Flyers 2009-2010

[shooter27 116]

Regarding the rumors of a goaltending deal at the trade deadline - I think the Flyers actually made the right move in this case. I'm of the opinion that moving either Carter or Giroux is pretty much a non-starter at this point in time. I also find the Panthers asking for Carter in exchange for Vokoun (if that is indeed the case) to be nothing short of egregious. Vokoun is a solid netminder, but nothing particularly special and, as far as I know, has never had any success in the playoffs, not to mention he's 33. Carter is a 35-45 goal guy that does just about everything and will be making that contribution for a long time to come. If you're giving up him, you're pretty much ending any chance you had of advancing the playoffs, making Vokoun a useless trade anyway.

The team is definitely not a contender this year, they'll be one round and out, but I think they're getting closer. I still don't know what to make of the Pronger trade. Its time to get rid of Hartnell. I really think they made a mistake of giving up Lupul in the Pronger deal, despite his injury issues this year. And I'm starting to worry that Gagne's best years are well behind him, which is a major concern to me. That being said, I still think the core, other than Pronger, is young and still improving and with the addition of a goaltender they could start to capitalize on that potential next season. Man, that sounds really familiar being a lifelong Flyers fan.

[RiSeOnFiRe 0]

Point is, they still don't have the goaltending. Sure they have Richards Carter Briere and JVR as they're core but Im not quite sold on Carter being reliable for 40 goals every season. I think that Vokoun is more special than you seem to think. Hes tied with the best goaltender of all time for Shutouts if you didnt know. Put him on a contender and you got yourself a team. Carter + for Vokoun, I say no. But Carter for Vokoun straight up, Philly should have pulled the trigger. They have more then enough options on offence, and a last resort in Net.

Regarding the rumors of a goaltending deal at the trade deadline - I think the Flyers actually made the right move in this case. I'm of the opinion that moving either Carter or Giroux is pretty much a non-starter at this point in time. I also find the Panthers asking for Carter in exchange for Vokoun (if that is indeed the case) to be nothing short of egregious. Vokoun is a solid netminder, but nothing particularly special and, as far as I know, has never had any success in the playoffs, not to mention he's 33. Carter is a 35-45 goal guy that does just about everything and will be making that contribution for a long time to come. If you're giving up him, you're pretty much ending any chance you had of advancing the playoffs, making Vokoun a useless trade anyway.

The team is definitely not a contender this year, they'll be one round and out, but I think they're getting closer. I still don't know what to make of the Pronger trade. Its time to get rid of Hartnell. I really think they made a mistake of giving up Lupul in the Pronger deal, despite his injury issues this year. And I'm starting to worry that Gagne's best years are well behind him, which is a major concern to me. That being said, I still think the core, other than Pronger, is young and still improving and with the addition of a goaltender they could start to capitalize on that potential next season. Man, that sounds really familiar being a lifelong Flyers fan.

[Chadd 916]

Point is, they still don't have the goaltending. Sure they have Richards Carter Briere and JVR as they're core but Im not quite sold on Carter being reliable for 40 goals every season. I think that Vokoun is more special than you seem to think. Hes tied with the best goaltender of all time for Shutouts if you didnt know. Put him on a contender and you got yourself a team. Carter + for Vokoun, I say no. But Carter for Vokoun straight up, Philly should have pulled the trigger. They have more then enough options on offence, and a last resort in Net.

Given their depth at forward, and the fact that most of them are signed through at least one more year, they would have to consider any move.

[shooter27 116]

Point is, they still don't have the goaltending. Sure they have Richards Carter Briere and JVR as they're core but Im not quite sold on Carter being reliable for 40 goals every season. I think that Vokoun is more special than you seem to think. Hes tied with the best goaltender of all time for Shutouts if you didnt know. Put him on a contender and you got yourself a team. Carter + for Vokoun, I say no. But Carter for Vokoun straight up, Philly should have pulled the trigger. They have more then enough options on offence, and a last resort in Net.

Sorry - I just don't buy that you trade a 25 year old center who scored 46 goals last year and already has 30 this year for a 33 year old goaltender that is 3-8 in 11 career playoff games. I don't care what your organizational depth is, thats just not a trade of equal value. If you had told me the deal was Giroux for Vokoun, thats much closer to fair value for both sides.

You're point about the goaltending is well taken, but trading Carter for Vokoun doesn't make them a contender this year anyway. So why throw away your future when you don't have a chance to win this year anyway?

[Chadd 916]

Sorry - I just don't buy that you trade a 25 year old center who scored 46 goals last year and already has 30 this year for a 33 year old goaltender that is 3-8 in 11 career playoff games. I don't care what your organizational depth is, thats just not a trade of equal value. If you had told me the deal was Giroux for Vokoun, thats much closer to fair value for both sides.

You're point about the goaltending is well taken, but trading Carter for Vokoun doesn't make them a contender this year anyway. So why throw away your future when you don't have a chance to win this year anyway?

1. Vokoun would make them a contender this year.

2. The Pronger contract is going to make it hard, if not impossible, to secure a goaltender via free agency in the near future.

3. Vokoun is also signed through next year, he would not have bee a rental.

4. Flyers need to address their goaltending at some point as Emery is UFA at the end of the season and they don't have anyone capable of being a number one in their system.

[shooter27 116]

1. Vokoun would make them a contender this year.

This is where we differ. I agree with your other points, particularly about Pronger, but I just don't see them being a legit contender this year, goaltender or not.

[Chadd 916]

This is where we differ. I agree with your other points, particularly about Pronger, but I just don't see them being a legit contender this year, goaltender or not.

The Flyers have as much talent up front as the Penguins, and pretty close to the caps. Their defense is as good, one through six, as any team in the east. Vokoun is easily more consistent than anyone the caps have in net and can be as good as anyone in the league when he gets on a roll.

Given the number of RFAs on the blueline, and the lack of signed goaltenders, it's hard to believe that they will be able to put together a better squad next year. Gagne will come off the books after next year but Carter and Giroux are both RFA and Giroux will be in line for a big raise at that point.

[EBondo 233]

This is exactly why I was hesitant on getting Emery/Boucher as our goalies in the first place. I wasn't sure if Emery could handle the workload after playing a year in Russia. I knew Boucher was gonna tank the first day I saw him signed. I think Leighton is a ticking time bomb. As long as the Flyers do not have a clear-cut number one goaltender, they will not be able to compete. There is so much wrong with this team this year

If Carter played this way the first half of the year, who's to say he wouldn't have 50 goals by now? What about Hartnell? He's pretty much played his way off the team and I wouldn't be surprised to see him dealt at the draft. Coburn hasn't played as well this year. Injuries still have hurt them. Gagne's best hockey is behind him (although he doesn't seem to think so, with the way he's been playing).

They're close, but as long as thhey get goalies who are only capable of backup duty, they'll never win a Cup

[EBondo 233]

That was by far, the most entertaining Flyers game I have watched in a long time.

[sickwilly 37]

Hell, yeah! I thought it was over when the Hawks went up. Great game.

[weedsnager 0]

Hell, yeah! I thought it was over when the Hawks went up. Great game.

well when you have a horrible goalie like the blackhawks anything is possible, we have a stanley cup team, and 2 peewee goalies....tomorrow should be interesting with the capitals in town for an 11:30 start on NBC

[EBondo 233]

well when you have a horrible goalie like the blackhawks anything is possible, we have a stanley cup team, and 2 peewee goalies....tomorrow should be interesting with the capitals in town for an 11:30 start on NBC

...Which is almost exactly what many have said about the Flyers.

[Law Goalie 147]

If Leighton hasn't earned a little trust by now - from his team and the Flyers' faithful - what the hell else does he have to do?

[sickwilly 37]

I admit that I've doubted him a lot. I hope I was wrong about him. He's certainly better than Boucher.

[shooter27 116]

If Leighton hasn't earned a little trust by now - from his team and the Flyers' faithful - what the hell else does he have to do?

We're Flyers fans - we've got a long history of goalies being solid to spectacular in the regular season and then flaming out in the playoffs - Roman Checkmanek comes to mind initially, as does Hextall in a number of years other than his rookie year. We also have a history of bad luck with goaltending when its actually going good - see: the end of Parent's career and Pelle Lindbergh as examples of that one. When you've been scarred as many times as we have, its tough to put a lot of faith in a goaltender until he actually proves he can win a Cup.

I still don't think the Flyers will make much noise in the playoffs, but goaltending is just part of the reason, I'm still suspect of the team defense and number of penalties they take.

[weedsnager 0]

well when you have a horrible goalie like the blackhawks anything is possible, we have a stanley cup team, and 2 peewee goalies....tomorrow should be interesting with the capitals in town for an 11:30 start on NBC

today same thing....they let in 3 goals in 2 min

[EBondo 233]

Welp. There goes my hope of the Flyers making it to the playoffs.

http://flyers.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=358...vid=DL|PHI|home

Leights is out 8-10 weeks.

[Dr. Funk 6]

E, you guys are star-crossed when it comes to netminders. Living in Eastern PA for the past three years, the goaltending carousel in South Philly is like a horror film marathon. Ownership/management takes the rest of their squad pretty seriously; I've never quite understood why they can't seem to put a reliable goaltender out there, and stick with him.

In all seriousness (coming from a Pittsburgh guy), I'd love to see the Flyers with a strong presence in net. I love the competition between our teams, when it doesn't descend into thuggery on both sides. Philadelphia has a lot of talent on the roster - I enjoy watching them when they employ it.

[EBondo 233]

My solution, while I don't know how logical it really sounds, would be to trade Hartnell, and Boucher at the draft for a pick or two. Free up some money, get a draft pick, which the team is starved for. Go out, re-sign Leighton, and go after Peter Budaj. He could be had fairly cheap, and although I don't know much about him, he seems to be a solid goaltender. Has a winning record in his career, playing for a Colorado team that's been pretty sloppy the last however many years.

[Dr. Funk 6]

Not a bad proposition, provided they'll have a taker for Hartnell. From what I understand, they've tried to unload him before, obviously without success. Pity, because he's actually a pretty effective player when he's not running around out there.

The other thing that I've heard is interest in one of the two MTL netminders, particularly given their unrest in net up there. It'll be interesting, for sure.

[RiSeOnFiRe 0]

Wow. This is a blow for Philly. E is right, I can't see this team making the playoffs now. Its funny, I looked at the standings just yesterday, and I thought the teams 1-8 would all be in the playoffs. But with this injury, I think Philly falls out and now that last spot is WIDE open. This could be a good thing though. It could show management they need to get serious about the netminding issues. This is a good off-season to do it as a lot of tenders will be looking for new homes.

[EBondo 233]

Not a bad proposition, provided they'll have a taker for Hartnell. From what I understand, they've tried to unload him before, obviously without success. Pity, because he's actually a pretty effective player when he's not running around out there.

The other thing that I've heard is interest in one of the two MTL netminders, particularly given their unrest in net up there. It'll be interesting, for sure.

I think there would be a couple takers for Hartnell, provided the Flyers were only looking for draft picks in return. We all know this draft doesn't compare in talent to some in previous years, so Hartnell should be better off next season than a lot of the 2010 draftees. EDIT - Especially if he can produce another 30-30 season like he did last year

Montreal's goalies have been rumored to go everywhere. Just my .02 cents, but I DO NOT want Carey Price. That guy is way too inconsistent. He gets eaten alive in Montreal, imagine Philly. It's no better.

I could also see the Flyers trying to bring back Niitty.

[Dr. Funk 6]

All good points, E. If I were Mr. Snyder/Mr. Clarke, I would try and stay away from Carey Price. That guy is the definition of a siren's song. Loads of talent, for certain, but definitely inconsistent and seems a bit mentally fragile. Can't have that in the toughest sports city in America.

You mention an interesting proposition in bringing Niittymaki back. Not sure what TB's plans are for their nets next year, and I'm not positive that he got an entirely fair shake during his last go-round in Philly. Whatever is decided, it'll be interesting.

[sher-awesomeness 0]

The starts Boucher had in between Emery and Leighton weren't too bad, the team just hung him out to dry. The real reason Leighton was doing so well early on was because the defense woke up all of a sudden and bailed him out. If Boucher can stop the stoppable shots and the defense does its part like it did for Leighton, then there's a chance of salvaging this season.

But I didn't think Leighton would take this team very far, so my hopes for Boucher doing that aren't so high either.

[flyguy1697 0]

I think were going to be in some trouble. Honestly, I saw this coming a mile away. Granted Leighton has been playing great, I was never sold on Boucher as our back up and thank the lord for Leighton because he saved out season. I think it was a mistake letting both Biron and Niitty walk. The real problem occurred when Homer decided to give some of these idiots big contracts with no trade clauses. I can't wrap my head around the thought of not bringing in a solid goalie over the past summer. How can you not go out and at least make an offer for one of the free agents out there?!? It is mind blowing.

Roman Cechmanke, Brian Boucher, Neil Little, Garth Snow, Robert Esche, Marty Biron, Antero Niittymaki, Sean Burke, Jeff Hackett, John Vanbiesbrouck.....

Look at this list and tell me who is a proven number 1? Not one in my opinion. We haven't had a serious starter since Hextall. This needs to stop.