Yes, I'm still here

Has it really been a week since I last posted? Wow.

Anyway, a lot has happened since the Pittsburgh game, namely the All-Star break, the Flyers looking like garbage against New York and like champs against Anaheim, and a lot of of talk about some Swedish guy named Forsberg. So, first things first...

The Flyers came back from the All-Star weekend looking to expand on a pretty decent record since Christmas (11-3 to be exact), and with Los Angeles in town, it was shaping up to be an easy road back into the season. And in true Philly form, the Flyers left it late by winning in OT 3-2 with a fairly controversial goal by Scott Hartnell, who appeared to kick the puck in. He didn't, so no worries there. The Flyers followed that game by giving one of their worst home performances of the year against the Rangers. Stephan Valiquette, the backup to the backup for New York, posted his first shutout of his career, and that's really all I'm saying about that. (BTW: Yes, the Giants won the Super Bowl. No, I don't respect them. Nothing is worse than obnoxious New York sports fans. NOTHING.) The Flyers were able to get in gear for the Anaheim Ducks, who came into the game with the most fighting majors in the league. Aside from a couple of scraps in the beginning of the game, it was pretty much all Philly in this one, putting a three-spot past Ducks G Jonas Hiller for the win.

Now, on to the Forsberg news - According to Bill Meltzer at hockeybuzz.com, the Flyers are probably in the driver's seat to sign Peter Forsberg, edging out other offer from Detroit, Ottawa, Toronto, and Dallas. Paul Holmgren spent most of the weekend over in Sweden talking to Forsberg as well as take in a youth tournament along with several other NHL GMs. Now, it still remains to be seen as to whether or not Forsberg is healthy enough to return to the NHL. I can't imagine that the Swedish Elite League is as physically demanding as hockey in North America. But, even if he returns at less than 100%, he would still be an asset to the team. First, it's not like we desperately need him back. The Flyers have shown this season that they are deep enough to ice two or even three scoring lines a night and are not dependent on one line to provide all of the offense, which takes some of the playmaking pressure off of Forsberg. Secondly, we already have an established leadership with Jason Smith, Simon Gagne, and Mike Richards. I think one of the problems Forsberg had during his first stint here was that Ken Hitchcock made him captain, a role I don't believe suited Peter. When he was lighting up the scoreboard in Colorado, he did so while deferring the on-ice leadership to Joe Sakic. If he were to return to Philly, I think he would be more content knowing that there are others on the team willing to step into the captain's role while allowing him to do what he does best. Finally, our PP unit has been outstanding to say the least (24.9%, good enough for second in the league behind Montreal at 25%), but our PP with Forsberg would be sick. Imagine this line:

Gagne-Forsberg-Briere
Timonen-Richards

Not only would that be ridiculously fun to watch, it would also make teams think twice about putting the Flyers on the man advantage. Just Forsberg's presence alone would be intimidating with that lineup.

Anyway, it's all wishful thinking for now. Apparently Holmgren came back without any definitive answer as to when Forsberg would be available. I will say, it is nice knowing that we are his first choice for returning to the NHL. And with our luck, he'll twist an ankle stepping off the plane. Oh well.

Flyers in Atlanta tomorrow...