My sarcasm boner is at full mast today. Bring on the ludicrous trade proposals you morons!
- jmatchett383

Trade couts for subban!

Trade couts for subban!
- Sms401

Again, I want trades where we win, now trades where we overpay out the wazoo.

They could do a lot worse than Larkin
- BiggE

They could do better with McKeown.

They could do better with McKeown.
- aflyerpower8

All moot when they unload the roster for Ekblad, the best defenseman ever.

All moot when they unload the roster for Ekblad, the best defenseman ever.
- jmatchett383

Clearly that is the only logical choice. Ekblad for captain 2014!

All moot when they unload the roster for Ekblad, the best defenseman ever.
- jmatchett383

EkBad>Pronger in his prime

Clearly that is the only logical choice. Ekblad for captain 2014!
- aflyerpower8

If he cant handle the pressure of the C we can always ship him to LA

Clearly that is the only logical choice. Ekblad for captain 2014!
- aflyerpower8

Captain doesn't even start to state how valuable he is. He's like Jean Beliveau, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, and Jon Sim all rolled into one.

Captain doesn't even start to state how valuable he is. He's like Jean Beliveau, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, and Jon Sim all rolled into one.
- jmatchett383

You're right, you're right. Ekblad for captain, director of hockey operations, associate coach, King of the Andals and the First Men, and the second coming of Bobby Clarke 2014!

Yes.
- Sms401

that's what I thought. Carry on.

Settle down now.

Is there no one excited about the possibility of MacDonald playing a little stronger than he did now that he is signed and will have a full training camp?

I think it's realistic that just familiarity with teammates alone should provide some steadiness the Flyers just didn't get with Meszaros/Gus rotating in and out of the doghouse.

A pairing of MacDonald-Schenn -- we will straight-up be playing teams with far worse pairings than that, and that's the Flyers' third pair.

I don't always agree with MJL, but he said something yesterday that was true: At some point, moaning about moves that have already been completed...what good does it do?

At some point, you have to start looking at what your competition has and what you're up against, and as funky as the Flyers' defense can be at times, there are plenty of teams who are worse off than the Flyers, and if the Flyers just stick with it, they're going to win their share of games -- how they played the final 3/4 of the season was no fluke.

Is there no one excited about the possibility of MacDonald playing a little stronger than he did now that he is signed and will have a full training camp?

I think it's realistic that just familiarity with teammates alone should provide some steadiness the Flyers just didn't get with Meszaros/Gus rotating in and out of the doghouse.

A pairing of MacDonald-Schenn -- we will straight-up be playing teams with far worse pairings than that, and that's the Flyers' third pair.

I don't always agree with MJL, but he said something yesterday that was true: At some point, moaning about moves that have already been completed...what good does it do?

At some point, you have to start looking at what your competition has and what you're up against, and as funky as the Flyers' defense can be at times, there are plenty of teams who are worse off than the Flyers, and if the Flyers just stick with it, they're going to win their share of games -- how they played the final 3/4 of the season was no fluke.
- AllInForFlyers

I like MacDonald, but his nuetral zone gap is terrible. If he can fix that, then his contract might be worth it. I see it as a playoff defense, but not a cup contending defense.

I'd like to make an argument for Steve Ott if I may.

One year ago we wanted to sign Dan Cleary based on his Stanley Cup Playoff run with the Red Wings the season before, while overlooking his regular season numbers. Well, I believe we dodged a bullet because Cleary was nonexistent as a Wing this year and being from the area, I just heard on the Radio that the Red Wings want to re-sign him again. Why? I couldn't tell you.

Here's the deal though. For those who were excited for Dan freakin Cleary to come to the Flyers, Steve Ott is better then Dan Cleary. Steve Ott is better then Steve Downie who more then likely won't be returning next season. The argument to move Vincent LeCavalier is that LeCavalier cannot play any other position except center. LeCavalier may not have a choice but to be our fourth line center heading into next season. LeCavalier is terrible defensively. LeCavalier had a terrible season for the money he's making. Fair enough.

Steve Ott can play all three positions within the bottom 6 slots. He can Kill Penalties. I would even trust him to play on the Power Play if top six players happen to get hurt during a long 82 game season. So he does bring some offense but of course none of us should expect this of him. The biggest part of his game is how obnoxious he is to play against. He's prone to taking bad penalties but he's also good at taking a member of the opposing team within their top 6 off the ice with him. I think only his age might work against him. He's 31, but I wouldn't be against giving him 5 years or less. He reminds me of Max Talbot or Ian Laperriere. A heart and soul player that you love to play with but hate to play against. I also expect him to have a little fun with the Media. I once heard Matthew Barnaby say he's one of the most cleaver agitators in the game today.

I've belly ached quit a bit about LeCavalier getting traded after only one season and not getting a second look at. A lot of the cheap solutions are also not appealing to me. Jussi Jokinen, Benoit Pouliot and Nikolai Kulemin are all players who were drafted to be top 6 players but couldn't cut it, so they were forced to become 3rd liners. Steve Ott on the other hand is a 3rd or 4th liner. That's his role. If he has to play on the wing with Couturier and Read, that's already his expectation. If he's expected to center the fourth line (Good faceoff man too), that's his role. Ott won't be a round peg, square hole situation.

Maybe Bill can help us all out with his opinion of Steve Ott because he's been following the Dallas Stars for years.

I like MacDonald, but his nuetral zone gap is terrible. If he can fix that, then his contract might be worth it. I see it as a playoff defense, but not a cup contending defense.
- aflyerpower8

I'm a firm believer in making sure the first thing you can do is actually make the playoffs.

I understand exactly what you're saying. I'm not pretending this defense is as good as the Kings defense, or the Blues.

But the first thing you gotta do is make sure you're one of the eight best in your conference and/or top three in your division, and on June 19, that's not a bad place to be.

Is there no one excited about the possibility of MacDonald playing a little stronger than he did now that he is signed and will have a full training camp?

I think it's realistic that just familiarity with teammates alone should provide some steadiness the Flyers just didn't get with Meszaros/Gus rotating in and out of the doghouse.

A pairing of MacDonald-Schenn -- we will straight-up be playing teams with far worse pairings than that, and that's the Flyers' third pair.

I don't always agree with MJL, but he said something yesterday that was true: At some point, moaning about moves that have already been completed...what good does it do?

At some point, you have to start looking at what your competition has and what you're up against, and as funky as the Flyers' defense can be at times, there are plenty of teams who are worse off than the Flyers, and if the Flyers just stick with it, they're going to win their share of games -- how they played the final 3/4 of the season was no fluke.
- AllInForFlyers

What I'm excited about is Berube having a full camp with the team, and getting everyone on board from Day 1. A big mistake last year was not firing Laviolette in the off season. They have a coaching staff in place, and from what I've seen, Berube has a philosophy and style of play, that I think is the right way to play. And if the Flyers can improve the team aspect of their play, that will make every defenseman on the team better. I'm looking for more growth from the younger players on the team, such as Couturier, Schenn, and Raffl. I think with that, if they can get those 5 on 5 issues straightned out, along with strong play from Mason. I think they can be one of the top teams in the East.

I'm a firm believer in making sure the first thing you can do is actually make the playoffs.

I understand exactly what you're saying. I'm not pretending this defense is as good as the Kings defense, or the Blues.

But the first thing you gotta do is make sure you're one of the eight best in your conference and/or top three in your division, and on June 19, that's not a bad place to be.
- AllInForFlyers

It's not a coincidence that four teams with amazing defenses made the conference finals.

I'd like to make an argument for Steve Ott if I may.

One year ago we wanted to sign Dan Cleary based on his Stanley Cup Playoff run with the Red Wings the season before, while overlooking his regular season numbers. Well, I believe we dodged a bullet because Cleary was nonexistent as a Wing this year and being from the area, I just heard on the Radio that the Red Wings want to re-sign him again. Why? I couldn't tell you.

Here's the deal though. For those who were excited for Dan freakin Cleary to come to the Flyers, Steve Ott is better then Dan Cleary. Steve Ott is better then Steve Downie who more then likely won't be returning next season. The argument to move Vincent LeCavalier is that LeCavalier cannot play any other position except center. LeCavalier may not have a choice but to be our fourth line center heading into next season. LeCavalier is terrible defensively. LeCavalier had a terrible season for the money he's making. Fair enough.

Steve Ott can play all three positions within the bottom 6 slots. He can Kill Penalties. I would even trust him to play on the Power Play if top six players happen to get hurt during a long 82 game season. So he does bring some offense but of course none of us should expect this of him. The biggest part of his game is how obnoxious he is to play against. He's prone to taking bad penalties but he's also good at taking a member of the opposing team within their top 6 off the ice with him. I think only his age might work against him. He's 31, but I wouldn't be against giving him 5 years or less. He reminds me of Max Talbot or Ian Laperriere. A heart and soul player that you love to play with but hate to play against. I also expect him to have a little fun with the Media. I once heard Matthew Barnaby say he's one of the most cleaver agitators in the game today.

I've belly ached quit a bit about LeCavalier getting traded after only one season and not getting a second look at. A lot of the cheap solutions are also not appealing to me. Jussi Jokinen, Benoit Pouliot and Nikolai Kulemin are all players who were drafted to be top 6 players but couldn't cut it, so they were forced to become 3rd liners. Steve Ott on the other hand is a 3rd or 4th liner. That's his role. If he has to play on the wing with Couturier and Read, that's already his expectation. If he's expected to center the fourth line (Good faceoff man too), that's his role. Ott won't be a round peg, square hole situation.

Maybe Bill can help us all out with his opinion of Steve Ott because he's been following the Dallas Stars for years.
- SuperSchennBros

Ott rubs me the wrong way, so I'd rather not have him.

Ott rubs me the wrong way, so I'd rather not have him.
- aflyerpower8

What if he rubbed you right way?

It's not a coincidence that four teams with amazing defenses made the conference finals.
- aflyerpower8

I wouldn't call Montreal's defense "amazing." I give PK Subban all the credit in the world, but I simply do not believe that Josh Gorges, Andrei Markov, Mike Weaver, Alexei Emelin and Francois Bouillon are better than what we have.

They're not. Those other five guys are not one bit better than what the Flyers have.

What if he rubbed you right way?
- PhillySportsGuy

That could work then.

What I'm excited about is Berube having a full camp with the team, and getting everyone on board from Day 1. A big mistake last year was not firing Laviolette in the off season. They have a coaching staff in place, and from what I've seen, Berube has a philosophy and style of play, that I think is the right way to play. And if the Flyers can improve the team aspect of their play, that will make every defenseman on the team better. I'm looking for more growth from the younger players on the team, such as Couturier, Schenn, and Raffl. I think with that, if they can get those 5 on 5 issues straightned out, along with strong play from Mason. I think they can be one of the top teams in the East.
- MJL

If they can remain healthy -- always a concern, for any team -- and they get even a few breaks that any team can expect, I don't see any reason why they don't get 100 points.

They are flawed, in a few ways. But those flaws won't keep them from winning games in the regular season, I feel.

I wouldn't call Montreal's defense "amazing." I give PK Subban all the credit in the world, but I simply do not believe that Josh Gorges, Andrei Markov, Mike Weaver, Alexei Emelin and Francois Bouillon are better than what we have.

They're not. Those other five guys are not one bit better than what the Flyers have.
- AllInForFlyers

It gets weaker as you go further along, but Subban, Markov, Gorges, and Emelin are better than Coburn, Timonen, Grossmann, Streit as a unit.

I wouldn't call Montreal's defense "amazing." I give PK Subban all the credit in the world, but I simply do not believe that Josh Gorges, Andrei Markov, Mike Weaver, Alexei Emelin and Francois Bouillon are better than what we have.

They're not. Those other five guys are not one bit better than what the Flyers have.
- AllInForFlyers

He is

It gets weaker as you go further along, but Subban, Markov, Gorges, and Emelin are better than Coburn, Timonen, Grossmann, Streit as a unit.
- aflyerpower8

ask the habs fans here how they feel about gorges and emelin