LiAmTrAnSdEmOn

Somehow, this doesn't surprise me... I forgot about PK Subban. He's another punk I just can't stand. I would list other sport hatreds but there's way too many. Most of them hail from Dallas or New York though.

I agree that in no way was Streit a replacement for Pronger, but he was a guy who I think stepped into that role as much as possible, clearly not being able to fill the void though. And yes, we all knew that Pronger was done almost immediately after the incident bit that doesn't mean that the players, especially the young ones, will accept it mentally. As for the defensive unit being a sad sack of players if they were expecting him to come back, I think that would be a pretty good description of them since he went down. Of course they need an upgrade on defense though. We can all agree on that. My heart is still bleeding for the Suter/Weber off season.

I seem to develop deep hatred for anyone with a Pittsburgh jersey. Even Iginla looked like a cheap shotting little prick for his "Cup run" last year. Oh, and Luongo.

The comeback against Boston and the Pens/Flyers series probably are my top 2. Non-Flyers, I would have to think about it.

I feel like a part of this turnaround may be an acceptance that Printer isn't coming back. The defense has been abysmal since he got hurt and the only time it looked better besides recently is when everyone was injured and out of the lineup. Maybe it's a mental thing and some of the guys felt like they were trying to hold down the fort until St. Chris came back. Streit brings that veteran presence on the back end and maybe he along with the Berube change got these guys to realize that no one is coming to save your jobs and if you want them, you better play like it.

The turnaround has been great. The scorers are heating up and the defense isn't playing like the sieve unit it has been for the past 2 years. My concern is if Mason is coming back down to earth and playing like he was in Columbus or is he just going through a little slump. Last night he looked good but I think he had a .908 save % on the past road trip. I feel like a jilted lover whenever I talk about goalies.

Bylsma should be fired if they don't win the Cup. For as talented as this team is, they shouldn't be worrying about first round exits every year. Its not like they have a major injury holding them back, and that's still not an excuse. The Pens should not be 1-2 in playoff games with Crosby this year.

Well that is kind of disgraceful as far as officiating goes if its been like this the whole series. I've seen calls that could go both ways and that usually happens but I just saw some egregious penalties by the Pens. I feel like I am watching the Miami Penguins with the treatment they get.

I may be a little bias in my watching of this game but is there any question who the refs have money on in game 4? The MacDonald embellishment call was atrocious. It seemed Tavares was held a couple times with no call, but that happens, whatever. Then Morrow mugs a defenseman on the ground and then seconds later Matt Cooke pushes Martin 10 feet across the ice into the Pens bench? What the hell is goin on here?

I'll still root for the Kings with all the former Flyers and I always liked Dustin Brown too. I also don't really have anyone I dislike on the Blackhawks either and wouldn't mind seeing them get another Cup. I just am really rooting against the Pens and Rangers before anything else.

Not that prospect rankings are true or set in stone or anything, but I think the NHL Network had ranked Nurse and Shinkaruk tied for #10 on their list of prospects. So, if the draft works out in an order that they have, Nurse could actually fall to us.

With Voracek playing at almost a point per game pace, I think its hard not to give the vote to him.

I don't think he would panic like that deal away young talent in a poor attempt to save his job, he would have already done that at the trade deadline if that were the case. If he did, then I would have to personally write Mr. Snider a letter demanding the immediate firing of Holmgren.

Yeah, the dealing of first round and second round picks has to stop and hopefully Holmgren sees that. We did just have one last year, so fingers are crossed. I don't really have a problem with it if we can bring back a Pronger type player just for the huge impact they bring with them. But its inexcusable to watch 2nd rounders like Bergeron, Weber, Saad, etc be key contributors and wonder why we don't have them on this team. All that said, while I am a fan of Homer, this year does nothing but put the pressure on him to get us out of this mess which he is partially responsible for. And the offseason may be filled with some fireworks because there will be jobs on the line.

I agree on the overpayment part, that does seem to be a bit of a problem, but for most part his trades have worked out well. The only glaring mistake being the Bobrovsky deal. The other guys you mentioned were dealt in the Pronger deal which was fair and was a huge contributing factor in a Stanley Cup appearance. Downie is now on his third team and never really showed to be anything better than a 2nd line player at best. Him being shipped for Matt Carle looked like a good deal until Carle wanted 5.5 million a year. He took over this team in the throes of one of the worst seasons in the history of the franchise and pulled off some deals to turn it around very quickly. An aging fast Forsberg got pawned off to the Preds for Upshall, Ryan Parent, and pick that was traded back for Hartnell and Timonen. As well as flipping Freddy Meyers for Alexei Zhitnik, and then dealing Zhitnik for Coburn. Those deals shaped the Flyers franchise and allowed them to rebound from that horrific year. Why is it inconceivable to think that Holmgren can pull off similar deals again?

Well hopefully this lockout sent a message to cutdown on the ridiculous contracts. We did manage to move two in Carter and Richards but then just turned around and gave Bryzgalov his deal. Unfortunately, building around this core means waiting for more picks to develop unless a lot of young players take huge leaps. Part of buying out these players is freeing up money on mistakes made to hopefully not make another mistake when trying to give that money to another free agent, because that's what will be done. Watching the team this year shows they are missing something on the blueline since Pronger and I feel with Holmgren striking out last year, he will be even more aggresive this year, which is a scary thought in itself. Hopefully, he doesn't get stupid, which I don't think he will and overpay. Honestly though, I would love to see him show off some of his trade magic and ship off Coburn or Meszaros.

Don't worry, I'm not. Its a forum mainstay of mine.

Oh, didn't even notice. Wonder how that happened.

Ha, why is there something wrong with my keyboard? Because I didn't instantly jump on the bash Bryz bandwagon that has been burning hot this entire season?

While I agree that Mason has played better than Bryz in the games we have seen him in. There is no doubt that, this team in front of Mason is completely different than what has been in front of Bryzgalov all season. Whether its the youth stepping up for injuries, or confidence in front of a different goalie, or whatever, you can't lay all the blame on Bryz or success on Mason. But if Mason continues this type of play for the last couple of games, then I think we will have no choice but to amnesty Bryz and make sure this team takes this type of play into next year, or we will be right back where we started.

I would absolutely love to have Gagne back for the right price. He's a jack of all trades player with a good amount of experience and leadership to try to guide this team. I know this may be a bit of a stretch, but remember the player who came back and played a huge part in the comeback against Boston? That was Gagne. I think some people have forgotten what its like to have him on the team and the impact of a leader type of player who just goes out and leads by example in every facet of the game, both special teams, offensive, defensive, everything.

Eskin is just missing the spotlight. Been out of it too long since he's no longer on air and needs to throw something out there to have his name floating around cyberspace. Either way, I would have seriously doubted, watching the play, that he received a concussion. You could tell purely by the look of his face and hang of his jaw that it was broken and most likely nothing else. He looked alert, just in pain. Having recently broken my jaw, I'm not surprised that Crosby isn't back yet. Its takes at least a month and a half for things to heal up enough just to chew food, let alone go skating around and risk having your jaw rattled on a hit, that would most assuredly by painful and risk a possible refracture.

While it really couldn't happen to a nicer guy, I really want this whole Pens team healthy and have them get crushed in the playoffs. I don't wanna hear any "what if" arguments if the Pens fall short of winning the Cup. Plus, there's nothing quite like savoring a big hit on Crosby, Neal, Malkin, Letang, or really any Penguin.

Yeah, I'm not entirely sure why Pronger has had to come out at least twice this season to say he hopes to play again. I remember watching the play where he was injured and immediately thought that he was blind in the eye where he took the stick. And he's repeatedly said he basically has no peripheral vision, him coming back is just not in the cards. Only thing he can do is try to teach the younger defensemen on this team the things he knows about the position because despite all his physical gifts, he still knew how to play the position very well all in his head.

I agree with Dynamo, a team in that is in perpetual freefall such as Florida right now, has no choice but to take the best player. If Jones is going to be that franchise 15 year defenseman, you take him and make him the cornerstone of the franchise. Plus, you can never have enough defensemen. Flyers fans know that this year.