Could it be that JR hasn't resigned Fleury yet because he is asking for a lot? I know this sounds crazy to some of you but I have no doubt that if Fleury leaves he will have no problem finding a team who will pay him more. On the other hand, I don't think the Pens are going to find an equal or better replacement, including in Greiss. Be careful what you wish for.
I have always contended that Fleury's "so called problems" were really more the fault of the team around him, including both the offense for playing too risky and having too many bad turnovers (especially in the playoffs - including Crosby and Malkin) and the defense for often being inept. No goaltender can thrive in this type of environment. One of the biggest factor's in Brodeur's success over the years is that for the most part he played behind a very cautious team with an impenetrable defense. He often didn't look as remarkable outside of his team, like in all-star games.
Fleury's biggest problem has been his puck handling and decision making (whether or not to play pucks). He really needs to stay in the net more because he is not good at handling pucks. The defense needs to be faster back to pucks (which could be helped by sitting Scuderi in the press box) to dissuade him from going after pucks.
As for the most hated Flyers players, that is tough one. Just seeing the ugly orange, black, and white uniforms turns my stomach. I have been a Pens fan since 1989 when I was in fifth grade and among my earliest hockey memories is the Pens losing that seven game playoff series to the Flyers (and Hextall chasing Rob Brown after he scored
). The Flyers weren't good in the early 90's but were by the late 90's. I can't think of a player I dislike more from that era than Lindros. He was a crybaby, often played dirty, and was overrated. The consolation is that the Flyers basically gave up a Stanley Cup to get him
. Not far behind him was Leclare, who was always parked right in front goalies and was often immovable (think of JVR only better). The following decade it would have to be Hartnell and Carcillo. It was funny for the first WC in which the Flyers played when the Geico cavemen visited them in one of the pregame shows. It looked like a family reunion.
My favorite Flyers player of all time has to be Bryz. He generated huge amounts of great sound bites and funny incidents. Among his goaltending achievements are the 9-8 loss in his first game in Winnipeg as a Flyer, giving up the 5-3 shorthanded goal to Matt Cooke in Philadelphia, and ducking under a shot against Montreal. The icing on the cake is that he will be collecting $1.5 million from Snider until 2027
.
