Phightins

This spring is going to be a lot of fun. I think 22 of the 25 roster spots are basically set in stone, but the battle for the final few spots will be interesting. With the bullpen specifically. If everything goes as planned with the starting rotation this year, the middle relievers will probably get very little work, but I am incredibly excited regardless. Really stoked for some of these kids, specifically DeFratus, Schwimer, and Mathieson.

Versteeg will wear #10. He is the first since John LeClair, I believe. Will be pretty strange to see.

Yeah I heard that Mason was offered and the Flyers declined. I really don't want to see them trade for a goalie. The market is very thin, so the asking price for anybody that would be an improvement over Bob/Boosh is going to be high, I would think. I don't see it as that pressing of a need. I also heard that Columbus' GM was asking RJ Umberger for his opinion on some Flyers guys. A blog I read did some deductive reasoning and realized that the only guy they possibly could have been talking about is Braydon Coburn (since everyone else Umberger played with is either gone or has a steep contract). I actually would not be surprised at all if Coburn is traded after the season, but I don't see them doing it now unless they get a legit replacement.

Ken Rosenthal is picking Cole Hamels to win the Cy Young. I am in love with Cole, but I will be stunned if he has a better season than Halladay. But with that said, I might actually be more excited to see Cole than any of the other guys. He's had the cutter and a competent curve ball under his belt for a full season, and he supposedly looks awesome in workouts.

I am now looking for... JvR-Richards-Versteeg Hartnell-Briere-Leino Carter-Giroux-Zherdev Nodl-Betts-Powe Well, if Zherdev is still on the roster in April, the playoff lines will probably look something like this. But I fully expect him to be the odd man out, and perhaps dealt by the deadline.

That's a pretty big price IMO, but I am in total win-now mode with the Flyers right now so I am cool with it. Fills the only potential hole on the roster by giving Mike Richards a real weapon to play with. Although the Flyers have had practically no top 3 round picks in the past 4 seasons, and that looks like it will continue. But Burke loves JvR and supposedly asked for him initially. I am very happy the Flyers were able to hang onto him.

Yessss

Welcome aboard Kris Versteeg.

Peter Forsberg retires. That took a while.

Well that didn't work...

Anybody who says Twitter is useless is not using it right. By far the best way to get news, particularly sports news.

Again, I do not hate him, but I think he has a douchey streak in him. And there are plenty of hockey fans that do not care for Mike Richards (such as Kyle, our Rangers fan) who also don't like Subban. There is no connection.

I clearly said I do not hate him, but OK, keep believing that. I think he is a good player and he is fun to watch.

http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=552602&cmpid=pit-twt-pghpenguins Mario, STFU. You want to see a travesty? Check out your roster and scroll down until you see "Cooke, Matt". Need to "rethink whether you want to be a part" of the league? Give me a break.

Well, here are three. http://www.torontosun.com/sports/hockey/2011/02/12/17257026.html http://nhl.fanhouse.com/2010/11/17/mike-richards-has-advice-for-p-k-subban/ http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/2011/02/08/17202236.html I am sure a lot of this is exaggerated, but you can't deny that there is way more complaining about him than most other young players. So I think there is definitely something there. Not to mention he passes the eye test, as far as on-ice douchebaggery. Again, I actually like him as a player and of course I'd love him if he was on the Flyers.

I really like the guy as a player. I think he is great. Just kind of curious when you see his name in the newspaper at least once a week with guys around the league complaining about him. Even his own teammates.

New lines today... Mike Richards-Claude Giroux-Jeff Carter Scott Hartnell-Danny Briere-Ville Leino Dan Carcillo-Andreas Nodl-James van Riemsdyk Jody Shelley-Blair Betts-Darroll Powe The Briere line stays the same, but otherwise they are sacrificing depth in exchange for a true top line. Three centers on the top line, no true centers on the third line. Interested to see how Mike Richards responds to having legit playmakers to work with for a change. Also, Nik Zherdev is back in Lavy's doghouse apparently. So, one would assume the Flyers' only true target at the trade deadline would be another scoring winger. I have heard the names Kris Versteeg and Erik Cole mentioned. Versteeg would be perfect, but I am guessing Brian Burke will covet James van Riemsdyk in any trade.

My status is better

Cliff Lee and Ryan Madson: http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g96/philsphan1210/t37bu.jpg Cliff Lee and a palm tree: http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g96/philsphan1210/tqzbh.jpg From my man Ryan Lawrence. Baseballlllllll

Also keep in mind that the Canucks have 2 games in hand, and the Flyers finally have Chris Pronger back and close to 100% after missing him for a month (including the Canucks game). I know I sound like a huge homer right now but I felt like I needed to point that out. :glasses: IDK, trying not to get too far ahead of myself, but honestly the only team that scares me significantly in the East is the Lightning. And a Flyers-Canucks SCF would be sickkk. Two deepest rosters in the league for sure. But anything can happen in the playoffs I suppose. EDIT: The Bruins scare me a lot as well (happy ECN?). Followed by the Capitals...I feel like they will have a huge chip on their shoulders.

Oh, right, the first game after the Flyers had an inexplicable 8 day schedule break with a cross-continent flight mixed in? ^_^ Not saying which team is better, but I'd love to see it play out in a 7 game series.

Wow, PK Subban fights like a [expletive], too....

There is no room for you on the bandwagon.

Please take that back...

This had the makings of a classic let-down game. Says a ton about this team that they were able to pull through. Maybe I am a homer, but Doug Collins has to be Coach of the Year at this point.