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Tim McManus, Adirondack Phantoms beat writer at the Glens Falls Post-Star, joins the show this week to talk about everything Phantoms. Unfortunately, at recording, we weren't aware of Johan Backlund's injury, but that doesn't take away from the discussion we had at all.

We talked about the inseparable defensive duo, Kevin Marshall and Marc-Andre Bourdon. We talked goalies, from Backlund to Jeremy Duchesne (now a Flyer?!) to Nic Riopel. We talked forwards, from Patrick Maroon to Stefan Legein.

Tim gave us updates on Mika Pyorala and Danny Syvret. Syvret is injured, by the way. We also checked on on Ryan Dingle (yeah, the throw-in from the Pronger deal) to see if he ever has a shot at making the NHL. Greeted with laughter.

Finally, we discuss the future of the Phantoms in Glens Falls and when we should expect to see them in the Lehigh Valley.

After Tim leaves us, we play back this week's trivia competition. William, aka CoburnsCuddleBuddy, came on to challenge Mr. Ben Rothenberg. Listen to find the results.

Get the show after the jump.

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Welcome to BSH's 2010 trade deadline open thread. We'll be following all the rumors and chat live here all day in the comments section here, straight through the 3 PM trade deadline. Join us, won't you?

We're going to keep this post mainly after the jump so it doesn't take up too much room on the front page, but once you do jump, you'll find the entire conversation and a plethora of tools to help you digest this deadline day.

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More photos » Mike Carlson - AP

17 days ago: Philadelphia Flyers' Claude Giroux, left, celebrates his second goal of the third period in a 7-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in a hockey game Tuesday, March 2, 2010, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

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As we prepare for the trade deadline, we welcome Donny Rivette from Litter Box Cats, a man who covers possibly the most active deadline team in the league. Everybody is for sale in Florida, it seems, so the timing is right to have Donny on the show.

We talked about his team, his thoughts one what they might look like after Wednesday's deadline and if they'll be a competitive hockey team come that time. David Booth will be playing tonight for the first time against the Flyers, so we talked to Donny about the impact that may have on Wednesday night's game. We also chatted about Tomas Vokoun and his likely availability at Wednesday's deadline. Oh, and a Dennis Seidenberg reference is dropped.

We then move on to some more Flyers-centric stuff, specifically Ray Emery's potentially career-ending injury and what that means for the Flyers moving forward at the deadline. Roloson? Vokoun? Ellis? Biron?

We also listen in on a voicemail from a caller angry about Sidney Crosby.

Get the show after the jump.

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Trade deadline day (and the days leading up to it) are some of the most entertaining days on the calendar each hockey year. In terms of Internet traffic, it very well may be the biggest. With that in mind, here are our plans for deadline day.

We'll have one big open thread for all the rumors and non-Flyers deals. It'll be open pretty early in the morning, probably around 8 AM, ready for action. We'll update the main post body with information as the day progresses, but most of the action will be in the comments. We can all bounce rumors off of each other as they day goes on and have the usual lively discussion to which we're accustomed.

If the Flyers make a deal, or there's a large bit of speculation surrounding the team like we saw Monday night with the Dan Hamhuis rumors, a story will be published with the details.

If you'd like one centralized location for trade information, SBNation.com really might have the best comprehensive coverage around. Using all the resources of the SBN Hockey network, myself and the other contributors to the SBN.com hockey page will be updating one so-called story stream with all the information as it happens.

For an example of how this concept works, head on over to that stream now. We've already covered all of Monday's moves over there and you can see how effective we're able to combine trade news and instant fan analysis all in one place. For a more raw look at all the trade news and analysis from around SBN Hockey, check out our trade deadline hub.

Also, for live updates from the best Flyers news sources on the web, check out our Flyers Twitter tracker. It centralizes all of the messages from the best Flyers news sources in one spot and in real time. It's linked on the left side of the home page at all times, too. Not just a trade deadline feature.

We're taping Broad Street Hockey Radio on Tuesday evening and it'll be available on Wednesday morning, just in time for the deadline. We'll, of course, be discussing the latest wheeling and dealing.

If you have any suggestions for our deadline coverage, leave it in the comments.

Ben Rothenberg eulogizes the 2010 Latvian Olympic team on this week's show.

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On this week's edition of Broad Street Hockey Radio, it's clear that the Olympic break has gone to our heads a little bit.

In an effort to spice up the proceedings since there isn't much Flyers related stuff to talk about, Travis put together a little Flyers related trivia game for Ben and Geoff to play against each other. There was a decisive winner of the contest, and if you'd like to challenge him in a future show, let us know ASAP. Listen to the show to find out who the winner was, of course.

Also, trying to spice things up a little more and inspire some listener interaction, we welcomed frequent commenter Jason, aka HockeyOutsiders, on the show to talk some Flyers hockey, as well as what it's like to be a Canadian and a Flyers fan simultaneously. Oh, and since it's the Olympic season, we had to talk some curling.

Ben also prepared a heartfelt eulogy for our brothers in arms, the Latvian Olympic hockey team, and he delivered it towards the beginning of this week's show. We also talked some Olympic hockey and whether or not Chris Pronger's poor play in the tournament is a concern going forward.

Get the show after the jump.

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More photos » Michael Perez - AP

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The Broad Street Hockey Fan Confidence Rating is a measurement of how confident fans are in the current direction of the organization as a whole. Voters take into account the team's on-ice performance, management and coaching decisions, and the overall status of prospects and the farm system.

If there's one thing we've learned in our fan confidence polling this season, it's that there's a direct correlation between the Flyers winning hockey games and confidence going up, going down, or holding steady. Of course, that's a pretty damn obvious statement and by saying it I feel a little like John Madden calling a football game. But I say it because it's a little deeper than the seemingly obvious statement is on the surface.

You see, this polling is based on, as mentioned above, the on-ice performance of the club, the farm system, management, etc. It's not just the on-ice performance that sways fan confidence. With this Flyers club, however, the management has thrown all of its eggs into one basket. If that's not clear by the moves Paul Holmgren has made over the last year, then nothing is clear.

With that being so, having a dearth of prospects at the AHL level doesn't sway our confidence as much as a winning or a losing streak does. Neither does a terrible move or two by our general manager. No, because we've been convinced that -- for better or worse --  this team is built to win this season, we're most swayed by how the Flyers are playing right now. In other cities where a Cup isn't expected, a few losses by the NHL club might not be a huge detriment to the confidence of fans like it is here. In Philadelphia, especially with this team right now, it's different.

It's not surprising then, that as the Flyers have held steady in the standings, our confidence has held steady, rising just two points from our last poll. It's now at 70.8 percent, up from 68.8 percent last time. 339 people responded to the poll, which is completely unscientific but a pretty solid barometer nonetheless.

After the jump, take a look at the graph of the results over the course of the season and let us know how you voted.

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More photos » Graham Hughes - AP

about 1 month ago: Philadelphia Flyers' Danny Briere (48) is congratulated by teammates Jeff Carter, left, and Ian Laperriere after scoring against the Montreal Canadiens during third-period NHL hockey game action in Montreal, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Graham Hughes)

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The Broad Street Hockey Fan Confidence Rating has fluctuated all over the place over the last few months, from over 80 percent to below 30 percent and back up to almost 70 percent in our most recent poll about a month ago. With the Olympic break in full swing, we wanted to wait until this long in to completely detach us from the emotions of the Flyers season before taking another vote in the poll.

It's safe to say now that, as Ben put it the other day, we don't even remember what a Flyers logo looks like at this point. What better time to get the most objective results in our poll?

You vote, on a scale of 0 percent to 100 percent, how confident you are in the current direction of the organization as a whole. That means that you're taking into account the team's on-ice performance, management and coaching decisions, and the overall status of prospects and the farm system.

Voting will be open for 24 hours, and the results will be posted on tomorrow morning and graphed alongside previous results.

So, how confident are you in the current direction of the Philadelphia Flyers? Vote in the poll and let us know how you feel in the comments.

More photos » Chris Carlson - AP

about 1 month ago: Anaheim Ducks right wing Bobby Ryan, left, celebrates his goal as Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard looks on in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

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Many of us likely know that Anaheim Ducks and US Olympic Team forward Bobby Ryan has a story with a local twist. The Cherry Hill, New Jersey native lived there until age 10, was a Philadelphia Flyers season ticket holder, and it's been written locally that his family has connections with Bob Clarke and the Flyers brass. In recent years even, while Ryan was playing with Owen Sound of the OHL prior to being drafted in 2005 just behind Sidney Crosby at second overall, he worked out with Flyers players over the summer.

But what many of us do not know are the troubled details of his early life. His birth name, in fact, isn't even Bobby Ryan; it's Robert Stevenson. He and his father changed their names when the elder Stevenson went on the lam in 1997.

Some of us knew the complete details of his story, but an article in Sunday's Star-Ledger chronicles the story of his childhood in great detail. From his life in Cherry Hill, to his abrupt '97 move to Canada and eventually Southern California, to how his battle-tested family still managed to make sure their son had the chance to cultivate his burgeoning hockey career, the article is an compelling read.

An excerpt...

He didn’t hear his dad — insurance company owner Robert Stevenson — storm into the family home in Cherry Hill, drunk, looking for his mother, Melody. Stevenson was sure his wife was taking drugs.

Their only child didn’t hear the screams and the panic. He didn’t see the bizarre chase down the street into a neighbor’s house. His father, an amateur boxer, ripped the door off the hinges and whaled away at the love of his life, causing her to bleed from her mouth and sending her to Cooper University Hospital in Camden for four days with four broken ribs, a fracture to her skull and a punctured lung.

Robert Stevenson was charged with attempted murder and five other felony counts. He tried to obtain a passport using the name of a dead baby before jumping bail. He fled to Canada and his wife, who had forgiven him, and his son later joined him.

Robert Stevenson and his son changed their names and lived under assumed identities and the family lived on the lam.

Today, the boy who protected his family’s dark and complicated secret for much of his life is a pivotal part of the U.S. Olympic hockey team that faces Canada.

The name on the back of his hockey jersey is different from the one he was born with, but Bobby Ryan realized he needed to tell the truth and no longer hides from it.

Take three minutes and read the entire article. You won't regret it.