The Flyers are boring, but it could be worse

by Travis Hughes on May 22, 2009 1:43 AM EDT in Philadelphia Flyers Commentary

The Flyers haven't played a game in almost a month, and besides a few relatively minor surgeries to Mike Richards, Randy Jones, and Danny Briere, nothing has happened regarding the team.

Like, literally nothing. It's boring. But, given that there are only four teams still playing, the Flyers are actually in an enviable position. Of course, we'd like them to still be chasing the Cup -- but things could be a lot worse.

For example, we could be the Phoenix Coyotes. They declared bankruptcy and are in a fight for their lives with potential buyers who would love nothing less than to move them to Canada, thousands of miles away from the desert of Arizona. The Flyers are not struggling financially -- how could they be, recession or not, when they're owned by Comcast -- and are in absolutely no danger of moving out of town. It would take a perfect storm of absolute hell for our team to be taken away, and given that passionate hockey fans (no matter how many of them exist) could be losing their favorite team, we should be grateful our team is so stable.

Of course, if you asked an Islanders fan twenty years ago if their team would ever move away from Long Island, they would've laughed in your face. But arenas get old and teams get bad, and new arena projects are delayed, and delayed, and delayed, and that's when fans stop showing up and the team must threaten relocation. The threat of that scenario coming to fruition is growing larger and larger everyday in Islander Country, and here's to hoping that the Isles get the same happy ending that Pittsburgh received a few years back.

We should also be grateful that the Flyers are not a terrible team without much of an immediate future to look forward to. The Avalanche are looking pretty dim right now, as are the Maple Leafs and Thrashers. Meanwhile, the Flyers have an excellent chance at winning the Cup next year. Legitimately. Oh, and some of our best players aren't a flight risk. Florida's best player, Jay Bouwmeester, probably won't be there next year thanks to lovely free agency. One of the Rangers top goal scorers, Nikolai Zherdev, is considering jumping to Russia to play in the KHL next season. Washington's Viktor Kozlov could join him.

Let's face it, the Flyers didn't look like a Cup-winning team this season. They have the talent and they gave us a lot of reason for excitement, and they very well could still be playing. But they aren't, and that's not a total shock either. In Boston and San Jose, they really are totally shocked that their teams aren't still playing right now. Considering the seasons those teams had and the disappointment they currently sit with, I like our position much more at this juncture.

Boston, too, has more injuries than they can deal with. Phil Kessel, David Krejci, Andrew Ference, and Chuck Kobasew are all injured. They are all relatively serious, too. Considering Mike Richards is really the only key Flyer player undergoing serious offseason surgery, we're lucky.

The Flyers have their problems, sure. They're on the golf course right now while hockey is still being played, so problems are evident. News is at a minimum, and yeah, that's boring. But take it with ease -- it could be worse.

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Exactly right.

I do think about this sometimes. We’re certainly not happy with how the season ended, but then again, how can any Flyers fan who followed them throughout the season be surprised or shocked at losing to the Penguins?

Even looking at just the Eastern Conference: Boston was the #1 seed, and while they were down 3-1 to Carolina, they forced a game seven at home, only to lose in overtime. The Rangers were up 3-1 on the Caps, but lost the next three games. The Caps fought like crazy to keep up with Pittsburgh, managed to force a game seven on home ice, and basically got blown out. New Jersey was winning their game seven against Carolina at home with 1:30 left in the third but had Carolina score two quick goals to win the game. Montreal got swept by arguably the team Habs fans hate the most.

Us? Yeah, we lost, but … was it all that big of a surprise to lose to Pittsburgh? Perhaps in the way that we lost, certainly, but not at the end result.

Also, since the Flames just fired Mike Keenan, can we have him back, please?

by Ben Feldman on May 22, 2009 6:15 PM EDT reply actions

Keenan? Are you insane? What exactly has he been doing so great these past seasons?

by SJPhillyVT on May 22, 2009 8:37 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, you’re right, a lot has changed in the 20 years since he’s been here.

by Ben Feldman on May 22, 2009 11:06 PM EDT up reply actions

We’re certainly not happy with how the season ended, but then again, how can any Flyers fan who followed them throughout the season be surprised or shocked at losing to the Penguins?

yeah…in all honesty All signs were pointing to a quick playoff exit during the regular season, we just chose to ignore them. The Flyers struggled with consistency all year, they traditionaly dont fair well the season after a deep playoff run, and then when they relinquished home ice advantage it was sorta the final nail in the coffin.

by njh3293 on May 24, 2009 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions

The biggest thing we have to talk about this offseason is who our next goalie is going to be. For me, all signs point to Giguerre.

by SJPhillyVT on May 22, 2009 8:37 PM EDT reply actions

NO. we do not need a 7 million dollar goalie who wasn’t good enough to start on his own team this past season

by njh3293 on May 24, 2009 10:41 AM EDT up reply actions

Things could be a lot worse

Yes, we lost in the first round, but I still think we’re in the conversation with Pittsburgh and Washington, (maybe add Boston to that list, but I’m not ready to do that) especially after watching last night’s Game 3. Carolina’s defense was pretty bad (lookin at Joni Pitkanen) and that’s why they lost, even with Cam Ward. Washington’s defense wasn’t much better, with John Erskine doing the absolute worst 2-on-1 defense possible by staying on his feet.

Long story short, the Flyers (even with Randy Jones) are in a solid position and I still feel they are the second best team in the East. They simply need to learn a system, which is why I’m not big on John Stevens. Either way, we didn’t lose to Pittsburgh by much (even bypassing Game 2’s unlucky break and Game 4’s MAF show, we should have had Game 6) And we didn’t go down 3-0 or blow a 2-0 series lead. Chin up Flyers fans

by Geoff Detweiler on May 24, 2009 11:26 AM EDT reply actions

i spend by time now Booing Pittsburgh and rooting for anyone who plays against them. I really do hate that town, and more importantly, the team itself.

by CoburnsCuddleBuddy on May 24, 2009 11:42 AM EDT reply actions

You spend your OFF time rooting for anyone who plays against us because you can’t beat us and your playoffs end because of us…Keep trying though the effort is nice.

by JasonGoPens on May 24, 2009 12:22 PM EDT up reply actions

go home.

by njh3293 on May 24, 2009 1:37 PM EDT up reply actions

I spend my time rooting against the Penguins because of people like you, actually. Not because of the players. Personally, I like MAF, Fedotenko, Eaton, Letang, Staal, Dupuis, etc. They are good players. I just hate Pittsburgh fans, and you sir, are a great example of why.

by Geoff Detweiler on May 24, 2009 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions

The hatred is shared, i’m glad you hate me it means we’re doing something right…most notably knocking you out of the playoffs likes its our job….mwuahahahaha

by JasonGoPens on May 26, 2009 4:29 PM EDT up reply actions

Nope, just means you bandwagoners that come out when the team is successful are really annoying to fans that would never have their team go bankrupt.

by Pondhockey on May 26, 2009 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions

"You can’t beat us and your playoffs end because of us…"

This would be a cool thing to say if it were spoken in a Nikita Khrushchev voice, complete with you banging your shoe on the table. I’m sure you could do that if you kept trying, and the effort would be nice.

Seriously now. The history of the Flyers and Penguins is a streaky one. Either one team dominates or the other does. Before last season, your playoffs ended because of US three times already. We’re still ahead in head-to-head playoff action. And I wouldn’t go around saying “You can’t beat us” until we can’t beat you for, say, FIFTEEN YEARS STRAIGHT.

The Pens are the dominant team now but the Flyers will get their mojo back against you sooner than you think.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on May 26, 2009 10:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Not to get all Joe Banner on everybody:

But we’ve made the Conference Finals 3 times the last 9 seasons to the Penguins 2. So while we were making the Conference Finals and the playoffs 8 of 9 years, the Penguins were drafting #1 overall, #1 overall, and #2 overall yielding them MAF, Crosby, and Malkin. (To be fair, they moved up from third overall to 1 to grab Fleury).

by Geoff Detweiler on May 27, 2009 12:36 PM EDT up reply actions

But those two Conference Finals appearances have now been followed by Cup Finals appearances.

Hopefully both will also be followed up by Cup losses.

by SJPhillyVT on May 27, 2009 2:12 PM EDT up reply actions

yeah, it’s a very Banner-type argument, but when you’re constantly drafting in the bottom half of the first round rather than the top 2, you tend to look at the positives.

by Geoff Detweiler on May 31, 2009 11:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Hmmm...

This is true. The Flyers are in a pretty good position right now, all things considered.

Of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, Pittsburgh and Boston do not have any glaring holes. Washington and Philadelphia need defensive and goaltending help, though the Caps seem to have found their answer to the latter with Varlamov. Look at the other playoff teams. The Devils can’t score on the power play, and they’re likely going to need a new coach. (Brent Sutter is probably going to Calgary.) The Rangers can’t score at all. Montreal is not going to be a playoff team next year due to all of the turnover. Carolina is too old up front – they can’t keep relying on guys like Rod Brind’Amour and Ray Whitney.

All the Flyers need to do is play consistently and bolster the defense / goaltending.

Speaking of goaltending, did anyone read Tim Panaccio’s piece on CSN Philly? It’s a good read and gives me confidence for the future. As for the present, things are not perfect but could definitely be worse.

I disagree about the Leafs. They’re a goalie away from being a playoff team.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on May 25, 2009 11:15 AM EDT reply actions

I loved Panaccio’s piece. I put up a fanshot of the most troubling sentence from Part 1.

by Geoff Detweiler on May 25, 2009 1:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Yes and No, re: Kiprusoff

I’m also a Flames fan, and I’ve watched Kipper’s play deteriorate over the past few seasons. He really broke out in 2003-04 and was terrific in 2005-06. Since then, he’s had a steady decline. I don’t think we would have fared any better if Kipper was our goalie now. Compare his playoff stats to Biron’s and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

It’s possible that Kipper would be better here since we wouldn’t have him playing 75 games a year, but I don’t know.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on May 25, 2009 1:39 PM EDT reply actions

Watching the Hawks series, I’m still impressed with him. He’s a phenomenal goalie. And think if we had him against Tampa instead of Esche. Yeah, he couldn’t be Tampa in the Finals, but that’s more the Flames than him. Put him in our net that year, and we have a Cup.

by Geoff Detweiler on May 27, 2009 12:34 PM EDT up reply actions

You honestly think Esche was the biggest problem against TB? Our defense was completely depleted. Kipper wasn’t gonna save us from that. And why would we have ever had Kipprusoff anyway?

by SJPhillyVT on May 27, 2009 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions

I didn’t say Esche was our biggest problem. Esche constantly stepped it up in the playoffs and earned a lot of respect from this city and me in particular. Also, the team was absolutely drained by Game 7 that I was surprised we only lost 2-1. However, Kiprusoff had a GAA of 2.00 in the WCF that year while Esche had a GAA of 3.00 in the ECF. (I couldn’t find actual stats, just going off of final scores) Bottom line, Kiprusoff is and was a better goalie than Esche, and if we had him, maybe he makes up for our awful defense at the end of that series (Was it Timander who left Fedotenko open in front of the net? All I remember is someone royally effing up that GWG)

And from Panaccio’s piece on CSN, the Sharks offered Kipper to the Flyers for a second round pick, they refused, and he went to Calgary.

by Geoff Detweiler on May 31, 2009 11:34 PM EDT up reply actions