Luc Bourdon 1987-2008

(Photo courtesy of Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)

I said I would stay away until the draft, but I figured this needed to be said. TSN has reported that Vancouver Canucks defenseman Luc Bourdon was killed today in a motorcycle accident in New Brunswick. They didn't go into what actually happened, but this is a tragic loss for both Luc's family and the Canucks organization. He played for both Vancouver and Manitoba this year, which was his first season in the NHL, and played for a couple of minor league teams in Moncton and Cape Breton. And as you can see, he was only 21.

My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Stanley Cup Finals Game 1: Penguins @ Red Wings

Go Wings.

Offseason stuff

Sorry, just couldn't stay away. The Red Wings are up 4-1 on Dallas in Game 6 tonight, so it looks like it will be Detroit vs. Pittsburgh in the who's-lost-more-manufacturing-jobs Stanley Cup finals!!

Anyway, on to Flyers news. According to the good people at nhlnumbers.com, the Flyers have the following player contracts to deal with, along with what they made this season:

UFA:
Jim Dowd - $500K
Riley Cote (UFA VI) - $500K
Jesse Boulerice - $475K
Jason Smith - $1.98M
Vinnie Prospal - $1.9M
Rory Fizpatrick - $550K
Jaroslav Modry - $1.2M

RFA:
R.J. Umberger - $1.2M
Jeff Carter - $942K
Patrick Thoresen - $542K
Ryan Potulny - $643K
Randy Jones - $525K
Nate Guenin - $585K
Stefan Ruzicka - $525K

OK, here's what I think. As far as the UFAs are concerned, I think Paul Holmgren will allow them to test the open market. Riley Cote will more than likely end up staying since he seems to be a fixture anytime we need to smack someone around. There was a rumor earlier this winter that Jason Smith may want to head back to New Jersey to end his career, which is fine. Mike Richards will no doubt take over as captain, and he more than earned it. The RFAs are another story. Any offer made for either Carter or Umberger will net the Flyers some pretty decent compensation. Toronto may send over an offer sheet for Carter, maybe even Vancouver. Umberger had a great playoffs this year and should have raised his stock a bit heading into the offseason. Randy Jones should be back, along with Potulny and Ruzicka for another year with the Phantoms.

Right now, the Flyers have 21 players under contract for about $49.5 million heading into next season. Assuming that the cap will be raised, the Flyers should have some wiggle room to resign players and bring in young talent. I don't see the front office going after a big name free agent, and that's fine with me. Most of the core players are returning, along with Simon Gagne and possibly Claude Giroux (whose Gatineau Olympiques lost 6-3 tonight against Belleville in the Memorial Cup). The future looks really good for Philly, much better than many people give us credit for.

UPDATE - Dallas lost, so the Cup final is set to kick off this Saturday in Detroit. I think Pittsburgh will give Detroit a tough run, but I'm betting on the veteran Red Wings to win it.
Detroit wins the Stanley Cup 4-2

OK, now it's over...Penguins 6, Flyers 0

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

I should be mad right now.

Like, really, really, throwing dangerous objects mad.

I'm not, and to be honest, I'm completely OK with that.

Of course it would have been nice to see the Flyers put up more of a fight today, but you had to know that Pittsburgh would come out stronger than they did on Thursday. I could go on and on about the questionable calls in Game 5, but to be fair, the officiating has been atrocious all season in the NHL. There's no sense in blaming the officials for today's 6-0 loss, especially since it isn't their fault the Flyers couldn't figure out how to beat the Pens' trap defense. Let's face it, the Penguins are the better team. They were built to win the Stanley Cup, and they'll get their justly deserved shot. The Flyers have been playing with the house money ever since the Washington series. I didn't think we'd beat the Caps in Game 7, let alone win four straight against Montreal, but we did.

You have to wonder where this team would be if they didn't go through that horrific ten-game losing streak this winter. Get at least five wins from that and we might have been the No. 1 seed. Anyway, no sense in playing the what-if game. We have the summer to regroup, make some roster tweaks (I think Derien Hatcher, Sami Kapanen, and Jason Smith played their final game for Philly today, and you can pretty much bank on Claude Giroux coming to town), and prepare for next season. We won't be sneaking up on anyone, but we have to be considered in the top four teams in the East, along with Pittsburgh, Montreal, and Washington.

As for me, I'm taking a scheduled break. It's been fun following the Flyers this season and I'm already looking ahead to 2008-9. A big thank you to the Flyers who gave us one of our most successful seasons ever, and for erasing the stench from last season's disaster. Good luck to the winner of the Detroit/Dallas series (I will not, repeat NOT, be cheering for Pittsburgh in some misguided state loyalty. You didn't see Leafs fans pulling for Ottawa last year, did you?) and good luck to Giroux and his Olympiques in the Memorial Cup.

Be back for the NHL Draft.

Quick update

According to both TSN and 610 WIP radio in Philly, Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn could play tomorrow in Pittsburgh for Game 5. It looks like Timonen will at least play, but I don't know if John Stevens will have him start.

It's like I said earlier. If they're ready, play them. But if there's the slightest bit of discomfort, don't risk a future long-term injury.

Dallas won today 2-1. Hopefully the Flyers follow suit.

Not Done Yet...Flyers 4, Penguins 2

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

I like being wrong sometimes.

Yeah, I'll admit, I thought the Flyers were finished, doomed to be swept by our cross-state 2nd cousins (twice removed) from Pittsburgh. I should've known they would come out with some fire last night. The Flyers flat out dominated the Pens for most of Game 4, winning 4-2 and never once looked like backing down. The Flyers played an offensive, physical style of hockey, much like they way they played against Washington and Montreal, which leads me to wonder what the heck they were waiting for. They didn't take any dumb penalties, they played a fairly solid defense (Braydon Coburn ended up sitting out last night), and they shot the puck like it was going out of style. Plus, they finally pushed Pittsburgh around, even getting ol' Sidney Crosby into a quasi-fight with Mike Richards at the end. Quick note to Crosby: When you get into a fight, drop your stick, son. You look ridiculous.

The Flyers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period with goals from Daniel Briere, Jeff Carter, and Joffrey Lupul. It stayed that way until the third when Pens forward Jordan Staal (lot of credit to him for playing so soon after losing his grandfather) scored one really fluky, frustrating goal that somehow got past Biron. He then made it 3-2 when he was left WIDE FRIGGIN' OPEN in the slot and shot one shortside past Biron. Marty's been giving up a lot of shortside goals this playoffs. Something to work on this summer, I guess. Anyway, the game got a little heated, which is typical for these two teams, and stayed tense until Lupul put in the empty-net tally to ice it.

Now we got Game 5 in Pittsburgh on Sunday. Since the Flyers aren't the Rangers and can actually score, don't expect Sunday's game to be easy. The pressure is still on the Penguins to finish the series at home and set up the "NHL renaissance" Cup final against Detroit (not my words, ESPN said it). Rumor has it that Kimmo Timonen, who's been out with a blood clot in his leg, may return to the lineup. I like Kimmo, but if he's not 100%, I really don't think he should return. He would certainly be welcomed back on the powerplay unit, but there's no sense in rushing him back if it means additional injury. But, if he's good to go, suit him up.

Let's keep this going, boys!

All in all, still a great season

You've probably been wondering where I've been for the past week. Seeing as how this is the most important playoff series in Philly since, well, the last one, you wouldn't be too far off in thinking that I'd be blogging my little heart out with all the juciy details from behind the front lines.

If you haven't been wondering, well screw you, I'm telling you anyway.

The truth is that I've been pretty busy with both studying for my state life exam and actually trying to figure out how to run my own business for about the past two weeks now. And because of this, I haven't gotten the chance to sit down and write about what so far has been a fairly awful series. Let's be honest, the Penguins are just better. Much better than I was willing to give them credit for. I thought they had it easy going through Ottawa and New York, but they actually are a good club. They've made us look foolish, that's for sure. Granted, things would have been much different had the Flyers not lost Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn to injuries (TSN reported that Coburn was skating today and should be available for tomorrow's Game 4), and it would have helped if we remembered to shoot the puck more.

Tomorrow night is most likely the final game of the year, and while it is frustrating to lose to Pittsburgh, the Flyers are way ahead of schedule. They've got a young team that should be around for a while, players like Claude Giroux and Ryan Parent (who just isn't ready yet) in the pipeline, and a front office who isn't likely to go overboard rehauling the team. If anyone thought the Flyers were going to win the Stanley Cup this year, they're insane. Or know something I don't. Honestly, even if we lose tomorrow, this has to be one the best seasons ever in Philadelphia. At least now we have something to look forward to instead of another mediocre Eagles season.

See you tomorrow.

Gameday: Flyers @ Penguins

From Yahoo!: Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh

I'll add more once we get closer to the opening faceoff.

Is it Friday yet?

A day before the Flyers start their Eastern Conference final series against Pittsburgh, and I'm about to lose it. Not even the Stars-Wings series is enough to satisfy me right now, I need some Flyers hockey! This has been one of the longest weeks ever.

Here's a fun bit of info for tomorrow: Apparently Kimmo Timonen, our No.1 shutdown defender for Sidney Crosby, has a blood clot and is out indefinitely. That's right. Geez, Kimmo, you couldn't wait until, oh I don't know, JULY to get a blood clot??? What the hell, son?!?! I shouldn't be too shocked and I feel really bad for him, but come on! I guess this means that John Stevens will call up Jaroslav Modry, who hasn't been the same since his father passed earlier this spring.

Hopefully, the rest of the team made it to Pittsburgh in one piece, so they should be at 90% tomorrow for Game 1. To be honest, I'm not even that nervous, even though the Penguins will be the toughest opponent so far. It's not like they don't know this team since the Flyers seem to play them every other week during the regular season. There's enough bad blood to make this series the best of the postseason, plus you have the individual rivalries like Crosby vs. Hatcher, Crosby vs. Richards, Cote vs. Laraque, and Pens fans vs. reality (seriously, go to http://www.hfboards.com/ - pure comedy gold over there). Everyone and their brother has picked the Pens to win, including Maggie the Monkey on TSN, so nothing new there.

Since I had some free time this week in between waiting for the Flyers game, studying for my upcoming insurance exam, and generally thinking about nothing, I started coming up with ways to make the NHL a little bit better. Besides the prerequisite ideas (get rid of Bettman, end the shootout, contract to 24 teams), I came up with the notion of an Original Six weekend. You know, have a tripleheader where the Original Six teams match up against one another and the NHL can hype up the historical significance of it all. For example, the 1:00 game could be New York vs. Boston, followed by Detroit vs. Chicago, and have Montreal play Toronto to complete the trifecta. Or mix it up and have Montreal go up against Boston or whatever. Seeing as how the NHL and the media love to talk up the Original Six teams and since were getting close to the league 100th anniversary, why not have the teams face off during the regular season? Put 'em in the retro sweaters while we're at it and make a few more bucks on the side, too. If the league can arrange it so that the six Canadian teams play each other on the same Saturday, I don't see why this can't be done. I also thought about realigning the league into a two-conference, four-division setup, but then I got sleepy and lost my train of thought.

Seriously, is it Friday yet?

So long, Paul

TSN is reporting that Toronto has fired Paul Maurice after two seasons as head coach of the Maple Leafs. It's not a big surprise or anything, but you have to wonder: if Cliff Fletcher, the interim GM, isn't going to stay in his job, why would he be allowed to fire Maurice? How do they know if the new GM wasn't going to keep him on as coach? Unless of course Paul was going to be fired anyway and they just waited for the go-ahead. I don't know. Fun times in Toronto.

Regarding the Leafs' search for a new coach, Fletcher said in his press conference today that the head coaching job of the Toronto Maple Leafs is "the plum of the NHL" and that any candidate would be willing to wait until Toronto hires a GM before they come storming down the doors of the Air Canada Centre. I've said it before, that franchise is the NHL equivalent of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The "plum" of the NHL? Good God.

Notes from the Farm

Lost in the shuffle that has been my life (finally got a job!!) and the NHL playoffs, the AHL playoffs are in full swing. Our own Philadelphia Phantoms survived a seven-game war of attrition against the Albany River Rats in the first round, including a 3-2 victory in five overtime periods, which I believe is the longest game in AHL history, at least according to the write-up here. The Phantoms now find themselves up against the Wilkes-Barre Penguins...noteworthy since the two NHL franchises are playing each other later this week. And apparently, the mutual dislike between the two organizations filtered down to the minors. Right now the series is 2-1 in favor of the Pens. Can you tell I haven't been paying attention to this?

Claude Giroux, one of our most highly touted prospects, is currently rampaging through the Q-League playoffs like Patton through Sicily, putting up an impressive 42 points in 16 games. He played with the Flyers earlier this season against Ottawa and from the looks of things, he'll be a regular in Philly pretty soon. His team, the Gatineau Olympiques, are currently tied 1-1 with Rouyn-Noranda (???) in the QMJHL finals...which is great...I guess. Anyway, best of luck to Claude and his Olympiques against whatzername.

Game 1 between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh is scheduled for Friday, which means I'll be a nervous wreck come Thursday. Once again, the pundits are picking against the Flyers, which is fine by me seeing as how the "experts" are 0-2 so far. Friday cannot get here soon enough.

Are you KIDDING ME?!?!?!! - Flyers 6, Canadiens 4

(Photo by Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images)

Flyers 6, Montreal 4

Remember earlier when I said that I would have been happy with this season if the Flyers just finished over .500 this year? I figured we'd end up somewhere around 10th or so in the East and start building for next season. Nothing too drastic, just baby steps in getting back to respectability.

Then we made the playoffs. Didn't really see that one coming, seeing as how the Flyers did everything they could to throw it away this year. But hey, I'll take it.

Then we beat Washington. Awesome. Anything after that seven game war is a blessing, right?

And now? We just took out Montreal in five games. We're going to the Eastern Conference final, most likely against Pittsburgh. After suffering through the worst season in franchise history, the Flyers are a round away from one of the biggest worst-to-first turnarounds in sports history.

The first team since Detroit in '87 to go from worst in the league to conference finals.

And to think the Pens wanted to avoid us. HAH!

Bring it, Pittsburgh.