Flyers Rumors & News
Center Mike Richards has been named Captain of the Philadelphia Flyers, the team announced Wednesday. The 23-year old is the 17th Captain in team history.
Richards had a breakout season last year, leading the team with 75 points, was named an Eastern Conference All Star, and won the Bobby Clarke Trophy as team MVP.
“I just think Mike Richards is a player that has all the characteristics we want on our team,” said Flyers head coach John Stevens. “We want a guy out there, that when we see him playing, he is representative of the identity of our hockey team. I think Mike is all of that.”
For a team that has had four captains in four years, this comes as welcome news. Richards is entering the first year of a 12-year contract extension signed in December.
“It’s obviously a privilege to be part of such a traditional organization, and be captain of it,” Richards said. “I am going to do my best to do it. We have a …
The Flyers and head coach John Stevens have agreed to a two-year contract extension, the team said Thursday. Stevens’ contract will now run through the 2010-2011 season.
In his first full season as Flyers’ head coach, Stevens managed one of the greatest comebacks in history, leading them to the Eastern Conference Finals after the worst season in franchise history the year before.
“John is deserving of this new contract,” said general manager Paul Holmgren. “He is a very energetic coach who brings a lot of enthusiasm and passion to the game and we look forward to working together over the next few years.”
His original contract was for two years and took him through last season. He signed a one year contract extension in December of 2007 after he transformed the team with the worst record of the year into a Conference Championship contender.
“I am very excited,” Stevens said. “This is something that we talked about in the early part of the summer. We knew that it was …
Week In Review
August 11th, 2008 2:41 PM
Despite a sputtering offense, the Phillies remained in first place this week, two games up on New York Mets. The Phils’ offense continues to look lost, and at one point this week went 23 innings without scoring a run, despite facing less than stellar opposing pitching.
The Phillies lost two games to the Florida Marlins, who are just a half a game back of the Mets in the National League East standings, despite facing three pitchers with less than 20 starts between them this season. The Phillies’ offense got starting pitcher Jamie Moyer his first career loss to the Marlins, despite allowing only two runs on Tuesday. On Thursday they were shutout by Chris Volstad, who was making his fifth career start. Volstad didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning, when opposing pitcher Cole Hamels lined a single to center with two outs.
The Phillies’ incomprehensible woes continued on Friday against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates and Paul Maholm. Maholm went seven shutout innings and struck out a career high 10 batters, including five in …
Former Philadelphia Flyer Craig Berube is headed back to his old team for his second stint as an Assistant Coach. Berube is currently the head coach of the Flyers’ minor league affiliate Phantoms and was an assistant coach with the big league club in 2006-2007. Berube is replacing Terry Murray on the Flyers’ bench, as he is now the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings. John Paddock has been named as Berube’s successor with the Phantoms.
Under Berube, the Phantoms went 46-27-4-3 to finish second in the AHL’s East Division and advanced to the East Division Finals last season.
“Craig will bring new energy to the Flyers’ coaching staff,” said general manager Paul Holmgren. “His knowledge of, and experience with, many of our young players will be invaluable.
In 17 NHL seasons (1986-2003), Berube registered 61 goals and 98 assists for 159 points. He had 3,149 penalty minutes in 1,054 career regular-season games for the Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders.
For the …
Week In Review
July 29th, 2008 12:31 AM
This past week started very poorly for the Phillies but ended on a high note.
Coming off a tough series with the Florida Marlins in which the Fightin Phils lost the final two games, including a gem thrown by ace Cole Hamels, the Phillies rolled into Flushing hoping to put some distance between them and the Mets. Mission accomplished, sort of. After one of the most amazing comebacks in recent history, the Phillies failed to capitalize on the momentum built from winning the series opener and looked flat the following two games. The Phils won one inning, while the Mets won 26 innings. The Phils simply lucked out and won the right inning, avoiding a sweep.
On top of their struggles on the field, the Phils have had to deal with some off the field issues as well. Reigning MVP Jimmy Rollins was late to Saturday’s game and was summarily benched by manager Charlie Manuel for breaking team rules.
After the debacle in New York, the Phillies came home to face the Atlanta Braves a game …
Team 1260 Radio in Edmonton is reporting that the Flyers have agreed to a four year extension with forward Joffrey Lupul. An announcement is expected for Monday.
In 56 games last season for the Flyers Lupul scored 20 goals and had 26 assists. In 17 playoff games last season, Lupul had four goals and six assists.
Lupul, the 7th overall pick in the 2002 draft, was acquired by the Flyers in a July 2007 trade with the Edmonton Oilers.
The Impending Spectrum Demolition, The End of An Era
July 15th, 2008 5:22 PM
Although it’s been known for some months now, the official announcement of the Spectrum’s demolition came down today which Ed Snider called “one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make.” From today’s Comcast-Spectacor press release, the word is the building will be torn down following the 2008-2009 Kixx and Phantom’s seasons, meaning some time after May 2009 probably. Since there was such a buildup to the implosion of Veterans Stadium in 2004, you have to imagine there will be even more hubbub around the demolition of the Spectrum since it arguably held more significant sporting events through the years … or at least more championships.
The plans for the area where the Spectrum now stands are pretty exciting, although do we really have to call it “Philly Live!,” really? But still, losing a building that has been part of Philadelphia sports for over 40 years is going to be tough … even if …
Week In Review
July 14th, 2008 9:16 PM
The Phillies did not start the week out well, but ended it in strong fashion as they head into this season’s All Star break in first place in the National League East, a half a game up on the New York Mets.
After losing three of four to the Mets, the Phillies stormed back and took two of three from both the Cardinals and Diamondbacks, including a four game win streak. It’s not a nine game win streak, but you can’t complain too much with ending the first half in first place.
The break, in my opinion, will actually benefit the Phillies and hurt the Mets. The Phils are playing well, but are not streaking like their New York rivals, and a four day break is the last thing you want if you are on a multiple game win streak. Hopefully the Phillies can capitalize and build on this past week, while the Mets will hopefully suffer from their time off.
Week In Review
July 8th, 2008 9:08 PM
This is not what I would call a good week for the Phillies, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. The Phils went 4-3 last week, again sweeping the Atlanta Braves in Turner Field before coming to Citizen’s Bank Park and dropping three of four to the Mets.
The Phils looked like the Fightins of old against the Braves, scoring 19 runs in three games, while only giving up seven. They continued their hot streak against the Mets, winning the first game 3-2. That’s when things fell apart.
The Phillies were winning on Saturday until a meltdown of catastrophic proportions occurred by the bullpen, starting with stalwart J.C. Romero, continuing with Tom Gordon, and ending with Rudy Seanez. The Phils ended up losing the game 4-9, but should have won it easily. Sunday was another game that they should have won, carrying the momentum of Jason Werth’s game tying home run in the ninth inning off Mets’ closer Billy Wagner into extra innings. Instead, they …
Flyers’ captain Jason Smith signed a two-year, $5.2 million contract with the Ottawa Senators Monday.
The 14-year veteran was an unrestricted free agent.
According to Philly.com,
The Flyers had let Smith know that with the contracts of Randy Jones and newly acquired Steve Eminger, he would not fit into team’s budget for next season. Smith earned $1.9 million last season.
In 77 games for the Flyers last season, Smith had 204 blocked shots and 142 hits, tops on the team. He had one goal, nine assists, and 86 penalty minutes.
My response to this is, what the hell? The Flyers were very clear that they were not going to re-sign Smith, but I have to say I really don’t understand why. This guy was their captain last year, and an integral past of their success. Who is going to take his place? Is eventual captain Mike Richards’ time now?
The Flyers continue to keep busy this off season with various trades and player signings. They made a different kind of signing on Monday, extending the contract of GM Paul Holmgren another three years, which will now run through the 2011-2012 season.
Holmgren took over as GM after Philly favorite Bobby Clarke stepped down during the 2006-2007 season, the Flyers’ worst in team history. During his first full year as GM, Holmgren oversaw one of the greatest turnarounds in NHL history, as the Flyers finished 39 points higher this season and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals.
“I am extremely excited for the opportunity to be a part of the Flyers organization through the 2011-12 season,” Holmgren said in a statement. “[Chairman Ed] Snider and Peter Luukko have both been terrific in their support and I am honored to be a part of this franchise. I am really thrilled beyond words.”
According to a comcastsportsnet.com article,
The Flyers became only the second team since 1980, when the league …
