This is a team that should be ready for a step forward but desperately needs this fickle piece to fall into place.

It’s like Deja-vue, all over, again! -Yogi Berra

Ramblings

It’s odd someone mentioned Esche, who did not appear in the list on the original post. I thought Esche looked very good during the world championships, (on deflected goal by a d-man made a huge difference).

Will Emery mix with mild mannerd, French-Canadian Rejean Lemelin? Was not Eli Wilson brought in to “personally” work with Emery?

Do we beleive Emery’s skin is thick enough to handle the Flyer’s fans? If one obscure trainer can send him into a Frenzy, how will he react to 20,000 of hockey’s most intimidating fans wearing “Megadeath shirts”?

I’ve have heard people say Emery has a “firey on ice peronality” like Ron Hextall. To those who are thinking of comapring Emery to Hextall, Stop!

Keep on of the two vets on roster for 1-2 seasons, If the Flyers are looking to roll the dice, http://thegoalieguild.com/2009/05/25/the-vantaa-vulture/

What are the odds Johan Backlund makes the team next season? From 2006-2009 he was at 2.32, .909, 16 shutouts for Timra of the Swedish Elite League— any idea how that translates?

With an Emery-Anderson tandem, they’d have two veterans with something to prove and could potentially get the best out of their group while those two battled for the starter’s role.

With an Emery-Anderson tandem they also have two unproven players who might as well completely flop during the season (I’m exaggerating, I know). The cap situation seems to be forcing the Flyers to introduce the “win now” (or at least “win soon”) mentality. Anderson is a good player, Emery on the other hand not only makes a lot of mistakes, but also could be a problem in the locker room. Acquiring Emery is not an improvement for the Flyers – and it’s not only the case of Emery over Biron. The Flyers might as well keep Niittymaki and back him up with Anderson (or Tellqvist, or Yann Danis) – it will be better than signing Emery, because they would at least be free from distractions.

As far as the comparisons to Hextall go – if Emery is Hextall, Avery is Hull. The difference between the two goalies is that Hextall was a stellar (in his rookie season at least) goaltender who was really aggressive on the ice and Emery’s antics continue off the ice.

I would much rather see them go after Anderson than Emery. I think his potential to be locker room cancer is too great to take this risk. Flyers teams haven’t had consistent stellar goaltending in so many years, I’m not sure Emery is the answer at all.

As a Flyers fan, I would gladly have Biron back but with his apparent long term, $3.5 million contract demands I would unfortunately have to say no to that.

They’re a good team. They aren’t a great team and don’t have the cap flexibility to be one unless they take a couple of calculated risks that pay off.

If they could sign Emery and somebody like Conklin/Nittymaki for one year at 2.5 million combined, they could go a long way toward keeping the rest of their team intact. Then just split the games roughly 40/40, and at the deadline when adding salary becomes more possible, re-assess the situation then.

Sure, it could blow up in their face…but at the very least they’re still a playoff team. If the options are to sign Emery and another cheap but proven backup and keep Cater, Coburn, Giroux, Parent, etc. after their contracts expire OR sign a “real” goalie and run the risk of losing a good chunk of their core in the next couple years, I’d take the first option every time.

If they can find somebody who wants Briere, that might open up enough cap space for a quality goaltender. It would almost have to be a team near the cap floor to want to take on that contract, and I doubt they’d get much in return. Plus, other than meeting cap standards, Briere hasn’t shown much promise lately. They’d have to hope for a return to Buffalo form over the constantly injured Philly version

gives me wood. to say anderson “played well” is an understatement…he’s been one of the five best puck-stoppers in the league the last two years. philly (or any other goalie-needy team) should desperately try to get him on-board.

how about briere, lupul, and carle to the kings for unhappy jack johnson and jonathan quick?

or lupul and carle plus a 3rd rounder to the wild for josh harding?

either way the flyers get to cut salary and get a young, talented, developable (new word!) goalie.

i think flyers gm has something big planned for draft day. I dont mind this because biron isnt a goalie worth 4-6 million a year. i dont know what biron is thinking. did he see tape of his play during the regular season? I think flyers are going to load up on defenseman and really good back up goalie. i do believe one of the core is getting traded.

the problem with this team this past season was that richards,carter,hartnell,lupul got too relax by worry about hitting the bars in old city philly instead of playing. they got to cut this crap and worry about whats going on the ice instead sitting back so they can get to the bars after the game.

i also begining to think richards cant lead this on his own. he needs help by hatcher type player to lead this team.

a real leader doesnt throws his gm under the bus instead of blaming himself for his performance in playoffs.