Take the shot, Ice!!!!

...that's a Top Gun reference for all you young kids out there.

I've been following this whole Mats Sundin saga, or at least trying to, and I figured it was my time to chime in. There's no denying the fact that Sundin is a guy you wouldn't mind on your team. Even at 37, he's still got enough presence down low to make a difference when it counts. I'm not saying he's going to be a 100-point player, but he's probably still good for 15 or so over 70 games. Ask any Leaf fan what he's meant to their team, and you'll get bombarded with nothing but good memories with a few negatives scattered in for balance. It's kind of like asking Flyers fans to remember Keith Primeau or even Eric Lindros. It's a shame that a player like Sundin has never been to a Stanley Cup final, so you can understand why he wants one last shot to win it. It's not like other athletes haven't done the same (see Ray Bourque in Colorado), so this shouldn't surprise anyone. Of course, if you're a Leafs fan, you wanted to see him win it in Toronto, but that ain't happening.

That being said, $20 million? Who turns down $20 million over two years? Look, I know that Vancouver isn't exactly a Cup contender and will most likely struggle to even make the playoffs. And if Sundin is really putting a Cup over money, then I commend him. But for crying out loud, make a decision! Vancouver fans must be drinking coffee like crazy trying to keep up with any news coming out of Sweden, and this emotional roller coaster is no fun for anyone, even less so when it's your team.

I really think, and this is my opinion, that Sundin was bummed Detroit didn't give him a call. If he wanted to get his shot at the Stanley Cup, the Wings were his best option. Unfortunately, Detroit either felt they didn't need him or decided to spend the money on guys like Marian Hossa. Montreal basically gave up getting him, plus the sight of Sundin in a Canadiens sweater would just be wrong. The Rangers blew their money, no one else can afford him, and now he's down to either returning to a Leafs team in rebuild mode or a mediocre Canucks team. Or he could just retire. But he needs to make a decision, or else this could drag on into the season and turn into another Forsberg-Niedermayer-Selanne affair.

For the record, my money's on Sundin returning to Toronto.

That's our boy

This didn't come as a surprise to us Flyers fans, but The Hockey News just named Flyers' coach John Stevens as the 2006-2007 NHL Coach of the Year. Citing the Flyers' remarkable turnaround and subsequent run to the Eastern Conference finals, THN's Jason Kay gave Stevens kudos for his "slick touch working with his youthful lineup". Of course, the Jack Adams award winner was Washington's Bruce Boudreau, but who cares??? HOCKEY NEWS, BABY!!!!

Speaking of that "youthful lineup", TSN has reported that right winger Joffrey Lupul has signed a four-year extension with the O&B, keeping him in Philly until 2012. This, combined with the Jeff Carter extension, means that the current Flyers set-up should be intact for quite some time.

October 11 can't get here fast enough.

Mark your calendars - 2008-09 schedule released

The good people in the NHL front office have finally graced us with the 2008-2009 NHL schedule. The major changes for this year will be that all teams play each other at least once, meaning that fans on the West coast will get a chance to see my Flyers in their barn. Plus, instead of playing each team in the division eight times, it's been pared down to six meetings. Some may think that this will hurt divisional rivalries, but I don't.

I'm not going to post the entire schedule (I do have things to do today), but I will point out some of the highlights as I see them:

Oct. 11 vs. New York Rangers - Frankly I would have liked to see us open against Pittsburgh.
Oct. 14 @ Pittsburgh - I put the over/under on Flyer penalty minutes at 60 for this game.
Dec. 26 - Jan. 6 - The Flyers' annual New Year's road trip. My buddy out in LA will be pleased to get two back-to-back games against Anaheim and the Kings.
Jan. 8 vs. Minnesota - This game will be fight-filled, believe me.
Mar. 17 @ Detroit - Talk about insult to injury. The Toronto Maple Leafs get to watch the Wings raise the Cup banner on opening night.
Any game after March 1 - This is the playoff push. As long as they can avoid another ten-game slump like last season, we should be fine.

I like this schedule format. It lessens the monotony of playing the Devils and Islanders sixteen times a year and we get teams like San Jose and Colorado coming to town (the latter made more interesting if Peter Forsberg is healthy). I don't see this team taking any step backwards from last year, so I'm thinking the top four teams in the East stay the same (Pittsburgh, Montreal, Philly, Washington) with the Devils, Rangers, Bruins, and Lightning rounding out the rest. At least I hope they don't regress. Otherwise, those last Phantom games at the Spectrum will start to look pretty good.

Just checking in...

I think this is the first time in a while that I've really missed hockey. Usually, once the Flyers season ends in playoff misery, I and everyone else in Philly turn our attention to the Phils and the upcoming Eagles preseason. This year, however, has been different. I guess maybe it's because I devoted this blog to the Flyers and I really have nothing to write about once the Cup finals are done. Or it could be that we were so close last season that I want next season to hurry up and get here. Or it could be that I'm just really bored. Eh, who knows.

Since the Flyers didn't have the cap space necessary to go after the big-name free agents, no major players are coming to South Philly this summer. Unless Paul Holmgren pulls off a big trade, that is. And I'm fine with that. To be honest, this off-season has been just a notch short of insane. Seriously, $22 million for Cristobal Huet? $14 million for Jeff Finger??? WHO THE HELL IS JEFF FINGER??? I'm really glad the NHL and the NHLPA took the time during the lockout to impose a salary cap and all, otherwise we may see players like Mark Streit get $20 million or some outrageous number like that! Can you imagine? Oh, hang on...

Anyway, I'm glad Holmgren was able to get Jeff Carter, Riley Cote, and Randy Jones settled into their new contracts. Ossi Vaananen should be a decent top-6 defenseman, and I really like picking up Aaron Asham, 'cause that guy can throw down. Plus, apparently he's always wanted to play here, and we aim to please. I think training camp doesn't begin until late August (the Eagles start up in ten days, just in case you haven't been listening to Philly sports talk radio for the past seven months), so hopefully I'll have something more of substance to post later.

Go Soul.