Spinorama

aye Brelic, they exceeded mine as well. If only we had a run of the mill goaltender with normal expectations to not distract from an otherwise highly entertaining season. For the longest time I had wanted to see a youth movement. This season was absolutely a youth movement. The team, with so many unknowns (the first time in a while) was very entertaining to get to know. Next season looks to be a good one. Changes need to be made for sure so I'm also looking forward to see what direction this teams goes in the offseason.

you don't want scrutiny? then don't ask for so much money. Who the hell gets paid that kind of money and expects the length of rope he looks for? it's crazy. You don't even have to get into the specifics of his game. $10 mil and the world has a right to expect superman. Not many players in the NHL make that in a single season and he just did. I'd love to see him run a business, hand a guy $10 mil and then be patient with lackluster performance. It's a ridiculous notion.

I love his game when he plays with an edge, dude can be straight up nasty! shoot, yes, carry the puck in deep to help the O? no way. Anytime I saw a defender skate the puck in deep I cringed thinking about what the state of the blue line was. I would like to see him develop his shot to be a little more like Pronger's bomb from the blue line. That shot is sorely missed.

you know, he may actually be onto something though. A player's face may factor into things a little more than we think. I for one used to hate looking at Matthew Barnaby, especially when he smiled. He doesn't bother me now (nor his face) but in his playing days it was a face you wanted to see someone hit. I think I heard back in the day players felt the same way about Keith Jones. There was a guy with little skill, yet player engaged him on a regular basis. HA

still can't stand the rep thing. Personally I never felt like he is a dirty player. Very hard nosed and skates the line, but not dirty. I would've thought the refs would appreciate that but whatever. He shouldn't be punished for playing tough so long as it is in the lines however I feel like he got too many calls against, just so the refs could flex their muscle and/or set a tone for the game. Hopefully he'll get fairer calls next season.

if he wanted sympathy for making mistakes, maybe he should've looked for less money. Doesn't he realize that yes this is a tough market, but when you sign a contract that pays you the kind of money he got ($10 mil this year alone!), it doesn't matter where you play, you NEED to produce results.

without reading any of the other posts, my answer is yes, BUT only if it comes at the expense of other departments. Striking a balance is key as this season exposed. When you rely to heavily on any one aspect of the game and the other team figures out how to neutralize your strength, in this case the Flyers' offense, then you need to be able to fall back on D to keep you in the game. The opposite is also true, the greatest amount of D doesn't mean anything if your team can't score, as the Phillies showed us last season. having a lot of anything isn't the detriment though, it would be only if it makes you weak in other areas.

I feel the same way. He had a much better impact on this team than I ever thought possible. Up 'till the POs, I thought absolutely resign him one more year. By the NJ series, he looked really gassed and more or less useless. If we could get him at half price and limited use, as others have suggested, I say do it. At the price and role he played this season, nah. He'd come out fresh again I'm sure but we needed him in the POs and unfortunately he was a non-factor for the most part.

I wonder what the value of having one guy wearing the C on his sweater is? Does it really matter? If ya threw a couple A's on some guys and called it a day, what really is the downfall? Genuine leaders are leaders regardless of having an official designation from management. I can't picture a locker room where a player might be trying to talk to his team and then one guy says "who do you think you are? our captain? Unless you have a C on your sweater you can take your opinion and shove it up your @$$" and then the peanut gallery chimes in "yeah! talk to us when you have a C on your sweater!" it sounds ridiculous because it is. Leaders step up regardless. I cringe just thinking about the Captain topic anymore as it seems more of a distraction than anything beneficial.

and knowing what needs to be done and having the ability to carry that out are two different things. as @orange_crush said: "Bryz is at the stage of his career he's not going to change..this is as good as it gets." can't wait to see what Homer does with the D this offseason

indeed, and it is painful. The Flyers just aren't making the adjustments needed. They jump out great and then the Devils figure out whatever it is and shut them down the rest of the way. While I remain hopeful, my expectations have been tempered.

Indeed it is!

this! earn that new contract and give me a reason to stop dogging him... I KNOW HE HAS IT IN HIM! plus he's already in Brodeur's head!

I read the same comments. I wouldn't get back in there just yet if I was him. Don't fuc*k with you back man, your senior years will thank you

Right!?!? but totally true

we don't take kindly to playing hypotheticals that have our team out of the hunt. As far as I'm concerned that isn't a question that needs even the least bit of thought now but should that be the case then I will cross that bridge when we get to it thank you very much! GO FLYERS!!!!

I see what you did there, very nice!

I haven't been in the loop much today,it was really a cut? By that video to me it looked like he twinged something in his knee.

ah yes, I see that now. whatever it takes to get these guys up for the game I am down with and totally agree that they need an extra large boot to the rear

the only reason I hope that he didn't is I feel like they look sluggish enough as it is... ugh, they need something though

I will agree with you and say they were outplayed but also say they served up a side dish of out coached. For me the coaches job is not only to decide who plays when and what lines, and breakdown the Xs and Os, but also to get the team up to play. You've heard plenty of times about coaches and their motivational speeches, or Lavi's brilliant timing of a timeout which is specifically used to get the players heads where they need to be. The first 2 games the Flyers played half assed. the played much harder last night but they are still missing that something. At the end of the day it is up to the player to decide how hard he actually goes but if I'm management, I look to my coach to get the guys going if they look like they are missing a step. That said, this is on the players mostly, Lavi can only say "c'mon guys, let's go!" so much

true that! I don't mind him coming out to break up dump ins and what not but I haven't seen the stick handling ability from him to suggest that he could actually make a breakout pass.

haha! Absolutely. I still think on D, the forwards are still spending too much time near the blue line assuming the team will get the puck back and they need to be ready to spring up on offense before the Devils have a chance to react. They all, or at least 2 of the 3 need to get back and play full on D.

I'm hesitant but I agree. I'm not the biggest fan of Kubina but we need physical play and that's not Gus' game

that's as good a look as your ever gonna get, thanks for the link