are we really that sour on homer? I think he's done a fairly nice job and made some hard but sound decisions. My only knock on homer is his penchant for signing garbage FAs to fill out the pro roster (lilja, gervais, foster, leighton, shelly, etc). His resume of big trades have been pretty good for the flyers (Richie, Carts, Pronger, Coburn, JVR, Leino, Carle, Hartnell, Timonen), his UFA signings solid (Lecavalier, Streit, Briere, Meszaros, Talbot, Jagr), and I liked the OS to Weber even though the flyers didn't get him in the end. He's shown patience with the young talent on the team. Really his only big mishaps were bobrovsky (who I'm not sold on yet) and Bryz which he gave up nothing to get and is a non-issue because he moved to correct the mistake.

I'm in no hurry to have homer fired.
- moylander

When you get a number of injuries to defenseman during the Season, as the Flyers had last year. What kind of defenseman do you think are available? Are there quality defenseman left unsigned, for Holmgren to bring in at that point? No, what's left are defenseman like Foster. As far Lilja was concerned. He was a solid 7th defenseman in his first Season. Then the lockout happened, he sustained a hip injury, and Mother Nature caught up to him. A lockout can really affect older players. And Gervais was just plain misused last year. Again, they had little choice with all the injuries. Put Gervais in the right role, and use him properly, and he's adequate. Which is all you can expect for the price tag. Overuse him and ask him to do things that he's not capable of. And he's exposed.

Can someone explain the love affair with Hextall as a future GM. He did well in getting the monarchs to the AHL playoffs every year, so I will give him that. However, LA's draft history since he arrived has been rather unremarkable. He arrived in June of 2006 so I doubt he had much influence in that draft but look at the rest of them.

http://www.hockeydb.com/i...aft/teams/dr00006664.html
LA had a ton of picks to start with because they sold their team off in 2007, 2008, and 2009 because they were terrible. Yes they hit on Voynov and Simmonds, but missed on a bunch more with two giant busts Hickey and Teubert. Quick, Brown, and Kopitar were there when he got to LA. Not saying he won't be a good GM, just curios why most fans assume he will be great here and should replace Holmgren.

are we really that sour on homer? I think he's done a fairly nice job and made some hard but sound decisions. My only knock on homer is his penchant for signing garbage FAs to fill out the pro roster (lilja, gervais, foster, leighton, shelly, etc). His resume of big trades have been pretty good for the flyers (Richie, Carts, Pronger, Coburn, JVR, Leino, Carle, Hartnell, Timonen), his UFA signings solid (Lecavalier, Streit, Briere, Meszaros, Talbot, Jagr), and I liked the OS to Weber even though the flyers didn't get him in the end. He's shown patience with the young talent on the team. Really his only big mishaps were bobrovsky (who I'm not sold on yet) and Bryz which he gave up nothing to get and is a non-issue because he moved to correct the mistake.

I'm in no hurry to have homer fired.
- moylander

You know, I think Homer has done some really good things here. I am just afraid that Homer is a GM that is best at rebuilding/retooling a team, then building a championship team and maintaining it. He builds the team up, but just cant get waht it takes to push it over the top.

Just like Tom Hagan wasnt a war time consigliere.

Do you think he'd take a severe paycut (maybe $1.5M) for one last season?
- jmatchett383

He wants to play a lot and on the 1st PP line wherever he goes from what I have heard. We have no place to fit him with the current lineup.

He wants to play a lot and on the 1st PP line wherever he goes from what I have heard. We have no place to fit him with the current lineup.
- Jimmygrazz

If he is smart... he will hang around for a while... and sign later in the season ala Niedermeyer

Nothing to do with the current-day Flyers, but if you could have seen a guy like Berube really tune a pest up, who would it be?

Igor Ulanov (Lindros got him at the end of the series)
Darius Kasparitis (I think Forbes, maybe, whooped him)
Matthew Barnaby
Sean Avery
other?

As much as I hate Kasparitis (yes, I booed him at the alumni game, and was hoping Lindros would beat him blind), I really would have loved to have seen Barnaby take a severe beating. Chief is the kind of guy who would beat the hell out of you, pick you up, and punch you some more.
- jmatchett383

Lindros practically murdered Barnaby in this fight. It was glorious:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=851QJSfNRgM

Can someone explain the love affair with Hextall as a future GM. He did well in getting the monarchs to the AHL playoffs every year, so I will give him that. However, LA's draft history since he arrived has been rather unremarkable. He arrived in June of 2006 so I doubt he had much influence in that draft but look at the rest of them.

http://www.hockeydb.com/i...aft/teams/dr00006664.html
LA had a ton of picks to start with because they sold their team off in 2007, 2008, and 2009 because they were terrible. Yes they hit on Voynov and Simmonds, but missed on a bunch more with two giant busts Hickey and Teubert. Quick, Brown, and Kopitar were there when he got to LA. Not saying he won't be a good GM, just curios why most fans assume he will be great here and should replace Holmgren.
- psuhockey

There's far more to being a GM then drafting. More then anything it's the prodigal Son returning home. I can't tell you he's going to be a very good GM. I can't tell you he won't be either.

When you get a number of injuries to defenseman during the Season, as the Flyers had last year. What kind of defenseman do you think are available? Are there quality defenseman left unsigned, for Holmgren to bring in at that point? No, what's left are defenseman like Foster. As far Lilja was concerned. He was a solid 7th defenseman in his first Season. Then the lockout happened, he sustained a hip injury, and Mother Nature caught up to him. A lockout can really affect older players. And Gervais was just plain misused last year. Again, they had little choice with all the injuries. Put Gervais in the right role, and use him properly, and he's adequate. Which is all you can expect for the price tag. Overuse him and ask him to do things that he's not capable of. And he's exposed.
- MJL

My issue with last season was Homer went for the homerun with Parise and Suter instead of wraping up Carle when he had the chance. Then he had no option but to go for Weber, which also didn't pay off. He swung for the fences and struk out. Unfortunately there were men on base and all we needed was a double.

My issue with last season was Homer went for the homerun with Parise and Suter instead of wraping up Carle when he had the chance. Then he had no option but to go for Weber, which also didn't pay off. He swung for the fences and struk out. Unfortunately there were men on base and all we needed was a double.
- youarewrong

And how many complained about the money Carle could command? And I'm fine with him going for the home run. If he lands Weber, we have a franchise defenseman patrolling the blueline. At the time I was fine with the Flyers walking away from Carle. I felt that paying him that money would hinder the Flyers ability to find what they really needed. A true #1 defenseman. Now that they signed Streit, in hindsight, I wish they had kept Carle. He's a better all around player then Streit is.

There's far more to being a GM then drafting. More then anything it's the prodigal Son returning home. I can't tell you he's going to be a very good GM. I can't tell you he won't be either.
- MJL

IMO this opens another chain for LA players to come here, and visa versa. Hexy will know the exact needs of LA, and what ever LA player is worth and how they are developing. Might be able to see a mutually beneficial trade soon, giving them read, and us one of thier young d-men.

Althouhg... I wonder what it would cost to get Richards and Carter back... Couturier, Read, Coburn?

I translated some of the comments with google (It's horrible but you can still get a general idea of what the person is saying usually), and people seem to not be saying stuff like "what a great career we'll love you forever you're a legend" type stuff, and more like "you can still play the pens would have you, the devils would have you, the KHL would have you; we'd like to see you come back and play in the Czech Republic" type stuff. So to me it looks more like he's just contemplating retirement because he's not getting enough interest from teams that he thinks can win, and all he wants to do is win it all now. His options are, what? Carolina and New Jersey? I thought negotiations with the Habs went dry. He'll either have to take a pay cut and a role cut on a cup contending team, or be happy in retirement or the KHL.
- JAKEw1234

He will probably end up playing for Kladno if he can't get what he wants from the NHL

Wounder if he will be at the Hall of Fame ceremony, Chellios is going to be there after all
- flyers4487

My fiancee's response to Hextall coming back was "Think he'll find Chelios and slash him in celebration?"

There's far more to being a GM then drafting.
- MJL

No doubt, but it is probably the most important aspect of the job in the salary cap world. LA's core was acquired thru the draft as well as the assets used for the Penner and Richards trade. Chicago's core was acquired thru the draft. Free Agency is getting thinner and thinner so the draft is becoming more and more important.

And how many complained about the money Carle could command? And I'm fine with him going for the home run. If he lands Weber, we have a franchise defenseman patrolling the blueline. At the time I was fine with the Flyers walking away from Carle. I felt that paying him that money would hinder the Flyers ability to find what they really needed. A true #1 defenseman. Now that they signed Streit, in hindsight, I wish they had kept Carle. He's a better all around player then Streit is.
- MJL

Hindsite is 20/20 but I agree with the last poster that we made a mistake not keeping Carle. All along it was clear we were not going to get Sutter, so I felt like we could have signed Carle. Now if Signing Carle would have prevented us from going after webber ( I can't recall if it did or not) I don't regret it, Webbs is a player you take those gambles for.

My fiancee's response to Hextall coming back was "Think he'll find Chelios and slash him in celebration?"
- FlyersGrace

Maybe not, but he might slash Holmgren and take his job.

Can someone explain the love affair with Hextall as a future GM. He did well in getting the monarchs to the AHL playoffs every year, so I will give him that. However, LA's draft history since he arrived has been rather unremarkable. He arrived in June of 2006 so I doubt he had much influence in that draft but look at the rest of them.

http://www.hockeydb.com/i...aft/teams/dr00006664.html
LA had a ton of picks to start with because they sold their team off in 2007, 2008, and 2009 because they were terrible. Yes they hit on Voynov and Simmonds, but missed on a bunch more with two giant busts Hickey and Teubert. Quick, Brown, and Kopitar were there when he got to LA. Not saying he won't be a good GM, just curios why most fans assume he will be great here and should replace Holmgren.
- psuhockey

Are those Monarch teams loaded with AHL vets or are they winning with the kids they draft?

I think that's kind of important to know.

Six more years of Carle and his pop gun shot would have sucked the life out of me.

Can someone explain the love affair with Hextall as a future GM. He did well in getting the monarchs to the AHL playoffs every year, so I will give him that. However, LA's draft history since he arrived has been rather unremarkable. He arrived in June of 2006 so I doubt he had much influence in that draft but look at the rest of them.

http://www.hockeydb.com/i...aft/teams/dr00006664.html
LA had a ton of picks to start with because they sold their team off in 2007, 2008, and 2009 because they were terrible. Yes they hit on Voynov and Simmonds, but missed on a bunch more with two giant busts Hickey and Teubert. Quick, Brown, and Kopitar were there when he got to LA. Not saying he won't be a good GM, just curios why most fans assume he will be great here and should replace Holmgren.
- psuhockey

In recent history the Kings haven't needed to have any of their picks step in immediately, as they have been a pretty deep team.

That said, swings and misses in the first round are a concern(Hickey, Teubert), although the picks after the first have yielded a few gems.

I do share the feeling that a move to Hextall as the GM is not a guaranteed upgrade. It's not as if he's proven that he can be the next Keith Allen or Slick Sammy Pollock out in LA.

are we really that sour on homer? I think he's done a fairly nice job and made some hard but sound decisions. My only knock on homer is his penchant for signing garbage FAs to fill out the pro roster (lilja, gervais, foster, leighton, shelly, etc). His resume of big trades have been pretty good for the flyers (Richie, Carts, Pronger, Coburn, JVR, Leino, Carle, Hartnell, Timonen), his UFA signings solid (Lecavalier, Streit, Briere, Meszaros, Talbot, Jagr), and I liked the OS to Weber even though the flyers didn't get him in the end. He's shown patience with the young talent on the team. Really his only big mishaps were bobrovsky (who I'm not sold on yet) and Bryz which he gave up nothing to get and is a non-issue because he moved to correct the mistake.

I'm in no hurry to have homer fired.
- moylander

Not knocking on homer...Guess i should have phrased that differently...I wouldnt mind seeing hextall as the new GM when homer resigns or gets fired.

No doubt, but it is probably the most important aspect of the job in the salary cap world. LA's core was acquired thru the draft as well as the assets used for the Penner and Richards trade. Chicago's core was acquired thru the draft. Free Agency is getting thinner and thinner so the draft is becoming more and more important.
- psuhockey

Teams are still built the same way. Through the draft, trades, and free agency. No matter how well you draft. You still need to use other means to supplement the team.

My fiancee's response to Hextall coming back was "Think he'll find Chelios and slash him in celebration?"
- FlyersGrace

LOL

Nothing to do with the current-day Flyers, but if you could have seen a guy like Berube really tune a pest up, who would it be?

Igor Ulanov (Lindros got him at the end of the series)
Darius Kasparitis (I think Forbes, maybe, whooped him)
Matthew Barnaby
Sean Avery
other?

As much as I hate Kasparitis (yes, I booed him at the alumni game, and was hoping Lindros would beat him blind), I really would have loved to have seen Barnaby take a severe beating. Chief is the kind of guy who would beat the hell out of you, pick you up, and punch you some more.
- jmatchett383

Sean Avery. A guy like Mathew Barnaby was a team pest. He would fight bigger guys like Peter Warrell and his teammates loved him. You cannot say the same about a guy like Sean Avery which is why he's not playing anymore.

Lindros practically murdered Barnaby in this fight. It was glorious:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=851QJSfNRgM
- johndewar

Ah, thanks for the memories!

Can someone explain the love affair with Hextall as a future GM. He did well in getting the monarchs to the AHL playoffs every year, so I will give him that. However, LA's draft history since he arrived has been rather unremarkable. He arrived in June of 2006 so I doubt he had much influence in that draft but look at the rest of them.

http://www.hockeydb.com/i...aft/teams/dr00006664.html
LA had a ton of picks to start with because they sold their team off in 2007, 2008, and 2009 because they were terrible. Yes they hit on Voynov and Simmonds, but missed on a bunch more with two giant busts Hickey and Teubert. Quick, Brown, and Kopitar were there when he got to LA. Not saying he won't be a good GM, just curios why most fans assume he will be great here and should replace Holmgren.
- psuhockey

I dunno our good drafting record (at least in the 1st round) has survived a couple different GM tenures so far and I think our good scouting team will make up for anything Hextall might leave to desire. You have to question how many of the bust picks LA had can be attributed to Hextall's individual scouts. Since he arrived in LA, despite their bust picks they have found Bernier, Lewis, Moller, King, Simmonds, Martinez, Doughty, Voynov, Loktionov (the devils 2nd line center as of now), Clifford, BSchenn, Toffoli, and Pearson. That's 13 players who have played in the NHL, and it's quite a good haul over the past 7 years. I'd take a record like that any day. It'd arguably better than ours, for sure. For comparison we've drafted 14 players that have played at least 1 game in the NHL since 2006.

In recent history the Kings haven't needed to have any of their picks step in immediately, as they have been a pretty deep team.

That said, swings and misses in the first round are a concern(Hickey, Teubert), although the picks after the first have yielded a few gems.

I do share the feeling that a move to Hextall as the GM is not a guaranteed upgrade. It's not as if he's proven that he can be the next Keith Allen or Slick Sammy Pollock out in LA.
- Jsaquella

Honestly I dont think hommer has done a bad job..he has proven very good at rebuilding this team quickly (2007 and in 2010). Has done a good job at the draft as well. Yes picking bryz over bob has been a disaster, but we still don't know if that was his call. Also with the cap going down 6 mill this offseason he did a pretty good job of upgrading the team.