You can’t come out in the media and rip on anyone. What Richards said is what they all say, they always have to be politically correct. I would think behind closed dorrs these words don’t get spoken. They need to find a new leader in the way of a coach. Sorry John, you do not cut the mustard. I was hoping they would have gone after Andy Murray when he was available. Right now I say bring in Ted Nolan. That guy would get the most out of these players gauranteed.

public relations has watered down player/media interaction so badly. rarely do you see players break from that mold and really give some personality with thoughtful answers. ‘we need to hustle, not turn over pucks in our defensive zone…’ come on, when should you ever not hustle? when should you ever turn over pucks in your defensive zone? what they are saying usually means so little its almost pointless to read. it takes some really inventive and effective questioning to break through the facade.

That would be one of my questions, not that we’d ever get a straight answer. Does Richie have the same calm, borderline shy demeanor in the locker room as he does in front of the media?

For some reason, I doubt it, pointing to some of those mic’d up segments where he seems like a completely different person on the ice.

i don’t particularly feel he shouldn’t be captain solely based on his recent comments, but i’ll address the question considering i was critical of him as captain.

i’m aware there is limited time for response, so what i hope to hear and what is possible to get out are likely two different things. i’d like to hear him give an answer that elaborates on what ‘execution’ means, because i’ve seen a lot of shots, i’ve seen a lot of pressure, i haven’t seen a lot of consistency. i accept canned responses are part of media relations, and his answer seems like one to me. it isn’t particularly what i look for in personalities i respect in sports, but its something i accept.

i like to look at results to measure leadership. of course its subjective, but this defines my own opinion. obviously i hold the team in high regard or i wouldn’t be dismayed at their lack of success and searching for potential answers. there are leaders in different ways, and from what i have seen from richards is a strong, mostly quiet, leader who does so by example, at least in public and that’s all i’ve got to go by. from my viewpoint, the flyers look like a team lacking strong leadership. maybe richards leadership style isn’t working, maybe the alternate captains and veterans need to step up more, maybe its the coaching, or maybe leadership has nothing to do with it.

i am beginning to question the decision to make richards a captain when they did. the nhl and media surrounding it is serious business. leading a group of players is as well. veterans have the advantage of dealing with a lot of different players, the media, and developing a working leadership style through experience. richards didn’t have that advantage and learning to lead on the job can be extremely risky. failures cause leadership to be questioned and can create a downward spiral in the locker room and in the media.

i don’t want him to lose his captaincy. i want to see positive results and improvement. i see a better roster than last year but no real indications of significant improvement. i want, when people ask what is up for the future, someone to not tell me they need to execute better, because at this point i think that’s a pretty safe assumption.

i don’t want to make it seem like ben’s question was bad either, its a fair enough question and one i’d really like a serious answer to. at the same time, if he’s just going to vomit a PR answer, it makes the process seem pointless. i respect the time you 3 put in and your efforts in the site and the fact that you’ve gotten any questions answered by any flyers, let alone the captain, is awesome. i think that your questions deserve respectful, thoughtful answers.

They are not playing like shit. They outshot and won most battles against one of the best teams in the east. Saying they need to blow things up because of this effort is ridiculously short sighted.

You’re not gonna win every game. Losses aren’t apocalyptic.