Vanflyer

Did you hear about the Mexican a while back that died after drinking a bottle of tequila and passing out under a tree and on a red ant farm?? No joke.

While I think Hamilton is going to be very good- it is hard to say he is going to be the next Shea Webber when he has not played a single professional game yet. The other thing to keep in mind is that Couturier is already good and he is going to be great. There is no doubt about that. He should have been a #2-4 pick in the draft, but dropped because of his mono. You ask any GM / scout in the league and they will tell you that they would take Couturier over Hamilton in a heart beat. The Laughton pick is certainly more questionable as the Flyers could have had Maata. Maata is not a Hamilton, but still you have to scratch your head considering our center situation (even with Schenn moving to wing). That said, Laughton is a gamer and they are hard to come by.

Great question and I do not know. Anyone else?

2nd round (39th overall) pick in 2011 <sigh>. Thats right, we did not have a 2nd round pick that year (thanks Carcillo!!!). Not that it would have mattered as our pick was 56th that year.

Interesting. I did not know that. I guess perhaps he is a big casualty of the lock-out (given how well he performed down the stretch for the Flyers). I still love his blazing speed.

I actually think that is highly unlikely. Pronger gets his money from disability insurance. His salary does not effect the Flyers bottom line what-so-ever. The impact is the cap space before the season and contract number (ie. he takes up a contract slot). To buy him out would suggest that he can still play. Nobody has a crystal ball, but it is highly unlikely he can.

Agree with everything you said. Schenn is going to move to wing (as he did with the Phantoms). That leaves you with Giroux-Briere-Coutuier as your top 3 centers. Pretty dynamic in my opinion. On the cap portion- with bryz and kimmo off the books, there really is not a pressing need to squash more cap- aside from a replacement goaltender. I think Kimmo will re-sign for a couple of years more, but not more than 4m. With the new CBA, I think a quality #1 goalie can be had for 4m or less.

Well written and articulated article.

While you can argue his "clutch", he is still a superior goalie than Bryz.

Luongo

I posted this on another thread: Briers next two years of salary are 3M and 2M respectively. The cap hit hurts, but from a salary perspective, it is a bargain for what he brings. Briere will finish his contract in Philly (and perhaps even be resigned). I wanted Drury in the Briere / Gomez / Drury sweepstakes, but it turns out that not only was Briere the bargain of the three, but also the one that delivered the most both on and off the ice.

I think many lament that move. It was a hole that Holmgren etc. dug for themselves. Also, you have to remember that Gagne had (has) concussion issues. Your points are valid regarding Briere, but keep in mind that the buyout begins next season. At that point, Briere will have two years remaining on his contract and while the cap hit is 6.5M, his salary for each of the two years will be 3M and 2M respectively. So, from a fiduciary sense, that is cheap for what you will get from him in the locker room and on the ice.

I would flip Talbot and Simmonds (Simmonds is a RW and Talbot is a left handed shot and can more to LW). I would also have to put Voracek on G's wing and not Fedotenko (like the player, but I don't think his skill is sufficient for first line). In fact, I see rosey more as a third line wing at this stage of his career. I would be willing to move Wellwood to second line wing.

Since the buyout clause is supposedly for active (ie. non LTIR players), only one Flyer I can think of that would be bought out: Bryz. It was a knee jerk reaction by management to sign him for the money and length they did. Some might say Briere, but I think that management respects and appreciates what he has brought to the team (leadership and playoffs particularly) and would not insult him to buy him out.

Yeah, but he can do that as a forward as well. On the flip side, I was pretty shocked to see he had a +9 last year (take that statistic category with the grain of salt of your choosing). That and the 24 minutes a night are pretty significant and not easily replaceable if you move him to forward.

Um, so those attributes do not translate into a wing position? Your points are valid though. He is only 23 and playing 24 minutes a night. I guess at the end of the day, you need d help more than wing help. I just always thought he looked more like a power forward to me than a d-man.

But by watching the games, you are giving them money (just not in a direct sense). I am of the same disposition as you.

I just don't see it. If I was a Montreal fan / coach I would want to move him to wing. He has skill, but I don't think his skill translates as well as a defencemen.

You have to give credit where credit is due (despite pond, etc.). USA's game was allot of fun to watch. I thought their team selection process and coaching selection were top notch- and it showed. Many if not all Canadians are eating allot of crow after poo pooing Seth Jones comments about "we are the team to beat". I want 21 skaters on my team that think and say that 7 days a week and twice on Sunday.

Good info. Thanks for that.

And that is a good thing. I mentioned on another thread, I would like to see them reorder the groups better. Having Canada, Russia and USA in the same group is a bit tilted. Maybe not in the longer past, but in recent past (say last 8 years), it is now tilted. I guess one could argue that Sweden, Finland and Czech balances out to Canada, Russia and USA, but I am not so sure. Not at least recently.

What does being a hockey fan have to do with being classless? I know your post was tongue-in-cheek, but you don't kick a horse when it is down. Being that it is a tournament of kids, its best to show respect to all that play. I have seen the tournament live four times (twice in Canada, once in Sweden and once in Czech). The communal atmosphere of fans of respective countries is great. Because they are kids and amateurs, I think we should congratulate ALL that participated. It was a great tournament and the best team won.

Not.

Except for 2004. Just saying.

They need to rethink the tournament a bit. Having Russia, Canada and USA in the same group is ridiculous. Eliminating the bye next year will be good. I would like to see the groups more balanced in addition to the eliminating the bye.