The Rorschach: On Bobrovsky, Crawford and Flyers Goaltending
The need for a number one goaltender has become an eternal lament in Philadelphia. Their collection of kids and backups was okay in the first round of the post-season, but collapsed in a heap against the Bruins, solidifying in everyone’s minds the obvious truth: the Flyers goaltending sucks! Now for the ninth year in a row, Philly will apparently be searching for a true-blue number one ‘tender come July 1.
That said, it’s interesting to contrast the perception of Sergei Bobrovsky in Philadelphia versus that of Corey Crawford in Chicago. Both were unproven rookies heading into the season who basically usurped older incumbents. Bobrovsky appeared in 54 games for the Flyers, Crawford in 57 for the Hawks. The former managed a .915 SV%, the latter a .917. Their ES save rates were even closer: .924 for Crawford and .923 for Bobrovsky. Probably the only real difference between the two this season was their playoff performances: Crawford played well in 7 games (.927 SV%) while Bobrovsky struggled in his six appearances (.877 SV%). Of course, a six to seven game sample is hardly anything worth considering when it comes to puck-stoppers. Ilya Bryzgalov’s SV% was .878 this post-season for example.
And yet, folks in Chicago are calling Crawford a legit calder candidate, while there are others suggesting Philly should consider trading major pieces like Jeff Carter to fill the Flyers apparent “goaltending void”. The difference in perception and proscription is dramatic given how small the difference between the two ‘tenders results were this past season.
This goes to show how powerfully narratives and expectations can influence analysis. The Flyers on-going lack of an established, celebrated starting goaltender continues to grow and add momentum. It’s become the reason the Flyers “can’t win it all”: nevermind that the club made the Stanley Cup finals with Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton in 2010. And nevermind a number of recent Cup champions have won it all with…less than elite names between the pipes. Philly needs a goaltender. They always need a goaltender.
For the record, I think the Flyers would do well to acquire another decent puck-stopper given how little they know about Bobrvosky’s true talent: one decent season isn’t enough to get a true read of any players abilities, especially a goaltenders – but that’s no less true in Chicago as well. No one in their right mind would claim the Blackhawks should trade Patrick Sharp for Ilya Bryzgalov though.
My drinking team has a hockey problem
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
I don't know much about Bryzgalov, but I'd guess his numbers aren't as good as bobrovsky's because the team he played in front of wasn't as good as the flyers.
I don't care what they get for carter, I just want him gone
I don't know much about Bryzgalov, but I'd guess his numbers aren't as good as bobrovsky's because the team he played in front of wasn't as good as the flyers.
I don't care what they get for carter, I just want him gone
I wouldn't trade Carter for Bryzgalov
I wouldn't just trade Carter to trade him either
I would not want Holmgren's job this off-season
My drinking team has a hockey problem
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
that was a one year deal...right? he ain't coming back.
yeah, one year. probably not back.
I wouldn't mind him back. esp if frosty does get moved. zherdev was one of the few guys that played well in playoffs (in the games where he wasn't scratched)
that was a one year deal...right? he ain't coming back.
yeah, one year. probably not back.
I wouldn't mind him back. esp if frosty does get moved. zherdev was one of the few guys that played well in playoffs (in the games where he wasn't scratched)
Yeah, he's gone
I dont think Lavy would be having him over for dinner anytime soon
I think he hates him as a player
My drinking team has a hockey problem
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
In the two weeks since the Flyers were swept out of the Stanley Cup playoffs, captain Mike Richards has been a lightning rod of criticism. In an exclusive interview with Courier-Post beat reporter Chuck Gormley during his vacation with friends in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the 26-year-old center addresses, among other things, his stormy relationship with the media, his feelings about head coach Peter Laviolette and whether or not he wants to remain the Flyers’ captain.
Q: First of all, how’s Cabo?
A: It’s beautiful. Eighty-five and sunny every day I’ve been here. I’ve just been hanging by the pool. Some of the guys went jet skiing and stuff like that, but I couldn’t go.
Q: Is your hand still in a cast?
A: I had a cast up to my bicep for about 10 days and now I have a small splint for another four weeks.
Q: How does it feel?
A: It’s all right. It’s a little sore still. But it’s getting there; it’s getting better.
Q: What have the past few weeks been like for you? So much has been written about you giving up the captaincy.
A: Whenever things go wrong, there are always going to be people blamed and fingers pointed. That generally comes with the job of being the captain. The first person in line is usually me. It sucks more that we lost and we’re in this situation than what’s being written. You just learn from your mistakes and try to do better in the future.
Q: What have you learned, especially in dealing with the media?
A: I don’t know. You’ve got to calm yourself down before you go to the media. Maybe I need to take about five or ten minutes to calm myself and gather my thoughts and then go in there and choose my words wiser. Sometimes you try to joke around or say things that get blown up. You’ve got to realize that everything you say can be taken the wrong way and you have to be careful.
Q: Paul Holmgren and Ed Snider have both said they think it’s important for any captain to cooperate with the media. Do you think you have?
A: Yeah, I think so. I’ve done interviews after every game, after every practice. I think I’ve been more than helpful to accommodate stories. I guess I have to give a little bit more. To tell you the truth, I think I have a good relationship with some of (the reporters), the people that treat you with respect. That’s the biggest thing. Sometimes people don’t treat you with respect and your relationship is probably not great. There have been a couple (reporters) that we’ve had issues in the past and sometimes things get said that maybe you shouldn’t have. But that’s life, you move on. You’re not going to be liked by everyone, nor are you going to like everyone. The media has a job to do and sometimes you have to be more aware and careful of what you say. Can I be better at it? Yes, I probably can be. But at the same time it’s a two-way street. It goes back a couple years ago to some articles (about Richards’ nightlife) were written and I asked for a little bit of leeway and sometimes you don’t get that. In the end, I could be better, but I also could be worse and not do (the interviews) I do.
Q: After sitting through the post-season meetings, is there anything that stands out as to what went wrong this season?
A: I don’t know. Now that I have a little bit of time to reflect I think we got away from some of the things that gave us success. At the beginning of the year we had a lot of it and maybe we took for granted a little bit about how hard it is to win hockey games. When you start trying to do just the minimum to get by, instead of doing whatever it takes to win hockey games … I thought the Buffalo series we played extremely well and in the Boston series I didn’t think so. But they have a good team, they had great goaltending and they got a couple of bounces. What you need to have success in the playoffs is health – we missed a couple of key players – and you have to get some bounces your way – post and in instead of post and out – and we didn’t have that timely goal scoring, either.
Q: In all honesty was it tough to see the goalies coming in and out? I’m sure that’s not the way you mapped it out.
A: No, it’s not. Obviously, you want one goaltender to play well. But at the same time I could have played better. It’s just a position where there’s so much pressure, so much spotlight that I think sometimes it gets blown up a little more. I’ve got to tell you that it’s not very comforting to have different goaltenders start different games. No, it would be nice to have one goaltender. But I honestly believe that we are confident in playing with any of the goaltenders that were in there. We just didn’t get the job done.
Q: As captain, would you like to see the team address that this summer and get a No. 1 goalie?
A: I have full confidence in Bob (Sergei Bobrovsky) coming in and playing well. If you look at what he was accustomed to before coming to the NHL, that’s a lot of games for a goaltender who switches over. You saw how well he played in the beginning of the year when he was rested, strong and feeling good about himself. It’s a long season and sometimes you get tired out. As a player who has been there before you make adjustments, train differently and learn as you go and I think Bob is going to do that. He’s going to be a good goaltender in this league and hopefully I can go through it with him.
Q: Do you think your wrist injury impacted your play down the stretch?
A: I think so. I don’t want to make excuses by any means, but faceoffs were a big thing for me and, man, it’s frustrating. It’s a part of my game I pride myself in and we just didn’t get that, especially against (Boston Bruins center Patrice) Bergeron. To me, that was the flashing light that I didn’t have that strength to face him. My shot wasn’t as good as I would like to see, but at the same time, everybody plays with injuries. I wish I would have gotten (surgery) done at the beginning of the year when I had the opportunity to, but we didn’t know that it was going to keep getting worse instead of better throughout the year. It was unfortunate, but you live and you learn.
Q: Did it happen in training camp?
A: It started bothering me a little bit last year and the doctors and trainers and I thought it would get better over the summertime, which it did. I re-aggravated it again in training camp. Looking back I wish I would have gotten it done right away, but we didn’t do that and it probably affected me a little bit in the end.
Q: A lot has been made in the past two weeks about the relationship between Peter Laviolette and you. How would you describe it?
A: I would say it’s a typical player-coach relationship. I’m not the loudest, most outgoing guy. I probably could be better. But we go out for breakfast on the road some mornings just to go over things and catch up. We talk a lot. I was shocked to see an article that said we didn’t talk for months. That couldn’t be further from the truth and it was shocking to hear. We probably talk once every two weeks about everything. We’ll have conversations about power play, conversations about different players. I played with a lot of people this year on my line and we talked about that a ton. Yeah, it’s a work in progress. Like I said, I’m a pretty quiet guy to everybody. Even talk to my dad. We’re just quiet people. We don’t make excuses, we don’t complain. We’re not just going to babble about anything. It’s no different than with Lavvy. Could it be better? Maybe. But at the same time, we talk a lot about a lot of things. We bounce a lot of ideas off each other and that’s what coaches and players do.
Q: Do you think he’s a good coach?
A: I think he’s a great coach. He’s a very, very smart hockey guy. Hitch (Ken Hitchcock) was an unbelievably great Xs and Os coach and so is Lavvy. But Lavvy’s got that fire under him that burns to win. He’s an unbelievable speaker, so he gets you motivated for every game. And he keeps things loose. He’s witty, he’s smart and he just knows the right thing to say at the right time. You can see that with the timeouts he calls during games. He always seems to know what to say. He’s just a good, all-around coach.
Q: Let’s talk about the captaincy. Some say you’re not the right guy for it. Is the captaincy something you’re comfortable with and is it something you want to keep?
A: Yeah, it’s something I want to keep, for sure. I’ve talked to players about it. If I didn’t think I was the right guy for the job and it would benefit the team to give it back I would do it a hundred percent. But I don’t think that’s the case. I think I’m a good captain. I think we have guys that could be the captain on the team. I mean, Kimmo (Timonen) has done it, Danny Briere has done it. They were on different teams and were good leaders. But I think I’m the right man for the job to tell you the truth. You guys aren’t around to see everything that happens, so I think it’s tough for media people to say stuff about not being the right man for the job when they only see us on the ice and ten minutes after a skate, so I think that’s unfair to say. I’ve talked to people – not that I doubt myself – but it is something I wanted to make sure of and I honestly feel I’m a good captain, to tell you the truth. I think I handle things well in the dressing room and I think it’s unfair for people to say I’m not the right man for the job.
Q: You have one year remaining before your no-trade clause kicks in (July 1, 2012). Do you want to remain a Flyer?
A: Yeah, that is important to me. I started something six years ago when I came here and that was to win. I think we have a great team to do so. We have the right people in place and I think it’s gonna happen. I want to be here. I love Philadelphia. I love the guys. I love the organization and the will to win that they have and I want to stay here. It’s frustrating sometimes to deal with the media in Philadelphia, but at the same time, if that’s what you’ve got to go through to play in Philadelphia it’s worth it. I love Philly, I love the organization and I love the city. So, I don’t see myself going anywhere.
Q: Have you talked to Paul Holmgren about how important it is for you to stay here and be the captain?
A: We’ve talked about being the captain. We haven’t talked about how important it is to stay here because I think we’re on the same page, that he wants me here and I want to be here.
Q: Did he ask you if you felt comfortable with the captaincy?
A: We talked briefly about what the situation is, but I don’t think (the captaincy) was questioned, actually, by him. So I don’t think he was really concerned about what we talked about at the end.
Q: So it sounds like it would be a joy to play in Philadelphia and stay in Philadelphia if you didn’t have to deal with the media.
A: If we could take you guys away it would be the perfect place, believe me.
My drinking team has a hockey problem
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
Anyone been watching the van/sj series? Ryan Kesler plays how carter should play. They are pretty close in size. Huge difference in the passion, desire, and will to win. If carter played with half the intensity of kesler he would be one of the best forwards in the NHL. He's such a waste of talent.
EDIT: wish the flyers kept downie too. LOVE that dude. He's played great in the playoffs
Anyone been watching the van/sj series? Ryan Kesler plays how carter should play. They are pretty close in size. Huge difference in the passion, desire, and will to win. If carter played with half the intensity of kesler he would be one of the best forwards in the NHL. He's such a waste of talent.
EDIT: wish the flyers kept downie too. LOVE that dude. He's played great in the playoffs
You do know when Clarkie was still the GM he had signed Kesler to an offer sheet when he was a restricted free-agent
Van Matched obviously
How things would have been different
My drinking team has a hockey problem
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
interesting that he doesn't mention Progner when talking about teammates that are former captains.
I still have this believe that Richards and Pronger are not really friends. I still think that Richards should be the captain but i will say that i am upset at the Flyers for not getting his arm fixed before the season started.
anyway, only 1 more month until FA starts. let see what the Flyers do.
interesting that he doesn't mention Progner when talking about teammates that are former captains.
I still have this believe that Richards and Pronger are not really friends. I still think that Richards should be the captain but i will say that i am upset at the Flyers for not getting his arm fixed before the season started.
anyway, only 1 more month until FA starts. let see what the Flyers do.
i would agree.
i'm ready for next season might be the only game in town.
interesting that he doesn't mention Progner when talking about teammates that are former captains.
I still have this believe that Richards and Pronger are not really friends. I still think that Richards should be the captain but i will say that i am upset at the Flyers for not getting his arm fixed before the season started.
anyway, only 1 more month until FA starts. let see what the Flyers do.
I think they're both total opposites so their personalties dont mesh
Pronger is in your face and loves messing with the media. Richards is quiet and hates the media
I think Richards has to grow up some also and show some maturity
My drinking team has a hockey problem
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
I think Richards has to grow up some also and show some maturity
I think the captaincy stuff is overrated (like home ice). Last year the flyers got to the finals, richards played great, and no one said anything. This year richards was OK and the flyers got swept out of the playoffs, leading to the media trying to make up stories about whether he should be the captain.
I think most of this is the media trying to bury him more than anything else. Like you guys said, richards hates talking to the media. I think some of those writers think he acts that way on purpose, which makes their jobs tougher and leads to negative stories like him and pronger don't get along, him and lavy don't get along, he shouldn't be captain...etc
I don't think it matters who the captain is. The team plays well it's a non-issue.
Anyone been watching the van/sj series? Ryan Kesler plays how carter should play. They are pretty close in size. Huge difference in the passion, desire, and will to win. If carter played with half the intensity of kesler he would be one of the best forwards in the NHL. He's such a waste of talent.
EDIT: wish the flyers kept downie too. LOVE that dude. He's played great in the playoffs
You do know when Clarkie was still the GM he had signed Kesler to an offer sheet when he was a restricted free-agent
Van Matched obviously
How things would have been different
definitely don't remember that.
kesler is what carter should be. I really hope they trade him
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Anyone been watching the van/sj series? Ryan Kesler plays how carter should play. They are pretty close in size. Huge difference in the passion, desire, and will to win. If carter played with half the intensity of kesler he would be one of the best forwards in the NHL. He's such a waste of talent.
EDIT: wish the flyers kept downie too. LOVE that dude. He's played great in the playoffs
You do know when Clarkie was still the GM he had signed Kesler to an offer sheet when he was a restricted free-agent
Van Matched obviously
How things would have been different
definitely don't remember that.
kesler is what carter should be. I really hope they trade him
This was before Kesler was a stud like now
More of a yapper with potential when they offered him the contract
My drinking team has a hockey problem
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
MyNHLtraderumors.com brings you it’s 2011 Top 25 NHL unrestricted free agents. In creating the list we didn’t just list rank on talent alone. We took into consideration: age, position, and likelihood of signing with a different team. Ie. Niklas Lidstrom and Teemu Selanne would make the list based on talent, but if they return next season it would only be with their ’10-’11 clubs.
# Player Pos. 2010-2011 Team 10-11 Cap # 2011-2012 Team
1 Brad Richards C Dallas Stars $7,800,000
2 Ilya Bryzgalov G Phoenix Coyotes $4,250,000
3 Christian Ehrhoff D Vancouver Canucks $3,100,000
4 Brooks Laich C/LW Washington Capitals $2,067,000
5 James Wisniewski D Montreal Canadiens $3,250,000
6 Joni Pitkanen D Carolina Hurricanes $4,000,000
7 Tomas Kaberle D Boston Bruins $4,250,000
8 Kevin Bieska D Vancouver Canucks $3,750,000
9 Tomas Fleischmann C/LW Colorado Avalanche $2,600,000
10 Jussi Jokinen LW Carolina Hurricanes $1,700,000
11 Tomas Vokoun G Florida Panthers $5,700,000
12 Michal Handzus C Los Angeles Kings $4,000,000
13 Andrei Markov D Montreal Canadiens $5,750,000
14 Curtis Glencross LW Calgary Flames $1,200,000 Re-signed with the Flames. 4 years, $10.2 million.
15 Ed Jovanovski D Phoenix Coyotes $6,500,000
16 Jason Arnott C Washington Capitals $4,500,000
17 Alex Tanguay LW Calgary Flames $1,700,000
18 Tim Connolly C Buffalo Sabres $4,500,000
19 Roman Hamrlik D Montreal Canadiens $5,500,000
20 Bryan McCabe D New York Rangers $5,750,000
21 Ville Leino LW Philadelphia Flyers $800,000
22 Milan Hejduk RW Colorado Avalanche $3,000,000 Re-signed with the Avalanche. 1 year, $2.6 million. Up to $3 million with bonuses.
23 Eric Brewer D Tampa Bay Lightning $4,250,000
24 Simon Gagne LW Tampa Bay Lightning $5,250,000
25 Tomas Kopecky
My drinking team has a hockey problem
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
Comments
This was a link from broadstreethockey.com
The Rorschach: On Bobrovsky, Crawford and Flyers Goaltending
The need for a number one goaltender has become an eternal lament in Philadelphia. Their collection of kids and backups was okay in the first round of the post-season, but collapsed in a heap against the Bruins, solidifying in everyone’s minds the obvious truth: the Flyers goaltending sucks! Now for the ninth year in a row, Philly will apparently be searching for a true-blue number one ‘tender come July 1.
That said, it’s interesting to contrast the perception of Sergei Bobrovsky in Philadelphia versus that of Corey Crawford in Chicago. Both were unproven rookies heading into the season who basically usurped older incumbents. Bobrovsky appeared in 54 games for the Flyers, Crawford in 57 for the Hawks. The former managed a .915 SV%, the latter a .917. Their ES save rates were even closer: .924 for Crawford and .923 for Bobrovsky. Probably the only real difference between the two this season was their playoff performances: Crawford played well in 7 games (.927 SV%) while Bobrovsky struggled in his six appearances (.877 SV%). Of course, a six to seven game sample is hardly anything worth considering when it comes to puck-stoppers. Ilya Bryzgalov’s SV% was .878 this post-season for example.
And yet, folks in Chicago are calling Crawford a legit calder candidate, while there are others suggesting Philly should consider trading major pieces like Jeff Carter to fill the Flyers apparent “goaltending void”. The difference in perception and proscription is dramatic given how small the difference between the two ‘tenders results were this past season.
This goes to show how powerfully narratives and expectations can influence analysis. The Flyers on-going lack of an established, celebrated starting goaltender continues to grow and add momentum. It’s become the reason the Flyers “can’t win it all”: nevermind that the club made the Stanley Cup finals with Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton in 2010. And nevermind a number of recent Cup champions have won it all with…less than elite names between the pipes. Philly needs a goaltender. They always need a goaltender.
For the record, I think the Flyers would do well to acquire another decent puck-stopper given how little they know about Bobrvosky’s true talent: one decent season isn’t enough to get a true read of any players abilities, especially a goaltenders – but that’s no less true in Chicago as well. No one in their right mind would claim the Blackhawks should trade Patrick Sharp for Ilya Bryzgalov though.
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
I don't care what they get for carter, I just want him gone
I wouldn't trade Carter for Bryzgalov
I wouldn't just trade Carter to trade him either
I would not want Holmgren's job this off-season
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
On a pole in South Philly
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
that's awesome.
that was a one year deal...right? he ain't coming back.
First Barnaby now this
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
yeah, one year. probably not back.
I wouldn't mind him back. esp if frosty does get moved. zherdev was one of the few guys that played well in playoffs (in the games where he wasn't scratched)
Yeah, he's gone
I dont think Lavy would be having him over for dinner anytime soon
I think he hates him as a player
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
http://blogs.courierpostonline.com/flye ... 5/23/2370/
Mike Richards: ‘I’m the right man for the job’
In the two weeks since the Flyers were swept out of the Stanley Cup playoffs, captain Mike Richards has been a lightning rod of criticism. In an exclusive interview with Courier-Post beat reporter Chuck Gormley during his vacation with friends in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the 26-year-old center addresses, among other things, his stormy relationship with the media, his feelings about head coach Peter Laviolette and whether or not he wants to remain the Flyers’ captain.
Q: First of all, how’s Cabo?
A: It’s beautiful. Eighty-five and sunny every day I’ve been here. I’ve just been hanging by the pool. Some of the guys went jet skiing and stuff like that, but I couldn’t go.
Q: Is your hand still in a cast?
A: I had a cast up to my bicep for about 10 days and now I have a small splint for another four weeks.
Q: How does it feel?
A: It’s all right. It’s a little sore still. But it’s getting there; it’s getting better.
Q: What have the past few weeks been like for you? So much has been written about you giving up the captaincy.
A: Whenever things go wrong, there are always going to be people blamed and fingers pointed. That generally comes with the job of being the captain. The first person in line is usually me. It sucks more that we lost and we’re in this situation than what’s being written. You just learn from your mistakes and try to do better in the future.
Q: What have you learned, especially in dealing with the media?
A: I don’t know. You’ve got to calm yourself down before you go to the media. Maybe I need to take about five or ten minutes to calm myself and gather my thoughts and then go in there and choose my words wiser. Sometimes you try to joke around or say things that get blown up. You’ve got to realize that everything you say can be taken the wrong way and you have to be careful.
Q: Paul Holmgren and Ed Snider have both said they think it’s important for any captain to cooperate with the media. Do you think you have?
A: Yeah, I think so. I’ve done interviews after every game, after every practice. I think I’ve been more than helpful to accommodate stories. I guess I have to give a little bit more. To tell you the truth, I think I have a good relationship with some of (the reporters), the people that treat you with respect. That’s the biggest thing. Sometimes people don’t treat you with respect and your relationship is probably not great. There have been a couple (reporters) that we’ve had issues in the past and sometimes things get said that maybe you shouldn’t have. But that’s life, you move on. You’re not going to be liked by everyone, nor are you going to like everyone. The media has a job to do and sometimes you have to be more aware and careful of what you say. Can I be better at it? Yes, I probably can be. But at the same time it’s a two-way street. It goes back a couple years ago to some articles (about Richards’ nightlife) were written and I asked for a little bit of leeway and sometimes you don’t get that. In the end, I could be better, but I also could be worse and not do (the interviews) I do.
Q: After sitting through the post-season meetings, is there anything that stands out as to what went wrong this season?
A: I don’t know. Now that I have a little bit of time to reflect I think we got away from some of the things that gave us success. At the beginning of the year we had a lot of it and maybe we took for granted a little bit about how hard it is to win hockey games. When you start trying to do just the minimum to get by, instead of doing whatever it takes to win hockey games … I thought the Buffalo series we played extremely well and in the Boston series I didn’t think so. But they have a good team, they had great goaltending and they got a couple of bounces. What you need to have success in the playoffs is health – we missed a couple of key players – and you have to get some bounces your way – post and in instead of post and out – and we didn’t have that timely goal scoring, either.
Q: In all honesty was it tough to see the goalies coming in and out? I’m sure that’s not the way you mapped it out.
A: No, it’s not. Obviously, you want one goaltender to play well. But at the same time I could have played better. It’s just a position where there’s so much pressure, so much spotlight that I think sometimes it gets blown up a little more. I’ve got to tell you that it’s not very comforting to have different goaltenders start different games. No, it would be nice to have one goaltender. But I honestly believe that we are confident in playing with any of the goaltenders that were in there. We just didn’t get the job done.
Q: As captain, would you like to see the team address that this summer and get a No. 1 goalie?
A: I have full confidence in Bob (Sergei Bobrovsky) coming in and playing well. If you look at what he was accustomed to before coming to the NHL, that’s a lot of games for a goaltender who switches over. You saw how well he played in the beginning of the year when he was rested, strong and feeling good about himself. It’s a long season and sometimes you get tired out. As a player who has been there before you make adjustments, train differently and learn as you go and I think Bob is going to do that. He’s going to be a good goaltender in this league and hopefully I can go through it with him.
Q: Do you think your wrist injury impacted your play down the stretch?
A: I think so. I don’t want to make excuses by any means, but faceoffs were a big thing for me and, man, it’s frustrating. It’s a part of my game I pride myself in and we just didn’t get that, especially against (Boston Bruins center Patrice) Bergeron. To me, that was the flashing light that I didn’t have that strength to face him. My shot wasn’t as good as I would like to see, but at the same time, everybody plays with injuries. I wish I would have gotten (surgery) done at the beginning of the year when I had the opportunity to, but we didn’t know that it was going to keep getting worse instead of better throughout the year. It was unfortunate, but you live and you learn.
Q: Did it happen in training camp?
A: It started bothering me a little bit last year and the doctors and trainers and I thought it would get better over the summertime, which it did. I re-aggravated it again in training camp. Looking back I wish I would have gotten it done right away, but we didn’t do that and it probably affected me a little bit in the end.
Q: A lot has been made in the past two weeks about the relationship between Peter Laviolette and you. How would you describe it?
A: I would say it’s a typical player-coach relationship. I’m not the loudest, most outgoing guy. I probably could be better. But we go out for breakfast on the road some mornings just to go over things and catch up. We talk a lot. I was shocked to see an article that said we didn’t talk for months. That couldn’t be further from the truth and it was shocking to hear. We probably talk once every two weeks about everything. We’ll have conversations about power play, conversations about different players. I played with a lot of people this year on my line and we talked about that a ton. Yeah, it’s a work in progress. Like I said, I’m a pretty quiet guy to everybody. Even talk to my dad. We’re just quiet people. We don’t make excuses, we don’t complain. We’re not just going to babble about anything. It’s no different than with Lavvy. Could it be better? Maybe. But at the same time, we talk a lot about a lot of things. We bounce a lot of ideas off each other and that’s what coaches and players do.
Q: Do you think he’s a good coach?
A: I think he’s a great coach. He’s a very, very smart hockey guy. Hitch (Ken Hitchcock) was an unbelievably great Xs and Os coach and so is Lavvy. But Lavvy’s got that fire under him that burns to win. He’s an unbelievable speaker, so he gets you motivated for every game. And he keeps things loose. He’s witty, he’s smart and he just knows the right thing to say at the right time. You can see that with the timeouts he calls during games. He always seems to know what to say. He’s just a good, all-around coach.
Q: Let’s talk about the captaincy. Some say you’re not the right guy for it. Is the captaincy something you’re comfortable with and is it something you want to keep?
A: Yeah, it’s something I want to keep, for sure. I’ve talked to players about it. If I didn’t think I was the right guy for the job and it would benefit the team to give it back I would do it a hundred percent. But I don’t think that’s the case. I think I’m a good captain. I think we have guys that could be the captain on the team. I mean, Kimmo (Timonen) has done it, Danny Briere has done it. They were on different teams and were good leaders. But I think I’m the right man for the job to tell you the truth. You guys aren’t around to see everything that happens, so I think it’s tough for media people to say stuff about not being the right man for the job when they only see us on the ice and ten minutes after a skate, so I think that’s unfair to say. I’ve talked to people – not that I doubt myself – but it is something I wanted to make sure of and I honestly feel I’m a good captain, to tell you the truth. I think I handle things well in the dressing room and I think it’s unfair for people to say I’m not the right man for the job.
Q: You have one year remaining before your no-trade clause kicks in (July 1, 2012). Do you want to remain a Flyer?
A: Yeah, that is important to me. I started something six years ago when I came here and that was to win. I think we have a great team to do so. We have the right people in place and I think it’s gonna happen. I want to be here. I love Philadelphia. I love the guys. I love the organization and the will to win that they have and I want to stay here. It’s frustrating sometimes to deal with the media in Philadelphia, but at the same time, if that’s what you’ve got to go through to play in Philadelphia it’s worth it. I love Philly, I love the organization and I love the city. So, I don’t see myself going anywhere.
Q: Have you talked to Paul Holmgren about how important it is for you to stay here and be the captain?
A: We’ve talked about being the captain. We haven’t talked about how important it is to stay here because I think we’re on the same page, that he wants me here and I want to be here.
Q: Did he ask you if you felt comfortable with the captaincy?
A: We talked briefly about what the situation is, but I don’t think (the captaincy) was questioned, actually, by him. So I don’t think he was really concerned about what we talked about at the end.
Q: So it sounds like it would be a joy to play in Philadelphia and stay in Philadelphia if you didn’t have to deal with the media.
A: If we could take you guys away it would be the perfect place, believe me.
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
EDIT: wish the flyers kept downie too. LOVE that dude. He's played great in the playoffs
You do know when Clarkie was still the GM he had signed Kesler to an offer sheet when he was a restricted free-agent
Van Matched obviously
How things would have been different
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
I still have this believe that Richards and Pronger are not really friends. I still think that Richards should be the captain but i will say that i am upset at the Flyers for not getting his arm fixed before the season started.
anyway, only 1 more month until FA starts. let see what the Flyers do.
i would agree.
i'm ready for next season
I think they're both total opposites so their personalties dont mesh
Pronger is in your face and loves messing with the media. Richards is quiet and hates the media
I think Richards has to grow up some also and show some maturity
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
I think the captaincy stuff is overrated (like home ice). Last year the flyers got to the finals, richards played great, and no one said anything. This year richards was OK and the flyers got swept out of the playoffs, leading to the media trying to make up stories about whether he should be the captain.
I think most of this is the media trying to bury him more than anything else. Like you guys said, richards hates talking to the media. I think some of those writers think he acts that way on purpose, which makes their jobs tougher and leads to negative stories like him and pronger don't get along, him and lavy don't get along, he shouldn't be captain...etc
I don't think it matters who the captain is. The team plays well it's a non-issue.
Just my 2 cents.
Horrible
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
definitely don't remember that.
kesler is what carter should be. I really hope they trade him
WTF is that?
WF Center 4/28/16; WF Center 4/29/16; Fenway Park 8/7/16; Fenway Park 9/2/18; Asbury Park 9/18/21; Camden 9/14/22;
Las Vegas 5/16/24; Las Vegas 5/18/24; WF Center 9/7/24; WF Center 9/9/24; Baltimore Arena 9/12/24
Tres Mtns - TLA 3/23/11; EV - Tower Theatre 6/25/11; Temple of the Dog - Tower Theatre 11/5/16
Sadly the Jersey's they'll be wearing
Even JVR had the pic on twitter
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
This was before Kesler was a stud like now
More of a yapper with potential when they offered him the contract
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
dude plays his ass off. Love it. a pleasure to watch
yeah..he started to play hockey and focus less on the other bs
would have been a great signing
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
i sort of like it in a sick perverted way
:P
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
http://www.mynhltraderumors.com/2011/04 ... ee-agents/
MyNHLtraderumors.com brings you it’s 2011 Top 25 NHL unrestricted free agents. In creating the list we didn’t just list rank on talent alone. We took into consideration: age, position, and likelihood of signing with a different team. Ie. Niklas Lidstrom and Teemu Selanne would make the list based on talent, but if they return next season it would only be with their ’10-’11 clubs.
# Player Pos. 2010-2011 Team 10-11 Cap # 2011-2012 Team
1 Brad Richards C Dallas Stars $7,800,000
2 Ilya Bryzgalov G Phoenix Coyotes $4,250,000
3 Christian Ehrhoff D Vancouver Canucks $3,100,000
4 Brooks Laich C/LW Washington Capitals $2,067,000
5 James Wisniewski D Montreal Canadiens $3,250,000
6 Joni Pitkanen D Carolina Hurricanes $4,000,000
7 Tomas Kaberle D Boston Bruins $4,250,000
8 Kevin Bieska D Vancouver Canucks $3,750,000
9 Tomas Fleischmann C/LW Colorado Avalanche $2,600,000
10 Jussi Jokinen LW Carolina Hurricanes $1,700,000
11 Tomas Vokoun G Florida Panthers $5,700,000
12 Michal Handzus C Los Angeles Kings $4,000,000
13 Andrei Markov D Montreal Canadiens $5,750,000
14 Curtis Glencross LW Calgary Flames $1,200,000 Re-signed with the Flames. 4 years, $10.2 million.
15 Ed Jovanovski D Phoenix Coyotes $6,500,000
16 Jason Arnott C Washington Capitals $4,500,000
17 Alex Tanguay LW Calgary Flames $1,700,000
18 Tim Connolly C Buffalo Sabres $4,500,000
19 Roman Hamrlik D Montreal Canadiens $5,500,000
20 Bryan McCabe D New York Rangers $5,750,000
21 Ville Leino LW Philadelphia Flyers $800,000
22 Milan Hejduk RW Colorado Avalanche $3,000,000 Re-signed with the Avalanche. 1 year, $2.6 million. Up to $3 million with bonuses.
23 Eric Brewer D Tampa Bay Lightning $4,250,000
24 Simon Gagne LW Tampa Bay Lightning $5,250,000
25 Tomas Kopecky
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
I could see gagne coming back on a cheap one year deal.