David Laliberte – Lucky No. 413

As you might have heard by now, Flyers rookie David Laliberte has become the 413th graduate of the ECHL to find his way into the NHL.

Per the ECHL website:

Former Wheeling Nailers right wing David Laliberte became the 413th player to play in the National Hockey League after the ECHL when he made his debut with the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. The 23 year old scored the game-winning goal and added two assists in a 6-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Laliberte has scored two goals in his first two NHL games, an accomplishment reached by just one other rookie player in Flyers franchise history – Eric Lindros.

With a third goal in his third NHL game (Friday vs. Buffalo) Laliberte would be the first rookie player in franchise history to start his career as a Flyer with consecutive goal scoring in his first three games.

You can’t buy publicity like that for a player who was taking a regular shift in the AHL just a week ago, so expect to see a lot of David Laliberte tomorrow night against Buffalo, as the Flyers attempt to purge one more reminder of Eric Lindros out of the organization’s collective memory.

In all, 19 Flyers players have gone from the outhouse of the ECHL to the penthouse of the NHL, playing at Broad & Pattison.

Ryan Bast

An undrafted free agent, Bast was a well-traveled defenseman who spent time in the IHL, ECHL, and AHL.

Bast played 2 games for the Flyers, recording an assist.

Martin Biron

One of the more successful players to emerge from the ECHL, Biron was the starting goaltender in Philadelphia for 2+ seasons.

Martin Biron, a serviceable NHL starter left the Flyers this summer after vastly over-valuing his worth in pursuit of a long-term contact worth $5 million annually.

Biron eventually signed a one-year deal with the New York Islanders that pays him $1.4 million.

As Happy Gilmore once said, “wow, talk about your all-time backfires.”

With 200 NHL career wins, Biron is one of the more successful ECHL goalies to ascend to the ranks of the NHL, among other goaltenders such as Tim Thomas, Olaf Kolzig, and Tomas Vokoun.

Jesse Boulerice

Drafted by Philadelphia in the fifth round (no. 133 overall) in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.

Boulerice is proof positive that you can take all the karate you want, but it still doesn’t translate into on the ice results with regards to goon-age.

Plus, the NHL frowns upon spinning roundhouse kicks with skates on.

AH-YAHHHHHHHHH!

Daniel Carcillo

The new jerk that the Flyers are dating since giving Scottie Upshall the big kiss-off to Phoenix.

Carcillo, playing well in a fourth line grinder role for the Flyers, played 6 games with the Wheeling Nailers during the 2005-2006 season, when he was a prospect in the Pittsburgh Penguins farm system.

Frederic Chabot

Played 4 games with the Flyers in the 1993-1994 season, just one season before Philadelphia would emerge from a five year playoff drought.

Riley Cote

Quite possibly one of the most popular and least productive players ever to take a regular shift with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Cote has a mug that looks great on a billboard campaign, and hands that look great when they’re folded in front of him in a press box.

Phil Crowe

Spare part that played 16 games with the Flyers during the 1995-1996 season, contributing 1 goal and 1 assist.

Last seen assistant coaching with the Colorado Eagles of the CHL in 2006-2007.

Scott Daniels

Daniels played 56 games for Philadelphia during the 1996-1997 season.

Paired with Dan Kordic and Daniel Lacroix, Scott Daniels completed what would become “The Dan Line.”

Todd Fedoruk

Flyers enforcer who would go with anyone, even if it meant breaking his face.

Biggest career accomplishment: putting Colton Orr on the map.

Ruslan Fedotenko

Quite possibly the ECHL player with the most Stanley Cup bling, Fedotenko earned two Stanley Cup rings – one with Tampa in 2003-2004, the other with Pittsburgh in 2008-2009.

Traded to Tampa Bay for a first round pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft (Joni Pitkanen, no. 4 overall), Fedotenko has made a career out of screwing the Flyers with timely goals in crucial playoff games ever since.

Josh Gratton

Spare part left wing who played 19 games with the Flyers.

Cousin of Chris Gratton.

Martin Houle

Appeared in just one game for the Philadelphia Flyers in 2006-2007.

Houle allowed 1 goal on 3 shots for the two minutes he played during his only NHL appearance.

Boyd Kane

Popular AHL captain, but that’s about it.

Appeared in 23 career games with the Flyers, contributing 2 assists.

David Laliberte

Currently on pace for a 72 goal 36 assist rookie season on his way to the Calder Trophy. [SARCASM!]

Neil Little

In his 14 years toiling in the Philadelphia farm system, Little played just 43 minutes in two appearances as a Flyer.

Currently a goaltending scout for the Flyers organization.

David Printz

Spare part defenseman drafted by the Flyers in the seventh round (no. 225 overall) of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing in the Swedish Elite League since 2007-2008.

Jared Ross

Hails from the hockey hotbed of Huntsville, Alabama (ALABAMA!).

Solid AHL contributor, but showed little in his 10 games with the Flyers in 2008-2009.

Mike Siklenka

Appeared in just one game with the Flyers in 2002-2003. Siklenka has played in various European leagues since 2004-2005.

Billy Tibbetts

Tibbetts was acquired by Philadelphia in a 2002 trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins for Kent Manderville.

Tibbetts may have one of the longest rap sheets in the history of the NHL, which includes sexual assault, assualt and battery with a dangerous weapon, witness intimidation, and a high-speed car chase.

Last seen playing in Huntsville of the Southern Professional Hockey League.

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Filed under: Billy Tibbetts, Boyd Kane, Daniel Carcillo, David Laliberte, David Printz, ECHL, Eric Lindros, Frederic Chabot, James van Riemsdyk, Jared Ross, Jeff Carter, Jesse Boulerice, Josh Gratton, Martin Biron, Martin Houle, Mike Siklenka, Neil Little, Phil Crowe, Riley Cote, Ruslan Fedotenko, Ryan Bast, Scott Daniels, Todd Fedoruk

Not Feeling The Phever

(Pictured above) Mario Kempe, the Flyers fifth round draft selection (no. 127 overall, 2007 NHL Entry Draft), in some poorly chosen baseball apparel.

Upon his arrival in Philadelphia, two words:

Bag. Skate.

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Filed under: Mario Kempe, Philadelphia Flyers

Briere and Gagne Stabbed In The Crotch Repeatedly

May I suggest the first trade Paul Holmgren makes this season involves sending trainer Jim McCrossin and a third round pick in 2010 to Johns Hopkins Hospital in exchange for a yet to be named groin specialist to take over the Flyers training room?

Simon Gagne and Danny Briere are out of the Flyers lineup once again with “lower body injuries.”

It’s probably not fair to lay this entirely at McCrossin’s feet, but how else do we arrive at this problem year after year?

Whenever I can’t explain something, I find it helpful to turn to the supernatural.

If I didn’t know better (and trust me, I don’t), I’d say Gagne and Briere’s never-ending groin drama appears to be the work of voodoo.

That’s right, voodoo.

Somewhere out there, a divisional foe is digging a hat pin into the crotch of a voodoo doll fashioned crudely in the likeness of Daniel Briere. Repeatedly.

How do you fight that? What’s a trainer to do?

Enter Chris Pronger and his intense gaze.

I once read on an Anaheim Ducks message board that Chris Pronger’s gaze has the power to exorcise demons and remove curses.

Need proof? Two words:

Matt. Fucking. Carle.

After a few hours of intense staring therapy, those voodoo dolls tormenting Briere and Gagne will surely burst into flames. Problem solved.

Let’s see Chuck Norris do that.

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Filed under: Chris Pronger, Daniel Briere, Jim McCrossin, Philadelphia Flyers, Simon Gagne

The First Ten Games

You’ll have to pardon any spelling, grammar, or sentence structure errors in today’s entry. I’m still having a hard time keeping my eyes focused on my laptop screen as I deal with the spasms of a facial tic, which inexplicably manifested at 5:24 of the third period during Tuesday evening’s maddening loss to the Washington Capitals.

Am I alone in saying the start of this season doesn’t feel a whole lot different than the start of last season?

Through ten games this season, the Flyers are 5-4-1, good for 11 points and 4th place in the Atlantic Division.

Last season, through their first 10 games, the Flyers were 4-3-3, good for 11 points and 4th place in the Atlantic Division.

The Flyers have one more win and one less loss through ten games this season, due to the fact they found themselves on the winning side of 2 out of 3 overtime games, one of them against a tired Boston Bruins team missing Marc Savard, Milan Lucic, Tim Thomas, and recently traded Phil Kessel and Chuck Kobasew.

After an active off season where the Flyers upgraded at just about every position, they’re supposed to be better than this, aren’t they?

The free agency acquisitions Paul Holmgren made in the off season appear to be good moves so far, so what’s the problem?

It’s certainly not Ray Emery.

Despite the snickers and jeers that greeted Ray Emery upon his return to the NHL, Emery has proven to be a solid upgrade over Martin Biron.

Through nine starts this season, Emery has posted a 5-3-1 record, with a 2.62 GAA and .906 SV%.

When you take into consideration how awful the usually reliable pairing of Kimmo Timonen (-10) and Braydon Coburn (-9) have played in front of Emery this season (for an average of almost 24 minutes a game), it’s not unrealistic to think Emery’s numbers could be even better were it not for the poor play of the Flyers second defensive pairing.

By comparison, through his first nine games in 2008-2009, Martin Biron posted a 3-5-1 record, with a 3.55 GAA and .864 SV%.

Ray Emery is not the elite goaltender that continues to evade the Flyers draft board and free agency ambitions, but there’s nothing to say he couldn’t get hot in a way that other non-elite keepers such as Cam Ward, Nikolai Khabibulin, and J.S. Giguere did on their way to Stanley Cup victories.

The Flyers mediocrity this season certainly has nothing to do with Chris Pronger, either.

In fact, through the first ten games, Pronger has lived up to his billing as a tireless (average TOI 28:12) two-way defender (2 goals, 6 assists, +4 plus-minus ratio) with a mean streak (20 PIM), and a penchant for raising the play of the ordinary defenseman he is paired with (Matt Carle: 1 goal, 8 assists).

The additions of Ian Laperriere and Blair Betts have provided the Flyers checking lines with two of the better grinders in the league, and in Betts, have taken a step toward addressing the teams lack of proficiency in the face off circle.

With Betts, the Flyers may indeed miss his skill in the face off circle and the defensive zone. The Flyers record since Betts was lost to injury on October 6 has been a lackluster 2-4-1.

While Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and Mika Pyorala have not been spectacular additions, as depth players they have not been unspectacular either.

It would seem the Flyers struggles this season appear to be connected to the struggles of what have been productive players in the past.

As previously mentioned, the defensive pairing of Timonen and Coburn has been a disaster this season, worthy of Federal Disaster funding.

To address the problem, the Flyers recently announced the pairing will be split up, with Timonen playing alongside Ryan Parent, and Coburn with Ole-Kristian Tollefsen or Danny Syvret.

In addition, the Flyers also need to get production out of their some of their top forwards in Mike Richards (no goals in 5 games), Jeff Carter (no goals in 6 games), Simon Gagne (1 goal in 9 games) and Scott Hartnell (2 goals in 10 games).

The return of Blair Betts this weekend may benefit Richards the most, as Betts takes some of the burden of penalty kill duties off the Flyers Captain’s shoulders.

The Flyers return to action Saturday afternoon against a Carolina Hurricanes squad that is winless in it’s last 7 games (0-4-3).

A win over the Hurricanes would put the Flyers two-and-a-half games above .500 to close out October, and hopefully provide momentum for a more successful November.

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Filed under: Blair Betts, Braydon Coburn, Chris Pronger, Danny Syvret, Ian Laperriere, Jeff Carter, Kimmo Timonen, Martin Biron, Matt Carle, Mika Pyorala, Mike Richards, Paul Holmgren, Philadelphia Flyers, Ray Emery, Scott Hartnell, Simon Gagne

Is Arron Asham Grinding Richards To A Halt?

I keep coming across this common thread that says placing Arron Asham on a line with Mike Richards has been a stroke of genius by Flyers Head Coach John Stevens.

Asham currently has 3 goals in the four games since he was promoted to Mike Richards’ right wing.

That’s great for Asham, but how is the new arrangement working out for Richards?

In the four games since Asham’s arrival on Richards’ right flank, the Flyers captain has posted 0 goals 2 assists with a -1 plus-minus ratio.

The five games prior to Asham’s promotion, when he was lining up between top-six caliber talent, Richards had 6 goals 2 assists and an even plus-minus ratio.

I know, it’s exciting to get some production out of a grinder like Asham, but seriously, at what cost?

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Filed under: Arron Asham, Mike Richards, Philadelphia Flyers

Banished To The Kiddie Table…Again

The future [sarcasm]Hockey Hall of Fame career[/sarcasm] of Luca Sbisa hit a snag yesterday (…again), as the Anaheim Ducks announced Sbisa will be reassigned to a non-NHL team, bringing his 2009-2010 season to an end for the second consecutive season.

Where will Sbisa land?

From Future Considerations:

Because he is 19-years-old and doesn’t turn 20 until January 30th, the American Hockey League is not an option for the Swiss defenseman.

He can be returned to the Lethbridge Hurricanes, though there is another option for the Ducks and Sbisa, though.

Anaheim can loan the defenseman to a European club. There is speculation a location has not yet been named for Sbisa simply because an arrangement has not yet been finalized. Though the process has yet to be confirmed, it is thought the Hurricanes would have to grant Sbisa permission to play in Europe.

Regardless, Sbisa’s time in the NHL this season has come to a close.

Remember when Sbisa’s inclusion in the deal for Chris Pronger was the last thread between many Flyers fans and their sanity?

Would anybody like to ponder, just for a second, what this team would look like right now if Chris Pronger wasn’t in Philadelphia?

As a two-way force, Pronger has been the best player on the Flyers blue line rotation, contributing offense (2 goals, 6 assists), power play production (1 goal, 3 assists), is second on the team with a plus-minus rating of +5, and leads the Flyers in average ice time with nearly 28 minutes per game.

Pronger’s blue line partner Matt Carle has 9 points (1 goal, 8 assists) through nine games this season, due largely to the fact of who he is playing with. Carle also leads the team in plus-minus ratio, with a +7 rating.

Without Pronger, who knows if Carle would have pulled his career out of the death spiral it began in San Jose, continued in Tampa Bay, and barely leveled off in Philadelphia last season.

With the Flyers currently at 5-3-1 through the first nine games of the season, it gives me a chill to think of where the Flyers would be if Sbisa was still in Philadelphia, especially in light of the fact that Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn, usually a reliable pairing, have combined for just 7 points this season (1 goal, 6 assists) and a putrid collective plus-minus rating of -15.

So, critics of the Pronger trade – man up, admit you were wrong, and the next time Paul Holmgren ships one of your player-crushes off to another NHL city, take a step back, take a breath, and then allow 4-6 months before you start calling for a guys job on a message board.

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Filed under: Braydon Coburn, Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Luca Sbisa, Philadelphia Flyers

Suspending Mike Richards Would Be An Outrage

I honestly don’t see how Mike Richards can be suspended for his hit on David Booth last night.

With the imagery of Dion Phaneuf’s preseason hit on Kyle Okposo still fresh in the collective hockey consciousness, how could Richards possibly be suspended?

Phaneuf’s hit, deemed legal by the NHL and therefore warranting no disciplinary action, set a preseason precedent for exactly the type of hit seen in last night’s Flyers 5-1 win over the visiting Florida Panthers (for excellent recaps and fan reactions, visit Broad Street Hockey and The 700 Level).

What is completely bizarre is that with regard to the NHL’s decision on the Phaneuf hit, there appears to be no official record of the NHL’s reasoning on the matter.

When searching the news sections of NHL.com, the Calgary Flames website and the New York Islanders website (both affiliated with NHL.com), and just…the internet in general, the only decision handed down by the NHL that you can find on anything related to the incident is that Islanders player Pascal Morency was suspended for five games for leaving the bench to go after Phaneuf in the seconds after Okposo went down.

The Islanders website even went as far as to explain the reason for the supplementary discipline handed down, citing NHL Rule 70.2 for leaving his players’ bench on a legal line change.

But as far as why Dion Phaneuf, the guy at the center of the storm, was not suspended, the NHL calls out the crickets?! Are you kidding me?

The closest thing I could find to the NHL’s explanation of their decision not to suspend Dion Phaneuf came from Elliotte Friedman’s Twitter feed, via Kukla’s Korner:

Hit was reviewed…no suspension will be given. Reasons: wasn’t late, was not targeting head, did not launch or leave feet before collision

-Elliotte Friedman via his Twitter.

Well, there you go. Everything you need to deem whether Richards’ hit was “suspension worthy:”

Richards was not late with the hit. It came just as Booth had dished the puck.

There is absolutely zero proof that Richards was targeting the head. None. Zip. Nada.

Richards did not launch or leave his feet prior to the collision.

Verdict: no suspension.

The fact the NHL has no officially stated position on the Phaneuf hit is a huge disservice to the game.

Now that there is hit similar to the Phaneuf/Okposo incident such as Richards’ hit on Booth last night – because there is no clearly defined precident for such hits available to the media and fans alike – the emerging opinion of Mike Richards this morning is the Flyers Captain is just another dirty birdy who resides at Broad & Pattison.

Fact of the matter is, by the NHL’s previous reasoning on the Phaneuf hit, that is anything but the case, and the whole situation is greviously unfair to Mike Richards, and the Flyers organization in general.

Paul Holmgren’s assessment of the hit was about as spot on as you can get. To paraphrase: anyone who thinks that hit was illegal obviously doesn’t watch a lot of hockey.

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Filed under: David Booth, Dion Phaneuf, Florida Panthers, Mike Richards, Philadelphia Flyers

Richie Gets Bitchy

So have you heard? Mike Richards is no longer speaking with the Flyers beat writers.

Compliments of Sam Cartchidi at Broad Street Bull:

Asked if he thought Giroux’s goal was a momentum-builder and if the shoot-out problems were history, Richards said, “It’s big.”

Asked about the many contributions of the fourth line Thursday, Richards smiled and said, “Also big.”

When Comcast’s Tim Panaccio started to ask a long question, Richards interrupted: “Why bother?” he said.

End of interview.

Honestly, who cares what Mike Richards says?

Come to think of it, who really cares what Mike Richards is not saying?

Humor me for a moment here and try to remember if you have ever heard Mike Richards say one thing that was even remotely interesting or memorable in an interview.

Take your time. I’ll wait.

Anything?

Yeah, Richards isn’t exactly Jeremy Roenick when it comes to holding court in the locker room, now is he? In fact, on a good day, he’s the hockey equivalent of the “Bueller…Bueller” guy in in Ferris Beuller’s Day Off.

The first time Richards has ever made headlines over anything he’s said, it was because he barely said anything at all. So doesn’t that tell you everything you need to know about Richards’ media personality?

So he’s not talking to the media. That’s five less hockey cliches in the hockey media every day. Hip-hip-hooray!

But on the flip side, put yourself in Richards’ skates, for a just a second.

Here you are, a popular, cool guy athlete in this sports-mad town, where you often find yourself in the situation of taking shit from the paste-eating nerdarios in the local media and their (ruggedly handsome and much more interesting) *cough* colleagues in the Flyers blogsphere, and at some point, don’t you say to yourself “am I really taking shit from these guys?!”

Truth of the matter is, during the season, Richards probably spends more time with toads like Carchidi than he does socializing with the people in his life that he likes a bazillion times better.

Wouldn’t you eventually hit your limit, too?

Give Richards some credit by conducting his micro-meltdown quietly after a game, and not letting it manifest in some bizarre scenario where he was doing sit-ups in his driveway.

But at the same time, the Center City Entourage story makes Richards a local tabloid item, so unless that changes, or unless the Captain finds a more private way to blow off some steam, then he’ll just have to suck it up and deal with the fact that people find his personal life every bit as interesting as his life on the ice – ESPECIALLY when he’s the face of a team that under-achieves year after year after year.

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Filed under: Mike Richards, Philadelphia Flyers

Game Day #7: Boston Bruins

The Flyers have played just one game in eleven days, and that game was against the lowly, BORING Florida Panthers, which for Flyers fans is equivalent to wandering around the desert – desperate for water – and being forced to drink your own urine to get you through a rough patch.

Thank the Hockey Gods the drought is over. However, I need to point out that a pause in the schedule of this magnitude, combined with the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, forces Flyers fans to sit through two Olympic Break-like pauses in the Flyers hockey this year. Unfair.

Let’s hope the Flyers take the Bruins more seriously tonight than they took the Panthers last week (a 4-2 loss).

On to the Boston Bruins.

Who Brings Home The Bacon: Well, normally that would be Marc Savard. But since he’s out 4-6 weeks with a broken left foot, look to Michael Ryder and Patrice Bergeron as the Bruins top scoring threats tonight. Each have tallied 3 goals and 3 assists for six points through eight games this season.

Resident Asshole MASShole: Zdeno Chara leads the Bruins with 20 PIMs this season. At 6′ 9″, Chara is currently the biggest Resident Asshole MASShole in the league.

Fun Fact: Not only does Chara lead the Bruins in PIMs, he also leads the B’s in total shots with 22 through eight games. Look for passes to the point when Chara is out there. The Bruins certainly use him as a blue line cannon.

Who Let The Dogs Out: It’s “Dollar Dog Night” at the Wachovia Center. DDN’s in Philadelphia ALWAYS make me nervous.

I know disgruntled fans normally don’t throw concessions, but I’m thinking that has more to do with the fact that, no matter how angry, nobody wants to throw a 7″ Papa Johns pizza onto the ice when they just shelled out $22 for it.

Please, Philadelphia. No weener storms. It would put the reputation of the Philadelphia sports fan into a full body cast.

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Filed under: Boston Bruins, Marc Savard, Michael Ryder, Patrice Bergeron, Philadelphia Flyers, Zdeno Chara

You think you’re tough? FLYERS

Just saw this Rob Zombie quote today. From Adam Proteau at THN.

What the Kings should have done – and the NHL can use this slogan if they like –– was take somebody like Ian Laperriere when he was still on the team, have a big portrait of his face, smiling with no teeth and his big, messed-up nose, and the slogan – ‘You think you’re tough? KINGS.

My God, this should be the permanent marketing campaign for the Flyers. It’s so much better than the barf-inducing “Vengeance”, “Hungry For More Biscuits & Gravy at Country Buffet“, or “Relentless.”

At a minimum, there needs to be a bootleg shirt of this slogan and imagery.

Surprisingly, there aren’t a whole lot of close-up photos of Laperriere on the internet. Why more photographers (both amateur and professional) aren’t busy snapping close-ups of an ugly mug that screams “THIS is hockey” is beyond comprehension.

Then again, Flyers fans still haven’t got over cutie pie man meat Scottie Upshall, so I’m probably in the minority opinion when it comes to matters such as what the face of our great sport should look like.

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Filed under: Ian Laperriere, Philadelphia Flyers, Scottie Upshall

Philadelphia Flyers Acquire RW Stefan Legein

The Flyers announced the acquisition of Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Stefan Legein in exchange for Flyers prospect Michael Ratchuk.

From PhiladelphiaFlyers.com:

The Philadelphia Flyers announced that they have acquired 5’10”, 185-pound right wing Stefan Legein (STEH-fehn LEE-jehn) from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for defenseman Michael Ratchuk, according to club General Manager Paul Holmgren. Legein will report to the Flyers’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms.

Legein, 20, was selected by Columbus in the second round (37th overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. He has two goals and one assist for three points in six games for the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, this season.

The Flyers are approaching overload with regard to blue line prospects, with players such as Marc-Andre Bourdon and Kevin Marshall awaiting their turn with the Adirondack Phantoms in Glens Falls. So it would seem the trade of a defensman in the Flyers system would have been likely at some point.

In Legein, the Flyers acquire a hard-nosed right wing with offensive upside.

Legein, a second round selection (no. 37 overall) of Columbus in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft is yet another example of a high-risk, high reward gamble for the Flyers.

In August of 2008, just three months short of his 20th Birthday, Legein retired from hockey, and according to Aaron Portzline, was working at a pizza parlor three weeks later.

By December of 2008, Legein had come out of retirement and was assigned to the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate in Syacuse, where Legein scored just one goal in 26 games for the Crunch.

As a player with Mississagua/Niagra Ice Dogs, Legein showed a flash for both offense and grit in the last two seasons of his junior career, posting 77 goals and 55 assists, along with 223 PIMs in 109 regular season and postseason games.

Legein is described as a hard-nosed, feisty player with blazing speed who helped Team Canada to a gold medal at the 2007 U20 World Junior Championship.

Legein will be assigned to the Flyers AHL affiliate in Glens Falls, NY.

It may take some time to determine whether this trade pays off, or if the Flyers are in for Steve Downie – Part Deux.

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Filed under: Columbus Blue Jackets, Michael Ratchuk, Philadelphia Flyers, Stefan Legein, Steve Downie

Winless In Seattle – Jacob Deserres Traded

Jacob Deserres, the Flyers 2008 third round draft selection (no. 84 overall) has been traded to the Brandon Wheat Kings for 17-year old center Brendan Rouse.

As noted in my August 17 article (Stolen Thunder In Seattle), Deserres has seen his stock plummet in Seattle since losing the starting goaltending role to Calvin Pickard last season.

Pickard emerged as a legitimate WHL starter last season as Deserres struggled with injuries.

A gold medal performance in this summer’s Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament (formerly known as the Under-18 World Cup of Hockey) saw Pickard’s stock soar even higher, entrenching him as the starting goaltender for the Thunderbirds.

In three starts this season, Deserres is winless (0-3-0-0) with a 5.00 goals against average and .851 save percentage.

Faced with the situation of Deserres finishing his junior career in a non-starter role, it begs the question: did Flyers management lobby for Seattle to trade Deserres in a bid to rehabilitate a prospect they spent a third round selection on in 2008?

Considering the owner and General Manager of the Seattle Thunderbirds is former Flyers General Manager (1990-1994) Russ Farwell, it’s not unfair to speculate as to whether Deserres’ trade was the result of pressure from Flyers management.

Deserres arrives in Brandon to tandem with Wheat Kings starting goaltender Andrew Hayes.

In eleven starts this season, Hayes has posted a 6-4-1-0 record, with a 2.35 goals against average and .916 save percentage.

Should Deserres be unable to seize the starting role from Hayes, it will be interesting to see whether the Flyers cut bait with Deserres, or find other avenues to continue his development in the ECHL or IHL.

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Filed under: Brandon Wheat Kings, Calvin Pickard, Jacob Deserres, Philadelphia Flyers, Seattle Thunderbirds

The Day After: 4-2 Loss To Florida Panthers

I must say, despite the physical conditioning of professional athletes, it would appear that five days of tailgating and Spring Breakin’ in between games hits the Flyers every bit as hard as a guys-only weekend golf outing or Vegas vacation would hit my beer league team first game back.

Yes, we all have love-handles, wonky groins, and hair sprouting from our ears, but maybe we’re not so different from these kids in the Orange and Black after all.

I mean, how else do you explain Friday’s 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers, other than to chalk it up to a half-assed effort by a sun-sapped, hungover team?

And why do the Flyers need team bonding, anyway?

The Flyers spend more time together than most people spend with their co-workers and friends combined, by way of camps, practices, pre-game sequestration, road trip travel and overnights in luxury hotels, and Old City bar hopping after home games.

They need Spring Break in October, too?

Seriously, stop it with the early season team bonding trips – if for no other reasons than to spare fans from five days of fluff stories from Flyers beat writers, and to get this team to give a full effort after a long stretch of no games.

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By the way, if I sound as douchy as this guy, you have permission to kick me in the nuts.

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Email me at ronnybrook.blog@gmail.com.
Twitter feed: @ronnybrook_blog

Filed under: Philadelphia Flyers

Game Day #6: Florida Panthers

When you trade away Roberto Luongo, Olli Jokinen, and Jay Bouwmeester for Jack Shit and a 7th round draft choice in 2021, can you realistically expect anything better than the current incarnation of the Florida Panthers?

Tonight the Flyers will lace up in Sunshine State, taking on the saddest cats in all of hockey in what better be one hell of a laugher.

Who Brings Home The Bacon: As the leading scorer with 3 points (2 goals 1 assist – 2/3 of that offense scored in the first game of the season), I guess all signs point to Michael Frolik as Florida’s biggest weapon. “Bacon” is probably too strong a word. Frolik is bringing home something closer to Bacon Bits.

Resident Asshole: not only do the Panthers not score (9 goals through 5 games), they don’t fight either. Not a goon to be found anywhere on the squad.

With no fighting majors yet this season, Bryan Allen and Michael Frolik lead the cats with 8 PIM a piece.

No scoring. No fighting. A goaltender with a 3.80 GAA. What’s the point of going to a Panthers game unless you’re going to see the other team?

Fun Fact: The Panthers have just six players on their roster that were not selected in the first or second round of the NHL Draft.

Gregory Campbell (FLA 3rd round no. 67 overall in 2002)
Denis Seidenberg (PHI 6th round no. 172 overall in 2001)
Tomas Vokoun (NAS 9th round, no. 226 overall in 1994)
Ville Koistinen (undrafted)
Jason Garrison (undrafted)
Alexander Salak (undrafted)

Just goes to show that as an NHL team, you can be flush with early round talent and still have a big sack of poop when it’s time to play the games.

He’d Look Good In Orange & Black: Not a single one of these guys. I wouldn’t let any of these pigs within ten feet of my fantasy team.

The Man With The Plan: From the Florida GM Randy Sexton, via Ron Smith at The Recorder & Times.

“I have long-term goals. I don’t believe in doing things for the short-term,” said Sexton. “I’m not trading good, young players for older players to get to the playoffs. I want to assemble a team long-term . I want to put a team in place, step-by-step, to win the Stanley Cup.”

Florida isn’t a team that is near the salary cap but it does have budget restraints that mean caution has to be used.

While most people might have plans as for year one, year two, up to year five, Sexton explains he works backwards from year five.

“In year five, I want us to be a contender for the Stanley Cup. In year four, what pieces of the puzzle do we have to add to get there. In year three, what players do we need, who can give us a chance to win the Cup,” explained Sexton.

In five years, the Florida Panthers will be the Portland Panthers, Winnipeg Panthers, or Quebec Panthers.

Write it down.

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Email me at ronnybrook.blog@gmail.com.
Twitter feed: @ronnybrook_blog

Filed under: Bryan Allen, Denis Seidenberg, Florida Panthers, Jay Bouwmeester, Michael Frolik, Olli Jokinen, Philadelphia Flyers, Randy Sexton, Roberto Luongo, Tomas Vokoun

The Day After in Pittsburgh PA

The Flyers are almost there.

While last night’s game was an ugly affair, the difference in the score ultimately came down to a fluky goal gift-wrapped by the Hockey Gods, as a third period Braydon Coburn wrap-around attempt somehow found its way onto the skate of Ray Emery and into the back of the Flyers net.

Make no mistake. The Penguins outplayed the Flyers for much of the game. But it was encouraging that, as hard as the Pens tried, they couldn’t put the Flyers away, and the only reason Philadelphia did not come away with at least a point in the standings basically came down to a blooper-reel highlight.

Still, it’s hard to see our retarded cousins in Pennsyltucky so happy this morning, so the Flyers definitely deserve to be shit-listed by the fans today, with Braydon Coburn at the top of the list (two turnovers resulting in goals, and his own tally into the wrong net).

A lot of the coverage in Pittsburgh today is focused on the last 1.4 seconds of the game.

From Dave Molinari at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette:

The game was typically nasty at times, but took a particularly bizarre turn with less than two seconds left in regulation, when the Penguins contend that Flyers forward Scott Hartnell bit defenseman Kris Letang on the right ring finger during a scuffle behind the Penguins’ net.

No Penguins official or player would make that accusation on the record; the company line was to “Ask Hartnell what he did.”

For his part, Letang, whose finger was heavily bandaged, said simply, “I think he knows what he did.”

From The Pensblog:

All of the aforementioned storylines are rendered null, however, due to Hannibal Hartnell trying to eat Kris Letang.

He bit Letang on his ring finger. Closest Hartnell will get to a Stanley Cup ring.

From Hooks Orpik at Pensburgh:

With less than five seconds left, and no chance of winning, Mike Richards demonstrated his leadership by running over Marc-Andre Fleury and then valiantly grabbing his head (when he didn’t come close to hitting it on the goal or ice) so no one would attack him. Scott “Fartsmell” started getting in a scrum and apparently biting Kris Letang in the hand. Letang was definitely bleeding on the hand/wrist area.

Okay, this last one makes no sense:

“With less than five seconds left, and no chance of winning…”

Really? I saw a mad dash for the net as Hartnell drew two Pittsburgh defenders to him as he charged between the circles.

Danny Briere picked up the loose puck that came off of Hartnell’s stick, and put it on net as Mike Richards, like all hockey players are trained to do from the moment they lace on a pair of skates, charged to the net.

That’s not a chance to win the game? Sure, Richards ended up making contact with Fluery, but to hear Pensburgh bleat on about it, you’d think Richards skated into the crease with the sole intent of running the Flower.

In Eastern Pennsylvania, that’s called “crashing the net.” Kind of a fundamental of hockey, but whatev.

Check out the play (and the ensuing scrum afterward), and judge for yourself:

The biting thing is kind of funny. I wonder if the NHL is going to investigate by summonsing Hartnell’s dental records.

There’s a ton of Photoshopped Hartnell picks this morning, as you might have guessed.

Kudos for going more with a Hannibal Lechter theme, rather than the standard homophobic fag-bashing Photoshop masterpieces that Pittsburgh fans usually find *SO* highlarious. Congratulations Pittsburgh!

I love that Letang finds himself on the Value Meal menu, listed at $1.00, next to the chicken tenders (Fleury?).

Ha Ha Ha. NICE one. I wonder if Hartnell threatened to eat Letang’s children, too?

Get used to seeing this theme…a lot.

Maybe the organist at the Mellon can take a page from the Wach organist playbook and lead the crowd in a few verses of “HARTNELL BITES.”

Hartnell actually has the hair to pull this look off. Love it.

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And so the Flyers will have to wait until Tuesday, December 15th to get another crack at the champs.

Mark the date on your calendars, and hope that the Flyers are hungry for a win.

Especially Hartnell.

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Email me at ronnybrook.blog@gmail.com.
Twitter feed: @ronnybrook_blog

Filed under: Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins

Game Day #4: Pittsburgh Penguins

It’s a bit surprising that, as of this writing, there are not a whole lot of previews or shit talking going on around the Penguins blogosphere.

Considering how vitriolic Pens fans are about Philadelphia, I expected to find a wretched excess of Photoshop-inspired hatred and homophobia this morning, but alas, there’s slim pickings so far today.

In fact, rather than being amped up for a matchup against a hated cross-state rival, everyone in Pennsyltucky seems more bent about the Penguins lackluster 3-0 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes last night.

Seth Rorabaugh has a half-assed preview of the game over at Empty Netters.

He’s decided to stop referring the the better half of Pennsylvania’s hockey fans as “puppy drowners.”

Since Seth likes to trade in sweeping generalizations, I may as well join the fun and assume that decision was based on the fact that Seth has weight issues,and in keeping with unfair generalizations, I will correctly assume the decision was based on Fat Bastard just being, well, a lazy fat fuck:

Puppy-drowning jokes are suspended for the time being due to the Eagles’ signing of Michael Vick. We all might know that it’s an inside joke that we’ve had in our little forum since July of 2008, but lots of other folks don’t realize that. And we’re sick of having to explain the joke everytime we get hate mail accusing us of being sicker than Vick when in all reality, we could care less about Vick.

You work for a newspaper – in their SPORTS department – and you couldn’t figure out that using “puppy drowners” in a blog reference to Philadelphia fans (despite the Michael Vick signing being a national headline for WEEKS) might inspire an outcry?

Willful ignorance or outright stupidity. Which is it?

Hey Seth, you’ll need to ramp it up to a dozen donuts a day if you’re serious about adding that third chin.

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I’m assuming that Flyers fans are aware of the “Shhhh” t-shirt floating around out there.

For those of you who don’t know about it, the shirt commemorates the moment in last year’s Easter Conference Quarter Final Game Six match-up against the Penguins where, after getting clowned by Daniel Carcillo in one of the most lopsided fights of the year in Philadelphia, Maxime Talbot inexplicable put his finger to his lips and gave the “shhhh” sign to the Wachovia Center crowd on his way to the penalty box.

Former Penguins coach Eddie Olczyk opined from the broadcast booth at the conclusion of the game that, in essence, Daniel Carcillo blew the game for the Flyers (who had a 3-0 lead prior to the fight) with that fight; a claim so asinine it’s no wonder that Versus is the only place Eddie O could find a job after he got canned in Pittsburgh.

Anyway, since it’s the victors that write the history, Pittsburgh fans have seized on that moment in time as the launching pad for their Stanley Cup victory.

However, the “Shhhh” moment really went down much differently than how it’s romanticized in Pennsyltucky.

Because it would appear that I am one of the few blogs (or fans) that actually like Daniel Carcillo as a player, Car Bomb actually agreed to wear a microphone for Game 6 for the good folks at Ronnybrook (folks meaning…me).

For a full transcript of the audio footage caught during the Game 6 fight, please see below:

Talbot: Wanna go?
Carcillo: CAR BOMB SMASH!
Talbot: Let’s do this! Wait, owww!
Carcillo: LITTLE MAN MAKE CAR BOMB MAD!
Talbot: Jesus H. Crobsy!! Ow! OUCH!
Carcillo: (angry Chewbacca noises)
Talbot: Not in the face! NOT IN THE FACE!
Carcillo: Shhhhhhhhhhh….

On a more serious note, if the Flyers find themselves up 3-0 again at some point, I hope Carcillo attacks Talbot in such a way that makes the Jonathan Roy incident look like a slap fight.

Then we’ll see if the Penguins can hit pay dirt twice in a lifetime with that one.

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Email me at ronnybrook.blog@gmail.com.
Twitter feed: @ronnybrook_blog

Filed under: Daniel Carcillo, Maxime Talbot, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Seth Rorabaugh

The Day After In Washington DC

Well, it didn’t take long for the Flyers to knock the luster off of Semyon Varlamov, now did it?

Following a 6-5 overtime loss which saw Washington’s 2008-2009 playoff rookie sensation chased from the net following a four goal meltdown in the second period, the Capitals media and blogosphere are falling all over themselves today, pointing out how easy it is to rattle the kid.

From Corey Masisak at the Washington Times:

Five of the last six times Semyon Varlamov has put a Washington Capitals uniform he has allowed three goals in a period. — vs. Pittsburgh in Game 7, @ Buffalo and vs. the N.Y. Rangers in the preseason, and vs. Toronto and @ Philadelphia in the regular season. This doesn’t even include that Duchesne Cup disaster when he yielded nine goals.

The kid looks great for long stretches, but when they start going in …

From J.P. at Jasper’s Rink:

…it’s no secret that he’s (Varlamov) off to a rough start this fall, with a 3.49 goals against average and a .884 save percentage if you include three preseason starts (5.11/.857 if you don’t… so we will).

But the manner in which Varly has been allowing goals lately is particularly worrisome because, as Boudreau notes, it’s indicative of a problem that may be more mental than physical. Sure there are technical flaws in Varly’s game. But if he doesn’t get his head straight, he may not get a chance to correct them at the NHL level.

From Tarik El-Bashir at Capitals Insider:

In his past two starts, Varlamov has yielded eight goals. What’s concerning to Boudreau is the fact that the 21-year-old seems to have trouble steadying himself after allowing a goal, regardless of its quality.

“One thing that’s reared it’s ugly head right now is they score in bunches on him,” Boudreau added. “I think he gets down on himself, and we have to get him out of that.”

I’m not sure if Varlamov knew it or not, but if he was feeling the need to talk to someone about turning into a one-year playoff wonder/washout, he needed to look no further than two guys riding the pine last night to form a support group.

Both Jose Theodore and Brian Boucher know a thing or two about coming back down to earth following eye-opening playoff performances early in their careers.

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Email me at ronnybrook.blog@gmail.com.
Twitter feed: @ronnybrook_blog

Filed under: Philadelphia Flyers, Semyon Varlamov, Washington Capitals

Game Day #3: Washington Capitals

So, what does Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau think of Chris Pronger?

From Tarik El-Bashir at the Washington Post:

“I’ve only seen him play once,” Boudreau said of Pronger. “We won the game, but it came at a cost.”

Boudreau was referring to the Capitals’ 6-4 win in Anaheim on Nov. 19. Then a member of the Ducks, Pronger laid out Washington’s No. 1 defenseman, Mike Green, with a devastating check. Green went into the boards shoulder first, missed the next three weeks and was troubled by the shoulder for the remainder of the season.

This is exactly the reason why you send Luca Sbisa, two late first round draft selections, and ass clown Joffery Lupul to Anaheim without even giving it a second thought.

That skill set combined with that mean streak…you just don’t find that every day.

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There’s a whole lot of trash talk from Capitals blogger The Peerless Prognosticator today, much of it aimed at Philly fans:

The Caps head off to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers, a 2-0 team, in their home opener. Home… where feelings of warmth and love permeate. Where fans actually have counters taking the measure of how long it’s been since you last won a Stanley Cup. But then again, it’s a place where it’s always sunny, too.

Funny you should point that out, Peerless. It’s been 34 years since the Flyers won it all. Their greatest sin? Running into FOUR dynasties along the way in the Edmonton Oilers (twice), the Montreal Canadiens (once), the New York Islanders (once), and the Detroit Red Wings (once).

And the last time the Capitals won a Stanley Cup was…?

For those keeping score at home, the Stanley Cup victory scoreboard reads Flyers 2 – Capitals 0.

The Stanley Cup Finals trip scoreboard reads Flyers 7 – Capitals 1.

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The Flyers better bring in Riley Cote for some extra muscle if this guy is going to be on the ice:

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Email me at ronnybrook.blog@gmail.com.
Twitter feed: @ronnybrook_blog

Filed under: Philadelphia Flyers

The Day After in Newark NJ

(”The Day After” will be a regular feature that chronicles the outcome of Flyers games – from the perspective of the opposing team’s hockey pundits and blogs. Today, the aftermath of New Jersey’s 5-2 home opening loss to the Flyers)

Martin Brodeur’s 1000th game a loser?

Playing against a milestone-friendly Philadelphia team that brought a 23-52-6 record against the Devils at home into the Prudential Center last night, Brodeur had to like his chances going into the game, right?

Instead, the Flyers added their own milestone to the Devils record book.

For the first time in franchise history, the Devils lost a home-opener in New Jersey as the Flyers cast them into the Abyss, 5-2.

The only thing missing was Gandalf standing on the bridge bellowing “YOOOOOOOOOOOOOU! SHALL NOT! PAAAAAASSSSSS!

From Kristie Ackert at the New York Daily News:

New Flyers goalie Ray Emery, who had 24 saves overall, frustrated the Devils on that power play and beyond.

“It worked on our heads,” Lemaire said. “And they got a goal and then they seemed to play off of it.”

The Flyers (2-0) pounced on Brodeur, getting goals from Carter, Ian Laperriere, Mike Richards, Darroll Powe and Matt Carle – all on shots right around the crease or off sharp angles.

Well, if I had a nickel for every time I heard a Devils coach talk about the Flyers getting into the heads of the Devils, I’d have… (doing some math on my fingers) …five cents.

From Mark Everson at the New York Post:

There was nothing grand about the history the Devils made in Martin Brodeur’s 1,000th game last night. It was the first time they ever lost a season-opener in New Jersey.

The game’s winningest goalie became only the second netminder in NHL history (Patrick Roy, 1,029) to reach quadruple digits for games played, but the cheers were derisive before New Jersey’s 5-2 season-opening loss to the Flyers in Newark last night was over.

“What’s new? Your team’s not playing well, they’re not going to praise you,” said Brodeur, who allowed four stoppable goals. “I hate to break it to you, but it’s going to happen again.

Wow. Martin Brodeur. Future first-ballot Hall of Famer. Like, the Gretzky of goaltending. Getting mock-applause for making routine saves in his own barn. Another Devils milestone, for sure.

From John Fischer at In Lou We Trust:

In my opinion, the worst part of the Devils’ game tonight was the puck control. It was a problem in Tuesday’s game, and it was much more costly in tonight’s game. So many times the Devils would attempt a pass going forward, or a pass in their own zone, or even a simple clearance and something would go wrong. The puck would take a bad bounce. A Flyer would intercept the pass. The intended target for the pass misses the puck. The pass goes behind or away from the target. The pass wasn’t strong enough. The pass was received so awkwardly that a Flyer skater was able to win it back without a problem.

It’s like Freaky Friday right now.

Not being able to advance the puck through the neutral zone?

Intercepted passes?

Failed clearing attempts?

And this is the Devils we’re talking about and not the Flyers in a PHI v. NJ tilt?

Dude, somebody pinch me.

Aw Hell. Somebody PUNCH me! This is too good to be true!

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Email me at ronnybrook.blog@gmail.com.
Twitter feed: @ronnybrook_blog

Filed under: New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers

Captain In Name Only

For anyone who questioned the wisdom of trading Joffrey Lupul, Luca Sbisa, and two first round draft selections for a 35 year-old Chris Pronger, there’s some mandatory reading waiting for you over at the O.C. Register.

Compliments of Mark Whicker:

He was the elephant in the room, although he looked more like a giraffe.

Really, Chris Pronger was, and is, one of those mythical combo beasts, taller than any hockey player anyone had seen, with nostrils of fire, a cold stare, a shortage of remorse.

“When he walked in,” Todd Marchant said Friday, “you knew he was there.”

“Sure, he was intimidating,” Ryan Carter said. “I used to play him in video games. Now all of a sudden I’m on the ice and he’s playing behind me, and I’m thinking, boy, I better not mess this up.”

Now some 22-year-old in Philadelphia is feeling those feelings, hearing those gibes, dressing in a room where much of the air is taken up by the beast.

Seriously, the Flyers may as well just stitch some quotation marks around the “C” sewn onto the sweater of Mike Richards, as it’s pretty obvious that he’s been the Captain of this team in name only over the last two seasons.

With a guy like Pronger in the locker room, hopefully there will be no more maddening annual mid-season slumps by this team. Hopefully players will actually care after an ugly loss, rather than shrug their shoulders and default to the predictable hockey cliche of just playing their game.

Maybe for once, there will be no need for any more “closed door players only” meetings, because with Chris Pronger staring them down after games, nobody will ever play badly enough for it to get to that point.

Filed under: Chris Pronger, Mike Richards

The Day After in Raleigh NC

(“The Day After” will be a regular feature that chronicles the outcome of Flyers games – from the perspective of the opposing team’s hockey pundits and blogs. Today, the aftermath of Carolina’s 2-0 home opening loss to the Flyers)

Boarding Penalty = Outrage + Minor penalty + Major penalty + Misconduct.

This is the value of Daniel Carcillo.

For as undisciplined as his game is perceived by the media and the fans, what Carcillo’s critics almost always overlook is the fact that his over-the-line play often draws an over-the-top response.

Look no further for your evidence than the 17 minutes in penalties Tim Gleason took in his bid to exact revenge for a Carcillo boarding penalty on Ray Whitney.

While I’ve seen some Flyers observers tut-tut over Carcillo’s “stupid” penalty last night, the boarding penalty (and it’s after-effects) were a common theme in much of the Hurricanes media and blog coverage after the game, citing the incident as a game changer.

From Chip Alexander at Canes Now:

On Wednesday night, Tim Gleason sat down for a radio show in Raleigh and promptly said that while he doesn’t mind fighting, he had been told to refrain, if at all possible.

The defenseman was told he was too valuable, that the team needed him on the ice. And especially on the penalty kill.

So what does Gleason do in the opener? He never hesitated in going after the Flyers’ Daniel Carcillo after Carcillo rammed the Canes’ Ray Whitney from behind and was whistled for boarding at 12:49 of the first period.

“I was doing a job and I’d do it for anybody,” Gleason said today. “And I’d do it again.”

Gleason dropped the gloves, and Carcillo did the same. When the short fight was over, Gleason had two minutes for instigating, five minutes for fighting and 10 for misconduct. He wasn’t available early in the second when the Flyers scored two power-play goals in the first 47 seconds of the period.

From Javier Serna at Canes Now:

The Canes began the period without defenseman Tim Gleason, a valuable penalty killer. Gleason picked up a 10-minute misconduct penalty with 7:11 in the first, coming to the defense of Ray Whitney and fighting the Flyers’ Daniel Carcillo.

From Bob Harwood at Canes County:

Tim Gleason was standing up for his teammate when he went after Carcillo, but he really put his team at a disadvantage when he was out of the game for 17 minutes. Interestingly enough, the Flyers scored both goals while he was in the box.

From Ashley at The Life and Times of a Caniac:

Tim Gleason got the first instigator penalty of the year, making him sit out 17 minutes of the game, after fighting Dan Carcillo who hit Ray Whitney from behind. And y’know, I’ll take Gleason sitting out for that long just to make the point that punks like Carcillo can’t take cheap knocks at our players. Good for Gleason to stick up for Ray Whitney.

Of course, I don’t think that Gleason’s absence helped the Canes at all on the defense, especially because Joni Pitkanen did not play in the game.

What’s viewed as a game changer in Carolina is viewed as a “stupid penalty” in Philadelphia.

Just another day in the life of Daniel Carcillo, a guy who will never catch a break in Philadelphia.

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Email me at ronnybrook.blog@gmail.com.
Twitter feed: @ronnybrook_blog

Filed under: Daniel Carcillo, Philadelphia Flyers, Tim Gleason

Incurring The Wrath Of The Hockey Gods

Have you ever been kicked in the nuts by the Hockey Gods for being a total douche bag?

I think that’s what happened to me tonight.

See, if you hop into the Way Back Machine and time-travel back to September 1, 2009, you’ll notice that I used this space to delight in the misfortune of the fans of Atlantic Division teams caught in the crossfire between Comcast/Versus and DirecTV:

Exhibit A:

While I feel a little tinge of sympathy for Delaware Valley residents and Philadelphia ex-pats affected by Comcast’s decision to play hardball with DirecTV, at least most folks impacted by this development don’t have to go too far to find a friend, family member, or neighborhood bar to catch the games on Verizon or Comcast (in the tri-state area, at least).

In fact, I applaud Comcast for creating a situation that will bring people together to enjoy hockey (snicker).

What I am absolutely delighted about when it comes to this development is that fans of our divisional rivals get absolutely screwed in the deal.

Atlantic Division games on Versus (by team) in 2009-2010:

Pittsburgh Penguins – 9
New York Rangers – 8
New Jersey Devils – 6
New York Islanders – 2

Oh, and don’t forget playoffs. Ha Ha Ha.

Being a Verizon FiOS subscriber, I have Comcast Sportsnet, Versus, and The NHL Network.

So you can imagine my horror (at exactly 6:58 p.m. EST tonight) when I found out the Flyers first game of the 2009-2010 season was scheduled to be broadcast on CN8 – which is not on my Verizon Channel lineup.

I had to slum it with Saunders and Bundy on the radio feed tonight. It sounded like a good game, but I’ll have to take your word for it.

Anyway, I’m here to tell you there is such a thing as cosmic justice, and yes, karma is indeed a bitch.

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Emery and Pronger as the first and third stars of the game.

Oh how they laughed this summer at the acquisitions of Emery the headcase and Pronger, the old man ready to disintegrate into a pile of dust.

If tonight’s performance by both players is an indicator of things to come, Holmgren is going to have to start putting “genius” on his business cards.

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Email me at ronnybrook.blog@gmail.com.
Twitter feed: @ronnybrook_blog

Filed under: Chris Pronger, Paul Holmgren, Philadelphia Flyers, Ray Emery

2009-2010 Flyers Roster Review: Twitter Style

Thoughts, questions, declarations, and predictions for each of the players on the Flyers roster as they prepare to kick off the 2009-2010 tonight in Raleigh.

Because Twitter is sooooo cool (and because I have the attention span of a gnat), each players entry has been limited to 140 characters. Enjoy.

Aaron Asham

Prediction: LTIR – injures shoulder while throwing full weight against a sturdy door in desperate bid to escape Wachovia Center press box.

Blair Betts

Will Betts improve the performances of Richards and Carter by eating up penalty kill minutes? It will be nice to see someone win a faceoff.

Danny Briere

Little man needs a BIG year to stop people from talking about his wonky groin. Playing with Carter and Hartnell should benefit all involved.

Daniel Carcillo

One of the NHL’s premiere agitators will never wash the stink of Scottie Upshall off himself. Carcillo deserves better than Philadelphia.

Jeff Carter

Carter may hit 50-goal mark this season with the lazy Joffrey Lupul perfecting his tan in Anaheim. Briere on his RW = SIGNIFICANT upgrade.

Riley Cote

Flyers cutting Cote would be like the Phillies cutting the Phanatic. It’s like he is the unofficial mascot of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Simon Gagne

Entering his tenth season with the Philadelphia Flyers, will this finally be the year Gagne has his name engraved on the Stanley Cup?

Claude Giroux

May end up battling for power play time with JVR, hindering a breakout season statistically. Don’t assume this hasn’t crossed Giroux’s mind.

Scott Hartnell

Has the best nickname in the NHL, courtesy of Penguins fans, crowning him “Scott Fartsmell.” Also one of the best power forwards in the NHL.

Ian Laperriere

Official NHL supplier of the sand that will find its way into the vaginas of the Atlantic, Northeast, and Southeast Divisions.

Darroll Powe

see Aaron Asham entry. Throw in Princeton University degree.

Mika Pyorala

Looks like Holmgren might have found a diamond in the rough with Mika Pyorala. Possibly the best player Flyers fans have never heard of.

Mike Richards

With a Center City party boy rep and arrival of Pronger in the locker room, should Richards look over his surgically repaired shoulders?

James van Riemsdyk

Why the rush to insert JVR into the lineup? Is he going to get any power play time as a 3rd line LW? If not, forget Calder consideration.

Matt Carle

If Chris Pronger can’t bring out Carle’s full potential, no one can. Earns $3.4 million annually, and you thought Randy Jones was overpaid?

Braydon Coburn

In final year of his contract, Coburn needs to have a good season if he hopes to sit down with Holmgren and say “I want Matt Carle money.”

Ryan Parent

Has a lot of competition as a 5th or 6th defenseman beyond this season. Syvret, OKT, Marshall, Bourdon, Ratchuk, Bodrev. Needs a good season

Chris Pronger

Brought to Philadelphia to establish a no-fly zone around Flyers net. Will be a hoot to watch Bing, Geno, and Ovie attempt to set up shop.

Danny Syvret

One of the best defensemen in the AHL last season gets his NHL shot. Smurf-like in stature, Syvret utilizes every inch of his 5′ 10 frame.

Kimmo Timonen

Possibly the biggest beneficiary of the Pronger acquisition. Timonen no longer has to do it all by himself. A big year on the horizon?

Ole-Kristian Tollefsen

Seventh defenseman sounds about right. His physicality puts as much wear and tear on his own body as it does opponents. Press box = rest box

Ray Emery

Any skater charging Emery’s crease will emerge with the puffy imprint of a goalies blocker across his face. Sidney Crosby – you’re on notice

Brian Boucher

Boucher proved he can a capable understudy last season in San Jose, but can he carry the load if Emery is injured – or worse – melts down?

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Email me at ronnybrook.blog@gmail.com.
Twitter feed: @ronnybrook_blog

Filed under: Aaron Asham, Blair Betts, Brian Boucher, Chris Pronger, Claude Giroux, Daniel Briere, Daniel Carcillo, Danny Syvret, Darrol Powe, Denis Bodrev, Ian Laperriere, JVR, James van Riemsdyk, Jeff Carter, Kimmo Timonen, Matt Carle, Mika Pyorala, Mike Richards, Philadelphia Flyers, Randy Jones, Ray Emery, Riley Cote, Scott Hartnell, Simon Gagne

Too Many Frackin’ Chefs

Ha Ha Ha! Say what?!

From Rob Parent at The Trentonian:

Pending a player pow-wow to sign off on coach John Stevens’ appointed leaders of this 2009-10 version of the team that hasn’t won the big one in almost 35 years, it’s believed that the plan is for Pronger to share an “A” with not only Timonen and Gagne, but also Jeff Carter in a new four-man assistant captain rotation.

All this leadership help to support Richards, the kid dubbed “Captain Canada” when he was playing in World Junior tourneys, but whose locker room vocal abilities sometimes don’t make the power leap into higher octave areas after bad losses.

Okay, let me get this straight.

Rather than follow Rule 6.1 of the Official NHL Rule Book (analyzed here with regard to how Pronger’s inclusion into the captaincy could impact the team), the Flyers decided it would be better not to trample anyone’s feelings by handing out an “A” to even more people, albeit on a rotating basis.

The decision was made to give Richards – “Captain Canada” (snicker) – a leadership chorus because, in the locker room, he has all the personality of a wet blanket.

Note to Paul Holmgren: if you need to stick four people behind the Captain of your team to ram home whatever message he cannot, you have the WRONG GUY wearing the “C” on his sweater.

Lindros. Dejardins. Hatcher. Examples of Flyers Captains that “led by example on the ice” (meaning, they were nothing more than good players), but left a leadership and personality vacuum in the locker room.

How has that worked out for the Flyers so far?

Richards is looking no different at this point, and the fact that Flyers management had to give him a posse to fulfill his leadership duties – which simply involves shouting “dudes, WTF?!” after disappointing losses and during annual slumps – puts an exclamation point on that fact.

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Email me at ronnybrook.blog@gmail.com.
Twitter feed: @ronnybrook_blog

Filed under: Chris Pronger, Derian Hatcher, Eric Dejardins, Eric Lindros, Jeff Carter, John Stevens, Kimmo Timonen, Mike Richards, Paul Holmgren, Philadelphia Flyers, Simon Gagne

It’s Nice When Things Work Out Anyway

Remember that time at the 2006 NHL entry draft when the New York Rangers swooped in with the 21st overall pick and yoinked Bobby Sanguinetti out of the clutches of Bobby Clarke, just as he was about to snag Sanguinetti at no. 22?

Clarke was so upset that when he stepped up to the microphone to announce the Flyers draft choice, he forgot the name of the player the Flyers settled on as the booby prize – Claude Giroux.

Funny thing about that. While Sanguinetti rides the bus up I-95 to join the Hartford Wolfpack of the AHL today, Giroux is blossoming into a star in Philadelphia as he heads into his first full season of NHL hockey.

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Email me at ronnybrook.blog@gmail.com.
Twitter feed: @ronnybrook_blog

Filed under: Bobby Sanguinetti, Claude Giroux, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers