadline in 2007-08 and not trading Giroux or vanRiemsdyk to acquire Kovalchuk this past deadline are extremely important to the future of the organization. The moves where we have lost assets were necessary.

Let’s not forget though the contracts Homer hands out. I may be wrong, but didn’t Knuble want 2 million? Cause of the cap we couldn’t have him, and now he has 25 goals. Where as Hartnell, who makes what around 4 million with a NTC, has 14?!?! I hope I wasn’t the only one who knew that his 30 goal season was a fluke.

If I remember correctly, Knuble wanted a multi-year deal. We were willing to give him around $2.00m, but we couldn’t agree on the length of the contract. It wouldn’t have mattered much anyway. Knuble would not be nearly as effective here as he is in Washington this season for the same reason that Hartnell is slumping. Both Knuble and Hartnell don’t fit at all into Laviolette’s system. That’s part of the reason why Hartnell might be the one moved. He has struggled ever since Laviolette came to Philadelphia. He was great before then.

While I agree that Hartnell’s season last year was sort of a fluke, he’s hit the other end of the spectrum. This is the worst year he’ll likely have for a while.

Homer just gives out NTCs to anyone it seems. He’s constructed a poor team. Another thing I see no team do is have so many tough guys. You need those players, but we have 4! Cote (yes he never plays), Asham, Lappy, Carcillo and you could even say 5 with Hartnell for all his stupid penalties. Sorry to let the Flyers know, but the days of the broad street bullies are over and have been. Snider needs to wake up and see that! The style of play of bossing people around is over. Skill beats tough guys now. I thought this off season we addressed the fact that we weren’t going to look at it like that anymore.

How has he constructed a poor team? As I said, we have an elite offense and arguably the best defense in the NHL. Holmgren has constructed an elite team that was working perfectly fine until this team was forced to go with Boucher.

As for our “physical” aspect, that has nothing to do with the old days of the Broad Street Bullies. You have to have physical players in your lineup. The thing that the Flyers are doing now is focusing far less on fighting/gooning and working with hybrid players. These are your Carcillo’s, your Asham’s, your Laperriere’s, your Powe’s, and your Hartnell’s; players that bring the pain and some skills to go with it. The entire hockey world is moving away from the Cote-esque player. We even drafted a player like Downie as well as acquired another similar guy like Legein who is currently in the AHL. You can’t have do-nothing heavyweights crowding the lineup for protection anymore. These guys provide energy and are vital to every NHL team, not just the Flyers. It has nothing to do with the days of the Broad Street Bullies. In fact, we’re not anywhere near as physical as some NHL teams. Believe it or not, the Penguins are probably bigger goons than us now that we have put a leash on Carcillo. We are on the cutting edge of the new-era NHL, and it’s a shame you don’t realize that.

This team continues to still talk the talk but has yet to walk the walk. Our captain needs a sucker punch to the face. His binge drinking days gotta go. The letter “C” on his jersey needs to go. It’s no secret that Richards will be the leader of the team, but he shouldn’t be now. In my opinion, I feel the Flyers did what they could to try and keep Richards as close as they could to Crosby. Being a Philly fan, it should be law to hate Cindy, but he’s a better star then Richards and that is just fact even if he wears a diaper.

I’m not sure what you mean by “walk the walk,” but I assume you mean the fact that we turned into a paper tiger this season. Honestly, I think if our team has any confidence in goaltending, then we are among the top 5 teams in the NHL. Yes, our team is that good, and that’s another reason you don’t implode this team.

As for Richards, there’s only so much he can do. This kid is a proven leader, far more than Crosby. In fact, he’s been Crosby’s captain before. Richards isn’t a vocal leader like Pronger, but he is one of the better leaders to come out of the CHL in a while. Just because the media is in the middle of a feud with him, doesn’t mean their jabs at him are correct.

As for his binge drinking, all young hockey players drink. “Binge drinking” is probably a sizable over-exaggeration by the media, but these are still young professional athletes with more money than they know what to do with. NHL stars drink. NBA stars drink. MLB stars drink. Obviously, NFL stars drink. It’s all a matter of how much of a big deal the media makes of it, and who gets caught. There’s not much else to that. You think Crosby doesn’t drink? The entire “binge drinking” thing is just another money-maker for the media. It’s meant for nothing more than fan speculation and panic. That’s what leads to webpage hits.

Until change comes, Stanley won’t visit Philly.

Again, change is needed between the pipes because we’ve lost all our legitimacy at that position through the course of this year. It needs a refresher and possibly a young goalie to grow with. The rest of our team doesn’t need to change much at all.

People seem to think winning a Stanley Cup is easy. Ignoring the threat of injuries, every team at the start of the season has a 3.33% chance of winning a Cup. The Stanley Cup is unbelievably hard to obtain.

Those blaming Holmgren for our recent issues really have no ground to stand on. His only real big mistake was the Randy Jones debacle. That was a disaster start to finish. Any other mistake he has made he has corrected as soon as possible be it Eminger, leaving Stevens in too long, or signing Lupul to that contract.

Briere is not as much of an albatross as people think. It will likely become one in a couple of seasons, but we will have to worry about that then. Hartnell doesn’t fit in Laviolette’s system, and it’s possible he is traded. One of Carle, Coburn, and Parent is not necessary next season. One will probably be traded along with possibly Syvret and Matsumoto if we can find picks for them.

This team is not just built for a window. It is built for a decade. It’s unfair to claim Holmgren has failed his job just because you don’t see a Stanley Cup in Philadelphia. If that were the criteria, you’d see 27 GM’s fired every 3 years.

Holmgren, for all his faults, may be one of the best GMs in the NHL. It’s unfortunate that this has happened to this team, but the reality is that these things happen. It’s only thanks to Holmgren that we still have any semblance of a shot this season, that we will have a shot next season, and that we will still be around over the course of the next decade.

Everyone wants to fire everyone without knowing the truth. It’s easy to blindly call-up people, but it’s a severely different matter to actually get to the real issues that this team has.

The grass is always greener, and believe me, you should be happy to have the organization the way it is and not how most other organizations look. Looking out on the entire NHL world, I can attest to just how lucky we are.

Town Hall Meetings

There will be other things covered, but the direction of this organization is a main for this year’s Town Hall. Last year, as you know, the news about the Oranges jerseys becoming the new home jerseys was leaked. We here at Phinally Philly brought you that information first. Though the news that our Winter Classic jerseys will now be our regular away jerseys is already well-known, there will be more news coming shortly straight from the organization’s officers in regards to questions that you, the fans, ask. Stay tuned.