Flyers New Year's Resolutions

Well, the Flyers are out on the Pacific Coast for a little road swing leaving DGS all alone with nothing to do except snoop around in the snow. What I found, was well, interesting. It's a list of the Flyers New Year's Resolutions. In the interest of doing a public service, I'm sharing it with the world.


Jeff Carter: To not get caught up in rumors involving sleeping with the spouses of other players.

Chris Pronger: To only steal things that are actually worth stealing. Fuck that, Pronger's too awesome to resolve to do anything.

Daniel Carcillo: Will hopefully remove Crosby's stache

Darroll Powe: To hopefully prove he's more than just a name

Danny Briere: To live up to his nickname of the "Magical Spearing Midget".

The Spear may be breaking,
but it's legacy lives on.

Claude Giroux: To practice safe deking as fan-related pregnancies are sky-rocketing.

Matt Walker: To get off LTIR. (Hip Surgery free in 2011)

Mike Richards: Break up with Pierre McGuire.

Sergei Bobrovsky: Bob.

Nikolay Zherdev: To become the first 40 goal scorer, without tallying double digit assists.

Michael Leighton: Well, it was going to be close the 5-hole, but given the state of things, he'll just settle to use the 5-hole in a live action game with the Flyers.

Brian Boucher: To learn Russian in hopes that it adds to the "List of Reasons to Keep Boosh Over Leights."

Scott Hartnell: To fall down less. (Okay, who is he kidding - to grow his hair back.)

Ville Leino: To help Homer clear cap space to sign him. (Collateral Damage may include Michael Leighton getting hurt again)

Jody Shelley: To score goals - that's what he's here for, duh!

Yes that's Jody Shelley, no, there
was no Photoshopping here.

Andreas Nodl: To crack into double digits in goals. He's grateful for whatever he gets, because Noodle Power keeps Philly running.

Blair Betts: To win more face-offs. To get noticed by someone.

Ian Laperriere: To teach the Phantoms heart - he has enough for all of them anyway.

James van Riemsdyk: To not take naps when the Eagles are completing a miraculous comeback. 

Kimmo Timonen: To construct a helmet that looks like a Viking helment because it would look cool, because Kimmo's our little Viking warrior. 

Viking Kimmo: Now you know his dirty secret.

Braydon Coburn: It seems vain, but he's looking to have a beak reduction so he can see the goal better when he shoots. 

Matt Carle: To prove he can look good without Pronger by his side. Because well, ya know Pronger's elbows are just so ugly....

Andrej Meszaros: To continue playing the way he did in Ottawa, not the way he did in Tampa. 

Oskars Bartulis: To find subtle ways to keep defensemen out of the line up so he can play. 

Sean O'Donnell: People who look like John LeClair are exempt from making resolutions. 

Peter Laviolette: To find an effective gum holder so he can yell at referees. (We personally recommend using the gum to hold Matt Walker's hips together)

What type of player are you? Part 2

A few days ago, Kevin Burgundy from Stay Classy wrote a post about what kind of hockey player are you. I noticed that his list was incomplete. Needless to say, emails were exchanged and with his consent I decided to do part 2 of the list.

Last time I did this, it turned into a fairly moderate success, I partnered up with Don't Trade Vinny on that one when we did our misused hockey terms. This is what DTV had, and the official DGS reply.

So with the consent of the writer, here I go.

I'll start with what I wrote in the comments section of the original post.

The Jeff Carter: When not scoring on the ice, I score with my winger’s wife off it.

The Ian Laperriere: Block shots to the point where I have no face left.

The Chris Pronger: Use my elbows to leave opposing players looking up at me

The Stay-In The Kitchen Defensemen: A stay home defensemen with agoraphobia.
NHL Comparables: Wade Redden, Andrej Meszaros, every current blueliner on the Dallas Stars

The DJ-Goaltender: A goalie who loves strobe lights and goal horns followed by music.
NHL Comparables: Vesa ToskaLOL, Andrew Raycroft, CristoLOL Huet (Kevin added Pascal LOL-claire)

The True Stay At Home D-man: A defensemen who really stays at home, even when under pressure.NHL Comparables: Sami Salo, Mike Van Ryn, Paul Ranger

Moving on.


The Patient Forward: This guy is known for always being patient. As in a patient at the local hospital waiting for MRIs because he's always hurt.
NHL Examples: Marian Gaborik, Simon Gagne, Doug Weight, Paul Kariya

The Harry Potter: This guy is known for being totally invisible, like Harry Potter when under the Invisibility Cloak. You just never see him do anything even when he's on the ice.
NHL Examples: Lee Stempniak, Joe Thornton and Alex Semin during the post-season,

The Grinder (or hoagie, sub, sandwich): This guy loves his food. Enough said.
NHL Examples: Martin Brodeur, Tim Thomas, Kyle Wellwood

The Rioter: This guy is really talented, but he's somewhat reckless and therefore violence always seem to follow him, especially when he's playing well.
NHL Examples: Steve Downie, Dan Carcillo, every Montreal Canadiens player who caused a riot during the 2010 playoff run.

The Houdini Defensemen: This guy always seems to pull a disappearing act, especially when in the Defensive Zone.
NHL Examples: Mike Green, Tomas Kaberle, Lukas Krajicek, The Boston Bruins after the 1st period of Game 7 against the Flyers

The We Have A Legend Only Not: This guy shares a nickname with an NHL legend, too bad he doesn't play like one.
NHL Examples: Robert Esche, Ryan Parent, The 4th NHL Staal brother: Jarrett Stoll

The Smart Guy: This guy always seems to use his head or the heads of others to help his team out.
NHL Examples: Ian Laperriere, Roman Cechmanek, Goalies playing behind Keith Ballard

The Psycho-analyst: This guy likes to get into the heads of opponents in order to make sure that his team always the psychological advantage. He usually does simple things to amuse the simple minds of his opponents.
NHL Examples: Chris Pronger, Steve Yzerman when proposing trades to Paul Holmgren



There you go, now you know

 

This Left Feels Right: Wings that is

Today, we start looking at the Flyers wings. Like my pieces on goaltending, defense, and centers, we're gonna talk about the wings.


Dan Carcillo: Should be an effective player during the 4 minutes of time he gets to show his talents when not in the penalty box or serving a suspension. Should be traded at the deadline with the worst defensemen we have to the Maple Leafs for Luke Schenn, ala Downie/Eminger for Matt Carle.

Riley Cote: Unlike Brett Favre, I expect Riley to stay retired.

Claude Giroux: The little guy is gonna step up his game, finally bringing his playmaking skills to the regular season as well as the playoffs. If not, well, then he won't get a pick RFA payday at the end of the year.

Scott Hartnell: Hopefully will speed up due to the lack of resistance of the hair that he finally cut.

Ian Laperriere: Should find a clever way to break his face during the season even though he will be wearing a shield.

Ville Leino: If he's the 2nd coming of Gagne, then I will stop hating the Gagne trade, and replace it with great disdain.

Darroll Powe: Will hopefully be the new Arron Asham type player, in that he can score 10-12 goals, and hopefully be effective as a role player. Will kill penalties with a Betts-like effectiveness, no jokes here.

Jody Shelley: AHL Bus please, but will probably be a more expensive Cote. Hopefully he scores at the same pace with the Flyers, that he scored against the Flyers last year...then I won't totally hate him.*

Nik Zherdev: Back to Russia! Give me Simon!

James van Riemsdyk: Trade bait please? I'd deal him and Meszaros for Kaberle, too bad JFJ is no longer the Leafs GM.




*- Offer null and void if the guy gives me awesome fights.

Flyers Summer 2010 Offseason Needs, Part 1

So, with the season over, and sometime to digest the second place finish in the NHL. I will once again say this, congratulations to the Philadelphia Flyers, winners of the Prince of Wales trophy.

Well, with the season officially over, one must now look at the upcoming offseason, so I’m going to post what the Flyers need. For the record, I get all of my salary cap numbers from here so if you need to dispute me on something, that’s my source.

Now in order to start this, I'm gonna look at the 09-10 forwards based on the last lineup the Flyers dressed:


Gagne-Richards-Carter
Hartnell-Briere-Leino
JvR-Giroux-Asham
Powe-Betts-Lappy

Scratches: Carcillo, Cote, Laliberte, Nodl, Ross

How I think 10-11 will shape up:

Hartnell-Briere-Leino (Seriously, after their Finals showing, how can this NOT be the top line)
Richards-Carter-Giroux (Giroux's pretty goals IMO bump him up)
Gagne-JvR-Asham (JvR's been taking shifts in practice at center, like Giroux in 09-10, third line reps will get him experience)
Powe/Nodl/Laliberte-Betts-Lappy

Asham's UFA but if he resigns for say...2 years 750K, I'd be really happy

Carcillo's an interesting case, I have an up and down relationship with him. Asham does everything Carbomb does, with more discipline and better hands, but Carcillo's got a unique energy about him that lends itself to playing in Philly, I'm willing to keep him around for no more than 1.3 Million, at the same time, if we can trade him and land someone like a true #1 goalie


That's right, I peg 11 or all 12 of the forwards to return next year. Scott Hartnell saved his butt by having the Finals that he did, that being said, in my humble opinion, I think he's also the most likely to be moved. More on that later.

Who's expendable

The Player: Scott Hartnell
Why Expendable: Didn't perform well during the season and doesn't fit Lavi's up tempo system
Why He'd Be Wanted: His postseason numbers
Possible Destination: Toronto for Tomas Kaberle, Boston for Tim Thomas, Montreal for a first round draft pick or PK Subban, San Jose (Assuming Nabby stays and Marleau walks) for Thomas Greiss

The Player: Brian Boucher
Why Expendable: His regular season numbers
Why He'd Be Wanted: His 5 playoff games against the Devils
Possible Destination: Montreal, Dallas, San Jose, Chicago
To Montreal: For Carey Price in order to allow the Habs the cap space to keep Halak
To Dallas: for a 2nd round draft pick and a decent prospect D-man
To Chicago: For Dustin Byfuglien, I might be dreaming here but as WWEh noticed, the 'Hawks have massive cap problems next year and they could save ~$2 million
To San Jose: Assuming Nabby leaves and Marleau stays, the Sharks need a goaltender who comes cheap, that's Boucher, the Flyers could hopefully get a 4th round pick and a decent D-man for him

The Player: Andreas Nodl
Why Expendable: Too much depth at forward
Why He'd be Wanted: Solid depth forward, never will be above third line status, comes cheap
Possible Destination: Toronto, Montreal, Tampa Bay, Florida
To Toronto: oh wait, sorry, Burke won't trade for a European
To Montreal: The Habs DID trade for Scott Gomez...so, yeah...maybe Nodl goes here
Tampa Bay: Matt Smaby could play D for us, but honestly, TBL has nothing I'd really be interested in...other than Vinny, but a package of Hartnell, Nodl and Boucher for Vinny...seems fair to me...DTV is gonna shoot himself now...



The Needs:

this is easier to look at:

A real third D-pair
a real goalie


Later this week, I plan on doing a free agency based post with where the Flyers should go

Flyers Strategies for Winning Game 3

As we have seen, the Flyers dropped 2 out in the Windy City to fall into a 2-0 situation. However, in order to come back, the Flyers have devised a slightly devious strategy for coming back. Just like the Boston series, the Flyers have a few tricks up their sleeves, and we here at DGS know just what they are. So, loyal readers, here is your list of Flyers strategies for Game 3.

• Dan Carcillo will now only hit members of the Blackhawks.
• Flyers goaltenders finally were told that Patrick Sharp and Ben Eager no longer play on their team, also Mike Leighton finally was informed that he doesn't play for the Blackhawks anymore.
• Will confuse Chicago scorers by having every goalie that dressed this season suited up and on the ice during pregame warmups.
  
• Chris Pronger will confuse the Hawks by bringing the extra pucks onto the ice.
• When getting his ride to the game, local Cab Drivers have been instructed to not give correct change to Patrick Kane
• The team will remind Marian Hossa that he is in fact, still Marian Hossa
• Super secret agents kidnapped opposing Finnish goaltender Antti Niemi and replaced him with another famous Finnish goaltender, Vesa Toskala. (DGS Note: This also happened during the Game 7 Timeout in Boston).
• Since we have hockey in June, the Flyers, stealing a Habs idea, will put sand in the tunnel from the Hawks bench to the locker room to remind them that it's almost beach front vacation time.
• Ruined Duncan Keith's morale by saying "hey, I'm real happy for you and all, and Imma let you finish but I just want you to know that Lappy came back from the best injury ever, best injury ever"

Stanley Cup Finals Preview: Flyers and Blackhawks

With the Finals approaching, and my Flyers still alive in the hunt for a chance to hoist delicious cake, I mean the Stanley Cup. In a slight change of pace, we will only discuss the pros and cons of each team separately rather than in point/counterpoint format. Why am I changing the rules, because the NHL will probably change rules as well to screw the Flyers this series. Fuck you, Bettman.

Flyers

Pro: Have 2 goalies each with 6 wins this postseason and have the best GAA and Save % out there.

Pro: Did not sign Marion Hossa this offseason

Pro: Made the best trade of the year sending Ole Kristian Tollefsen to the Red Wings for Ville Leino. Read that again, a part time, injury prone 8th D-man for a near point per playoff game dynamic dangling top 6 left winger,

Pro: Oh bloody hell, just read the 7 signs that the Flyers will win the cup this year .


Con: Have limited experience in winning.

Con: May be burned out from upsetting too many favorites

Con: May be out of perfectly timed time outs.


Blackhawks

Pro: Have dynamic forwards Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Dustin Byfuglien and Patrick Sharp who are capable of scoring a big goal when needed.

Pro: Goalie Annti Niemi can swallow up any puck in his crease. [Warning: Puck may never be seen again]

Pro: Have a great D-Corp with guys like Seabrook, Keith, and Campbell

Con: Have a contract that puts Marion Hossa on the ice for them

Con: Campbell lacks a collarbone, Keith has no teeth

Con: Niemi's a rookie, and rookie goalies don't win

Con: They're out Pizza Crawling

Con: Patrick Kane's in such epic shape...NOT!




Analysis: Flyers in 6, and that's the bottom line, cuz DGS said so!

Caption Contest 1

Ok, time for some fun. You write the caption! Go forth and be awesome fearless Down Goes Spezza readers.

Top 10 Most Memorable Flyer Facial Injuries

With Ian Laperriere going down with yet another case of “using face to block incoming shot” I find myself feeling the need to post a list of 10 memorable facial injuries in hockey. Some will be memorable because of the player involved, others for the situation. All of these will be significant for reasons given in the explanation; all of these involve the Flyers in some way, so sit back, relax and enjoy.

WARNING: Some of the videos are graphic in nature, watch at your own risk.

The Top 10 Most Memorable Flyers related Facial Injuries:

10. Matt Bradley [WSH] gets his face pounded in by Dan Carcillo on December 5, 2009

Why I like it: Carbomb landed a bomb on Bradley’s face. Oh yeah, and because this night was the first date between Down Goes Spezza and his lovely girlfriend.

9. Trent McCleary [MTL] blocks a Chris Therien shot with his throat Jan 20, 2000.

Why I like it: Well, I don’t like it, it’s a shame that McCleary’s career was ended by that shot, but that being said, it is a wake-up call to the NHL to make throat guards mandatory. There’s yet to be a fatality from something like this, and let’s keep it that way.

8. Stephane Auger [Ref] takes a puck off the face on December 5, 2009.

Why I like It: Well, it seems like someone had enough of Stephane Auger being out to get him. Oh yeah, and DGS and his lovely girlfriend were hanging out together. Luckily for Auger, being blind is not a reason to retire as an NHL referee, just ask, Kerry Fraser

7. Pat Dapuzzo (Linesman) gets cut by an errant Steve Downie Skate on February 9, 2008

Why I Like It: A brawl ensued and Dapuzzo got in to break it up. Got a little Lappy in you?

6. Colton Orr (NYR) knocks out Todd Fedoruk on March 21, 2007

Why I like it: I don’t like serious career threatening injuries, but Orr did to Fedoruk what the rest of the NHL did to the Flyers as a team that year, enough said.

5. Eric Desjardins, Kim Johnnson and Mark Recchi take sticks to the face compliments of Martin Havlat. (2003, 2004). (Sadly no vids of these could be found)

Why I like it: Because revenge is pretty freaking sweet.

Wait my bad, something’s wrong there. What could it possibly be?

I think that there are three possible problems here.

4. Brian Boucher makes a save with his mask, May 24, 2000.

Why I like it: Bouch breaks his mask stopping a puck off a Scott Gomez slapper. Nice

3. Ian Laperriere blocks a shot against the Buffalo Sabres with his jaw on November, 27, 2009

Why I like it: Lappy took a shot off the face, lost 7 teeth, broke his jaw, needed 100+ stitches to close up the wound, and came back to play in the same game. (Note: Lappy takes the shot off the face about 2:00 into the video)

2. Bernie Parent’s Career ending eye injury, February 17, 1979.

Why I like it: Again, I don’t, but this ended the career of the greatest Flyers goalie of all time. Bernie, you delivered cups to this beautiful city, and for that, I thank you, your career ended far too early.

1. Ian Laperriere blocks a shot with his right eye against the Devils on April 22, 2010

Why I liked It: Lappy’s block kept the energy up as the Flyers made short work of the Devils to oust them in the first round of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Flyers 3, Devils 0

Flyers 3 Devils 0

Flyers win series 4-1

10 years later, Brian Boucher puts the Devils to rest.

Enough said, and now, what have we learned...


The Flyers are a force to be reckoned with.

Down Carter, down Gagne, losing Lappy, and Boucher pitches a shutout, Claude steps up and plays the game of his life. The Flyers move on and the league better watch out.

Lappy's ok, and thankfully, Lappy's planning on wearing a shield from now on.

All in all, great series, great result, bring on the next opponent, probably the Capitals...this will be interesting as the lovely girlfriend of DGS is a Capitals fan who's originally from the DC area.

With that, peace out...more to come soon on the rest of the first round series.

Uh-oh

Just got word from the Flyers, no Gagne, no Carter tomorrow night.

This spells trouble for the Flyers, look for Leino and one of the call-ups to be in the line up.

My picks for line combos:

Carcillo-Richards-Briere
Hartnell-Giroux-JVR
Leino-Powe-Asham
Laperriere-Betts-[Nodl/Kalinski/Laliberte]

the D will remain the same, and Boucher will be in net again.


Also: since both Gagne and Carter play the PP and PK, this is how those units should look

PP1

Up Front: Carcillo-Richards-Giroux
Blue-Line: Pronger-Timonen

PP2
Up Front: Hartnell-Briere-JVR
Blue-Line: Carle-Coburn [though expect Pronger to play the whole 2 minutes]

PK1
Up Front: Betts/Lappy
D-men: Pronger/Carle

PK2
Up Front: Richards/Hartnell
D-Men: Timonen/Coburn



My opinion here is that Homer's playing this one safe, losing in NJ isn't that important with Game 6 back in Philly.

Keep rocking the Orange


EDIT:
Gagne's out 3 weeks, Carter's out 6, this is NOT good. Hopefully the rest of the team can pick it up though. Flyers have depth, and that helps.