Other Things NHL Players Have Forgotten

So, earlier this weekend Flyers Captain Michael Richards tweeted about forgetting to pay his cable bill

Oh Richie, were you also expecting a phone call
informing you that the 2nd round of the playoffs
had started as well?

Well, honestly Mr. Richards isn't the only person in the NHL to forget something, as a matter of fact, many NHL players and personalities have been known to forget things, and here at DGS, we have the list.



Paul Holmgren: Has forgotten how to do basic math and has given the Flyers cap problems for at least the next 5 years.

Dan Ellis: Has claimed that he "forgot" to pay his ESCROW.

Nick Lidstrom: Is so old that he has in fact, forgotten to retire.

Paul Holmgren: Has forgotten the rules of the CBA pertaining to 35+ contracts and gave Pronger 7 years and a cap hit of 4.921.

The Toronto Maple Leafs: Have forgotten what the playoffs are.

Joe Thornton: Has apparently forgotten that he is playing in the playoffs right now.

Paul Holmgren: Has forgotten, like his predecessor, what "goaltending" is.

Kyle Wellwood: Forgets to stick to his diet.

Evgeni Nabokov: Forgot that the Islanders do NOT yet have a new arena and ended up lost on Long Island because he absolutely thought that there was no way an NHL team would ever play in the Nassau Coliseum.

Michael Leighton: Has forgotten how to close his 5-hole.

Paul Holmgren: Forgot that Michael Leighton doesn't know how to close his 5 hole and therefore gave him a 1.55 cap hit.

Chris Pronger: Would like to forget this year from hell.

Scott Hartnell and Kris Versteeg: Have both forgotten how to skate which led to the fun of Hartnell Down and Versteeg Down counts.

Jonathan Toews: Has forgotten how to blink, show emotion, and display normal.

The Boston Bruins: Have forgotten that it's perfectly OK to score when you're up a man.

Paul Holmgren: Has forgotten what a draft pick is due to the fact that the Flyers haven't had one in forever.

Roberto Luongo, and many of the Vancouver Canucks: Have forgotten the difference between a diving pool and an ice rink.

Matt Cooke: Will most likely soon forget the lesson he learned from his 17 game suspension for a headshot and will end up elbowing Gregory Campbell in the head early next season.

Gary Bettman: Has obviously forgotten that he doesn't work for the NBA anymore.

Patrick Kane: Has forgotten what it's like to be sober

The Flyers Entire Defensive Corps: Randomly forgets how to play defense leaving Brian Boucher alone against Zdeno Chara slap shots.

Daniel Carcillo: Forgot that some things, like questions involving sexual turn ons, are probably better left to realm of a "DM" on Twitter.

Ilya Bryzgalov: Forgot that the playoffs actually count.

Flyers Forwards: What's Going to Happen Next

As I did a few days ago with the goalies, here we go with the forwards. I only did the 14 guys who played over 50 games this season. Anyone who's waiver exempt and spent more time with the Phantoms was not included.

Guaranteed to be back next year:

Mike Richards: he's the captain, a favorite of GM Paul Holmgren and coach Peter Laviolette. No one INSIDE the organization has ever questioned his leadership and the fact that he has another 10 years onn his contract helps too.

Jeff Carter: he's an alternate captain and the same as Richards. Also, it would be incredibly disrespectful to trade someone so soon after inking an 11 year extension with them.

Danny Briere: he's making 6.5M against the cap for 3 more years and has an NMC. Even if the Flyers wanted to, there's no way to move him.

James van Riemsdyk: Making 1.654 against the cap, the Flyers shopped him in November 2010, the asking price then was 2 firsts and 2 seconds and a prospect. At this point, the Flyers might want 4 firsts for him since his 2012 RFA offer sheet would probably be in that range.

Claude Giroux: He was a huge star for the Flyers all year. Also averaged an assist per game in the playoffs. He's back.

75% Chance of returning:

Scott Hartnell: making 4.25 against the cap. He's a fan favorite and a "Philadelphia Type" player. That being said, the Flyers apparently tried to trade him to Edmonton a couple years back for Sheldon Souray but Souray refused to waive his NTC. He might get moved, but I doubt it.

Blair Betts: Blair's major strength, winning PK faceoffs disappeared at the end of this season, right after he broke a finger, because of his 700K cap hit, he is moveable to a team looking for a PK guy, (eyeing you Vancouver, more on this later)

Jody Shelley: He's making 1.1 against the cap, which for an enforcer, is rather steep. He also had a broken orbital bone causing him to miss a lot of time towards the end of the season, and it rendered him unavailable for the first round of the playoffs as well. 

Darroll Powe: He's an RFA looking for a raise from his 725K salary to something close to 950K. Barring major cap issues; I can't see him going anywhere.

Andreas Nodl: Same as Powe, but I think Nodl gets moved BEFORE Powe does as Matt Read is under contract for next year at 900K and he's a similar player to Nodl.

50% Chance of returning

Kris Versteeg: It's not his fault by any stretch the team struggled. He was hurt and all. That being said, 20 goal 20 assist guys who can play all 3 forward positions and PP/PK situations don't grow on trees. His cap hit is reasonable and he's an RFA in 2012. This could fetch something decent in a trade, especially if the Flyers need to create cap room.

Dan Carcillo: An RFA, who, no matter what, is one of many of his kind. Tom Sestito plays the same type of game and should be 250K cheaper. Because of this, I would think Carbomb's the odd man out.

Ville Leino: He's a UFA who disappeared during the playoffs. He's 28, and probably won't be better than the 19G 34A he had this season. He's not an elite offensive talent, and not a top line talent by any stretch. Because of that, he can walk and I personally, will not miss him.

Will Not Return

Nikolay Zherdev: his known attitude problems and clashing with Laviolette means Z is going to be either back in Russia, or on another NHL team.

I mentioned Betts earlier and I thought I toss in a trade idea.

Vancouver and Philadelphia both have major cap issues as well as mutual needs so I came up with this trade to solve both teams problems.

To PHL: Cory Schneider (G)

To VAN: Matt Carle (D), Blair Betts (C), Johan Backlund (G) 1st in 2012, 6th in 2011

Why this works: The Canucks probably won't be able to afford retaining the services of Christian Ehrhoff in the off-season so they'll need a new D-man to take his spot. Carle does this at about 60% of the cost of Ehrhoff which save Van about $2.1M in cap space. Johan Backlund is on a 1-way 800K contract, he would take over as Luongo's backup. Blair Betts would be the PK center that Manny Malholtra was since Manny has the eye problems. The picks make up for the fact that Cory Schneider is a legit NHL starter in the making.

Sound good?

Hartnell Down or Versteeg Down- The Final Numbers

Hartnell Down ended at 330, over 90 games, meaning he fell 3.3 times a game, or 1.1 times a period.




Other things involving 3.3 in the NHL:

-The average amount of goals per period allowed through the 5-hole of Michael Leighton

-Number (in millions of US Dollars) Glen Sather will overpay for a player.

-Amount of times Pierre McGuire says "leadership" per sentence when talking about MIKE "OMG LEADERSHIP!!1111!1!11!" Richards

-Amount of times, per shift, Jeff Carter shoots high and wide

-Amount of dives Robert Luongo takes per period

-Amount of headshots Matt Cooke gave me while I wrote this post

-Amount of goalie changes Peter Laviolette makes per post season game.

-Amount of healthy players the Flyers had left for game 4 against Boston.

-Amount of time, in seconds, Nikolay Zherdev gave a crap about defense during the entire regular season

-Amount of time, in seconds, Nikolay Zherdev was lazy during the post-season






Versteeg Down (18 for round 2; 26 for round 1 for a playoff total of 44)

44 by numbers:

-The number worn by Kimmo Timonen; the Finnish God of Defense

-The amount of time, in minutes, that Chris Pronger was fully healthy during playoffs

-The amount of shots, needed to score 45 goals, on the Flyers goaltending this year

-Amount of time, in years, before Paul Holmgren decides that goaltending is important

-Amount of headshots occurring per period in every NHL playoff game...if you trust people's reactions via Twitter

-Amount of time, in hours, Sean Avery can go without saying something stupid

-Amount of time, in seconds, it will take Glen Sather to overpay for a free agent on July 1

-Amount of new rumors, per day, linking big name UFA's Brad Richards and Christian Ehrhoff to the Toronto Maple Leafs

-Amount of rumors, per hour, claiming Tampa Bay is going to trade their captain, Vincent Lecavalier.

-Measure, in inches, of Tim Thomas's waist

-Amount of PIMs Chris Pronger had in 2010-11.

-Amount of elbows to head Chris Pronger throws per game

More HartnellDown and Versteeg Down

Our good friend Amanda Hoffman has kept count of Hartnell Down and Versteeg Down during the playoffs as well.

Hartnell Down and Versteeg Down: Round 1 Update

To end Round 1, Hartnell Down had a count of 48 and Versteeg Down had a count of 26.

Hartnell Down 48 by the numbers

• Shares a jersey number with linemate Danny Briere
• Height, in inches, of Nathan Gerbe
• Waist measurement of Kyle Wellwood
• Amount of years the NHL would have to control the Phoenix Coyotes before Bettman would ever consider moving them back to Winnipeg
• Times, per minute, Pierre McGuire says something about his love of Mike Richards during a TSN/NBC broadcast of a Flyers game.
• Elbows, per period, thrown by Pronger on unsuspecting opposing forwards
• Cigarettes smoked by Carey Price during an average intermission
• Shots high and wide by Jeff Carter during an average shift
• The age Teemu Selanne will be when his point total and age are the same
  

Versteeg Down 26 by numbers

• Shares a number with teammate Danny Syvret, Offensive Dynamo
• Heart attacks DGS has per game started by Sergei Bobrovsky where Bob tries to handle the puck
• Times Andrej Meszaros blasts that big slapshot wide per game on the PP
• Dirty hits, per period, of this postseason so far
• Times, per minute, Jack Edwards has accused the Habs of diving during Game 7 of Habs/Bruins
• Times, per period, someone accuses the Flyers of needing better goaltending
• Times, per game, I see the Ovechtrick commercial on Versus
• The amount of cents Patrick Kane probably needs to pay his cabbie
• The amount of shots Partick Kane drinks during an average game
• Saves Brian Boucher made during game 7 to send the Flyers to round 2...Ryan Miller then accused Brian Boucher of committing genocide
• Difference in height, measured in centimeters, between Kris Versteeg and Tyler Myers
• Times Jonathan Toews has blinked...in his lifetime

There, now you know.

Hartnell Down or Versteeg Down

So as we all all know, Kris Versteeg thinks he falls more than Scott Hartnell.



This probably means that I should track Versteeg Down, so of course, I am. I'll watch the games as they happen and when Versteeg falls or Hartnell falls, one will be added to their counter. Then to make sure it's fair, I'll divide each number out to set up the Falls Per 60 minutes played ratio so we can see, who really falls more.

Were taking "Betts" now?

Who will fall more, Hartnell or Versteeg?

Who will fall more per 60 minutes, Hartnell or Versteeg?


Leave your predictions in the comment section.

The Curious Case of the Flyers Leadership Problem (Another Editorial)

(Editor's Note: Matt originally wrote this piece for another site that he writes for, it was so popular there and sparked a lot of positive discussion that we thought it best to double post it here for the DGS regulars. If you want to read the article at its original location click here)


A lot of people have recently began to loudly and vocally question whether or not Mike Richards should be wearing the "C" in Philadelphia. These people are mostly angry Flyers fans who seem to think that Richards is the sole holder of the blame of the Flyers struggles over the last 20 games. But is Mike Richards really the problem? I say not exactly.

First off, let's look at what wearing the "C" on your sweater actually means from a league perspective. The "C" is used to define who the captain of the team is. This means that the player with the "C" has the responsibility of delegating with the referees over disputed calls, communicating messages from the coach to the referees or scorers bench or timekeeper or penalty box staff. This is it, there's no provision that the "C" has to be 'pleasant' to the media. There's no provision that the "C" has to be excessively vocal or score 80 points a season. There's NO provision that a "C" has to like the city's baseball team. Richards handles his assigned duties well, and he's respected in the lockerroom by his teammates, coaches and GM.

So, what is the problem then? Well, I personally began to think, what if there are too many cooks in the Flyers kitchen. Now, I already mentioned Richards, but let's look at some of the other people in and around the Flyers.

Peter Laviolette is a very hands on, outspoken, active coach who doesn't mix words and tends to keep secrets from the media, and probably his players too, even though I cannot prove that.

Chris Pronger is a vocal, loud leader who isn't afraid to call teammates out while wearing the "A" for alternate captain.

Kimmo Timonen has recently taking to calling for hustle and urgency from his teammates in his straight to the point style.

Sean O'Donnell is a 39 year old veteran who's won a cup, when Pronger is being sarcastic to the media, SOD is usually the guy giving detailed answers to the media because of Richards media shortcomings and Pronger's massive use of sarcasm and snark.

Danny Briere is a former Captain of the Buffalo Sabres. His scoring touch and willingness to handle the French speaking media has been helpful to the team as he's the most experienced Francophone on the team. Also, his skill in the playoffs, even being called Mr Playoffs makes people look to him as a person who should be emulated during crunch time.

Jody Shelley's another player who, like OD, has a respected veteran voice in the lockerroom. This voice is why Lavi refused to scratch him during the middle of the season.

During the preseason, the following players wore "A"s: Braydon Coburn, Claude Giroux, Blair Betts, Darroll Powe and Scott Hartnell.

That's 10 players with leadership experience when there's 20 players on the ice. That's 50% of the team. Each person has their own unique style and while they seem to work together, and for sure intend to work together, are they somehow actually causing detriment to the team. Are they actually corrupting young and new players like Bartulis, Meszaros, Versteeg, Zherdev, Carcillo and the rest of that other half of the team.

To me the phrase "Too many cooks in the kitchen ruins the soup" comes to mind here. All of these guys together, no matter how hard they try, are not going to be 100% unified on every issue. Not only that, but the more "leaders" and "alpha personalities" in one room, the more likely that small issues will actually be big issues if the natural egos of leaders start rubbing together. There's something to be said about having a small corps of leaders, and maybe the Flyers recent struggles have lasted so long because the team's leadership had too many different ideas on how to stop it. It's a slippery slope, and quite honestly, none of us are in that lockerroom all the time to really know what's going on, but this playoff run will truly test this group. If they can get it together, this team has the talent to go far, if not, maybe, the solution is trading these "leaders" for solid players with more passive personalities so the committed long term leaders like Richards and Carter who will wear the orange and black for another decade, can really lead this team.

Maybe that's the answer, or maybe I'm just crazy.

Emptying the Mailbag: Real DGS emails...

If you follow me on twitter, facebook, or read the site, you know that I love to talk. You also know that I pride myself on being able to answer anything tossed my way related to hockey. Well, sometimes it gets to be too much, whether it's the trolls, the idiots on the Flyers facebook page or spambots, I've been totally cursed had the pleasure of dealing with some people who make me question the idea of "user friendly computers." Chances are, if you're reading this, you are NOT someone who sent me one of these emails. But if someone is reading this to you, well, you really shouldn't play with the computer unsupervised.


(Editor's Note: I won't reveal the names or email addresses of the senders for privacy reasons.)


10. "In http://downgoesspezza.com/2010/08/dgs-special-investigation-series-how.html, I tried to make the same trades on my PS3, they didn't work, you lied to me."

Because, yeah, it's my fault that your season simulation in be a GM mode didn't yield the same player growth that mine did...

9. "If you think Bobrovsky and Boucher are good enough for the playoffs, you're an idiot, this team needs Leighton, why won't you tell Lavi to call him up?"

Because Re-entry waivers...

8. "Jeff Carter only scores on Lisa Hartnell, you were right to finally tell us that. He totally sucks and should be traded"

This is a satire blog, that transcript was clearly marked as fictional, also, Jeff Carter has a higher shooting percentage than Alex Ovechkin.

7. "Wait, why no discussion of the Phillies?"

Yes, the guy who sent this was serious, I actually laughed him off thinking it was a joke...


6. "What do mean Ilya Kovalchuk's a true enforcer? He's only got 4-5 fights ever."

This Post: http://downgoesspezza.com/2010/10/ilya-kovalchuk-comes-clean-about-why-he.html

You REALLY think I'm being serious now don't you...


5. "I'm sick of Rangers fans like you thinking they know hockey..."

Oh for the love of...READ MY BIO

4. "Jeff Carter sucks, why do you keep defending him."

Well for one, shooting percentage doesn't lie...he's shooting BETTER than Ovechkin this year...

3. "The Flyers should trade Brian Boucher and get a real goalie" I pointed out the salary cap..."that doesn't matter, if they wanted it, they could do it" Ok, who would give up a real goalie for Brian Boucher "well, if Boucher was packaged with Zherdev and draft picks, then the Flyers could have Vokoun"...yeah because the fact that the Flyers couldn't GIVE Zherdev away on waivers means someone would trade for him without some sort of catastrophic incident...plus the picks don't exist due to the Meszaros and Versteeg trades

2. "Stop talking about this team like you know it, you're a god damn bangwagoner who's gonna jump ship ths second this team falls out of first place"

Yeah...right


1. "Crosby SUCKS!!!!!!!"

No, he doesn't...I hate him, but that doesn't take away the fact that he's one of the best players in the game today...

DGS Podcast Episode 6: Paul Teeple

Welcome to the new Podcast!

This week's guest is NAHL broadcaster Paul Teeple.






We talk about (in no particular order)

• Versteeg for picks
• The Maple Leaf's woes
• Chris Pronger, future Leaf?
• JvR and the NAHL
• Junior hockey
• Hockey trivia

(Editor's Note: there's a 50% chance to embedded audio file won't show up...I've been having problems and I'm not using my normal rig to upload it...someone leave a comment as to whether or not it's there so I can fix it.)