I have heard as many guys praise Vorcek as rip him. His former coach from juniors loved his work ethic. It could be as simple as needing a change of scenery. My biggest concern is Voracek conditioning, and that is something that can be addressed.
- Jsaquella

conditioning is work ethic as well. I promise I'll give Jake a chance, though.

I haven't seen a response from Carter yet. He's probably three across the bed right now without a care in the world.
- Duran76

He was reportedly livid at being traded and really pissed about it being Columbus. His agent said that they were told if he was traded it wouldn't be there.

If the reports about Leino wanting 4 million per, I would walk away from that if I was Holmgren. I like Laich, and Cole a lot.
- PLindbergh31

That is what I would do in Leino and his agents face if he is asking for 4 mil per!!

conditioning is work ethic as well. I promise I'll give Jake a chance, though.
- isaiah520

It is, but it could be a matter of never being put on a program. Columbus doesn't have the best track record when it comes to developing European forwards

What Holmgren did was not to simply create salary cap room. One does not trade the faces of his franchise in order to lock up a new goalie. The Flyers could have kept both of the players they traded away yesterday afteroon and signed Ilya Bryzgalov to the same contract and made the numbers work by moving other players.

He chose to change not just the face of his hockey club, but also it's essence.

Mike Richards and Jeff Carter were the face of the Flyers franchise. They were the twin pillars that were the crux of the team's drive to a championship. Veterans like Danny Briere and Kimmo Timonen were added to help them navigate the waters to the Stanley Cup.

Along the way, a kid from tiny Hearst, Ontario came along and wrested the role of being the team's franchise player out of the hands of Richards and Carter. Make no mistake, Claude Giroux is the franchise now.

Chris Pronger will get his share of the blame, and much will be made about his relationship with Richards. It's likely Pronger will replace Richards as the Flyers captain, and people will say that his relationship with Richards was untenable and couldn't be fixed so Richards was dealt.

I won't deny that there were issues. However to point to those issues now and say they were the end all, be all of the moves made yesterday is really stupid. The Flyers didn't trade Richards or Carter because they partied too heartily. They didn't trade Richards or Carter because they weren't good with the media. They traded them for a multitude of factors.

The Flyers have been a team that has been a Jeckyll and Hyde group since they rose from the ashes of the 2006-07 death march. Flyers fans have long joked about the team flipping the switch and going from the gang that couldn't shoot straight to SEAL Team 6.

They are the team with the 3rd highest playoff win total in the past 4 years. But they're also a team that crept into the playoffs in the last couple of days of the season in 2 out of the last 3 years. The same team that went to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final was also the team that needed a shootout win to even make the playoffs that year.

The local media had fun taking their potshots at the Flyers younger players that lived in Old City Philadelphia and lived lives with active social careers. Even yesterday, as Carter and Richards were dealt, several writers couldn't resist the urge to drop in a shot as the pair left town.

The media was not why the Flyers parted way with Richards and Carter yesterday, but the media won no respect in the way they covered the team. One hopes that Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds and Jake Voracek follow the lead of guys like Giroux, Briere and Pronger and play the game with the media, lest they get slammed for not being a good interview.

But, I digress. More than making cap room, the Flyers yesterday sent a message. That message wasn't to curtail the social life, or even to play nice with the media. The message was that flipping the switch was no longer a practical or workable situation. The message was sent loud and clear and there's no uncertainty about it.

The Flyers got a fair return yesterday for two guys they had been building around. They're not starting over or rebuilding. They are simply saying that nobody is safe if they can bring their A game on every single night.
- Jsaquella

Author! Author!

conditioning is work ethic as well. I promise I'll give Jake a chance, though.
- isaiah520

I will welcome him with open arms, but I will also be looking to see if what I hear is true.

Trust but verify.

I still can't believe frick and frack are actually gone.
- BulliesPhan87

one got fricked and the other got fracked...FRUCK!

But for Richards you got guys who sound like they play a team game and play every night.

For Carter they got a guy who plays when he wants (from what I have heard and read). If they were looking to change the culture then why bring back a guy who has a questionable work ethic?
- ggunky

And why consider re-signing Z?

Not ripping Voracek, just asking, questioning him.

My concerns come from others who are closer to him or cover the sport. I am the first to admit I know next to nothing about him.
- ggunky

Let us hope our resident attitude adjuster is prepared to do his job

I will welcome him with open arms, but I will also be looking to see if what I hear is true.

Trust but verify.
- ggunky

if the flyers cannot get landeskog or larrsson, they better get ty biggs.

Here is the way i look at it...

While its always great to have 35-40 goal guys.....

Its not a necessity... Boston had 1 player.. 1 PLAYER, hit 30 goals... Milan Lucic.

As long as the team is focused on playing a complete game, and has solid offense, defense and goaltending, they will go a long way... The flyers NOW have that.

Briere has 30 goal potential, JvR definitely has 30 goal potential, Giroux as well...
Hartnell and Steeg are both 20+ goal guys. Voracek should be able to crack 20 easily, as well as Simmonds. Schenn may also be able to hit 20 goals this season. Leino (if resigned) showed that he is capable of adding close to 20 goals.

Scoring goals should not be an issue.
- jak521

and he wasn't their leading scorer in the playoffs either. kreijci was. they're powerplay sucked. they had an aging, unconventional goalie. they were a lunch pail group to the core. and they won the cup. there is no specific recipe for winning.

They are showing some old draft clips on NHL Network.

Damn the Calgary Flames for trading up 9 spots and taking Trevor Kidd. Holy poop that has to be the worst trade ever. Brodeur has more career shutouts than Kidd has wins.

If the reports about Leino wanting 4 million per, I would walk away from that if I was Holmgren. I like Laich, and Cole a lot.
- PLindbergh31

I forgot about Laich.

I Laich him a lot. Any word on how much he is seeking?

Author! Author!
- MrBuzzcut

Amazing how much sense he makes when he puts the fart jokes away.

one got fricked and the other got fracked...FRUCK!
- isaiah520

This post alone made logging in today worth it.

Amazing how much sense he makes when he puts the fart jokes away.
- bodiva88

...and references to mass murdering dictators

I forgot about Laich.

I Laich him a lot. Any word on how much he is seeking?
- BradTardforGM

As much as he can get.

He made about 2 million last year, I would say he will get 3+

They are showing some old draft clips on NHL Network.

Damn the Calgary Flames for trading up 9 spots and taking Trevor Kidd. Holy poop that has to be the worst trade ever. Brodeur has more career shutouts than Kidd has wins.
- PLindbergh31

i watched that last night and was howling. i loved the stats screen at the end when it showed kidd with 3 playoff wins and marty with 3 cups.

I hate to get all "old guy", but yesterday was nothing compared to the night Pelle died.

They're trades. They happen.

Amazing how much sense he makes when he puts the fart jokes away.
- bodiva88

A Rabbi, a Priest and a Imam walk into a bar.

They should have ducked

And why consider re-signing Z?
- bodiva88

Fair enough, I did word it poorly. (I will be the first to admit writing is not my specialty.)

What I was saying; Bring back as in the return for Carter.

Voracek was the player I was speaking about.

this all really bodes well for being able to sign giroux and jvr to hometown discount cap-friendly long term deals


*insert fakepanotch tweet here*

I have heard as many guys praise Vorcek as rip him. His former coach from juniors loved his work ethic. It could be as simple as needing a change of scenery. My biggest concern is Voracek conditioning, and that is something that can be addressed.
- Jsaquella

Especially with Lava's system.

I just realized we should have ample cap space to re-sign Zherdev to another 1 year deal!