Ilya Bryzgalov is a great goalie, but let’s face facts, players who spent last season in the AHL cannot and will not replicate the production of any and all players rumored to be on the trading block and/or definitely will not return if Bryzgalov gets his wish. These players: Coburn, Carle, Carter, Hartnell, Leino, and/or Zherdev, etc. The only two players on this list who I would not mind not being on the Flyers next season are Hartnell and Leino. Leino wants a lot of money and his production can be replaced easily for cheap, and call me biased but I have never been a Scott Hartnell fan.
After the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup, many articles went up saying that Thomas proves you still need good goaltending to win the Cup. Tim Thomas is the exception to this rule, not the rule itself. Of the 6 Cup winning goalies in the post lockout era, only 2 are above average (J.S. Giguere and Tim Thomas) and Tim Thomas’s past season was damn near super human. He had a .947 ESS% in the season, and .949 ESS% in the playoffs. Given that league average (depending on who you count and do not count) is between .917 and .921, I doubt that what Tim Thomas did will ever be replicated by someone not named Tim Thomas. The other 4 goalies to win the Stanley Cup (Cam Ward, Marc-Andre Fleury, Chris Osgood, and Antti Niemi) are average to below average NHL goaltenders. Their career ESS% at the moment they won the cup: Ward .898, Osgood .915, Fleury .919, Niemi .914. Of course, J.S. Giguere won the Cup and at the time he had a .926 ESS% for his career. As mentioned, him and Tim Thomas are the only ones thus far to have above average career numbers and win the Stanley Cup.
Bryzgalov wants over $5M a year for 6 to 8 years. On the other hand, Tomas Vokoun, an alternative who not only is marginally better than Bryzgalov, but cheaper and not looking for as many years, may end up settling for around the $4M range. I still would not be completely giddy about spending $4M on one goaltender, but if it means avoiding Ilya Bryzgalov's contract while getting a great goaltender on the relative cheap side, I think I'd be able to bite my tongue on that one, provided of course Homer does not follow it up with an unnecessary salary dump that makes the team worse than it was last year, which is a very real possibility if the Flyers decide to go for the big name goalie, even if that goalie is the better and cheaper Vokoun.
Showing posts with label Paul Holmgren. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul Holmgren. Show all posts
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Does The Simon Gagne Trade Justify Deserting The Flyers?
With the events leading up to the Simon Gagne trade and the actual trade itself, talks have begun about deserting Flyers fandom. Homer is an incompetent moron, yes, but his incompetence is causing people to want to leave Flyers Fandom, desert the team, boycott the team until Homer is fired, etc. As you may remember, such talks revolved around the Eagles when they did not re-sign Dawkins last off-season, when the Eagles signed Michael Vick last pre-season, and as mentioned, Homer has driven some people to that edge with this off-season.
And once again I find myself needing to re-iterate I do not think completely deserting a team over off-season moves is ever justified. That’s not to suggest that some people won’t get away from the sport and the team over time, that happens, but to go from completely supporting the team to no longer supporting the team over 1 move and/or a string of moves in a single off-season is ridiculous for me. When the Eagles signed Vick, James Craven decided to “boycott” the Eagles over it, did not watch a single Eagles game last year, and will not watch one until Vick is off the team. To me, something like that is completely ridiculous. Not every move a team we support makes is going to be a good move, but when the bad ones or the controversial ones come along, that does not mean one should forget about them completely.
Another thing about boycotting and/or deserting the Flyers is that it takes you away from the other players on the team that you love. Now whether or not the Flyers are a better team now than they were in June can be a point of great contention, but this still is a talented team with Pronger, Timonen, Richards, Giroux, Leino, JVR, Lappy, Betts, Briere, Carbomb, etc. Just because Homer backed himself into a corner and traded Gagne to get himself out of it, does not mean you should give a big “fuck you” to the entire organization, which would extend to the above players who at some point or another last year we grew to really love watching.
That being said, I think there is room for 2nd team fandom. I know that not every sports fan believes in this, but personally I always find room for 2nd teams, especially when Philly teams are out of it. That is not to say it can or has to take anything away from one’s Flyers fandom, but supporting an additional team, especially one like Tampa Bay (though the cities have had pretty interesting relationships in sports this past decade) where there aren’t any harsh feelings, isn’t out of bounds. The Hurricanes were my 2nd team in the Eastern Conference for the past decade or so (Brindy FTW!), and now that team is Tampa Bay. It does not take away from my Flyers support, it does not take away from reveling in the Flyers achievements past and present and future, it does not take away the pain of being so close in 2004, but it gives me another team to be happy for when they succeed. And I truly believe this Tampa team will be a force to be reckoned with this coming season.
And once again I find myself needing to re-iterate I do not think completely deserting a team over off-season moves is ever justified. That’s not to suggest that some people won’t get away from the sport and the team over time, that happens, but to go from completely supporting the team to no longer supporting the team over 1 move and/or a string of moves in a single off-season is ridiculous for me. When the Eagles signed Vick, James Craven decided to “boycott” the Eagles over it, did not watch a single Eagles game last year, and will not watch one until Vick is off the team. To me, something like that is completely ridiculous. Not every move a team we support makes is going to be a good move, but when the bad ones or the controversial ones come along, that does not mean one should forget about them completely.
Another thing about boycotting and/or deserting the Flyers is that it takes you away from the other players on the team that you love. Now whether or not the Flyers are a better team now than they were in June can be a point of great contention, but this still is a talented team with Pronger, Timonen, Richards, Giroux, Leino, JVR, Lappy, Betts, Briere, Carbomb, etc. Just because Homer backed himself into a corner and traded Gagne to get himself out of it, does not mean you should give a big “fuck you” to the entire organization, which would extend to the above players who at some point or another last year we grew to really love watching.
That being said, I think there is room for 2nd team fandom. I know that not every sports fan believes in this, but personally I always find room for 2nd teams, especially when Philly teams are out of it. That is not to say it can or has to take anything away from one’s Flyers fandom, but supporting an additional team, especially one like Tampa Bay (though the cities have had pretty interesting relationships in sports this past decade) where there aren’t any harsh feelings, isn’t out of bounds. The Hurricanes were my 2nd team in the Eastern Conference for the past decade or so (Brindy FTW!), and now that team is Tampa Bay. It does not take away from my Flyers support, it does not take away from reveling in the Flyers achievements past and present and future, it does not take away the pain of being so close in 2004, but it gives me another team to be happy for when they succeed. And I truly believe this Tampa team will be a force to be reckoned with this coming season.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Deadline Day Has Come And Gone And The Flyers Hold Steady
Compared to other sports, the NHL has one of the more active trade deadline days, but you would not know it from following the Flyers today. Somehow, someway, Flyers GM Paul Holmgren (from here on out referred to as Homer, his BSH nickname) managed to do absolutely nothing. While doing so avoids the bone-headed trade, a team not making any deadline deals is rare, especially when you are "burning the phone lines".
But Homer succeeded. It was tossed around in the beginning of the day that the Panthers wanted Jeff Carter for Tomas Vokoun. But Carter is untouchable in the eyes of Homer, therefore no deal.
Combine the fact that Homer considers half the team untouchable (and with pretty decent reason too), the lack of cap space on the Flyers, the dearth of 1st and 2nd round draft picks (exactly how many 2nd rounders were swapped today?), and the overabundance of no-trade clauses (NTC) prevented a deal from being done oday. Hold on, wait a minute, that is not true. I have just received word that Homer has signed a bag of pucks to a 2-year deal complete with an NTC! Forget all I wrote above, Homer is the best GM in all of hockey! A bag of pucks with an NTC! This is like my hockey dream come true times 100,000!
Oh, and about that whole Jeff Carter-Tomas Vokoun speculation, yeah, they were on the same sheet of ice as opponents tonight in Miami. Carger got a goal but Vokoun won the night as the Flyers defense crapped out on them, Scott Hartnell and Braydon Coburn took their classic dumb penalties, Michael Leighton had an off day, and when Brian Boucher was called in to replace Leighton and thus play his first hockey in months, completely sucked monkey dick, goat balls, and cheetah ass before rebounding slightly for a scoreless 3rd period. In other words, the Flyers lost 6-4 to an offensively inept team that just lost it's best defensive players to the trade deadline! Lord Stanley, HERE WE COME!
And the second that Bettman hands Mike Richards the Cup, Homer will steal it away from him and proceed to give it a no-trade clause.
But Homer succeeded. It was tossed around in the beginning of the day that the Panthers wanted Jeff Carter for Tomas Vokoun. But Carter is untouchable in the eyes of Homer, therefore no deal.
Combine the fact that Homer considers half the team untouchable (and with pretty decent reason too), the lack of cap space on the Flyers, the dearth of 1st and 2nd round draft picks (exactly how many 2nd rounders were swapped today?), and the overabundance of no-trade clauses (NTC) prevented a deal from being done oday. Hold on, wait a minute, that is not true. I have just received word that Homer has signed a bag of pucks to a 2-year deal complete with an NTC! Forget all I wrote above, Homer is the best GM in all of hockey! A bag of pucks with an NTC! This is like my hockey dream come true times 100,000!
Oh, and about that whole Jeff Carter-Tomas Vokoun speculation, yeah, they were on the same sheet of ice as opponents tonight in Miami. Carger got a goal but Vokoun won the night as the Flyers defense crapped out on them, Scott Hartnell and Braydon Coburn took their classic dumb penalties, Michael Leighton had an off day, and when Brian Boucher was called in to replace Leighton and thus play his first hockey in months, completely sucked monkey dick, goat balls, and cheetah ass before rebounding slightly for a scoreless 3rd period. In other words, the Flyers lost 6-4 to an offensively inept team that just lost it's best defensive players to the trade deadline! Lord Stanley, HERE WE COME!
And the second that Bettman hands Mike Richards the Cup, Homer will steal it away from him and proceed to give it a no-trade clause.
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