I'm not a big fan of "waiting" What if the current pieces you have aren't good enough. Then you end up like the panthers for like 10 years. I mean you would think with high picks all those years ago they would have a stellar team by now. You would expect Booth, Weiss, and Hornton would have become stars when they were drafted, but waiting on your youth to develop didn't work well for them... or Winnipeg/atlanta... or many other teams.
- youarewrong

its pains me to say the Panthers are going to be better than the Flyers in a couple of years

And not waiting/impatience has won the Flyers how many Cups since 1975?
- jmatchett383

2nd best winning percentage in the NHL is something I can stand behind. At least I get to watch a lot of good hockey instead of 1 cup and 10 years of sucking.

Does anyone else fanatize about time traveling to about 10 years ago with the knowledge of the players you have and becoming an Uber scout.... knowing who all the gems of the draft are going to be.

Like Marty's Sports Almanac.
- youarewrong

I was just doing this today. My 2 main points:

Trade for the #1 pick in 2005 no matter the cost
Trade to the top of the 2nd round in 2006 and take a shot on that Weber guy.

2nd best winning percentage in the NHL is something I can stand behind. At least I get to watch a lot of good hockey instead of 1 cup and 10 years of sucking.
- youarewrong

I'll take the 1 Cup.
Just like the Phillies (distant 2nd favorite). They won me the only Philly championship (sorry, Soul/Wings don't count) in my lifetime, so I'm okay with them sucking.

its pains me to say the Panthers are going to be better than the Flyers in a couple of years
- vejim

Ha. With the division they are in? The first time you see Tampa or Florida knock Toronto, Montreal, or Detroit out of a playoff spot, Bettman will have them in another city the next year.

What's pathetic is that if they had waited for July 1, instead of pre-empting the market yet again, they probably could have their choice between Bryz, Vokoun and Nabokov all at deep discounts.

It's actually plausible that they could have ended up w/ Bryz AND had the cap-space to keep Bob around.
- Tomahawk

I doubt they could have gotten Bryzgalov at a deep discount. And what's not being considered is that the Flyers weren't interested in Vokoun and Nabakov. They clearly were interested in Bryzgalov. You simply can't just apply that they could've had their choice, while completely dismissing what their actual choice was. They weren't out to bargain shop. They were out to get the player they wanted.

2nd best winning percentage in the NHL is something I can stand behind. At least I get to watch a lot of good hockey instead of 1 cup and 10 years of sucking.
- youarewrong

The winning percentage is nice, but I'll take the cup eight days a week.

Ha. With the division they are in? The first time you see Tampa or Florida knock Toronto, Montreal, or Detroit out of a playoff spot, Bettman will have them in another city the next year.
- youarewrong

the Quebec City Panthers win the cup in 2016?

I doubt they could have gotten Bryzgalov at a deep discount. And what's not being considered is that the Flyers weren't interested in Vokoun and Nabakov. They clearly were interested in Bryzgalov. You simply can't just apply that they could've had their choice, while completely dismissing what their actual choice was. They weren't out to bargain shop. They were out to get the player they wanted.
- MJL

They had interest in Nabakov, they spoke to him and weren't able to meet his demands a year before. So they lost interest in Nabakov.

I was just doing this today. My 2 main points:

Trade for the #1 pick in 2005 no matter the cost
Trade to the top of the 2nd round in 2006 and take a shot on that Weber guy.
- jmatchett383

crosby and weber on the same team. damn.

Have you MET me? Read any of my posts that could be tangent_man worthy?
Sheesh...
Could be I was put on this earth to skate the line of ban worthy mental images... Or not.

There are days this board needs the levity. Or maybe it's just me.
- FlyersGrace

I'm sitting here hoping that no one on earth aspires to do anything "tangent_man worthy."

crosby and weber on the same team. damn.
- stayinthefnnet

Yeah, the best forward and best defenseman in the league on the same team. Even with Esche, you're guaranteed at least 1 Cup.

if I am Snider I research which teams had the greatest success drafting goalies and Dmen over the last 10 years and pay the big bucks to their scouts
- vejim

The thing about the Flyers is they don't seem to go outside "the family" very much. They hired Don Luce (Dir. of Player Development) away from Buffalo in 2006 (I think) because we liked the way Buffalo was doing business at the time.

But look at this list of scouts. I admit...I have no idea if this sort of "organizational nepotism" is common with other teams:

Pro Scout Al Hill
Pro Scout Ross Fitzpatrick
Pro Scout John Chapman
Scout Dennis Patterson
Scout Simon Nolet
Scout Ilkka Sinisalo
Scout Mark Greig
Scout Todd Hearty
Scout Wade Clarke
Scout Matti Kautto
Scout Vaclav Slansky
Scout Evgeny Zimin
Scout Patrick Burke
Scout Andre Beaulieu
Scout John Riley
Scout Jack McIlhargey

Have you MET me? Read any of my posts that could be tangent_man worthy?
Sheesh...
Could be I was put on this earth to skate the line of ban worthy mental images... Or not.

There are days this board needs the levity. Or maybe it's just me.
- FlyersGrace

What's a levity?

I'll take the 1 Cup.
Just like the Phillies (distant 2nd favorite). They won me the only Philly championship (sorry, Soul/Wings don't count) in my lifetime, so I'm okay with them sucking.
- jmatchett383

You just made Jon Bon Jovi cry with that crack about the Soul not winning a real championship.

trying to straddle the fence...have it both ways

your lock in theory of negotiations is what it is. if you don't even create a reservation point, nor the opp to do so, you lose. you have to create the appearance that you'll walk away...flyers don't do this well.
- isaiah520

You know what's also part of my theory of negotiations. Is that Bryzgalov can also create the appearance that he'll walk away if he doesn't get what he wants. Apparently that hasn't been taken into consideration. Along with the fact that the Flyers wanted Bryzgalov. That is clear. And were willing to negotiate a deal to sign him. And weren't interested in anyone else. There is the mirage that can be fantasized about, and there is reality.
And there is also the thought that if Bryzgalov had played at the high level that he has played at in the past. The talk would be about how they finally solved the goaltender issue. But that isn't the case to this point. And that's what it's really about. The results. And unfortunately for the Flyers. They didn't have the benefit of knowing the future, or all the information available right now, when they were sitting in the hot seat trying to decide what to do. Or else maybe they'd be the shrewd negotiator that many of the fans claim to be.

Two goaltending options have been removed the last two days. I'm starting to become concerned that Bryzgalov is back next year. That would be the worst possible thing to happen entering training camp.

You just made Jon Bon Jovi cry with that crack about the Soul not winning a real championship.
- johndewar

He can wipe his tears away with his trillion dollar bills.

Does anyone else fanatize about time traveling to about 10 years ago with the knowledge of the players you have and becoming an Uber scout.... knowing who all the gems of the draft are going to be.

Like Marty's Sports Almanac.
- youarewrong

If time travel was a possibility, don't you think our future race would have come back by now and we would know? Crazy idea

Two goaltending options have been removed the last two days. I'm starting to become concerned that Bryzgalov is back next year. That would be the worst possible thing to happen entering training camp.
- PLindbergh31

Oh Plind! you are being a bit dramatic...

Two goaltending options have been removed the last two days. I'm starting to become concerned that Bryzgalov is back next year. That would be the worst possible thing to happen entering training camp.
- PLindbergh31

These teams are crazy, acquiring players before they become UFAs. Don't they realize that they'll be overpaying and lose all negotiating power?

You know what's also part of my theory of negotiations. Is that Bryzgalov can also create the appearance that he'll walk away if he doesn't get what he wants. Apparently that hasn't been taken into consideration. Along with the fact that the Flyers wanted Bryzgalov. That is clear. And were willing to negotiate a deal to sign him. And weren't interested in anyone else. There is the mirage that can be fantasized about, and there is reality.
And there is also the thought that if Bryzgalov had played at the high level that he has played at in the past. The talk would be about how they finally solved the goaltender issue. But that isn't the case to this point. And that's what it's really about. The results. And unfortunately for the Flyers. They didn't have the benefit of knowing the future, or all the information available right now, when they were sitting in the hot seat trying to decide what to do. Or else maybe they'd be the shrewd negotiator that many of the fans claim to be.
- MJL

The 2nd-grade English teacher in me wants to take a red marker to your post -- paragraphs, sentence fragments, beginning sentences w/ conjunctions, oh my!

If time travel was a possibility, don't you think our future race would have come back by now and we would know? Crazy idea
- jak521

If time travel was a possibility, I'd somehow use it to see naked women. I don't know how, but necessity is the mother of invention.

The 2nd-grade English teacher in me wants to take a red marker to your post -- paragraphs, sentence fragments, beginning sentences w/ conjunctions, oh my!
- Tomahawk

But whats the problem with Or maybe just because it

These teams are crazy, acquiring players before they become UFAs. Don't they realize that they'll be overpaying and lose all negotiating power?
- jmatchett383

It worked when they could give them those 10 year deals to even out the cap hit, now it's just not worth it anymore.