1.) Get Buff, Rundblad, and Yakupov.
2.) ????
3.) Stanley Cup parade!
- johndewar

The ???? is trade everyone.

Now let's say Boston lost Chara to a career ending concussion and the Flyers never lost Pronger. Where would the teams be?
- PhillySportsGuy

They did lose one of their best players to a career-ending concussion...

Well Rundblad is a surefire lock for the HOF. He's torn it up in the AHL.
Yakupov's a proven entity who will surely win 8 or 9 Rocket Richard Trophies.
Buff is the next Bobby Orr, but better.
- jmatchett383

Exactly! This team needs more scoring! (frank) defense

Now let's say Boston lost Chara to a career ending concussion and the Flyers never lost Pronger. Where would the teams be?
- PhillySportsGuy

Boston is a probably a perennial 2nd/3rd round team. The Flyers are probably a perennial 1st/2nd round team.

Thats because the Flyers are a middle of the pack team. Their record reflects how good the team is. They aren't good but they aren't terrible. They're the classic 'C' student.
- PhillySportsGuy

I am not 100% sure about the not terrible part. They have 21 games of the next 29 against teams currently in a playoff position. They are for the season 4-12 against those teams so far. In those 16 games, they have score more than 2 goals only 4 times. They have allowed at least 3 goals in 14 of those 16 games with 10 of them being 4 or more. It could be a very bad end to this season.

They did lose one of their best players to a career-ending concussion...


- Tomahawk

I didn't realize he was their HOF #1 franchise defenseman. Thanks for clearing that up.

They did lose one of their best players to a career-ending concussion...


- Tomahawk

So the Bruins have the same amount of success if you give them Savard and take away Chara?

I am not 100% sure about the not terrible part. They have 21 games of the next 29 against teams currently in a playoff position. They are for the season 4-12 against those teams so far. In those 16 games, they have score more than 2 goals only 4 times. They have allowed at least 3 goals in 14 of those 16 games with 10 of them being 4 or more. It could be a very bad end to this season.
- psuhockey

Possibly. I'd wait and see though. The metro is so mediocre. I don't think the Flyers are terrible though. Edmonton, Buffalo, Calgary and Florida are terrible.

What would you guys think of re-acquiring Jagr? What do you think it would take?

Possibly. I'd wait and see though. The metro is so mediocre. I don't think the Flyers are terrible though. Edmonton, Buffalo, Calgary and Florida are terrible.
- PhillySportsGuy

We will learn so enough over the next 5 games. It is not inconceivable for the Flyers to be in 7th place by the Olympic break. Washington is in 7th by only two points behind with a game in hand. Tuesday is the key for even good eastern teams have been shut out of points on their California road trip.

What would you guys think of re-acquiring Jagr? What do you think it would take?
- mickel25

The last ounces of team speed this crew has left.

The last ounces of team speed this crew has left.
- flyer_nutter

Yeah probably not the best idea. Might spark the first line though.

What would you guys think of re-acquiring Jagr? What do you think it would take?
- mickel25

Probably a lot if you wanted to trade for him. NJ is in the playoff hunt and he is the offensive catalyst. Trading him to a division rival would be waiving the white flag. I would expect NJ to want a major overpayment.

I would definitely look to acquire him in FA. I never wanted him to go. It would have been nice to keep Carle and Jagr instead of going all out for Suter and/or Parise. I expect he'll want $3-4M and a guarantee of playing on the top 6.

What would you guys think of re-acquiring Jagr? What do you think it would take?
- mickel25

If this team is in a 5-8 spot cam the TDL, then yes. But are you willing to give the Devils, a division rival, good future assets for one outside shot right now?

Yeah probably not the best idea. Might spark the first line though.
- mickel25

I think its time to maybe take Raffl off of there. He's not going to be the long term solution on the top line. I'd really like to see him given ample PK time. He is not going to be a big point producer in the league, and he needs to specialize in something.

Hate those guys who are just warm bodies. Give him solid PK minutes.

So the Bruins have the same amount of success if you give them Savard and take away Chara?
- PhillySportsGuy

No, just saying they had to deal with many of the same issues that the Flyers did in terms of cap issues and roster issues stemming from losing a star player to perma-LTIR.

The key difference, to me, is that the Bruins had been systematically and fundamentally built from the goal on out... they could much better weather the loss of a Savard, a Thomas or even a Chara. They were able to stay the course, and they haven't missed a beat.

The Flyers were a semi-rebuilt/reloaded team built on a foundation of quicksand... without Pronger, does a back-end with Krajicek, Parent, Leighton and Boucher sniff the Finals? Of course not. The subsequent overcompensation moves like Bryz, Mez, Streit, etc didn't help, either.

B's have just dealt with their adversity better.

Bill - can I be your nephew at next year's carnival?

Please?

We will learn so enough over the next 5 games. It is not inconceivable for the Flyers to be in 7th place by the Olympic break. Washington is in 7th by only two points behind with a game in hand. Tuesday is the key for even good eastern teams have been shut out of points on their California road trip.
- psuhockey

The division is so packed though. Even if they finish poorly, they will still be within striking distance after the break. I would look to the TDL as the point to evaluate. If the team is in 7th place by then and 7+ points out of the playoffs, I would look to trade assets. Mainly, Timonen. Not sure many other veterans have value right now.

What would you guys think of re-acquiring Jagr? What do you think it would take?
- mickel25

What would be the goal?

I guess, it'd be a short term bump, offensively, but this team's problems come from not being sound enough, defensively.

I think its time to maybe take Raffl off of there. He's not going to be the long term solution on the top line. I'd really like to see him given ample PK time. He is not going to be a big point producer in the league, and he needs to specialize in something.

Hate those guys who are just warm bodies. Give him solid PK minutes.
- flyer_nutter

I like Raffl with Read and Couturier. Line can score a little and is sound defensively. Jagr would spark Giroux. Doubt the Devils would let him go for anything less than a 2nd. The Flyers would probably need to a pay 1st for him.

No, just saying they had to deal with many of the same issues that the Flyers did in terms of cap issues and roster issues stemming from losing a star player to perma-LTIR.

The key difference, to me, is that the Bruins had been systematically and fundamentally built from the goal on out... they could much better weather the loss of a Savard, a Thomas or even a Chara. They were able to stay the course, and they haven't missed a beat.

The Flyers were a semi-rebuilt/reloaded team built on a foundation of quicksand... without Pronger, does a back-end with Krajicek, Parent, Leighton and Boucher sniff the Finals? Of course not. The subsequent overcompensation moves like Bryz, Mez, Streit, etc didn't help, either.

B's have just dealt with their adversity better.
- Tomahawk

I agree with what you are saying for the most part. The Bruins are a better constructed team. However, if you take Chara away they probably do not make two trips to the finals while winning a cup in 3 year span. Talented forwards are easier to replace than HOF defensemen.

No, just saying they had to deal with many of the same issues that the Flyers did in terms of cap issues and roster issues stemming from losing a star player to perma-LTIR.

The key difference, to me, is that the Bruins had been systematically and fundamentally built from the goal on out... they could much better weather the loss of a Savard, a Thomas or even a Chara. They were able to stay the course, and they haven't missed a beat.

The Flyers were a semi-rebuilt/reloaded team built on a foundation of quicksand... without Pronger, does a back-end with Krajicek, Parent, Leighton and Boucher sniff the Finals? Of course not. The subsequent overcompensation moves like Bryz, Mez, Streit, etc didn't help, either.

B's have just dealt with their adversity better.
- Tomahawk

I think it was a series of bad moves for the Flyers. I would, also, like to point out that the Bruins are a much better run organization right now. I will not argue about that.

For the sake of argument, let's evaluate the Flyers just after the Stanley Cup season. Let's say Pronger remains healthy and Jeff Carter has a career ending injury. With Giroux, Richards and Briere, the Flyers are built to withstand his injury.

If the Bruins lose Chara, Dennis Seidenberg becomes the number 1 defenseman for them.

I would contend that a Carter-less Flyers are better than a Chara-less Bruins.

(In terms of overall value, I felt Savard and Carter had similar value. Savard was a best overall scorer while carter was a better two-way player. Savard was more clutch, but Carter was much younger.)

I agree with what you are saying for the most part. The Bruins are a better constructed team. However, if you take Chara away they probably do not make two trips to the finals while winning a cup in 3 year span. Talented forwards are easier to replace than HOF defensemen.
- mickel25

Agreed. Short of Giroux, Pronger was the one player you'd choose to not lose because of how rare and valuable he is. Savard's a very good player, but there's no way his loss compares to the Flyers.

And yes, you make a point that the Bruins are a better constructed team than the Flyers. But still, the losses affected the teams on totally different scales.

For the sake of argument, let's evaluate the Flyers just after the Stanley Cup season. Let's say Pronger remains healthy and Jeff Carter has a career ending injury. With Giroux, Richards and Briere, the Flyers are built to withstand his injury.

If the Bruins lose Chara, Dennis Seidenberg becomes the number 1 defenseman for them.

I would contend that a Carter-less Flyers are better than a Chara-less Bruins.

- PhillySportsGuy

This, basically.

I'm not too worried about Mason.

This team has sucked defensively, out loud, for the past few seasons (and even in some games they were winning).
- johndewar

ftfy

Agreed. Short of Giroux, Pronger was the one player you'd choose to not lose because of how rare and valuable he is. Savard's a very good player, but there's no way his loss compares to the Flyers.

And yes, you make a point that the Bruins are a better constructed team than the Flyers. But still, the losses affected the teams on totally different scales.



This, basically.
- jmatchett383

The Flyers could have withstood the hit a little better, but they had some bad luck and two bad moves. If they retained Carle and used JVR to acquire a top 4, two-way defenseman (reasonable demand), they could have righted the ship.

The bad luck was losing Mez to a series of injuries.