Questions

by DannyMcG on Dec 30, 2011 2:06 PM EST

There are a lot of things about the Flyers that are rather perplexing, and I'd like to get your thoughts.

Bobrovsky - What does he have to do take the starting job? When you compare his numbers against Bryzgalov's, it certainly seems like he should be the #1 guy. You can't tell me that the only reason he's done better is because he's been more fresh, few goalies have started more games per season than Bryz, he's used to it. Bobrovsky had a pretty damn good record last year, especially for being a rookie. It's gonna take a lot for me to think that signing Bryzgalov was a good idea, especially with the start he's had so far. I think Bob deserves to get a lot more starts.

van Riemsdyk - A lot of us were wondering why JVR hadn't gotten back to playing the way he did in last year's playoffs this season, and were recently given an answer in some talk of his apparent hip injury in addition to a few other (minor?) bumps and bruises. Didn't Richards have the same problem last year with his wrist injury that hampered his play all season? Why not let JVR take some time off to heal up, get surgery, whatever, so that he'll be back to close to 100% for the playoffs? Now that the team is healthier than ever (with the exception of Pronger), I think that the best time to let him heal up is now.

Goons - Any reason other than injury that we should see Sestito, Rinaldo, or Shelley play at all for the rest of the season? Other than a few minor gaffes, I think yesterday was one of the best games the Flyers played all season, which I think was largely due to the fact that we were rolling 4 full lines of talented hockey players. No goons or tough guys needed. If a fight needs to happen, we have a few guys who can take care of it. I'm convinced that Wayne Simmonds is the baddest MoFo in the NHL, so why bother with playing guys whose only purpose is fighting or agitation?

Defense - Do we need to trade for a defenseman? Our defense seems to be fairly solid, but the team was supposed to be anchored by the dominant play of Chris Pronger, and without him, there's a lot missing. Props to the rookies who've stepped up this year, and it'll be interesting to see how Gustafsson plays when he returns, but the question remains. Is it a good idea to go after someone like a Shea Weber or Ryan Suter? Either would be a great addition to the team, and could be for many years to come.

Cap - Maybe that cap space gets saved until next year when the question of whether Jagr returns or not arises. If Jagr leaves, it'd be nice to see the front office have enough cap to find a solid replacement for him. It'll be tough to find someone as good as him for so cheap. Anybody know how much cap space we actually have right now?

Your thoughts?

This item was written by a member of this community and is not necessarily endorsed by Broad Street Hockey.

Tweet Comment 14 comments | Add comment | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Goons

I have been surprised by RInaldo’s play so far this season. He has contributed without just being a “goon”.

Some guy at PSU Hershey Med Center just discovered a virus that eats cancer. Where were the CNN trucks for that? THON will probably break $10 mil this year. Put that on "Outside the Lines".

by Ben16 on Dec 30, 2011 2:19 PM EST reply actions

In order:

- Bob has to get a huge contract or get a shutout (rolls eyes). But I do agree with you- play him more.

- Couldn’t agree with you more- he’s already slated to go under the knife at year’s end, so why not cut him up now, and have him healthy for the playoffs?

- I wouldn’t mind seeing a goon against “rough” teams- so no against a team like Detroit, but I wouldn’t mind seeing one of those guys against the Broons.

- Weber or Suter will take too much to get, Nashville is in the playoff hunt as well. I’d go after one of the Hurricane’s Dmen.

- Unless the cap goes up significantly next year, it’s looking like we’re in a pick-two between Jagr, Vorachek and Carle. We wouldn’t be in this situation without the Bryzgolov contract. Jagr could also take a sweetheart deal to stay here, but I doubt it.

Babe, Bucky, Buckner, Boone, BALTIMORE!!!

by goldomatic on Dec 30, 2011 3:57 PM EST reply actions

1. Bob has to significantly outplay Bryz over the course of a season to win the job for the playoffs. If at the end of the year Bob has 25 starts and gets his 2.5, .915 to about 2.2/.920 and Bryz can’t improve his 3.0/.890 it will be tough to justify starting Bryz in the playoffs.

2. James van Reimsdyk is having a very solid year, I don’t understand why people aren’t seeing that. He’s got 19 points in 31 games, good for .61 P/G. Last season he had .53 P/G, there is improvement there. As for the playoffs, he had 7 goals in 11 games, but no assists, good for .63 P/G. His actual point production has only dropped slightly from the playoffs. He’s only 22 years old and the steady improvement year to year is a great sign, and knowing he’s playing hurt makes you wonder how much more improvement he’d have if he had no injuries.

3. Jody Shelley is “irrelivant,” at this point in our season with our hockey club. We have 12 very good hockey forwards on the roster right now, and if the playoffs started tomorow, I’d be happy with the offensive line-up we had against the pens w/ Harry Z as the 12th forward. We essentially have 4 lines composed of “top-9” guys with the exception of maybe a Harry Z. If we have an injury I’d take Rinaldo over Shelley, he’s more of an agitator than a goon. He hits better than any hockey player that I’ve ever seen.

4. Weber’s price tag is way too high. Suter’s, maybe not. If we find out Pronger is done forever, and we want a cornerstone defender in his prime, it shouldn’t take much more than JVR to get him here. I only go there if we find out Prong’s done forever. If not I make a move for a 2nd pair defender and go forward with what we got now.

5. The cap fluctuates ever year, so if it jumps up again we’ll be okay. It all has to do with Pronger, IMO. Is he healthy enough to play or does he start the year of LTIR. If he does choose the LTIR way, then we have almost 5 more million to play with.

by OrangeNblacK on Dec 30, 2011 4:17 PM EST reply actions

Regarding Rinaldo, its insane how much force he can put into a full body check and stil making it legal. If Rinaldo could score more or become a better penalty killer, he would serve a purpose. I dont need to fight, he rather he makes hugh body checks and either be a good PK’er or a better goal score

by Anders Jensen on Dec 30, 2011 10:11 PM EST up reply actions

Another Bobrovsky question

Would anyone else feel more confident with Bobs in net on the second? Lord knows I would.

"Women should have three breasts - two in front and one in the back for dancing." -Al Bundy

by HankMonahan on Dec 30, 2011 5:07 PM EST reply actions

I would.

Go big or go home

by TopRharley on Dec 31, 2011 9:34 PM EST via Android app up reply actions

Standard disclaimer: your mileage may vary, offer not valid at all locations, subject to local laws and regulations and will not apply on any day of the week that ends with Y.

1. The Bryzgalov signing was not a disaster. Our fellow fan of the universe is lost somewhere in it right now, but there is no reason for the “off with his head” chant. I am a big Bob fan, but I think it’s obvious that an “on” Bryz has significantly more upside than Bob. So the big question is, how do you play the hot hand (Bob) and still give Bryz plenty of work and chances to right himself? I don’t know. I guess that’s why Lavy is the coach and not me. It’s not something I worry too much about though. We have a solid record at this point, even with our less than solid at times goal tending…

2. I’m good with the idea of fixing JvR now.

3. I like the longstanding Broad Street Bullies identity of the Flyers and I think that it fits Lavy’s aggressive system well. It’s nice to have 4 lines of skill hockey, but there will be times in the season where we need 3 lines of skill hockey and 1 line of ass kickers. Don’t write those guys off…and Jody Shelley is far from irrelevant.

4. No need to make any crazy trades. Our D is shoring up pretty well. Of course we miss Pronger. What team wouldn’t? But we aren’t going to be able to replace him, and the closest thing we have to him right now is Matt Carle. We need to make every effort to re-sign Matt at the end of the season. Don’t go do anything stupid at this point, Homer!

5. As far as the cap and resigning Jags? IDK. I hope he’ll take a discount to continue playing with Claude and with Lavy. He obviously likes being a Flyer. Of course, he also seems to have gambling debts, so he probably likes money a lot too…

(clears throat and says in his best Dennis Miller voice) Of course that’s just MY opinion, I could be wrong…

by alaskalovestheflyers on Dec 30, 2011 5:17 PM EST reply actions

Answers

1. Bob is doing very well. I think they’re going to let this situation play itself out over the course of the season. It’s been suggested that Bryzgalov may not be here next year if he ends up as the backup goalie come playoff time. There are thoughts that, with the upcoming expiration of the CBA, each team will possibly get one cap-free buyout. If that’s true, one of the following situations will happen:

Bryzgalov lives up to his contract (as much as humanly possible) and stays; Pronger’s contract is bought out; Bob is likely traded toward the deadline next season.
Bryzgalov falters, Bob shines and starts in the playoffs and does very well in the process. Bryz is bought out.

2. As much as I would like to see JVR get “on a roll,” I’d rather they fix him now given the depth they have. I wouldn’t mind seeing the following while he is on the mend:

Hartnell-Giroux-Jagr
Simmonds-Briere-Schenn
Read-Talbot-Voracek
Zolnierczyk-Couturier-Rinaldo

That lineup would do well on most nights, and would give Schenn an opportunity to develop his offensive game.

3. I’m starting to like Rinaldo. If he keeps the crazy reined in, he can be an effective pest like a Carcillo or Asham. Plus, he’s nuts, so he’ll take on anyone. The Flyers do have other players in the lineup who can fight, so Shelley isn’t necessary. I hope he retires at the end of this year – he signed his current contract before the age of 35 so it will come off the books. Maybe have him around as an assistant during practices if he’s such a good influence (a la Lappy, whose contract expires at the end of this season).

4. No big trades for d-men please. If they get someone, they should do it at the deadline after they’re reasonably certain that Pronger would not be able to return. Assuming that happens, I’d like them to get Bryan Allen, who can do this and this. We could use someone like that for the playoffs, and he comes off the books at the end of the year. So he would be a rental, but an effective one for a playoff run. Plus he’s got more experience than Bourdon, who’s looked good but would likely be stuck with the useless Andreas Lilja. If they’re going to roll Lilja out there I’d rather it be with someone like Allen.

5. The Flyers have $0 in cap space right now. They have $1,299,784 that they can spend over the Cap based on Pronger’s being on LTIR. If the Flyers traded Matt Walker and a draft pick to Carolina, they’d be able to spend $2,999,784, which would cover Bryan Allen’s $2,900,000 cap hit. Of course, that would only allow the Flyers to spend $99,784 over LTIR for the rest of the year. This is why they should wait until they know for sure that Pronger is done for this season.

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

by mikefive on Dec 30, 2011 6:02 PM EST reply actions

The 3rd line of Talbot-Schenn-Vora is pretty deadly aswell and I believe in keeping centers at center if possible (Carter was a rare center in that he functioned well on the wing)

by Anders Jensen on Dec 30, 2011 10:15 PM EST up reply actions

But Talbot is the center on that line, no?

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

by mikefive on Dec 30, 2011 11:01 PM EST up reply actions

no schenn is

by Anders Jensen on Dec 31, 2011 12:35 AM EST up reply actions

2. I think if JVR got surgery now, he would be lost for the rest of the season and would first be back in April

by Anders Jensen on Dec 30, 2011 10:12 PM EST reply actions

The Flyers haven't yet put Jody Shelley on waivers.

Peter Laviolette must value him more than BSH realizes. I’ve played rec hockey (in checking leagues) for years and appreciate what a big thug brings to the game. By all accounts Shelley brings something to the locker room, too. In the last 24/7, we heard him sticking up for the rookies against some rough stuff…

So as much as everyone here seems to whine and bitch and moan and name call about Shelley. It doesn’t seem like he’s going anywhere. And that’s fine by me.

Shelley must have some value. The Flyers could get rid of him if they wanted to…

I read an article somewhere a while back that suggested the Blue Jackets inquire with the Flyers about Jody Shelley. Shelley lives in Columbus, and the author suggested that bringing him back to fight nightly might help put some butts in seats at their games.

by alaskalovestheflyers on Dec 30, 2011 11:24 PM EST reply actions