Bertmega

@murraycraven Our D was very suspect before the injury and now is very suspect. I could see something like what HF101 said, they'll ink a UFA. Timmonen/Coburn (ok, aging anchor, but very solid) Schenn/Grossman (suspect, but may be spectacular given the proper coaching) 3rd pair is a toss up. This is where I am worried. This is always the case with the Flyers. There isn't enough depth on the blueline to sustain any sort of setback or injury. A UFA signing may not be good enough. We may need help via trade and at this point the only one safe (in my book) is Giroux.

Wow that is not good at all. NOT GOOD AT ALL! The bad thing too is he still has 2 years on his deal. I couldn't think of a worse thing to happen to our D. A trade is eminent. It just has to be. Not to sound like "that guy", but our D is not looking good at all.

@Polaris922 I stand corrected on his decline (sort of), but didn't he put up solid numbers for one more season? That makes me think that the injury didn't destroy his career as much as you would think it did. It is tough to tell whether or not he would have been the same hockey player had the accident not happened and he no longer played with Mario. In either case he was a great hockey player that could have put up great numbers had he stayed with the Penguins, specifically Mario Lemieux, and more specifically didn't suffer the injury that he did.

Tough call on my part. John LeClair is by far my favorite hockey player ever, so naturally I voted for him. But in all fairness, Stevens was drafted much later, thereby lowering the expectations. LeClair's numbers dropped after Big E left, but that also coincides with the time period that he was having all the back problems and staph infections. His numbers were still respectable though. However, Stevens numbers completely went into the crapper after he departed Mario's wing. So in the end, the edge goes to LeClair.

@AJgoal Thanks AJ. What night do they usually play? Grundy is a solid hour away from me now, but it would be nice to go there for the old time memories. Perhaps if they do weekend or late night games. I am not too far from Oaks Center Ice now, but I haven't really looked into league play in awhile. I would love to get into a league that is flexible, especially since the "new addition" is here and she demands a lot of daddy time.

@Vanflyer If I may ask, how old are you? I played a lot at Grundy, FO Circle, Wissahickon, Melody Brooke in the 90's (High School) through about 2010 when my body decided to start to fall apart. We may have crossed paths. I played for North Penn in the 90's and a lot of beer league from about 2004-2010.

What's a fantacy? Is that a new clause in the CBA?

@orange_crush Not starting s**t here, but where do you get this information from? He was a healthy scratch (from the best of my knowledge) for 3 games last season. 3 games = most of the year to you? And Philly just as brutal as Toronto? Dude, Philly might be a little rough for players to adjust to, but Toronto is like a million times worse. Imagine 2,000,000 Lord Vaders booing you and ripping you on a daily basis. A Maple Leaf player can't even take a piss without somebody knowing that they didn't wash their hands. Philly, yeah we like hockey, but I think he'll be ok knowing that he is not on the front page of the local newspaper for trivial things. Panoch and Co, have nothing on the Toronto sports media. I am not saying Schenn is going to be the Golden God, but time will tell. Give the guy a few games in the O&B before you throw him in the scrap pile.

@mojo1917 Victory is probably the best of the Micros in PA; however, costly. I can get a case of Yuenling Lager for $16.99 at my local beer distributor. Victory Lager is $34.99. I am on a kick of Victory Summer Love right now.

Hey Poile now's your chance. Go get em. Show Weber that you mean "business"..... LOLOLOLOL Too rich for my blood.

@Polaris922 Yeah, I agree, most Selke finalists are terrible defensively. I feel like they give that award out to just anybody, total waste lol.

Godsmack sucks

@orange_crush Fair enough. But from a contract standpoint, offering Weber 110mm over 14 years = unmovable if Weber did not pan out (Pronger and Bryzgalov seem to come to mind) Jake Voracek at 4 years 4.25 / year is very movable (JvR seems to come to mind). Not from a production point rather a contract point, this deal is fair.

@orange_crush Just to wrap my head around this, you were ok with the Weber monster offer, but a 4 year 17mm offer is bad for top line talent? Please explain.

@orange_crush I am not too sure, but look at Danny B's stats in his first four seasons in the league post his draft. Pretty unimpressive if you ask me. In fact, he didn't find his groove until 8 years after he was drafted. As of now Danny B is a better player, but in a few years it will be hard to tell. Briere is a center and had a rough time playing wing. Voracek is a winger, something this team is sorely lacking. There is a premium for these sorts of things. Voracek will out score Briere this year, mark my words.

@orange_crush 16g and 37a for Briere in 2012 18g and 31a for Voracek in 2012 The money is not that bad OC, look at comparable cap hits for each player. http://www.capgeek.com/comparables.php?player=589&season=2012 Giroux signed that contract before the Flyers 100% knew what they had. Besides Giroux's contract is back loaded, he'll get paid 5mm next year on the last year of his contract and I am sure he'll get a huge raise after that.

I feel better now. That is a nice young core: Giroux, Corturier, Schenn x2, Voracek, Simmonds Nice job Holmgren. This week now ends on a high note.

@SgtMikal31 Here I go again shopping the guy: Danny Briere?

@LegionOfDoom I didn't know people still dropped acid. Huh, I learn something new each day.

I agree that Jake is in the mix for one of the player, if I recall prior to the draft Holmgren went on record saying JvR would not be traded. We see where that went. As far as compensation for Voracek to an offer sheet, I think it's only a second round pick that would come back to the Flyers given his current salary. I could be wrong though. The only thing I see is that Jake will probably get a raise; which could make the compensation a 1st and a 3rd.

@TedZep Yes the higher quality ones that actually may become an impact player in my life time.

The more and more I think about it and have stepped back from the ledge, I almost think it is a good thing that they matched. What if Weber gets injured (as mentioned above)? 14 years is too long for any player. A lot can change with this game in five years, let alone 14. We'll get our D trued up to work better with Bryzgalov. I am sure of that much, Lavy is a good coach that has produced greatness with similar or less on the back end....granted Cam Ward helps though... I look back to the 2009-10 Coyotes season where Bryz was stellar. How great was their D? In fact, how great was their team? Bryz is a product of the system in front of him. Lavy has his hands full, but I fully expect to see a better defensive team this year. Mark my words Bryz will have 44 wins this year. I have the crow in the freezer (next to the halibut) that I will gladly warm up and eat in April if I am wrong.

At this point it may be best to chill with the offer sheets. Remember we have a big name RFA to ink and in a couple of years will have three big ones (Giroux, Schenn, Couturier). I get that it is legal, but it may be time to accept what we have and move on. Subban is a good player that needs time to mature, but this market here in Philly has shown zero patience with allowing players to "find" their game. I would expect if by some chance he made his way to Philly, he would be treated like the consolation prize in the 2012 off season, and the first bone head move he makes, the fans and media alike will remind him of that. He's a Canadian for now and probably should remain one. Wonder is Holmgren is rethinking not drafting a defenseman this year.

Jake Voracek needs to be locked up soon before he gets an offer sheet. Odd he hasn't been inked yet.

@murraycraven, all is well, hope the same for you. I agree this D is going to have to revamp its structure and protect Bryzgalov more. We need to pass on Ryan and keep what we have. A good thing is we have space for the first time since the cap era. I am hoping that Homer and co wait till next July and get their man. Homer so far has done well by not shopping Schenn or Courts. I applaud his ballsy move to get Weber. Good things will happen in time. Maybe a few years out, but it will happen.