Olympics

The Sochi Olympics ended yesterday, so it was the last game for the men's hockey. The final four teams came down to Finland, United States, Sweden, and Canada. Both Canada and Sweden won in the semifinal rounds. This left Finland vs United States to decide who was going to win the Bronze medal.

Unfortunately for the United States, they were shut out 5-0. For Flyers fans, however, long time defenseman, Kimmo Timonen, was able to bring back a medal. Congratulations to him because I believe that is his 4th medal that he has won. In the gold medal game, Canada won the gold once again. This was another shut out win (3-0) for goalie, Carey Price. This year's Olympics mostly depended on defense and goaltending, rather than offense.

The NHL starts back up again tomorrow, Tuesday February 25, but the Flyers do not play until Thursday against the San Jose Sharks.

Catching Up

Since I have not posted in a few months, I thought I should update on some of the biggest things that have happened so far.

Head coach Peter Laviolette fired and Craig Berube hired:

After only 3 games the head coach was fired. This move was not surprising to me, but happened a lot earlier than I thought. It really made no sense when he could have just been fired over the summer. If they do that, the team has more time to learn a new system under a new coach. This may have been a more effective move because after the coaching change the team was still playing poorly.

Max Talbot traded for Steve Downie:

It was not until after October 31 when the Flyers traded Max Talbot in exchange for a former Flyers draft pick, Steve Downie, that things started picking up for them. I believe the Flyers got the much better player (although some only remember him for this dirty hit). Downie brings physicality and a bit of playmaking where Talbot was just a 4th line penalty killer for the team.

Unfortunately, in his debut game back he suffered a concussion. A few games later he returned on a line with Sean Couturier and Matt Read where all three played extremely well. They continued to play well until Downie got hurt again. Since returning from his last injury he has not been as good, even getting benched a few games. Hopefully the long Olympic break will allow him to recover more. 

Steve Mason:

The biggest and most important player on the team this year (besides point leader Claude Giroux) has been goaltender Steve Mason. He has been outstanding in net & the best player on the ice, even stealing a few undeserved wins. His record is currently at 23/14/5 (W/L/OTL) with 3 shutouts and a 2.49 GAA. It looks like the Flyers finally got a good starting goalie. He will continue to be the Flyers starting goalie for the next 3 years, after signing a contract extension on January 18.

Back Again!

My name is Jayson. I am a 23 year old at West Chester University. Being a huge Philadelphia Flyers fan, I originally created this blog to stay more up to date with other hockey/Philadelphia Sports news stories.

For the remainder of the season, I plan on consistently writing about the team’s big games and news. This may be the best time to start blogging because, just passed the halfway point, the team looks to make a run for the playoffs that hopefully will be exciting. 

Predictions for 13-14 season

The Philadelphia Flyers season starts this Wednesday night against the Toronto Maple leafs. Despite adding Vinny Lecavalier, Mark Streit, and Ray Emery to create more depth in each position, this preseason has seen the Flyers coming out as uninterested in playing as they were last season. A move has to be made to try to improve the team before the season starts, because I see plenty of potential in the players they currently have. If they do start off slow, I think that the head coach, Peter Laviolette, will be fired. In addition to the coach, I think the General Manager, Paul Holmgren, will be fired in favor of newly hired assistant GM, Ron Hextall.

In order for the Flyers to succeed, Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier have to step up this year. Both players faced sophomore slumps last season and will be asked to contribute. Eyes will also be on Jakub Voracek, who had his best season yet last year. With the addition of Lecavalier on offense, I think Voracek will have another great year. Will Claude Giroux not only be one of the best players on the Flyers again, but in the NHL, as well? He certainly still has untapped potential. All in all, I think the Flyers will be a 6-8 seed team in the playoffs come April due to the improved goal tending of Steve Mason and Ray Emery.

Preseason News 9/22

This week the Flyers started to cut some players from training camp. With the players that are left there still seems to be question marks around both the offense and defense. There is one spot open for both of the respective positions. On offense, rookies Scott Laughton and Michael Raffl, newcomer to the organization, seem to be battling for the last spot. On defense, there are too many players to even choose from because a trade may be in the future to keep the team salary cap compliant before the start of the season.

In other news, Matt Read will be cashing in a big paycheck for the next year and the following three years because he just signed a 4 year $14.5 million contract. This is fortunate for the 27 year old winger since he was signed to a league minimum rookie contract 2 years ago, undrafted and out of college.

Welcome!!

Hey everyone, I decided to make a blog about the Philadelphia Flyers. I'll give updates on any news regarding the team and relevant information around the NHL.