Comments on: Flyers Chemistry a problem or anecdote??

By: leaffansareajoke

leaffansareajoke — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 13:30:04 +0000

Flyers fans are never like that. We've always supported our team, and never once demanded an implosion to get to the cup. No matter what we always love our team, unlike those leaf fans who pretend too.

By: Flyers_Fan_In_LA

Flyers_Fan_In_LA — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 10:08:38 +0000

Last year losing Primeau and Desjardin hurt. Two former C's that really were the force behind the team. Now they have 4 or 5 former captains (Hatcher, Smyth, Brierre, Timonen) with Gagne and Kanuble as potential C material. That's a LOT of leadership. Looking to the Jeff Carters and Mike Richards of the world is WAY premature!!!!

I think Pitkanen was a problem otherwise they would have NEVER dealt him. With Kukonen, Coburn and Timonen - they have enough puck moving guys. With Hatcher not expected to score 40 points - Smyth can really also focus on keeping the puck out of the net. THink how that will improve chemistry.

To me the idea that the 3rd and 4th line players will be playing where they belong and that Forsberg is no longer the KEY to the team's success (even in the unlikely event of a return to Philly) is a real plus.

The problem as I see it is that the fans in Philly as well as the overly anxious media will HEAP their Cup or you suck expectations on to a young, new Flyers team that needs some time to gel. Look to after the ALL-Star Break for this team to make a real run. Especially Biron.

By: flyerjim

flyerjim — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 07:53:54 +0000

It's that secondary scoring that his been their achilles the past few years, then throw in a young (Pitkanen, Coburn, Meyer, Picard, Jones) defense with little experience all at once and we wondered why they were so garbage last year. Their D has been stablized with Timonen and Smith- they can balance the youth and limit the minutes of Hatcher and Gauthier. Timonen is like getting a healthy Desjardins back. We just need to isolate that diamond in the rough whose ready to breakout- my pick is Coburn. If someone can feed him he's got a hard accurate shot from the back end. Picard is another with a good first pass that if he can step it up to the next level, he'll help the transition game. Hartnell and Lupul add scoring. The second line won't be comprised of Jeff Carter and whoever he has chemistry with at that time, but will be a legit second line- with people competing to be there (IE: Upshall). The top line will now be one of the best (top 3) in the league, period. It would have been good without Briere- he makes it that much more dangerous. Lupul will bounce back with the right linemates. I think starting him out on the top two lines will have a big boost in his confidence- we don't need another Calder. Their PP can't get worse so there will be an improvement. Holmgren added a great QB on the back end with Timonen and Briere ran Buffalo's PP from the point similar to Brad Richards in Tampa. If their PK can be as good as last year, special teams will be the best it's been for a few years. As for Biron, he's not going to win the Vezina but he'll be the most consistent goalie the Flyers have had since Hextall. He's not going to let in the untimely, deflating bad goal that the Esche's and Cechmanek's of the past did. He's sound technically and said to be one of the best locker room guys in the league- not the hot headed, sometimes abrasive presence Esche was. All in all, the core is still there- Gagne, Knuble, Kapenen, Richards, Carter, Umberger, etc. They've added hungry guys ready to prove themselves as stars in the league- Hartnell and Lupul. Briere and Timonen are professionals that are added to two different dimensions of the team. Essentially, I agree- I don't think chemistry will be as big of issue as people are making it out to be. There's not a big degree of separation from the team last year to the new guys.

By: senators101

senators101 — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 01:06:06 +0000

I don't think chemistry is going to be a huge deal. They're professionals so they better learn how to play with a few new players. I expect this team to be in the playoffs. Everything that could have gone wrong last year, did and even more so. The Flyers weren't as bad as their point totals suggested. They'll be just fine.

By: leaffansareajoke

leaffansareajoke — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 00:51:39 +0000

Pitkanen was terrible skating down that left side and just throwing the puck to the middle, knowing his point spot was left wide open. Will miss his points, but not his talent tahts for sure.

I'm dieing to see the start of this season. I've not been this hyped for the flyers since the start of the 96-97 season.

The biggest question is in net, Can Nitty return to form? Can Biron lead this squad to the playoffs? Can the D hold up?

Last season wasn't a total lose, they had an excellent PK unit. Which is funny because even though Nity/Exche were the 2 worst goalies in the league last year, they were still top 10. Thats why i laugh when the leaf fans blame Raycroft. Raycroft was better than nitty and esche.

John Stevens to me is another wild card, he talks the talk but can he walk the walk sorta speak. I've known him for a while, as he use to coach in South Jersey and also run some camps in the del. valley. He was great during on of the press conferences saying that they might not be the best team next year, but they'd be the hardest working team next year.

Gagne can score with anyone in center. Knuble i think might fall back a line or two for a younger quicker guy, but we'll see how that pans out.

Should be an awesome season, with some great games. Flyers - Rangers. Flyers - Leafs. Can't f'ing wait!

By: turdfergusson

turdfergusson — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 00:20:13 +0000

Yeah, They added character guys. Shouldn't be a problem. This will be one hungry hockey team : )

By: max_fisher

max_fisher — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 20:30:06 +0000

Gagne and Briere should work very well together. Smith wil be a great 5 or 6 defenceman, and dynamite in the room. I’m pretty impressed with the Flyers roster for the up and coming season, however i hope flyer fans don’t expect too much from Lupul, I saw him play my Flames 8 times last year, he is brutal…….