If you were wondering how a German Bundesliga club such as Eispiraten Crimmitschau was able to afford to cover the insurance cost of both Wayne Simmonds and Chris Stewart,
here is your answer. The team called upon local sponsors and private contributors to raise the money to bring in the two NHL players. It was a "both-or-neither" proposition, because the players' top priority was to sign with the same team.
By the way, one of the private donors listed on the Ice Pirates thank you list for making the Simmonds and Stewart signing a reality is someone who called himself "Al Capone."
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None of the Flyers currently playing in Europe nor any of the team's prospects are in action today. Here's what's to come over the rest of the week.
CURRENT FLYERS
* Ilya Bryzgalov's CSKA Moscow team plays tomorrow in a road game against Traktor Chelyabinsk. With Rastislav Stana coming off a shutout in Monday's game, it remains to be seen if Bryzgalov will get his first start.
* Ruslan Fedotenko, who was held without a point in yesterday's 2-1 loss to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, will be back in action for HC Donbass Donetsk tomorrow. The team is in the road to take on Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod.
* Jakub Voracek has points in each of his first three games for HC Lev Prague. He'll try to continue building a point streak tomorrow when the club is on the road to face Evgeni Malkin's Metallurg Magnitogorsk club.
* Organized by Flyers' players Bruno Gervais and Max Talbot, the Players' Tour in Quebec will get underway tomorrow night Leo-Crepin in Chateauguay. I will post more information about the game tomorrow.
* Simmonds and Stewart will make their debuts for Crimmitschau on Friday. The Ice Pirates will play host to Lausitzer Füchse.
FLYERS PROSPECTS
* Derek Mathers and the Peterborough Petes are in action both on Thursday and Friday. Tomorrow night, the team hosts the Erie Otters. On Friday, the club travels to Oshawa for a rematch with the Generals.
* Scott Laughton and Colin Suellentrop's Oshawa team has the night off tomorrow. They'll play the Petes on Friday, trying to duplicate their lopsided opening night victory and a pair of preseason thrashings laid on Peterborough.
* Taylor Leier continues to be sidelined while rehabbing a torn abdominal muscle. The Portland Winterhawks host the Kelowna Rockets on both Friday and Saturday.
* Fredric Larsson's Brynäs J20 team is idle until the weekend. On Saturday, they'll host Leksand at Läkerol Arena in Gävle. The next day, Mora pays a visit.
* Valeri Vasiliev's MHK Spartak club plays road games against Amur both tomorrow and Friday.
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Condolences go out to the family and friends of Matt DiPaolo, who served as the Flyers' physical therapist before Pat Croce ascended to the role on the 1980s. The two men remained friends for many years.
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In today's installment of selecting the Flyers All-Time roster, we'll select the top seven wingers. Those who do not earn an automatic roster spot will go back into a pool for the final four available roster spots (two forward, two defense).
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Yesterday's goalie vote was the least suspenseful result of any so far. It was a foregone conclusion that Bernie Parent would win (although I'm surprised that he didn't pick 90-plus percent of votes as both Bobby Clarke and Mark Howe did). In terms of the second- and third-place vote, I knew beforehand that Ron Hextall would beat out Pelle Lindbergh, but not by such a wide margin (65 percent chose Hexy for one of the two goalie spots, while 34 percent gave a spot to Pelle).
I understand why Hextall won. He had the longer career because of Lindbergh's untimely death. Hextall played for the team more recently, so more voters saw him play. Hexy also revolutionized his position with his puckhandling. Last but not least, Hextall's rookie season was one of the best ever by an NHL goalie.
With all that said, in my opinion, Pelle Lindbergh was the better goalie of the two, and it wasn't even all THAT close. Everyone knew Lindbergh had elite goaltender potential from the get-go. At the time of his death, Lindbergh was already the best goalie in the NHL and was STILL improving his game from that point.
Just look at Lindbergh's career arc up til Nov. 10, 1985:
* World Junior Championships All-Star
* 2nd-round pick in 1979 Draft
* Olympic starter before age 20
* AHL Most Valuable Player, Best Goaltender and Rookie of the Year in his first North American season
* NHL All-Rookie Team and All-Star Game selection in his first full NHL season
* Vezina Trophy winner and Stanley Cup Final run his third year
* Off to an even better pace in first six weeks of the next season than he was in the first six weeks of his Vezina year.
Conversely, Hextall's huge NHL rookie year -- Vezina Trophy, Conn Smythe Trophy -- was not as expected as Pelle's rise to stardom. He might not even have gotten a chance to play for the Flyers at all (or may have become Lindbergh's backup) if not for Lindbergh's deth. Here was Hexy's Philadelphia career arc:
* Eligible for 1981 Draft, but went unselected. Chosen by Flyers in 6th round of 1982 Draft.
* Did not play for Team Canada at the WJC.
* Set WHL records for penalty minutes by a goaltender but never ranked near the top of the puck-stopping categories.
* Came into his own in the pro ranks. Chosen AHL Rookie of the Year in 1985-86, beat out Bob Froese for the Flyers' starting job in 1986-87.
* Won the Vezina and Conn Smythe as a rookie. Backstopped the Flyers to Game 7 of the 1987 Stanley Cup Final.
* Over the remainder of his first stint in Philadelphia, Hextall struggled with groin injuries and missed time due to a pair of lengthy NHL suspensions (eight-game and 12-game) plus a contract holdout. For these reasons, he was unable to consistently reach the level of his rookie year.
*Traded to Quebec in the Eric Lindros trade.
* After one season apiece with the Nordiques and Islanders, returned to the Flyers in a Sept. 1994 trade for Tommy Söderström.
* Had a decent lockout shortened 1994-95 season and strong playoff series in a sweep of the Rangers but struggled in the Eastern Conference Final against New Jersey.
* Had the second-best season of his career in 1995-96. Played well in the playoffs, too, but the team in front of him eventually withered against the underdog Florida Panthers.
* Had an inconsistent 1996-97 season, with a save percentage below 90 percent for the regular season. Terry Murray shuttled back and forth between Garth Snow and Hextall in the playoffs. Despite the team reaching the Finals, goaltending was not a team strength. Neither Hextall nor Snow played well in the Detroit series.
* Had his ups and downs during the 1997-98 season; team traded for Sean Burke to take over as starter down the stretch and the playoffs. Burke didn't fare too well, either.
* Played his final season in 1998-99, serving as the backup to John Vanbiesbrouck.
Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge Ron Hextall fan. He is deserving of his spot in the team's Hall of Fame. There has never been a more intense competitor than Hexy, and his puckhandling was a major weapon for the club. Anyone who lived through the magic ride of 1986-87 will forever hold a place in their heart for Hextall. No one will ever forget the two goals he scored, either.
Lindbergh and Hextall were both unique talents; very different from one another on and off the ice. Longevity won the day here, and it's not surprising. But if you ask me which guy was the better goaltender, I'll tell you it was Pelle Lindbergh.
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