"I’m excited to come to Philly. I grew up [in King City, Ontario] and loved watching the [Flyers]...

"I’m excited to come to Philly. I grew up [in King City, Ontario] and loved watching the [Flyers] play just because of how aggressive they were. They were definitely my favorite team as a child. … It’s kind of surreal and a dream come true to put on their uniform."

- Daniel Carcillo on becoming a Flyer

almost 3 years ago Travis Hughes 19 comments 0 recs |

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If he doesn’t have a 3 point outing tomorrow night, I hate him.

Let's go Flyers!

by OrangeAndBlackk on Mar 4, 2009 7:42 PM EST reply actions

i hope to god this guy does well. while my initial reaction is this was a terrible move, we wont know for sure until later. the word out of phoenix is he has more offensive skills than were giving him credit for and that they just had him on a leash over there. i hope thats true.

as mad as I am with the procedings of today we cant forget that we still have a very solid team that has as good a chance as anyone to win the eastern conference. I think were better than washington who benefits from playing in a shit division. weve shown that we can beat Boston in boston, id feel confident going into a 7 game series with them. and the Devils are just…the devils. theres no reason to think we cant contend for the cup this year, although Bouwmeester would have made me that much more optimistic.

by njh3293 on Mar 4, 2009 8:59 PM EST reply actions

Trust Me...

We’ve been praising the past administration in Phoenix for stealing Carcillo from Pittsburgh for Georges Laraque 2 years ago. Travis came over to the Five For Howling site to ask us what to make of him and we gave him our honest opinions, but what he posted in the last post doesn’t reflect them.

He’s faster than he’s given credit for and he has some good offensive instincts. He will fit into a line with Briere and Giroux very well…he’s going to give them a lot of space. Don’t expect 3 points in any game (although I think he had a hat trick the final game last season if I remember correctly, so it’s possible), but expect a ton of energy, huge hits, possibly a fight and general pandemonium. You will always know when Danny is on the ice…

World Ph*cking Champs! That was fun - let's do it again...

by Jordan Ellel on Mar 4, 2009 9:14 PM EST up reply actions

That’s a fair criticism, and I think I took what you guys said about him into serious consideration before I wrote that last post.

Of course I hope he does well, and I hope he surprises me, but all of the energy he brings doesn’t make up for (actually it’s probably a product of in many ways) the fact that he brings 174 penalty minutes to the most penalized team in the league. That’s a problem and a major concern of mine on this deal. If all you say is true, than at best this is a lateral move for a guy who takes a lot more penalties and fights more. There’s no reason the Flyers should’ve broken up chemistry for a lateral move that barely frees up any cap space.

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by Travis Hughes on Mar 4, 2009 10:09 PM EST up reply actions

penalty minutes

not only that…I read a few posts on the coyotes blog about how hes cost them a few games this season because of boneheaded unsportsmanlike/cheap shot penalties. if he does something like that in the playoffs I will lose at at homer.

by njh3293 on Mar 4, 2009 10:29 PM EST up reply actions

chemistry?

What chemistry did the upshall, briere, giroux line have? they played one game together? Upshall was not going to play on any other line than the third.

If you mean locker room chemistry, that might make a little more sense, as he was tight with a few other players. But if this allows us avoid having to shuffle giroux back and forth, and more flexibility under the cap to deal with injuries (while additionally potentially giving giroux a few more shifts), then this trade makes sense.

If this kid keeps his head on straight I think overall this helps the team, however small it may be.

by Momus1 on Mar 4, 2009 10:20 PM EST reply actions

Yeah, I was referring to locker room chemistry. Upshall was definitely a popular guy in the locker room.

I don’t buy the whole theory that this allows Giroux to stay with the big club. Here’s what I wrote in the other post.

We’ve heard that this deal solidifies Giroux’s spot on the NHL roster. Now, there’s extra cap space and he won’t have to worry if there’s an injury on defense. Those who spread that opinion forget that Arron Asham can be sent down to make cap room as necessary. This past weekend was an odd situation and there is no reason, with or without the extra space the Carcillo trade brings, that Giroux should be sent down.

Giroux is clearly a more important part of the team than Asham.

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Because the Broad Street Subway is orange for a reason.

by Travis Hughes on Mar 4, 2009 10:27 PM EST up reply actions

I think what it boils down to is that we, the fans (and possibly his teammates), like Upshall a lot more than the Flyers’ brass does. At least that’s the way it seems to me.

by doubleh on Mar 4, 2009 10:51 PM EST up reply actions

The whole point is that you could legitimately consider the combination - in fact Stevens even went with it, so long as you had Upshall out there, because Upshall had one very important element of his game that made him dangerous, and this was raw speed. Speed is something that the Flyers have lacked for nearly a decade. This is why they got Briere in the frist place, because the years of putting out a Hockey team that was bigger than the Eagles front line, simply doesn’t work in the new NHL, and I thought that in the last two years they had finally learned their lesson. Now look at where we’re at:

- Just traded probably the fastest player on the team
- Lost one of the quicker players when they had to put Metropolit on waivers

Got Giroux and Powe which added some speed but

So then we have (my guess) in speed:

Probably fastest O players now in this order:

-Carter who doesn’t have burst speed but has the extra gear
-Giroux
-Briere
-Lupul
-Gagne
-Richards

Really? If Carcillo doesn’t come out blazing there’s going to be an awful lot of grumbling because you have a team that just lost a gear.

by Gizmoitus on Mar 4, 2009 11:46 PM EST up reply actions

Also, a lot is being made of the number of penalties this guy has taken. If you take out the number of minutes for fighting this guy has taken only 10 more penalties all season than Upshall, and considering that Carcillo probably took more 10 minute misconducts you can probably slash that number in half, or even zero it out.

This trade simply put will have a negligible impact on the overall course of the season. I think characterizing it as a “mistake” is overly harsh.

by Momus1 on Mar 4, 2009 10:39 PM EST reply actions

Just saw Upshall on CSN SportsNite

Boruk caught up with him at the airport and asked him how he felt about leaving Philly and the fans and he was choking back tears. When Boruk asked if he wanted to say anything to the fans to thank them he said “It’s tough” and had to turn away from the camera.

Man, this sucks.

by doubleh on Mar 4, 2009 10:59 PM EST reply actions

Definitely tough to watch that, hope he does well with Phoenix.

by Momus1 on Mar 4, 2009 11:29 PM EST up reply actions

That’s kind of what I would expect from people in Phoenix who don’t know jack squat about Hockey. I’d love to believe this — really I would, but the stats simply don’t back this up. Meanwhile I’ve seen 95% of the games that Upshall played for the Flyers in the last 2 years, and I can tell you that this is not going to be a net positive for a team that is trying to focus in on a run at the cup. There were a few moments in the last game with the Upshall Briere Giroux line that were absolutely electrifying. Upshall has scary speed, and forces defensemen to backpeddle. This has created and would have created room for Briere and Giroux to go to town. We didn’t need a 4th line 5’11 player who leads the team in penalties.

I’d love to believe Carcillo is worth it, but unfortunately I’ve seen him play a few games and I haven’t seen a single shift that gives me any reason to believe it for a second. Furthermore, I don’t think Briere is going to be too happy about the prospect of playing with a low skill smallish guy who will never be a top 6 offensive player.

I’d love to be wrong about this - really. The same type of wrong I hoped to be when I started arguing half way through last year that the Flyers needed to dump Steve Downie, and I got about 100 idiots calling me a moron, and telling me how Downie was going to develop into a superstar . And those were actually people who saw the Flyers play.

by Gizmoitus on Mar 4, 2009 11:36 PM EST reply actions

Dude...

I grew up in NY and have watched/played hockey for 25 years. I lived in Philly for 7 years and am a HUGE Flyers fan…I moved to Phoenix because of work and started following the Coyotes because they are the local team. I know a LOT about hockey, and most of the folks that follow the Coyotes know a lot about hockey because they are transplants from NY, Philly, Pitt, Boston, Detroit and Chicago…so don’t tell me that I know jack squat about hockey…

I’ve seen most of the Flyers games with Upshall and basically all of the Coyotes games with Carcillo. Neither of these guys are about to become offensive superstar snipers like a Carter. But they play similar games: speed, energy, lots of hits…Carc drops the gloves more and allows the Flyers to get a guy like Asham or Cote out of the lineup. He hasn’t scored a ton of points, but a lot of that is attributable to Gretzky not having a clue as to how to put lines together…Carcillo actually has some offensive skills. Trust me, I know the Coyotes aren’t going anywhere for several years and I want the Flyers to win the Cup every year…I want this trade to work, and I think it might.

As long as Stevens gives Carcillo a clear role on a line with Briere and Giroux, I think he has a chance to flourish. And he’s going to be great for the locker room with Richards and that center city crowd.

World Ph*cking Champs! That was fun - let's do it again...

by Jordan Ellel on Mar 5, 2009 9:14 AM EST up reply actions

I remain unconvinced...

not that the trade won’t work out, but that you’ve actually watched all of the Coyotes games with Carcillo. Are you sure you weren’t watching reruns of The Office? I can see how’d you get the two confused..

by IcersGuy on Mar 5, 2009 10:25 AM EST up reply actions

If it weren't for incompetent coaching...

this would be a playoff team (and was pre-all star break). They have a lot of good, young players and plenty of nice guys on the team. One of the nice things about trying to build the fan base is that they go above and beyond what is required to do team events, meet ‘n’ greets and whatever else they can to connect with fans. And yes, myself and a number of other dedicated hockey fans from Phoenix (check the Five For Howling blog to find a few more) do watch/go to the games, and have a good time of it too.

And from what I recall, no offense, since I’m not happy to see the Flyers lose, but the Coyotes are 2-0-1 against the Flyers over the last 3 seasons…so I’m sure the Flyers aren’t getting confused between the hockey being played in the valley and Office reruns…

World Ph*cking Champs! That was fun - let's do it again...

by Jordan Ellel on Mar 5, 2009 10:32 AM EST up reply actions

Hahaha...

ouch. That’s a tasty burn this morning…

Seriously, I do know there’s a following – in fact, one of the guys I had a few classes with senior year of college is now working for the Coyotes. Ready for this – he’s a life-long Kings fan that went to Penn State and now works for Phoenix. And trust me when I say I know about being a fan of a hockey team that isn’t given the full respect it deserves (go Penn State Icers!).

But you definitely sound like you watch with fair judgment of the team and players, so I’m very intrigued about the player the Flyers just grabbed in this trade.

And I’ll admit it – when I first jumped into hockey, I was a huge Winnipeg Jets fan. Sad when they moved to Phoenix, but I still silently cheer/pull for the ’Yotes.

by IcersGuy on Mar 5, 2009 11:00 AM EST up reply actions

Yeah, I understand...

Just trying to put out fires here for people pissed about Upshall living, putting out fires over at FfH for the Yotes fans pissed about Carcillo leaving…if they were more vocal, you’d hear them all over the place. Just trying to bridge the gap between the fans of my two favorite teams.

This guy was the second most popular Coyote (behind Doan, who deserves much more praise than he often gets…great article about him in ESPN Mag last week), and I’m sure the Flyers will have some fans pulling for them from the desert come playoff time.

But yes…I am pissed about Wayne and his coaching staff…an opinion I fought for a long time considering how much I admired him as a player…but they just seem to suck as coaches…Gretzky, Fuhr, Ulf Samuellson, Sulliman – I’m done with the lot of them…give me Renney…or another competent coach.

World Ph*cking Champs! That was fun - let's do it again...

by Jordan Ellel on Mar 5, 2009 12:31 PM EST up reply actions

I still don’t buy the cap argument either. It saved a mere $400,000. While doubling our available cap space, this is not a reason. I said before that there were more expensive players that should have been dumped for cap reasons. Lupul and Jones, but even then I wouldn’t trade those two for Danny Two.

by Geoff Detweiler on Mar 5, 2009 12:25 AM EST reply actions