Wachovia Center turns 10

August 31, 2006

Wachovia Center turns 10 years old today.
What was CoreStates Center then First Union Center is now Wachovia Center.
John LeClair scores the first goal in the Wac Center for Team USA playing Team Canada as Team USA won 5-3 back on August 31, 1996.
Billy Joel has sold out the Wac Center 18 times. The Phantoms clinch the Calder Cup there on June 10, 2005. More interesting stats can be found at phillyburbs.com.

As nice as the Wac Center is, it would be nice if the Flyers played at least one game each year across the parking lot in the spectrum. A throw back game with the old uniforms, the old atmosphere. I think the fans would love it.

Written by Mike · Filed Under Hockey, Philadelphia Flyers | Leave a Comment

Primeau Update

August 30, 2006

Keith Primeau gives an update if you want to call it that to his condition.

Keith Primeau: "ThereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s really nothing new to report. I'm trying to put myself in a position to be in the best possible shape I can be for camp. I'm trying to become or maintain being symptom free as best I can, and then evaluate it when we get to camp. That means evaluating it with one, my family, two, the team and three, the doctors. They are giving me the room and freedom to do that. I know that [training camp] is fast approaching and there are a lot of difficult decisions to be made in the next couple of weeks."

On looking at his status in terms of team leadership:
"They began to address it last year and theyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve begun to address it more over the summer. They have begun to move forward as though I'm not a part of the equation and I understand that because I don't want to hamstring the team, the guys or the organization. That's kind of why I put a timeframe on it. It didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t come from them to say, 'you know, Keith, if youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re not ready for camp then you can't play.' It's just that's my sense, is that it's now 30 months since I played competitive hockey. Conditioning becomes a factor. The issue of the injury becomes a factor.

"I swear that I havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t spent a lot of timeÃ¢â‚¬Â¦through the first part of this I spent far too much time thinking about it, trying to figure out the outcome and trying to decide what my future held. As I continue to improve, and I feel better on a regular basis, I just feel fortunate and privileged, so I just come to the rink excited to put my stuff on and go out there and practice with the guys. I feel good about being able to workout and go in the gym and be around the guys. I'll just let the chips fall where they may. There's nothing else to divulge. I just hope and pray that in the next couple weeks I can continue to improve in all areas and then we'll leave it up to a collective decision."

Trying to become OR maintain being symptom free? What does that mean? I still think he will be retiring before the start of the season. He should retire right now, for the sake of his health.

Written by Mike · Filed Under Hockey, Injuries, Philadelphia Flyers | Leave a Comment

Flyers SI offseason report card

August 29, 2006

Allan Muir of Sports Illustrated gives the Atlantic Division report card for teams offseason moves.
Here is what they said about the Flyers.

On the spot: GM Bob Clarke

Greatest needs: Speed on the blue line, resolving the Keith Primeau situation, getting Simon Gagne signed, and staying under the cap.

Did he fill them? Outside of the draft, where Clarke used his first-rounder to pick up the anti-Flyer -- small, speedy forward Claude Giroux -- it hasn't been a banner summer for the GM, primarily because he failed to upgrade the defense in any meaningful way. If anything, it got worse with the loss of UFA Kim Johnsson (who apparently was too good a skater to interest Clarke) and the addition of Nolan Baumgartner. It's hard to believe that Clarke watched his blue line turned into pylons by Buffalo's swift forwards and is satisfied to take an even lesser group into 2006-07.

Granted, the Flyers will go into the season with perhaps the deepest corps of forwards in the East, which should take some pressure off the back line, but Primeau's availability remains in question and Clarke has yet to get first-liner Gagne under contract. Gagne's demands -- around $5 million per -- are reasonable but still put the Flyers in cap peril. It would be crazy to trade a talent like Gagne at this point in his career, but with so many good young players in the system and so little cap wiggle room, it's a very real possibility.

On the plus side of the ledger, Clarke sent excess center Michal Handzus to Chicago for Kyle Calder and inked UFA Geoff Sanderson. Both are fleet of feet and provide left-wing insurance in case the Gagne situation implodes. Clarke's best move, however, may have been promoting head coach John Stevens of the AHL Philadelphia Phantoms to replace assistant coach Wayne Flemming. With so many young players assuming key roles, Stevens' touch will be critical in their development.

Sure its easy to bash Clarke on not resigning Johnsson. Actually its not if one is paying attention. Ok, lets say Clarke does resign Johnsson at 4.85 Mil, which is what Minnesota gave him. Minus Nolan BaumgartnerÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s salary assuming if Johnsson is signed Baumgartner wouldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t be signed that would bring the Flyers salary up to 40.3 Mil. No cap room to sign Gagne since he wants 5 Mil plus. Ok, lets assume Primeau would be retiring even though right now it looks that he will be playing, minus Primeau plus Gagne at 5 Mil and Johnsson still puts the Flyers over the cap. How do you fix that Allan? Buyouts would seem to be the only way and the only 2 players I see worth it would be Rathje and Hatcher, but I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t see Clarke wanting to carry 3 and 4 seasons of salary baggage from them. Sorry I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t see trading Gagne as a possibility.

I disagree that this defensive group is lesser than what the Sabres faced. First off they never saw Johnsson, he was out with concussion symptoms and missed almost half the season. Hatcher had bad knees, Desjardins, Knuble bad hips. Do you give a player not proven to be worth 5 Mil that much when he missed 4 months with a hit to the head? Keith Primeau anyone? The defense will at least start out healthy, have heard Hatcher dropped some weight and will be quicker than he was. Meyer should improve in his second season. Rathje should be better with his hip healed. Pitkanen is expected to have a break out year. Baumgartner and Jonsson I think are question marks. Sami Kapanen might also see time on defense. I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t think the problem is going to be skating speed.

One thing Allan forgot is getting Hitchcock resigned to a long term deal. But apparently that wont come until after Gagne signs, which I was expecting to happen after Primeau retires, but he seems healthy again, soÃ¢â‚¬Â¦..

Written by Mike · Filed Under Hockey, Philadelphia Flyers | Leave a Comment

ESPN crappy stats

August 21, 2006

In the real world the Flyers traded Michal Handzus for Kyle Calder several weeks ago. According to ESPN Calder has played 4 years for Philly.

Dude rocked in 01-02, average ice time of zero and still scored 15 goals, wow.

Written by Mike · Filed Under Hockey, Philadelphia Flyers | Leave a Comment

16 days until the rookies show up

August 21, 2006

The Flyers open Ã¢â‚¬ËœRookie Conditioning Camp on September 6.

More info about the camp can be found here.

The list of rookies attending the camp.

Oskars Bartulis
Josh Beaulieu
Rejean Beauchemin
Frederik Cabana
Riley Cote
Matt Davis
Steve Downie
Jeremy Duchesne
Ben Eager
Claude Giroux
Triston Grant
Nate Guenin
Adam Holmgren
Martin Houle
Lars Jonsson
David Laliberte
Mike Manley
Don Morrison
Scott Munroe
Jere Myllyniemi
Maxime Ouimet-Desjardins
Alexandre Picard
Ryan Potulny
Rosario Ruggeri
Stefan Ruzicka
Ladislav Scurko
Jussi Timonen
Denis Tolpeko
Brett Westgarth
Kevin Westgarth

Written by Mike · Filed Under Hockey, Philadelphia Flyers | Leave a Comment

Flyers Sign Defenseman Nate Guenin

August 17, 2006

The Philadelphia Flyers announced that they have signed 6'2", 210-pound free agent defenseman Nate Guenin to a two-year Entry Level contract, according to club Assistant General Manager Paul Holmgren. Per club policy, financial terms were not disclosed.

"Nate is a big, rugged defenseman with a right-handed shot," said Holmgren in making the announcement. "We look for him to come into our system and hopefully develop into an NHL player. We really like his tenacity and grit. We think that he is a good young prospect and we are excited about having him as part of our organization."

Guenin, 23, recorded 11 assists and 87 penalty minutes in 39 games for the Ohio State University Buckeyes last season. The senior captain led the team in penalty minutes for the fourth consecutive season and was tied for third on the team in assists. Guenin received honorable mention in the voting for the Central Collegiate Hockey AssociationÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s All-Star Teams following the 2005-06 season. He was voted "Hardest-Hitting Defenseman" and "Best Defenseman One-on-One" in the CCHA CaptainsÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ poll for the 2005-06 season. [.continue.]

Not a huge signing, but a pretty decent prospect. I expect him to play with the Phantoms for at least a year. He was drafted by the New York Rangers in the 4th round 127th overall in 2002, but never played in their organization.

This is what Pro Scout Evan Jansen said about Guenin on Hockeybird.com back in 2003.

Nate Guenin is well, nasty. He hits like a 18 wheeler and he makes tape to tape passes to get the rush started. Besides Tyutin, he is your best defensive prospect and I see him as a solid # 4 guy maybe even top 3.

Guenin played in The Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic on Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
He gave a pregame interview that can be heard here.

What hockeysfuture.com has to say about him.

While GueninÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s reputation as a rough and tough defenseman is well known, where he has shown marked improvement this season has been on the offensive side of his game. He has shown a willingness to jump up into the play and his puck skills continue to not only improve but has proved to be particularly effective in the area of outlet passes.

One of GueninÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s greatest attributes is his leadership ability, and he has been named the captain for the 2005-06 squad.

Written by Mike · Filed Under Hockey, Philadelphia Flyers, Trades-Signings | Leave a Comment

Flyers TV Schedule

August 13, 2006

The Flyers have released their TV schedule and I have updated the schedule here.
A printer friendly copy in PDF format can be found here.

61 games will be broadcast on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.
10 games on Philly 57
7 games on Versus, formerly known as OLN
5 games on NBC
8 games on TSN - Canada
3 games on Hockey Night in Canada

The Flyers will play the Devils, Rangers, Islanders and Penguins each 8 times, the other 10 teams in the division 4 times which leaves 10 games for Western Division teams.

The NHL AllStar game will be on January 24 with the skills competition and YoungStars Game on January 23.

The Flyers Wives Fight for Lives Carnival will be on Sunday February 25. Some pictures from last years carnival can be found here.

Written by Mike · Filed Under Hockey, Philadelphia Flyers | Leave a Comment

Source: Desjardins to Retire

August 9, 2006

I was uneasy at first to post this until I saw it on Comcast Sportsnet on the 1 AM edition. Earlier tonight there was some buzz on the internet that Desjardins was to retire, and SportsNite (Late Night - 1 AM) confirmed just that.

Desjardins will retire as the #2 defensemen in Flyers history in points behind only Mark Howe.

Written by Joshua · Filed Under Former Flyers, Hockey, Philadelphia Flyers | Leave a Comment

Michal Handzus to Chicago for Kyle Calder

August 4, 2006

The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that they have acquired 5'11", 180-pound left wing Kyle Calder from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Michal Handzus, according to club General Manager Bob Clarke.

"Our greatest depth is at center ice," said Clarke in making the announcement. "Calder is a player who we have coveted for a long time. He can score; he can kill penalties; he can play on any of our top three lines. He is a left wing player somewhat similar to what Michal was for us as a center iceman. We ended up playing Michal a lot on the wing when he really is a center and plays his best at center. We are still very strong at center and now we are much stronger at left wing."

"Words can not even describe how excited I am right now," said Calder. "I'm just really looking forward to joining the team. The Flyers have always been one of the teams that I wanted to come to. The dream is finally here and now I have to make the best of it. I'm kind of an up-and-down winger. If I get the opportunity, hopefully I can put the puck in the net. ThatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s kind of how I see myself. I'm kind of rugged. I like to play in the corners, chip the puck in good spots and try to create plays. Philadelphia has a great looking team on paper and on the ice. They have done well every year." [.continue.]

I'm going to miss Zeus. He might not put up great numbers, but he is a warrior. He plays through injuries and does whatever is asked of him. I am also going to miss the Zeus chants.

Let's look at what the Flyers gave up.
A 29 year old center at 6-5 217.
Last season played 73 games scored 11 goals, 33 assists, minus 2 with 38 penalty minutes. $2.128 million salary with one year left on the contract.

And what the Flyers got.
A 27 year old WING at 5-11 176.
Last season played 79 games scored 26 goals, 33 assists, minus 4 with 52 penalty minutes. $2.95 million salary in a one year contract.

So the Flyers got a younger, quicker and more offensive player. To do that the Flyers took an 800k salary hit. Good trade I think, especially as deep as the Flyers still are at center and the fact that Richards, Carter and Forsberg are still 'untouchable' in regards to trade.

This trade could also be speaking to the fact that Gagne has not been signed yet. Currently the Flyers are at about $39.5 million for payroll. If Gagne gets what he wants in salary which I believe is $5mill or higher it would put the Flyers over the cap. Even so there is the expectation and hope that Gagne will be resigned and be a Flyer for a very long time.

Written by Mike · Filed Under Hockey, Philadelphia Flyers, Trades-Signings | Leave a Comment

New Scoreboard at the Wach, Gagne Update

August 2, 2006

Gagne contract negotiations are still ungoing, and the 26 year old restricted free agent remains unsigned. While Bob Clarke said he is confident that the deal will get done, he hinted that the numbers are apart are not as small as he once let on, "Ã¢â‚¬Å“I think with the numbers that are being talked about, any gap is big, because itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s big money weÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re talking about."

Fans at the Wachovia Center will get an extra special treat this coming season, as the Comcast Spectacor owned building will feature a new high tech scoreboard, details here.

Written by Joshua · Filed Under Hockey, Philadelphia Flyers | Leave a Comment