Happy Holidays!!!

Here's hoping you get everything you want this season! Me, I asked Santa for a hockey team.

I just had a thought, and bear with me on this because this may be the Johnnie talking (that's Johnnie Walker Blue for the uninitiated), but this team started to go downhill ever since Derien Hatcher's knees went out. If you recall, the last time the Flyers went deep in the playoffs, we had both Hatcher and Jason Smith on the blueline. Both of those guys, while giving the Flyers a physical presence in defence, also kept the younger guys in check. They took the role of leadership while allowing guys like Mike Richards and Jeff Carter to come into their own. Now, I have nothing against Richards or Carter. I think they're both great players who will contribute to this team for years to come. But Richards is not exactly captain material. Leading by example is great, if that example means not hanging out all night in Center City, being the first one in and the last one out for practice, and leaving it all on the ice every night. My advice - give the "C" to Chris Pronger and let the young guys just focus on playing the game.

In other O&B news, the end of the year means that the Winter Classic is fast approaching in Boston. I'm psyched for this game, mostly because I can see it on TV, but because it should be a great game. I watched the Bruins play the Leafs last night on HNIC, and even though they lost (to a Toronto team that's starting to grow on me), the Bruins are going to be tough. They're as physical, have stronger goaltending so long as Rask is playing, and have a solid defense. Add in the fact that these two teams simply don't like each other, and this will be a fun one to watch. As for the next outdoor game, my money's on the Capitals and the Rangers in New York.

Yes I'm still here. But for how long...

In case you haven't noticed, I haven't posted in about two months. Most of that time has been taken up with work (and the neverending quest to hold on to my job), but it's not like things have been quiet around here. For starters, we have a new coach. Now, I've always liked John Stevens. Good guy, came up through the organization, won a Calder Cup, and took the team to the East finals a couple years ago. From what I heard about him, the players liked him, the management liked him, everyone liked him. Which might have been the problem. If you look at all of the great coaches in sports, whether it's football or hockey or whatever, the best coaches weren't concerned about being liked. They were about winning. Even if it meant ruffling some feathers and getting in some faces. John Tortorella is like that, and look how far the Rangers have come. Alex Ferguson is widely regarded as one of the best managers in world football (that's soccer, by the way, and he can be a right bastard when he wants to. Stevens's problem was that he was too nice, too unwilling to challenge the team, and too unwilling to be seen as the bad guy. And in true Flyer fashion, he took the fall for the team's struggles, which are getting embarrassing. Seriously, guys, 8-2 against Washington?

The other reason I haven't been posting is, quite simply, I haven't seen a single Flyers game this season. Not one. Granted, I have DirecTV, which means that in the Philadelphia region, I get blocked out of all Flyers, Phillies, and Sixers games due to Comcast acting like a spoiled brat. However, I could still rely on games shown on Versus and the NHL Network's Hockey Night in Toronto broadcasts. Well, scratch Versus due to a feud between the two providers. DirecTV decided that instead of charging its customers a ridiculous fee for Versus, it would simply drop the channel. To make up for it, we got a free month of NHL Center Ice, but even that didn't allow me to watch the Flyers since Center Ice restrictions don't allow you to see your home team. Adding it all up, and I've seen the Maple Leafs, Canadiens, Rangers, Canucks, Flames, and Bruins this year, but not my team. Kinda makes it hard to post when I can't watch the game live.

Which brings me to my final point today. What the hell happened to NHL hockey? I understand and support the new rule changes protecting players from getting hit from behind, especially with the concussion rate going up. That I'm fine with. What I'm not OK with are the ridiculous amount of penalties being called and the lack of consistency when it comes to the league stars. Dan Carcillo got a NINE MINUTE PENALTY against the Caps. Nine minutes!!!! Back in the '80s, we called that a five-minute major and a game misconduct. Nine minutes, come on. From what I understand (and remember, I didn't see it live), Carcillo got in a faster first punch than Matt Bradley. That's not a violation, that's a quick draw. And on top of that, he got suspended for four games. Don't get me started on the selective suspension process the NHL implements.

Maybe I'm just spoiled because I got into the game in the mid-1980s when hockey was in one of its finest periods. Maybe I'm just used to seeing guys be accountable for themselves on the ice instead of this reckless, dangerous behavior you see now. Mark my words, someone's going to get killed out there someday. It could be that I'm just pining for the days when hockey catered to its true fan base instead of trying to woo soccer moms in North Carolina and Arizona, and marketed its teams and heritage rather than the NBA-style focus on a few star players (Kobe vs. Lebron!! CP3 vs. D-Wade!!! AI and some other guys vs. the Boston Garnetts!!). I'm only 31 and I feel like an old geezer telling every kid within earshot how we would walk to the Spectrum in the snow to watch hockey, and that during the intermission we had to resurface the ice ourselves using only a straight razor and a squirt bottle, and we were THANKFUL FOR IT. Right now, even if I could watch the Flyers, how much of it would I enjoy? They're my team, and I'll stick with them until the end, but if the NHL can't improve its product, that end may come sooner that expected.

Let's hear it for my fantasy team!!!

One day in, one day, and I've already lost Andrei Markov and Marian Hossa to the IR. Thanks hockey gods!

Drop the puck

After what felt like a ridiculously long summer, it's finally time to start the season. And for the Philadelphia Flyers, who will now be entering their 43rd year of business, this looks like the run to the Stanley Cup final that we've been waiting for. It's not like they don't have the talent. The offense pretty much returns intact with the exceptions of Mike Knuble (Washington) and Joffrey Lupul (Anaheim). Knuble will be missed the most, though I think Claude Giroux and a healthy Danny Briere can more than make up the scoring. Defensively, this team may be deeper than ever, and adding a certifiable skating axe-murderer in Chris Pronger can only help. And count me in a one of the few who thinks that Ray Emery will be alright in goal. I know he had his discipline problems in Ottawa (what else is there to do in Ottawa except get in trouble?), but this is a new organization and city he's in now. And trust me, if he starts to act up in Philly, Paul Holmgren won't cut him slack. Just cut him.

In an attempt to not just recite what every other hockey writer and blogger have already written (apparently I'm the only one with a full-time job these days and therefore can't devote my days to writing about the best sport in the world while drinking Dunkin' Donuts coffee and playing NHL '10 and...what was I saying?) and I'll just give you my own quick season predictions:

East

1. Washington Capitals

2. Boston Bruins

3. Philadelphia Flyers

4. Pittsburgh Penguins

5. Carolina Hurricanes

6. New Jersey Devils

7. Toronto Maple Leafs

8. New York Rangers

West

1. San Jose Sharks

2. Vancouver Canucks

3. Chicago Blackhawks

4. Detroit Red Wings

5. Anaheim Ducks

6. Calgary Flames

7. St. Louis Blues

8. Dallas Stars

There ya go. Before I go, thank you very much to DirecTV for extending the free NHL Center Ice preview until October 24. That'll save me some cash.

Carolina up next.

Notes from Flyerland

Alright, y'all. It's starting to get cooler, leaves are changing a little, and hockey's back on TV. Unless you're like me and you have DirecTV, in which case you can't get CSN in the Philly area, so you're left with Versus and the NHL Network. Oh wait, Versus is out because of some dumb feud between DirecTV and Comcast, so you're stuck with the NHL Network which only shows Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts. Honestly, I've seen more Rangers preseason games than Flyers games. And yes, it pisses me off a bit.

However, it's only the preseason, so there's really nothing I'm missing. The Flyers have mostly played the Red Wings and the new-look Maple Leafs, losing both games. Some of the young guys like Van Riemsdyk and Mike Pyorala have shown they can compete in the NHL, and I expect them to make the full squad. Other than that, the most important thing is that no one has gotten hurt. It would be nice to have a healthy team for once.

In other personal news - during my trip to New York yesterday, I finally made it to the NHL Store off of Times Square, as you can see from the photo above. I deliberately took a later train in order to find the place. To be honest, I was expecting it to be bigger, but I'm not complaining. I also expected it to be full of Rangers gear, which it wasn't. Good selection of jerseys and other knick-knacks, including a whole rack of Winter Classic stuff. Seeing as how I din't have a lot of money (note to the kids: don't work a commission-only job), I gave in a bought...ready for this?...a Leafs T-shirt. Stop your booing. I can find better Flyers gear at Modell's, plus the Leafs are starting to grow on me. Don't ask why or how, it just sorta happened.

Speaking of the Leafs, and Flyers, they're playing tonight at the Wac. I think this is the last game before the major cuts are made for the final roster, so expect a lot of fringe players hitting everything that moves to make the team. I'll give you my list as to who should be on the senior squad next week.

Yup, still here

Nothing going on in Flyerland, so enjoy the rest of your summer. Labor (or Labour, for our Canadian friends) Day is only two weeks away, so hockey's coming. Plus it means fall is on its way, which is my favorite time of year. Anyhoo, sit back, get those last beers in, and be ready for camp.

Just a friendly reminder

Hockey season starts in two months. TWO MONTHS, PEOPLE!!!!

If it wasn't for the Phillies, this would be a looong summer.

And now for the other 81 games...

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2009-10 Philadelphia Flyers schedule. I'm not going to write out the whole thing (I do have work today), but here's the link from the NHL. At least we're not starting the year in Pittsburgh. Having to watch them raise the Cup banner would be too much to stand. As usual, the Flyers will embark on their annual New Year road trip, but at least they'll be on the East Coast, obviously with the Winter Classic game in Boston included. I'll come back and do a little bit more analysis into this schedule, as soon as this conference call is over.

Shipping up to Boston

So it's now official. The Flyers will take their New Year's hangovers to Fenway Park to take on the Boston Bruins in the Winter Classic. This may be a good time to reach out to my buddy who works for the Red Sox and get some tickets.

Now before some of you go all crazy and start complaining that the Flyers shouldn't be in the game, here's a couple of reasons why this will work:
- It may be hard to believe in a society that can't remember what it had for breakfast today, but the Flyers and Bruins had one of the most physical rivalries in the league back in the day. And now that both teams are back to playing hard-nosed hockey and are among the tops in the East, this rivalry is primed to start back up.
- Of course the Bruins and Canadiens would have been a much better matchup, but think about it. NBC knows full well that the Flyers are better draw for both ratings and advertisers. That's why they petitioned the league for the Flyers instead of the Capitals. Plus, Montreal would most likely want to host the game since it's technically still their centennial celebration (which they might get to do after all).
- Pronger vs. Lucic. Jones vs. about five million New Englanders who want him dead. Outside. In the cold.

I smell a road trip.

Draft round-up

Alright, the draft is finally over. I really like how the NHL can blow through six whole draft rounds in about four hours, unlike the NFL who don't finish their draft until the first week of May. Besides the Flyers trading for Pronger, probably the biggest move was Florida trading the rights for Jay Bouwmeester to Calgary for Jordan Leopold and the 67th overall pick. Mind you, they traded the rights to Bouwmeester, which means Calgary has won the chance to talk to him, it's not like he's on the team yet.

Recapping the Flyers draft, let's see what we got here:

1. Adam Morrison, G, Saskatoon (WHL) - He's big, he's young, and he's got talent, so this could be the start of the rebuilding process in goal. However, he's only 18, so I would expect him to stay in Saskatoon for a while.
2. Simon Bertilsson, D, Brynas (Swedish Elite) - Don't know too much about him. I haven't been following up on my Swedish Elite League recently, so I apologize. Add him to the list of Scandinavian defensemen on the club.
3. Nicola Riopel, G, Moncton (QMJHL) - He was the MVP of a league that produced Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur. I'm happy.
4. Dave Labrecque, C, Shawinigan (QMJHL) - Another young kid, but looking at his stats from last season (13G, 48A, 61P, +23), he's more of a setup center than a scoring center. It would be interesting to see his stats on the power play. I'll have to look that up.
5. Eric Wellwood, LW, Windsor (OHL) - He won the Memorial Cup this year with the Spitfires (quite possibly one of the coolest team names in hockey).
6. Oliver Lauridsen, D, St. Cloud State (WCHA) - And yet another Scandinavian defenseman! He's Danish, he's 6'6", and he just got drafted to a city with cheap beer. No problems with this pick.

So there you have it. I would expect Morrison and Riopel to be the focus of this draft group, especially if the Flyers keep the tradition of paying as little money as possible on the goalie. There's no question they have to do better managing the salary cap in the upcoming seasons, which is why I still think they're going to deal Briere before training camp starts. It's just a matter of who can take him.

2009 NHL Draft live blog...

Well, this is it. The Draft will be starting in Montreal in about five minutes. I'll be keeping up to date with it, but mostly focusing on what the Flyers and the other Atlantic teams do. According to Bob McKenzie on TSN, the Islanders may or may not take John Tavares with their first pick. It sounds like they may be leaning towards Victor Hedman. Of course, this could just be Brian Burke starting trouble, so who knows?

The Flyers have the 21st pick...

7:04 - Darren Dreger on TSN just reported that the Flyers have traded for Anaheim D Chris Pronger. THAT'S out of left field. I'll have to see if this one's legit.

7:13 - At this point, I think Gary Bettman would get booed by his own mother.

7:17 - With the 1st pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the New York Islanders select...John Tavares. Welcome to the 21st century, Long Island.

7:22 - ESPN (I know, it's ESPN, so it's suspect) is reporting that the Flyers gave up Joffrey Lupul, Luca Sbisa and some picks for Chris Pronger. If that's the case, then this may be the biggest move the Flyers make all weekend. Not too crazy about giving up Sbisa, I thought he could be someone we could build the blueline around. I'm also thinking there's going to be some more moves to shift some salary.

7:36 - OK, so it's Pronger and some dude named Ryan Dingle for Lupul, Sbisa, the 21st pick this year, our 1st next year, and a third round pick in either 2010 or 2011.

Seeing as how the Flyers aren't picking for a while now, I can hold off until the second round. Or until the Flyers trade Daniel Briere. Seriously, Pronger's owed $6.25 million next year. There's no way we can afford him unless Holmgren moves one of those big contracts.

Some Flyers musings...

Hi. Couple of points to highlight, then I'll let you get back to whatever you're doing.

- It looks like New Year's Day will be more than just drunk Mummers and watching Penn State lose. According to a multitude of sources, the NHL Winter Classic will be the Flyers against the Boston Bruins in Fenway Park. I'm psyched for this one. I know a lot of people (me included) wanted to see the Flyers play the Penguins at Beaver Stadium, but Penn State wasn't budging. Plus, the Pens already had their shot. And yes, Boston vs. Montreal makes more sense from a rivalry standpoint. But hey, no complaints here.

- The NHL Draft is Friday, and I have no idea who the Flyers will take. There aren't any goaltender prospects in the first round, so no dice there. I'm hoping they go with a stay-at-home defenseman, especially if Jay Bouwmeester's asking price is too high. I still think we need to get out of one of those big contracts (Briere's would be ideal, though apparently he turned down the idea of going to Montreal) to get more wiggle room under the cap.

- And finally, I know I don't mention soccer a lot on this blog, but big ups to the U.S. for beating Spain 2-0 in South Africa today. This will go down as perhaps our biggest upset since beating Brazil in the Gold Cup a few years ago. Heck, if we can do this consistently, we might even win something in my lifetime.

It actually pains me to type this...

The Pittsburgh Penguins are the 2009 Stanley Cup champions.

God I feel ill.

One bright note - this does mean that since October of last year, the state of Pennsylvania can now lay claim to the World Series, Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, a Rose Bowl finalist and a Final Four participant. Oh, and the Calder Cup (nice job, Hershey).

Still...I'm not even going to link to it for fear of seeing Sidney Crosby with the Cup. Be back for the draft or sooner if the judge in Phoenix rules on the Hamilton Phoenix Coyotes.

Told you I'd be back - Red Wings 3, Penguins 1

See? I said I'd be back for the Finals.

Having seen much more of the Penguins than the Red Wings this year, I honestly believe that Pittsburgh is a much better team than they were in last year's Finals. As much as it pains me to say it, they are the best team in the East (Boston had a great year, but Pittsburgh's a better overall team), and they certainly deserve to be where they are now.

That being said, last night's game was loads of fun to watch. Sure, Detroit got some lucky bounces and won it 3-1 to take a 1-0 lead for the Cup, but I was more interested in watching how the Pens reacted to a referee who apparently didn't get the memo about calling everything in favor of Crosby & Co. I do agree that it's a bit unfair for Detroit to play two games back to back so close after getting past Chicago, but whatever. You're professional athletes, suck it up.

In other NHL news - I'm not going to dig through the Internet and find every article that supports my opinion on why Gary Bettman should allow Jim Balsillie to purchase the Coyotes and move them to Canada, because that would take too long. I said earlier that moving at least one of the struggling Southern teams closer to the border would be a better long-term move than allowing them to bleed money where they are. A team in Hamilton, or Winnipeg, would pay for itself in terms of ticket revenue, merchandise sales, and overall fan interest. True, Phoenix fans who have followed the team since they arrived are the ones who will suffer the most. However, where was the league's sympathy to fans in Quebec or Hartford when their teams were relocated?

Now, to play devil's advocate, I can understand where the NHL is coming from. If the bankruptcy judge allows the sale to proceed, it sends the message to every owner in every sport that your franchise is yours to do what you wish. The different leagues have to have some control over where their teams are located, otherwise you may see an exodus of teams from small markets to larger, more lucrative ones. And while I don't have any direct proof of this (this is a blog, you know), I'm sure that there are teams in every league who are struggling in this economy. It'll be interesting to see the attendance figures for the NFL this season.

Finally, one of my favorite Flyers from the past passed away recently, as Peter Zezel died Tuesday from a rare blood disorder at the age of only 44. Zezel was a key player on perhaps the most popular Flyers team in the franchise's history. As a kid in the '80s, my Flyers heroes included guys like Tim Kerr, Dave Poulin, Zezel, Rick Tocchet, and of course Ron Hextall. The fact that they took the Edmonton Oilers to seven games in the '87 Final was amazing in itself. 44 is way too young to go...so long, Pete. And thank you.

And from the ashes, he rises!!!

...seriously, there should be a creaking sound right now, the kind you hear when a vampire opens his coffin for the first time since January.

What's up? Obviously, this post won't be so much about the Flyers (more on them later) than it will be about me finally finding time to write. Apparently running your own business takes a lot of your personal time, but never fear. Once the Cup finals start, I'll be back posting on a maybe-I-should-blog-about-this basis. Alright? Alright.

Go Hawks.

I am sorry

I really have been slacking off lately. And it's not like I haven't been following the team or stopped watching hockey. Seriously, I get home from work, grab some dinner, and do my best to stay awake enough to watch the game, or at least catch the highlights on NHL On The Fly. This may turn into a weekly thing, so stay tuned.