Faceoff - with Moose and Rory
Hi everyone, and welcome to Faceoff with Moose and Rory. Faceoff should hit the press every Friday, and will feature Rory and I doing what we do best. Arguing.
Rory - The Flyers offseason NEEDS to be a busy one. Unlike other teams down in the sports complex Flyers management does not preach a stay competitive mantra. Here's the moves I see the team needing to make.
Moose - I can't argue that. The Flyers definitely need to make moves to make another run at a Cup. But it's gonna be tough to maneuver because the Flyers are right up against the salary cap, and loaded with no-trade clauses.
Rory - Sign a TRUE Star goalie- The Emery experiment failed, Boucher and Leighton are both career journey men. Not to take away from Leighton but I don't see him carrying the club for a full season. The net minders I'm eyeing up... First and foremost Carey Price. Quality goalie from Montreal who'll be looking for a new home this summer with the emmergence of Halak. He'll be playing with a chip on his shoulder as he tries to prove he's still a top netminder.
Evgeni Nabokov and Marty Turco could both be available come free agency. Martin Biron could hit the market too and we've seen his work close up a good goalie who can carry you in a playoff series, so options are there.
Moose - How the hell did the Emery experiment fail? He was 16-11-1 with a 2.64 GAA and he did that mostly with injuries. When he actually was healthy, he was a top flight goaltender. Leighton is a solid option as a back up. My thing is, if you're gonna try to spend money, do it where you need it. Carey Price? The all-star goalie that got benched? No way. Give Razor another chance, and if it fails, go after another netminder at the trade deadline.
Rory - Upgrade the defense- Your top 4 are probably one of the best corp groups of pointmen in the NHL right now, and Pronger is still the best out there. Problems arise when you move to 5 and 6. Lukas Krajicek looks like he can play and handle his minutes but Ryan Parent becomes a non factor in the playoffs seeing little ice time. Go out and get someone to replace Parent or find a way to get more out of him something needs to be done. They found a gem in Matt Carle 2 years ago, his pairing with Pronger this season really helped him mature and improve, hopefully a few more diamonds lie around in the free agent pile as the big money should be invested in a Goalie.
Moose - I can't even argue the defenseman thing. Kinda screws up the format, eh? Braydon Coburn is garbage. He just looks lost out there. He has to be replaced. I think if you find a good replacement though, Parent will come into his own. He did become a lump in the playoffs, but if you put him with someone who can lead him and is solid, you have no issues. I'd like to see the Flyers try him with Pronger and Timonen with Carle, personally.
Rory - Jeff Carter/Claude Giroux- It's time to Wave goodbye to Jeff Carter and get Claude Giroux a bigger role with this team. Where as Carter disappeared in the playoffs Giroux's star shone brightly and he emerged as a premier player in the league. Yes Carter gives you plenty of goals in a regular season but to get the job done in the playoffs you need to be able to bury pucks like the one he had wide open with minutes left in game 6.
Moose - It goes without saying that Giroux is on the verge of a breakout. But are we really ready to throw in the towel on Carter already? Scott Hartnell looked like hell for the second half of the season, but got hot in the last two rounds of the playoffs. He's less consistent than Carter is! Let's give Jeff's foot a chance to really heal, and see how he looks in camp.
Moose - What did you think of the officiating in the finals? Personally, I think that the officials, while not perfect, simply had to let things go. That's what you do in a Cup Final. If they would have started calling all the ticky-tack garbage like holding the stick, and interference and the like, it would have hurt the game. Being a former player myself, if I had a choice, I would prefer to have a ref let me get away with some stuff.
Rory - Officiating in the Finals series was horrible BOTH WAYS. These guys either made up calls or missed them for most the series, both teams had to play that way. The one thing I saw in the anti Flyers sense... the fast whistle when the pucks in the Chicago end compared to letting them whack away at Leighton down the Flyers end. I will say in game 6 Hartnell got sent to the box on a high stick that didn't even connect with a Hawks player and Pronger's second trip to the box was not a good call at all... as pointed out by the announce team for NBC. The goal on the Pronger penalty helped in a long way to decide this game.
Rory - Playoff MVP - For Philadelphia the MVP would have undoubtedly been Ville Leino. Detroit cast of a player with serious talent when they let Leino go this season. His numbers speak for themselves and don't need recounting. Simply look at the footage and notice the excitement in a commentators voice as he skates into the offensive zone. Thats a player with value that makes you stop and say wow.
Sadly the true MVP isn't a Flyer. Its Antti Niemi... how many big saves can one person make? Mike Richards and Jeff Carter both filed charges on Niemi for robbery this series, he stole 2 games for Chicago, game 2 and the series clincher. Any other goalie and this series probably goes in another direction. He's no rookie, regardless of how long he's been in the league he's legit. And I kinda hate him for it.
Moose - No one had a more profound effect on the playoffs than Danny Briere did. We watched his game evolve as the rounds went on, him becoming not only more and more creative in the offensive zone, but also doing the little things, like grinding in the neutral zone, and hitting, and taking shots only to come right back from them.
Antti Niemi? Yeah, he's good. But only as good as his players around him. A good goalie, but not as valuable as Briere was.
That wraps it up for Faceoff this week. Next time, we'll talk more about the free agency and draft situations for this team. For Rory Douglas, my new partner in crime, i'm Moose and i'll catch up with ya.
Later!
Rory - The Flyers offseason NEEDS to be a busy one. Unlike other teams down in the sports complex Flyers management does not preach a stay competitive mantra. Here's the moves I see the team needing to make.
Moose - I can't argue that. The Flyers definitely need to make moves to make another run at a Cup. But it's gonna be tough to maneuver because the Flyers are right up against the salary cap, and loaded with no-trade clauses.
Rory - Sign a TRUE Star goalie- The Emery experiment failed, Boucher and Leighton are both career journey men. Not to take away from Leighton but I don't see him carrying the club for a full season. The net minders I'm eyeing up... First and foremost Carey Price. Quality goalie from Montreal who'll be looking for a new home this summer with the emmergence of Halak. He'll be playing with a chip on his shoulder as he tries to prove he's still a top netminder.
Evgeni Nabokov and Marty Turco could both be available come free agency. Martin Biron could hit the market too and we've seen his work close up a good goalie who can carry you in a playoff series, so options are there.
Moose - How the hell did the Emery experiment fail? He was 16-11-1 with a 2.64 GAA and he did that mostly with injuries. When he actually was healthy, he was a top flight goaltender. Leighton is a solid option as a back up. My thing is, if you're gonna try to spend money, do it where you need it. Carey Price? The all-star goalie that got benched? No way. Give Razor another chance, and if it fails, go after another netminder at the trade deadline.
Rory - Upgrade the defense- Your top 4 are probably one of the best corp groups of pointmen in the NHL right now, and Pronger is still the best out there. Problems arise when you move to 5 and 6. Lukas Krajicek looks like he can play and handle his minutes but Ryan Parent becomes a non factor in the playoffs seeing little ice time. Go out and get someone to replace Parent or find a way to get more out of him something needs to be done. They found a gem in Matt Carle 2 years ago, his pairing with Pronger this season really helped him mature and improve, hopefully a few more diamonds lie around in the free agent pile as the big money should be invested in a Goalie.
Moose - I can't even argue the defenseman thing. Kinda screws up the format, eh? Braydon Coburn is garbage. He just looks lost out there. He has to be replaced. I think if you find a good replacement though, Parent will come into his own. He did become a lump in the playoffs, but if you put him with someone who can lead him and is solid, you have no issues. I'd like to see the Flyers try him with Pronger and Timonen with Carle, personally.
Rory - Jeff Carter/Claude Giroux- It's time to Wave goodbye to Jeff Carter and get Claude Giroux a bigger role with this team. Where as Carter disappeared in the playoffs Giroux's star shone brightly and he emerged as a premier player in the league. Yes Carter gives you plenty of goals in a regular season but to get the job done in the playoffs you need to be able to bury pucks like the one he had wide open with minutes left in game 6.
Moose - It goes without saying that Giroux is on the verge of a breakout. But are we really ready to throw in the towel on Carter already? Scott Hartnell looked like hell for the second half of the season, but got hot in the last two rounds of the playoffs. He's less consistent than Carter is! Let's give Jeff's foot a chance to really heal, and see how he looks in camp.
Moose - What did you think of the officiating in the finals? Personally, I think that the officials, while not perfect, simply had to let things go. That's what you do in a Cup Final. If they would have started calling all the ticky-tack garbage like holding the stick, and interference and the like, it would have hurt the game. Being a former player myself, if I had a choice, I would prefer to have a ref let me get away with some stuff.
Rory - Officiating in the Finals series was horrible BOTH WAYS. These guys either made up calls or missed them for most the series, both teams had to play that way. The one thing I saw in the anti Flyers sense... the fast whistle when the pucks in the Chicago end compared to letting them whack away at Leighton down the Flyers end. I will say in game 6 Hartnell got sent to the box on a high stick that didn't even connect with a Hawks player and Pronger's second trip to the box was not a good call at all... as pointed out by the announce team for NBC. The goal on the Pronger penalty helped in a long way to decide this game.
Rory - Playoff MVP - For Philadelphia the MVP would have undoubtedly been Ville Leino. Detroit cast of a player with serious talent when they let Leino go this season. His numbers speak for themselves and don't need recounting. Simply look at the footage and notice the excitement in a commentators voice as he skates into the offensive zone. Thats a player with value that makes you stop and say wow.
Sadly the true MVP isn't a Flyer. Its Antti Niemi... how many big saves can one person make? Mike Richards and Jeff Carter both filed charges on Niemi for robbery this series, he stole 2 games for Chicago, game 2 and the series clincher. Any other goalie and this series probably goes in another direction. He's no rookie, regardless of how long he's been in the league he's legit. And I kinda hate him for it.
Moose - No one had a more profound effect on the playoffs than Danny Briere did. We watched his game evolve as the rounds went on, him becoming not only more and more creative in the offensive zone, but also doing the little things, like grinding in the neutral zone, and hitting, and taking shots only to come right back from them.
Antti Niemi? Yeah, he's good. But only as good as his players around him. A good goalie, but not as valuable as Briere was.
That wraps it up for Faceoff this week. Next time, we'll talk more about the free agency and draft situations for this team. For Rory Douglas, my new partner in crime, i'm Moose and i'll catch up with ya.
Later!
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