-Officials say alcohol may have been factor in drowning death of a Montgomery County man.
-Lewd gesture leads to two-on-one fight between an officer, a Conroe man and a juvenile.
RIP Flyers 2011-2012
Well that was ugly.
Whatever momentum the Flyers could have capitalized on coming out of their series with the Penguins had all but evaporated before they even set foot on the ice against the Devils, who ended Philly's season last night with forechecking that steamrolled the depleted Flyers defense corps.
You could almost hear the groans in the Wachovia Center as Bryzgalov let in one of the most embarrassingly bad goals seen in years. While attempting to send the puck back to Timonen, Bryz tried the shoot the puck past David Clarkson and ended up hitting him inside, and the puck simply bounced back into the net.
I'm not one to scapegoat Bryzgalov, as losing this series was essentially everyone's fault. The defense was shaky, the forwards were inept, and Laviolette was completely outcoached (again). But for someone who's touted as an "elite goaltender" by the club and other hockey writers, Philadelphia will need better and more consistent play given his steep price tag and "humongous big" contract length.
Don't get me wrong, Bryz is definitely capable of making good saves, but the problem is the inconsistency. A guy who's making $10 million to be an elite goaltender shouldn't be having the sort of ups and downs seen in the regular season (and the playoffs, for that matter) and if he's going to be like this then I have to ask: Why are we paying him this much?
I also reject the notion that Brodeur was somehow not a factor in this series. Yes, he's getting old, and yes he looked shaky at times, but the numbers don't lie. It's true that Marty faced a much lower number of shots than Bryz did, but with mistakes like Clarkson's goal sticking out, it's hard to argue which goalie ended up being the stronger one in this series.
There may be a bandwagon of haters on Bryz, but I don't think he necessarily deserves it. Nor do I think his title as an "elite goaltender" absolves him of responsibility for being so inconsistent at times.
Needless to say, it's been a wild ride, especially given it all happened following the most exciting (and possibly most tragic) NHL offseasons in recent memory. For all of the positives that came out of this season, there are some question marks hanging over my head:
-Will Jagr return?
One of the last people I'd ever expect to see in a Flyers jersey turned out to be a valuable asset to the team throughout the regular season. Plenty of leadership experience, but also plenty of class out on the ice and in the locker room. He's spoken several times about his love for the team and has apparently enjoyed his time in Philadelphia, but Jagr was rather quiet in the post-season, and the case can be made he was beginning to show his age as the regular season came to a close.
Signing him would be tricky, as the biggest changes need to come on the blue line (more on that below). If he could be inked on a contract that wouldn't take up too much cap space, it wouldn't hurt to resign him. For the best interests of the team's future, and not to mention holding on to our rookie corps, it might be best to let him walk.
Still, I'd rather not have to go up against a guy like Jagr on another team.
-Who goes?
I'm a little perplexed as to why Jakub Voracek hasn't been offered a bigger contract yet. In all seriousness, Voracek is one of those guys that should have been signed to at least a few years of an extension the moment he arrived from Columbus. Matt Read has also stepped into his role as a defensive forward with, dare I say, flying colors? Schenn has also stepped up.
Matt Carle and James van Riemsdyk, however, I'm not too sure about. Carle has been good, and I stand up for his play a lot more than other fans it seems, but his mistakes stick out far more than his good play ever does. JVR is still worth quite a bit, but spent most of the season injured and hasn't come close to playing like he did last season.
Lilja and Rinaldo should be fired into the sun (or at least into the AHL, maybe the ECHL for Rinaldo).
If we can net some kind of a good return for a D-man in return for JVR, the Flyers might be inclined to take that chance, with Pronger essentially out of the picture.
-Seriously, Rinaldo?
I can't stress this enough - the Flyers need to stop wasting roster spots on idiots like Zac Rinaldo. There's this boneheaded thought process behind signing guys like him, and it's unbelievably draconian to think that, in the post-lockout era, teams need a bruiser who literally does absolutely nothing than fight and get suspended.
There's no reason for it, and I'm sure there are plenty of talented people that would absolutely love to crack the lineup. Why not give them that chance?
-Coaching Shakeup
This may have people grabbing their pitchforks, but I'm not entirely unopposed to bringing in a new coach.
Laviolette is a great motivator, don't get me wrong. His strategy for timeouts has become legendary and HBO's 24/7 gave everyone an impressive idea of what the guy is really like.
But this series really showed that the coaching staff is unable to adjust their games against teams that (surprise) understand how to forecheck and pressure his system. The Flyers lost the season series to the Rangers and nearly got swept by the Devils.
Again, I'm open to Laviolette staying or leaving. I think he's a valuable coach and he's obviously had success with the team, but at the same time if we're going to make a habit out of completely folding against teams that are able to adapt to his system, then it might be time for some form of change in the coaching staff.
As long as Paul Holmgren doesn't do anything as drastic as last season, I think Flyers fans should be excited for next season - with so many rookies with so much talent, this losing experience might be just what they need to come back hungry for 2012-2013.
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