that's what i was thinking as well, but running 4 dmen into the ground without a third pair hurt them when i counted most, imo, so to me it's not a fully competent d unit. i'm talking 6 guys. ever?
- hammarby31

The days of the Bullies, maybe...Early 1980's, McCammon & Quinn Eras?

- hammarby31

That little girl is far cuter than Erin Andrews.

The days of the Bullies, maybe...Early 1980's, McCammon & Quinn Eras?
- Jsaquella

Didn't we have something like Pronger/Carle. Timonen/coburn. Mez/mab. For a second. That's pretty close to solid

Didn't we have something like Pronger/Carle. Timonen/coburn. Mez/mab. For a second. That's pretty close to solid
- Just5

Yeah, but Pronger only played like 63 games in 2 years with Meszaros on the team.

Didn't we have something like Pronger/Carle. Timonen/coburn. Mez/mab. For a second. That's pretty close to solid
- Just5

at your location.

I say scratch grossman and give gustaffson the go.

I say scratch grossman and give gustaffson the go.
- FlyersSteve118

It's worth a shot at this point. I also think Grossmann could use a break in general.

The days when Keenan played Howe & McCrimmon for 35 minutes and Crossman & Marsh for 25?
- Jsaquella

pretty much, though the 95-96 group of Desjardins, Therien, Haller, Samuelsson, Svoboda and Dykhuis was relatively solid and 4 of the 6 were pretty mobile.

The days of the Bullies, maybe...Early 1980's, McCammon & Quinn Eras?
- Jsaquella

The Flyers have never been known for a real mobile D group, though the Bullies were deep and often underrated.

Also the 86-87 team was pretty deep, you still had Howe, McCrimmon, Crossman and Marsh along with Kjell Samuelsson, Daigneault and Hospador.

Finally, if they hadn't all gotten injured at the same time, the 03-04 group was pretty deep and solid: Desjardins, Therien, Johnsson, Ragnarsson, Malakhov, Markov and Pitkanen.

The Flyers have never been known for a real mobile D group, though the Bullies were deep and often underrated.

Also the 86-87 team was pretty deep, you still had Howe, McCrimmon, Crossman and Marsh along with Kjell Samuelsson, Daigneault and Hospador.

Finally, if they hadn't all gotten injured at the same time, the 03-04 group was pretty deep and solid: Desjardins, Therien, Johnsson, Ragnarsson, Malakhov, Markov and Pitkanen.
- BiggE

Mark Howe is the best defenseman in Flyers history and the distance between him and the second best defenseman in team history is like a chasm.

And I agree with your assessment on the 03-04 blue line.....I liked that group. They all got hurt and they never got a chance to stay together after that season.

Desjardins breaking his arm cost the Flyers the 04 Cup.

Desjardins breaking his arm cost the Flyers the 04 Cup.
- Feanor

I tend to agree with you.

Mark Howe is the best defenseman in Flyers history and the distance between him and the second best defenseman in team history is like a chasm.

And I agree with your assessment on the 03-04 blue line.....I liked that group. They all got hurt and they never got a chance to stay together after that season.
- johndewar

don't forget, clarke moved therien and weinrich at/near the deadline that season.

don't forget, clarke moved therien and weinrich at/near the deadline that season.
- hammarby31

That's true....I forgot that was Bundy's time in Big D.

don't forget, clarke moved therien and weinrich at/near the deadline that season.
- hammarby31

I was really wishing we had both of them during that playoff run.

Roenick breaking Desjardins arm cost the Flyers the 04 Cup.
- Feanor

FTFY!

Mark Howe is the best defenseman in Flyers history and the distance between him and the second best defenseman in team history is like a chasm.

And I agree with your assessment on the 03-04 blue line.....I liked that group. They all got hurt and they never got a chance to stay together after that season.
- johndewar

So true, add a healthy Mark Howe in his prime to the Flyers current roster and they would be a cup contender.

He was that good.

Olesky on waivers from WSH... right-shot, mature, steady, tough, mobile, league-minimum contract. Not the most flashy or purely skilled player out there, but they desperately need another right-shot in the group, and unlike Hal Gill, they might actually play him.

At worst, if he's not up to snuff, they just re-waive him or he joins the Phantoms.
- Tomahawk

Id KILL to have Oleksy in over Grossman right now.

One of my wife's friends posted on facebook that she was in the doctor's office and saw Jake Voracek. She went on to say that he has a dislocated finger, although I don't know how she aquired the information.

One of my wife's friends posted on facebook that she was in the doctor's office and saw Jake Voracek. She went on to say that he has a dislocated finger, although I don't know how she aquired the information.
- VladDrag

Could be. Semantics, really. When you consider how he immediately went off the ice, came back/didn't take another shift/left again, and how he's being "re-evaluated" today, safe to say he's probably going to be out for a little while.

I think the only reason someone wasn't called up was because of the inclement weather. Hopefully someone like Jason Akeson get's called up and is given an opportunity.

Since we are talking Flyers defencemen, here is my top 10 Flyers Dmen of all time.

1. Mark Howe
No one else is even in the conversation when it comes to the #1 ranking. Howe was one of the all time greats and a pleasure to watch. His skating was effortless and his positioning and decision making were flawless

2. Eric Desjardins
Ideally Eric would have been the prototypical #2 Dman on a championship team. However he served admirably as the Flyers #1 guy for many years and he is one of the classiest players to ever wear the orange and black.

3. Kimmo Timonen
Look up warrior in the dictionary and chances are you'll see a picture of this tough little Finn. You almost have to kill Timonen to get him out of the lineup. He excels in all facets of the game and even now as he's closing in on his 39th birthday, he is still arguably the best defenseman on the team.

4. Jimmy Watson
Smooth and surehanded, Jimmy Watson was the Flyers best all around dman from about 1975-1980. A bad back sadly cut his career short.

5. Ed Van Impe
Mr. Elbows, Van Impe was notorious for using em to drop opposing forwards all over the ice. However he was also one of the finest defensive defensemen of his era and the first guy Shero put on the ice to kill a penalty or protect a lead late in a period or game.

6. Chris Pronger
If Pronger had spent his entire career here, he would be neck and neck with Howe for the top spot. Heck, if he had just had 4 or 5 healthy seasons with the Flyers, he'd probably come in at #2. Pronger was the total package of skill, smarts and snarl and the Flyers are still trying to get over his loss to injury.

7. Barry Ashbee
His picture would be right next to Timonens in the warrior department. He played through crippling injuries and he helped set the tone of hard work for the young Broad Street Bullies. His best year was 72-73, he was able to stay relatively healthy and was named a 2nd team all star by the NHL.

8. Brad McCrimmon
The Beast was solid in all 3 zones and was the perfect partner for Mark Howe. He brought leadership to a very young club and was a great mix of skill and tenacity. The pairing of him and Mark Howe in the mid 80s was one of the finest in league history.

9. Kim Johnsson
Johnsson was a smooth skating, mobile dman with good offensive skills. He was also just as solid in his own zone. Basically, he is exactly the kind of guy the Flyers could use right now.

10. Bob Dailey
While Dailey could make the occasional bonehead play in his own zone, at 6'5 220, he was monster in his era and he possessed a cannon from the point. Sadly, he's yet another Flyer who's career was cut short due to a crippling injury.

Honorable mentions:

Joe Watson-small body, huge heart. A key guy on a back to back championship club

Andre Dupont- The Moose was a character who stood out in a league full of characters. He was also very skilled and scored and assisted on some of the biggest goals in Flyers history.

Brad Marsh-The epitome of hard work and dedication. Brad was a fearless shot blocker and team leader. A class act with a capital C

Kjell Samuelsson-Opponents described trying to get through the huge Swede being like trying to skate through an octopus. Kjell partnered with Mark Howe on the Flyers top pair in the late 80's through the early 90's and he also returned and was a top penalty killer on the Flyers mid 90's teams.

Could be. Semantics, really. When you consider how he immediately went off the ice, came back/didn't take another shift/left again, and how he's being "re-evaluated" today, safe to say he's probably going to be out for a little while.

I think the only reason someone wasn't called up was because of the inclement weather. Hopefully someone like Jason Akeson get's called up and is given an opportunity.
- mochoson

Very True... here is her exact post:

"If i didnt already love my hand therapy..one of the Flyers, Vorachek, is here with dislocated fingers. no olympics for him."

Once again, not sure how she knows he is out for the olympics unless they are doing therapy together.

I wouldn't mind Akeson as a call up, but I don't see him as a true top-6 player for an extended period of time. I would love for him to prove me wrong.

Hartnell

Numbers crunch more than anything. Orlov is playing more and Olesky is the odd man out. He's not great, but he can probably be as good as guys like Grossmann, Schenn & Gill.
- Jsaquella

good cause then we can trade grossmann for some assets