LegionOfDoom

No news on another team, but they are over the cap at the moment and trying to be below it and include Gagne with the roster. Hope they mando this situation, because with Gagne in the lineup Team looks good, without Gagne in the lineup the team looks questionable. (as in people having questions who goes where more often and lack of offensive clutch/defensive forward specialist.)

Let's rewind back to last season, more specifically towards the end of the season, when Mason was brought in. When Philly media asked directly how did he feel about his game after he played, Mason with a clear head stated, he felt good, he knew he played a solid game, and he felt he still needs to improve on some parts of his game and HE IS GOING to work on that part with the goalie coach. The next time they asked him the same questions he basically said the same thing, also adding in Columbus he felt like he was in a darkened grey cloud, but see's and feels sunny in Philadelphia. Fast forward a few more games into it, and he told the media he wants to be a number one goalie and he has to work on becoming one and he feels he has to show it and he HAS to EARN IT. (to me this sounds like a clear head for a goalie and is aware that Bryz is the number 1 starter and Steve has to win that position working on his game and FOCUSING on HIS GAME). Now he knows he's in a different situation with Bryz bought out, he see's a brighter road ahead. He see's he has a better opportunity now with the clear cut #1 out of the way. Now him seeing Emery is in the picture and aware he played here before and was given also a chance to prove the ney sayers, he feels he is in a "healthy family relationship" in a way and he also is happy he was here last season and met the guys and is familar with the organization and felt the "WORLD CLASS" environment of our Flyers organizational experience. He is comfortable with knowing this is a business and he was given the tools to succeed and it is up to him to work at becoming the number 1 goalie and change his game around. Emery would be more in an unknown situation, but is also aware that he too can become the number 1 goalie and that Holmy said there is no number one established yet and he hopes the best for them both. I believe these to netminders are mature enough and have a good enough personality to get along and will pat each other after each game they complete. I know to some it feels questionable what will turn out at the middle/end of the season, but one thing for sure will happen, we will go into this season not knowing what the hell is gonna happen this year. The way it's been going about in these past few posts it feels like this relationship is going to go to: Purple rain, purple rain Purple rain, purple rain Purple rain, purple rain I only wanted to see you Bathing in the purple rain.....

I would rather be in the Flyers camp, then in a rookie camp, that feels like an expansion team. The Oilers feel like an expansion team. The opposite of the pendulum are the Leafs. I'm swinging in the middle. We took a step to fix our offensive problems. We NEED to address our Team D. We need to shore up our Defensive problems We need a backup goalie. The silent killer was our 5 on 5. The root of our losing ways was Team Defense. Our achilles heel was our defense. And the steak to our heart was our goaltending. So far 2 out of 5 have been taken care of (O to the G) Bonus round: Mason will help our defensive transition ala Hexy ala Brodeaur.

All is great in Flyers Cone-tree!(that's country for the less inclined) We aint broke back mountain.

Schenn G Gagne Hartnell Vinny Jake Read Couts Simmonds Rinaldo Laughton Talbot McGinn /Akeson

Inside Schenn's lunchbox is packed a wingers sangwich. His passing ability needs improvement. His ice-vision is suited to "into the punishment corners first then pass out to a player", he has a shooters mentality(which is nice) I don't "minded"(yes minded) if they put him @ center but, it seems like his lunchbox label taped on it says Wingman.

TGIF83' you brought up some clean points, and appreciated. Vin isn't a glaring present need, but a need none the less.* His defensive liability is my question mark on him, and if he plays the wing, like is rumoured, then we can have our cake and eat it too. Not at the expense of Gagne, if Homer comes up with that BS, then I recant this trade, I want him to retire a Flyer, dammit Jim! Make it happen. *As posted in the origanal Vinny thread.

Looking over this trade and seeing the holes we had last year, is a little tuff for some to see clearly with a shortened season. This last season was a bit harder to judge, needs, wants and assess talents and holes. ( I can compare it to someone that is very capable at a job position and has the tools to do the job, interviews for a position and is brought to the site and stumbles out the gate, makes rookie mistakes and has a bad showing that will be hard to recapture that he is a competent person for the job.) We stumbled out the gate last season, had players getting hurt, had no veteran direction to right the ship as well as no one really sniping in the goals to carry us through. Our 5 on 5 was weak last year. Team defense was weak, our defensemen were hurt and pairings were off causing mental mistakes with no complementary defensive puck mover beside Timo, and our goalie situation was thin and isolated. (add to Bryz not stopping one on one breakdowns and bail outs...though he did quite often keep us in games from becoming blowouts, he did carry his weight in that regard). If we would of had the veteran leadership to right the ship, like we use to enjoy in the past, we'd be in the playoffs. Adding VinnLa will help our 5 on 5, he knows how to roof it in hard to place goals, ala Briere..better than anyone on our team since Briere is gone and you need a player like that to advance in the playoffs. He might not be able to phantasm in and out like Briere into scoring positions, but he is able to put himself in those positions none the less and be a finisher, we need Gagne back to add that as well to the team, that will relieve G from having to always be the goal scorer and target for the opponent. We now have a much better faceoff weapon. We have veteran captaincy material. The cap is going up and up and up 70+ mil easily next year, this year might seem tight but we will have more breathing room next year so on and so on. Cost less than Leino.( Great point...funny) He seems to end up in the right wing position in games, so I thought he stated he wouldn't mind playing wing. Overall we Needed a player like this for our overall game. We Needed his skill set. It helps Shore up our difficiencies on offense. I'm all for farming our rookies to groom them to be all stars and not putting them in a "have to" excel position or we won't make the playoffs responsibility.(Case in point Oilers) I don't wan't to be Oiler's East. V.L. gives us the veteran presence for our rookie forwards(even though their in there 2nd/3rd year they are still growing- pain adolecense, so their still wet behind the ears in regards to making wise experienced plays) to learn from wisdom and not be stunted in their progress. Now obviously Team D is putting the spotlight on our Defensemen, because our TEAM D didn't help out our comarades on D to bail them out or give them a helping hand when the going got ruff they got going to a greater extent. That along with non stop injuries and once again off pairings and players being put in must excel positions, that caused us to focus on D only. If we had, had better team defensive coverage and better Team defensive breakouts, it wouldn't of gone down like it did, and that's for sure, no if's ands or butts. But our 5 on 5 WAS a big question mark but all the smoke was pointing to our defensive debacle and a goalie that wasn't reliable on breakaways or being 82-100% effective in bailing out defensive breakdowns in our own end. When a play of the year video candidate is of Brayden Schenn saving Bryz from a sure goal by using his stick to clear the puck from crossing the goal line, you know you have Team Defensive problems.( Not knocking B. Schenn for his heroics, because that was awesome, that he did it, especially when that is a part of his game he knows he has to improve on and was not known as a game saver defensive forward). Shore up our D this year and we would be complaining that we can't score enough and loose games because of it. Our d had some 2nd/3rd line issues and sometimes 1st line issues due to injuries. If we play better team D it wouldn't of been as overblown as we see it today and in the offseason checklist. Sorry bout' the length and breathe of this post, but it was more involved than just focusing on our D only and people where head scratching on why this pickup happened for length and NMC.(I know cost per year realistically wasn't an issue here) I like this more than a Ryan pickup, and I Would LIKE a Ryan pickup, but OUR team needs this artisan a little more, due to what he brings to the table. Still would like to see Ryan here. (Would make all the Scottie Upshall fans feel comforted and be able to find closure. Unless they start thinking of Hyka.) I am not sure there are more moves in the making (besides getting a backup tender) and I don't really see this move as a catalyst for others. I see it as a fix for a problem we had last year, but weren't able to see it due to overwhelming circumstances. That's not to say that Mez or Coby aren't being shopped around, because they are but I think this was an isolated "look someone dropped $100.00 on the floor" aquisition.( you reach for it)

Good pick, value is seen in the eye of the beholder.....BEHOLD! ...Value.

An offensive uppercut in a tussle should produce 10 to 25 stitches at least and this kid will avg 2 majors and 10 fights WHEN he makes it to NHL.

If we sign Bob for this coming year, next year we will be having to sign a new backup.....two piranha's in one tank equal one Characidae. Mason will relive his nightmare and might loose his wheels on this move, causing him to plummet to an even deeper chasm. Rhemembu he left Columbi for a reasigh... That would be torture, that would be Stalin.

Good point Occ, good point.

@radoran, on Jun 26, 2013 - 06:11 AM, said: this is a group that covers sports like an over-sugared teenager reading Tiger Beat. - Totally agree. Those punk ass *******, need to get bitch slapped, for how they handle themselves in front of the camera or on the mike. Where's John Mcenroe when you need him...Im not a violent person, but I'd put some violence on those ass clowns for what they do. It was nice when Prongs would put some of those pencil stick reporters on point. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vIwkefOb3o They just did him wrong. I don't mind him being taken out, but just don't act like a bitch when you do it. And for what it is worth, Bryz was speaking in general about poverty and the fact that people get lazy and get accustomed to living on welfare, he wasn't referring to the working class that got lay'd off(lost in translation). I know a bunch of fools who like living the Kmart lifestyle and don't want to quit it, but get wit it and I know a lot of hard working people who went to school, got there degree and dont got dick to show for it. Alot of these people don't have anymore the asperations to be better or improve there lot in life, it is what it is. The media spun it around and made Bryz look like he was talking about Philly personally. I use to study some Russian back in the day and I know how words can get twisted up to mean something else.(Same thing with the Stalin media "blurp"...controlled chaos is better than Chaotic chaos in a society. Ask any longterm victim of abuse...at least you know)I'm not advocating it. I travel often back and forth coast to coast East and West, and fell into the L.A. riots unknowingly long time ago. When your leaving a friends and all of a sudden you have people pulling guns on you out of no where, the **** gets real. I can't imagine living like that every day and Bryz meant that Stalin although evil put some control over the chaotic evil that was happening day in day out. THAT! is what in essense I believe in Russian he was communicating to the Russian media, and piss poor ***** reporters started salivating and got there panties all wet to put an ignorant spin on there tabloid. I call bullshit and give a shout out to a bitch slap. I don't blame our team for buying out Bryz and Danny, that's what happens when you play in the big leagues. They GOT PAID! I would of liked to see the tandem of Mason and Bryz as a final indication of giving him his last shot....it just doesn't make business sense in this economy with the cap limit. So it was a SOUND business descision and I back that up 100%. I also think that Holmgrem announced the buyout to show he was serious to wheel his deal to other GM's and know he's serious about negotiations. Overall the mood is good and pleasant today in these forums, that's great to read. Some are a little sad, just a little. What I'm looking forward to is that nice feeling when I see Mason wristing out a breakout pass to his defender or forward as they breakout on a 5 on 5 (hopefully Streit and Gus doing the same). Not the static noise feeling of seeing our team last year doing a rendition of Laurel and Hardy's breakout routine.

...what now?

Flash! This just in..........Flyers aquire rights to 28 Mii's.

All these post reminds me of ravenous, hungry wolves hanging over a live pig roast waiting to eat there friend porky. Then after the deed is done, they all talk fond memories of the little swine, saying "ya we're gonna miss porky, he was such a ham, was great pal around spring time. Too bad we had to eat him. I understand with the cap drop, and the signings he was the big cap hit sticking out, but you Need a player like his caliber in the playoffs. Ya this year was a down year. If he would of underperformed for two/three years than ya the boo birds have a say, but having one bad year and a half, doesn't equate to getting rid of someone. Now if Hartnell produces another bad regular season and playoffs, than you can call him out after multiple seasons. Danny will be missed, his leadership, his way of talking to teammates to give them perspective on the game, his after hours duties to our young players. His clutch will to score, when it counts. His straight talk to the media. That's a lot of tangibles that we're going to lose over the summer. On the other hand this opens up doors of opportunities to our young players to start spreading there wings and Fly, so even though I'm disappointed, I can also see the window of opportunity this will give to our forward youth to step it up and start rolling. I would of liked to have seen a line of Simmonds Briere Jake on the second line, and Gagne G Ryan on the first line, that would of been a 1-2 bombardment and Hartnell Cooter Schenn on third line. and Rinaldo Talbot and Read on 4th. That would of been a very powerful lineup, wave after wave every line could score and defend.

We know Briere is going to be bought out, who else around the NHL is going to be bought out? NYR: Richards PIT: Letang/trade. PHI: Bryz? .... Any other rumors?

If we give up Coby and 1st pick for Ryan, how about Anaheim's 1st and 3rd come back our way for compensation.

Nice one.

SHOTGUNS and CHARLATAN'S, sounds like an old boys club to me. I am not and will not be in a position to defend the Flyers organization, I'm not financially invested to put myself in a position to do so, nor do I see the financial logistics to do so. But I am a fan of my programmable inheritance. And we're dealing with fallable humans who happen to be causing an influxing of emotions to "our" passion for "our" team. Rightly justifiable. We the people cry out to you Flyers organiztion... Do us Right!... Do us Proud!

I agree that they pushed it "WAY too FARR! " with the Bryz signing, Way to over the top, WTH, were they thinking. I'm glad that during the Reagan era the Flyers organization wasn't in charge of our military or we would of been in WWIII because Russia sneezed. The orgainzation Needed to bring a veteran, to help Bob, unfortunately they campaigned "Operation Occupy Goalie Starter Position" forever and screwed up Bob's chances to run for Goalie President. I believe a veteran backup/possible starter goalie should of been brought in, I felt Bob was the real deal and a minority few still believed it to be so, after the "goalie carousel debacle" that closed the park down season. It is what it is, I can go on and on about how I wanted Bob to stay, but it does us no good. And no point of I told you so's will change things. We are where we're at. And the bottom line is, we have Mason, who I believe is a better puck handler than Bob and will bring back memories of Hexy this year in how he handles the puck hopefully. Though his glove catching I think can improve, hopefully. This team Needs a goalie who can dish out the puck to his players, ( I look back and see if Mason was on net against the devils when Bryz tried to push it out and ended up back in the net, how would that play of gone down had it been Mason.) Though I miss Bob, I am looking forward to Mason and his dishout passes to our players, and having Streit in the lineup should help us out in charging out Lavy's system of attack. I don't agree with Pinach's statement of we are better off trading Bob, though I couldn't stand here and say with a certainty if Bob would of won the Vezina if he had been in our roster.

I think three years would of been the ideal, but we're up against the market, and that's the asking price. If we would of had a solid 1, 2 defensement pairing we wouldn't of agreed to 4 years, maybe more like two. But the fact is we are in a position of want, beggers can't be choosers to an extent, we are not negotiating in a position of strength, but of weakness and that is why we are in a buyers mode. We need some help in "offensive defense" but our main problem that we need to fix(and it can never be had through a trade) is TEAM Defense. Fix that and this signing will be a complement. We still have team injuries to deal with on D, and in Streit we will have him in the lineup helping our youth out, hopefully giving them pointers along with Timmo. Having a veteran giving out direction and insight cannot be overstated, in fact IS required if you want your young talent to blossom. If your in it for the long haul, you need to pencil that player in your line up, it's "mando". Those extra "two years" I'm hoping will be our Return On Investment in Streit, to give our offensive defensemen youth the gems of knowledge to raise their game to the next level. All in all, ROI wise it's a good pickup. (For those still having difficulty in this signing...let's look at the Jagr pickup, many and I mean many including myself, were scratching our heads saying, "huh, Jagr? I know he's a hall of famer but Jagr?, now? wasn't even in the league last year, huh?) He was the Best signing of the year. He even brought up Freakin' man down Hartnell to ALL-STAR status, and gave G, the wisdom(especially Harts)the purpose and reward of working out the true way to improve your career. That is what this signing to a small extent may have on our young defenders, to a small extent once again.(Maybe even a tiny morsel, but a morsel none the less.) Remember next year might/will be Timmo's last....who do we have that can replace Timmo's veteranship(defensemen wise)? No one...well now we have Streit, he was a captain you know.

I'm not a fan per se of Pinach, I don't always appreciates the questions he asks players, "How do you feel about...." line of questioning. The truth, "FACT" many wanted Bob shipped out because he was "TOO EXPENSIVE" as a backup, His "develope-ment" will be "stifled" I for the record never wanted him traded and he should of not of played all those games to be inelligable to play for us in the AHL(clear waivers BS risk for us), if we we're going to go with the Bryz experiment at the time. Bob played small but I knew he was a gem.(Of coarse not a Vezina gem but a gem none the less). Like some brought out, had we kept Bob and not of had Bryz, would Bob of won a Vezina? (I don't honestly know) He struggled at times, but that's to be expected for a young rookie. But Pinach brings up a good point that the Flyer's org, NEEDED to go out and bring a veteran in at the time. And some rightfully said it should of been a solid backup/possible starter to co-in-side with Bob's developement...didn't happen. The orgainzation didn't step back and look at the perspective, we are of the mentality to win it now. But let it be known Flyers Organization, YOU are loosing out on YOUR players and giving away OUR talent to other teams, this is not the first time this has happened, in fact it's been trending for a few years now. (Remember though people call the Kings, Flyers West, we ARE "Hollywood East", we can't ever look bad as an organization on TV)

Streit was a Captain, he knows what he's doing when he has the puck. He seems to know when to hold them, knows when to fold em I'm hoping Mason and Streit will be our 1-2 Punch to kick start our transition to get the puck out of our zone, and with Gus in there as well, we should not have as much aweful turnovers in our own zone that lead to so many goals that gave Bryz nightmares. The jury will be out in regards to Streit vs. Carle and the wacky turnover machine. We will see. Carle has the advantage of youth right now, Streit has the specialist skill set more honed. The main problem was team D. we fix that and we can be contenders. Our youth need to learn resiliancy, that was one thing we had during the Richards era, we as a team believed and KNEW we could come back and win it, our team now doesn't know that language. Hopefully we will learn to speak of these things this year.(Though that was our problems before a majority of times "hitting the switch" BS that got us into trouble)

Steve Mason can quarterback an outlet pass to Streit, who in turn can laterlal it out to our forwards or elect to run it in. Either way we've added another dimension to our Laviolette plan to keys for success personnel.