06blkmustanGT

Ken Hitchcock has been fired and Bobby Clarke has Resigned (thank god). Hopefully this will be the turning point for the flyers and we can get some wins

PaulF

In the short term, maybe...but with Stevens behind the bench with 0 games of NHL coaching experience and Holmgren filling in for Clarke (a fighter as a player and an old school hockey type of coach) I don't see things getting better. Stevens won a Calder Cup with the Phantoms with a stacked roster of NHL talent, most of whom are playing in the NHL with either the Flyers or other teams.

The biggest issue on the Flyers right now are slow defensemen and an AWFUL power play. There isn't going to be anything you can do about the defensemen in the short term....the PP unit is an assistant coaching issue. So you promoted an assistant coach to the head coaching role and didn't change any of the other assistant coaches...and this is supposed to change things how?

Personally, I think you can a.) kiss this season goodbye and b.) kiss Forsberg goodbye at the end of the season. He's not going to want to finish his career with a rebuilding team.

06blkmustanGT

i have a feeling your right. bobby clarke really screwed things over here

Galaxie

They were oh-so-close to being the team to beat the last few years. Clarke's reluctance to spend the money on a top-tier goalie was the difference IMO

Philly is going to have to rebuild for the new NHL. They are going to have to get rid of all the slow, big skaters in exchange for some speed. This may go against the "Broad Street Bullies" legacy, but that's what it will take to compete.

ScottyBoy302

Definitely, rebuild around a guy like Simon Gagne. get rid of Forsberg to a team that needs some veteran leadership and can afford to give up a couple fast young players, and as mentioned get rid of the lumbering giants on the blueline.

PaulF

Well, I can tell you that Forsberg is NOT happy that Clarke left, so he probably won't be re-signing here. He'll have the most value near the trade deadline, where his salary will be low against the cap. The Flyers SHOULD be able to get something good for him at that point.

ScottyBoy302

Ive heard rumors that the Flames have Iginla on the block due to the teams slow start. Theyre thinking the need to shake things up i guess by trading away the one guy who is actually having a decent season. Anyways, apparently Flames scouts have been at the last four flyers games, so somethin could be in the works...

Stang281

Who misses the Flyers days of when they had Lindros, Desjardins, Primeau, and LeClair? (well, whenever Lindros WASN'T out from a concussion )

PaulF

Aside from Gretzky and Lemieux, Lindros was the most exciting player that I've seen and getting to see him up close in Philadelphia was awesome. Too bad the whole Lindros/Clarke thing had to happen.

For today's game, Crosby and Malkin are great players, but from an excitement standpoint, they don't even come close to Ovechkin. He reminds me most of Gretzky, you never know what is going to happen when he gets the puck.

PaulF

Depends on what they are asking for him. Gagne...no way. Forsberg? I'd do that, but I'd want something else in return. Anyone else is fair game.

ScottyBoy302

Forsberg for Iggy+ someone else???

Forsberg is amazing, but hes lucky if he plays 50 games a season. I wouldnt even take a straight trade of forsberg for Iggy (if i was the gm). And as good as gagne is, i dont think hes quite in the same league as the other two.

Im really hoping they dont do a blockbuster, but i think just about anyone is fair game, so well see what happens.

And Brandon, how about the days of the legion of doom. Lindros, Leclair, and Renberg. Those guys tore up the league for a few years.

Stang281

Renberg? What years were those?

I stopped watching sports around 2001 and just started watching them again. (anyone ever done that? it sucks, hard to keep up with all of the changes)

Roy retired in '03 and he's already in the hall of fame, can't believe that, he was a very great goalie.

And I watched the Devils vs. Hurricanes game earlier, and couldn't believe that most of the players on the Devils are still the same (John Madden, Martin Brodeur (another GREAT goalie, btw)).

ScottyBoy302

Mid 90s. And ya, the Devils havent changed too much. Theyre still pretty boring to watch too...

PaulF

There's a rumor running around right now that Forsberg is going to be traded back to the Avalanche by tomorrow. There are a couple of different sites reporting this, so I'm sure they are talking.

The Flyers better get a stud defensive defenseman out of the deal, otherwise, what's the point?