Do you like the title? It’s an attempt at levity to hide my utter shock/sadness/anger (Shanger?) regarding the trade of Simon Gagne for a former Smashing Pumpkins drummer and a half eaten bag of Funyuns. Okay, I just did a quick fact check and apparently it’s a different, far more irrelevant, Matt Walker. Since the other part of this blockbuster move is a 4th round pick, seeing a half eaten bag of Funyuns working its way through the Flyers farm system in the near future cannot be ruled out. Ideally, it’ll retire early and take over as General Manager for Paul Holmgren. I’m not going to bore you with a lot of “knowing a lot about hockey” like those other bloggers, I’ll let the guys at Flyers Fan Central do that (download their Droid App). What I will do is lay out some simple truths of the situation just to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Losing Gagne is upsetting and …
This started off as a Philly pride piece. I was going to talk about how proud I am of the Philadelphia Flyers and their season. I planned on dissecting how the play of Danny Briere and Jeff Carter was amazing and that Mike Richards’ ability to not only coexist, but even bond, with Chris Pronger shows that he’ll continue to be a great captain for the foreseeable future. My plan was to even go on a limb and say that I wasn’t upset about us losing, that just getting there was enough. After waiting over 24 hours this article should still largely echo those sentiments. That being said, never in my entire life have I wished so hard for someone to close their legs.
No seriously, Michael Leighton, why will you not just shut your legs? I feel like I’m a dad on “16 and Pregnant” right before Prom. I’ll grant you that some of the saves you made were ridiculous. Yes, we were out shot in …
The hits just keep on coming for the Flyers, losers of five in a row and eight of their last ten.
Sunday the Flyers found out that they would be without the services of forward Dan Carcillo for four games, as he was being suspended by the league for a fight during the team’s matchup against the Capitals over the weekend. Monday they headed over the border and suffered a 3-1 loss at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens. They returned home Tuesday to prepare for a game at home against the New York Islanders to find out that starting (sort of) goalie Ray Emery had been placed on injured reserve.
Carcillo was issued 29 minutes of penalties Saturday night for a retaliatory cross check and supposed sucker punch on the Capitals Matt Bradley.
After receiving a high stick by Bradley, Carcillo retaliated with a cross check and then dropped his gloves to fight. Bradley appeared to drop his glove, indicating that he wanted to fight, and …
Saturday was a tough night for Philly sports.
Peter Laviolette’s debut as the new coach of the Flyers was not exactly the first impression he was hoping to leave the faithful of the Orange and Black. It was a debut that will leave a bitter taste in his mouth for some time to come. And it started immediately.
The Washington Capitals struck in the first minute of the game, as well as on five of their first 17 shots on their way to an 8-2 win. All without star Alexander Ovechkin.
The firing of coach John Stevens was supposed to be a wake up call for the reeling Flyers; a jolt to jump start a run back up the Eastern Conference standings. Instead the Flyers looked as bad as ever. Goalie Ray Emery continued to struggle, having his worst outing of the season. He allowed five goals before being replaced by backup Brian Boucher midway through the second period, giving him a 5.36 goals-against average and .814 save percentage …
Join us for a live chat
http://www.coveritlive.com/index.php?option=com_altcaster&task=playaltcast&altcast_code=20ae61c275
Consider your suffering eased, I have returned. After a month and a half hiatus, I am back at Hot Stove Philly, and you may all now breath a collective sigh of relief. Woo. Good.
Unfortunately, it seems I may have returned to the Philly sports world with little to be excited about. The Phillies season is over. The Eagles are inconsistent at best, and embarrassing at worst. The Sixers make the Eagles look good. The Flyers are the best thing going, and they’re in fourth place in their division. Could it be possible that the Phillies’ off season is the most interesting thing in Philly sports right now?
As the kids say today, wtf mate?
Despite another incredible season that saw the Fightins get to their second straight World Series, they were clearly outmatched by a superior Yankees team. The Bronx Bombers had better hitters, better starting pitching and a better bullpen. Hard to win when under those circumstances.
The series put into sharp contract the glaring holes that need to be addressed by GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and …
The Philadelphia Flyers came out swinging in their home opener against the play-off caliber Washington Capitals in what boiled down to a shoot out between Alex Ovechikin and Flyers captain Mike Richards. Richards won, propelling his team to a 6-5 in overtime. The Flyers left with a 3-0-0 record and a hat trick for Richards. The Caps left with a disappointing loss and continued goaltender uncertainty between Jose Theodore and youngster Simeon Varlemov who shined in last years playoffs. The flyers scored four goals in the second, chasing Varlemov from the net. “The atmosphere was awesome,” said long time Flyers fan and season ticket holder Ryan Myers, “Early in the game it was clear that both teams’ hockey sense had matured. In previous years, when both teams were younger, they came out as pure energy; they were all go, go, go. Last night, there was a noticeable change in style and pace and a hint of tentativeness in the early period but both teams found their form in the 2nd.
The first period showcased the talents …
Despite losing their preseason opener to the Detroit Red Wings, the Flyers have a lot of positives to take away from the outing.
First and foremost, their top prospect, James van Riemsdyk looked real good, scoring the Fly Guys only goal.
In the second period, van Riemsdyk broke down the boards and fired a shot at Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard. The shot hit off Howard’s stick and slid into the net, for van Riemsdyk’s first goal with the Flyers.
“The defense was looking at [Jeff] Carter and [Scott] Hartnell, trying to take away the two biggest scoring threats,” he said. “I just snuck away and got a lucky shot in.”
The goal was impressive considering the start that van Riemsdyk had to the game. During his first shift of the game (his first NHL game mind you), he was unable to keep the puck on his stick. He was called offsides two shifts later on a breakaway.
“I was pretty excited,” van Riemsdyk said. “I tried to take a …
Former Flyer John LeClair will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
The former Legion of Doom member spent 16 years in the NHL, 10 of them with the Flyers. He was the first American-born player to record three consecutive 50-goal seasons in the NHL.
“My playing days in Philadelphia were great, as were the fans,” LeClair said. “Obviously, I enjoyed most of my success when I was a member of the Flyers. It was a great time and a great time in my career. When I think back at hockey I think I am most associated with the Philadelphia Flyers.”
In 10 seasons (1994-2004) with the Flyers, he had 333 goals and 643 points, seventh on the club’s all-time goals and points lists. In addition to three consecutive 50-goal seasons, LeClair broke the 40-goal mark in five consecutive seasons (1995-2000) and finished in the top 10 in league scoring four times (1994-95, 1996-99).
He registered 406 goals and 413 assists for 819 points in 967 career games …
According to Ed Moran of the Philadelphia Daily News, the Flyers have been told that they will play the Boston Bruins on New Years Day in the 2010 NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park in Boston.
According to Moran’s sources, the decision will probably not be announced until July 15, as the league is holding the news very close to its chest.
Earlier in the week, reports were indicating that the Washington Capitals would be taking the ice, but that seemed to change midweek. The Flyers have been unofficially told that they will be the choice.
The Flyers are expected to announce the signing of goalie Ray Emery on Wednesday.
The deal is reportedly for one-year, worth $1.5 million.
A news conference with Flyers’ general manager Paul Holmgren will be held tomorrow at the Flyers’ practice facility in Voorhees, N.J.
Emery is 71-40-14 in 134 games played with a goals against average of 2.71 in three seasons with the Ottowa Senators.
According to Tim Panaccio of csnphilly.com, the Flyers’ are poised to sign Ray Emery as their starting goalie for next season.
While Flyers’ GM Paul Holmgren declined to confirm the report, several general managers at the Stanley Cup Final consider the matter a “done deal” says Panaccio.
“We’ve had conversations with his agent [J.P. Barry] about a lot of things,” Holmgren said. “But I’m not going to comment on our internal discussions of players.”
Nevertheless, Barry has confirmed the deal to CSN.
“We have been talking several weeks now,” Barry said. “Paul has done due diligence on Ray. I’m hopeful it will lead to a contract.”
Emery has had a turbulent career in the NHL. In his first season, 2005-2006, he set the record for wins to start a career as a member of the Ottowa Senators. However, the next season the Senators brought in Martin Gerber to compete for the starting job with Emery. Gerber eventually won the starting position, but was sidelined in mid-November due to his poor play.
On …
