Of course I am, honestly the more I think about this the calmer I get. The Richards deal is still pissing me off but we will see what they do in the rest of the off season.
Honestly? I'm happy with what just happened today.
This is getting repetitive, but I'll keep posting it.
Holmgren just cleared out two guys who obviously were/had issues with management and/or coaching. Yes, Mike Richards was captain. Yes, Jeff Carter was underrated. But in reality, Holmgren is a genius. Here's why:
- He acquired the 8th overall draft pick, a 2nd, and 3rd rounder. With these picks he'll be able to draft a few good prospects and correct what he did wrong by throwing away picks.
- He acquired three young players with great potential to fill the voids of Richards, Carter, and Leino/Versteeg/whoever else is out. Voracek is likely to be money with Giroux and JVR. I'm not sure what will happen with Briere's line after today, but I'd assume he might try and keep Leino now. So that line is still intact. Then you have Versteeg and Simmonds centering Schenn (rated the best prospect leaguewide).
- Bryzgalov just got signed for 5.7 Million for 9 years as I'm typing this. Philly now has a franchise goaltender and all these great young players who should be signed more than easily enough.
I've been a Flyers fan my whole life so far and will be forever. Hate to see Richie and Carter go, when they were drafted I wanted them to be here for life.
Always, however, I don't like rooting for a bunch of new names and mercenaries. I want a team that grows together. I'm sick of the roster turnover, and I'm sad that one of my top three Flyers -- maybe even top Flyer -- just got traded. This is definitely a test of faith.
Never gonna stop being a Flyers fan, but frankly I'm a bit torn and flabbergasted.
1 of the two (specifically Carter) I saw as a possibility, but both? Just Wow. Obviously there needed to be room made for Bryz, but I didn't think it would be both of their two biggest names who were signed long term. Schenn is a great piece in return, Briere and Giroux are still here, and JvR turned into a beast last playoffs and hopefully he continues. But as much as Richie arguably wasn't good in the locker room or w/ the C he still showed up on the ice and is still one of the best 2 way players and the Flyers and I will miss that. Still, with these moves (and whatever is still to be done, I doubt this is all the news out of the Flyers in the near future) A shakeup was needed, but Homer really just put his neck out there, and if there's no cup within a year or two, he's gone.
The only thing that could make me stop being a Flyers fan is if they traded Giroux. He's the best player on this team already and will be the captain once Pronger retires.
I'm a Canucks fan, and wow, I'm SHOCKED. I fail to see how this makes Philly a better team NOW, but they could be dangerous as **** in a few years. Giroux, JVR, Schenn, Voracek, and the 8th overall. Not to mention they have a fair bit of cap space to maneuver in free agency.
This is still a very shocking day. This would be like Vancouver shipping out Daniel and Kesler hahah.
