flyers finally going to win a cup?

[kennyg1966 0]

they will win it the same year i win the WSOP main event...considering i don't have 10k to throw away.....lolcare to spot me 10k next yr.

[BigCountry 0]

Sorry, but Esche has way too much to prove to me before I can pick the Flyers.

[BadBeatBones 0]

Digital, I'm not here to question your hockey knowledge.Bones. STFU, you are giving Flyers fans a bad name. (Not that we had a good name but whatever)I am a huge Flyers fan, was looking to get season tickets, but couldn't find enoughpeople to buy in with me.Do the Flyers have a chance to win the cup sure. Do I think they will absolutly. Do I have any stats to back that up? Not really. I think that many would agree that they are one of the pre-season favorites to get to the Cup finals out of the East. Goaltending I do not think is going to be an issue for the Flyers. Esche is good, Niitymaki is just as good if not better IMO.As far as Pittsburgh goes...2-3 years and they will be a huge threat in the East.

A Philadelphia team with a good name is unheard of. Anyway, I heard that no one can come close to getting season tickets since they singed Forseberg. Could be wrong but I tried and couldnt get them.

[BadBeatBones 0]

Pens did a good job in signing a few of the Flyer's broken down forwards.

PredictionsMark Recchi - at least 70 pointsJohn Leclair - at least 30 goals

Ok, we shall see by the end of the year what these guys do. I think Recchi still has something in the tank but 70 points? Not sure. LeClair will really surprise me with a 30 goal year. I know he has a ton of those but he is way past his prime.

[jack24bauer24 0]

First off....I hate Bobby Clarke, and I hate the Flyers...but I'm a Leafs fan, so thats thats.Now, as for the Flyers....anyone who says that the Flyers can't win because they don't have a good goalie are insane. Esche, who I also hate, played incredibly well last year in the playoffs, and was probably the #1 factor that they beat the Leafs, he simply outplayed Ed Belfour in the playoffs and was great throughout the playoffs. Check his #'s, they were exceptionally good.As for their signings.....you obviously are a better team with a Peter Forsberg than without, but I think his best days are behind him...he's been through terrible injury struggles ove the past couple of years, and giving up Roenick to get him hurts, at this point in their careers there isn't all that much difference between the two. Now if Forsberg is healthy all season this obviously changes things.The Hatcher signing is a horrible move. He was badly hurt his last year in Detroit, he looked like he was finished, and he gets a 4 year deal worth a pile of money in a league where speed and skill are going to be taking over? Not one of Clarke's finest moves...people who think this signing is a great one are victim of the "name player" syndrome.Rathje is a fine signing, he's much better than Hatcher at this point.Where the Flyers are in good shape is that Richards and Carter will start the year with the team on their top 2 or 3 lines and make next to nothing which is huge in the new cap system. Will the Flyers be very good? Yes.Is goaltending a concern at all? No.Were all their moves great? No.Will they win the East? No...although at this point I'm not sure who will...the league is a mess right now, even for an expert like myself.

[mulhs82 2]

Digital, I'm not here to question your hockey knowledge.Bones. STFU, you are giving Flyers fans a bad name. (Not that we had a good name but whatever)I am a huge Flyers fan, was looking to get season tickets, but couldn't find enoughpeople to buy in with me.Do the Flyers have a chance to win the cup sure. Do I think they will absolutly. Do I have any stats to back that up? Not really.  I think that many would agree that they are one of the pre-season favorites to get to the Cup finals out of the East. Goaltending I do not think is going to be an issue for the Flyers. Esche is good, Niitymaki is just as good if not better IMO.As far as Pittsburgh goes...2-3 years and they will be a huge threat in the East.

A Philadelphia team with a good name is unheard of. Anyway, I heard that no one can come close to getting season tickets since they singed Forseberg. Could be wrong but I tried and couldnt get them.

There are still some season tickets for sale, but they aren't the best seats and they aren't the worst seats so people aren't buying them. Single game tickets aren't on sale yet.

[trihawkeye 0]

Wow Jack should be an analyst for OLN, right on.As an Avs season ticket holder it was just awful to see Forsberg go, but I'll be rooting for Philly in the East now. Can't believe these morons from hockey HQ couldn't have a Avs/Philly game in Denver. It's always a hot ticket anyway. Even ESPN might want that game. Forsberg if healthy gives a lot of upside to Philly in the playoffs, but that is a question mark. His style of play you have to love, but it gets him on the DL a lot and maybe more now that he isn't 25. A consideration for putting big money up with a salary cap. Hatcher in my opinion is the most overrated signing and frankly I have to short the Philly hype at this point. They will be in the hunt, but a clear favorite not.

[mulhs82 2]

Wow Jack should be an analyst for OLN, right on.As an Avs season ticket holder it was just awful to see Forsberg go, but I'll be rooting for Philly in the East now. Can't believe these morons from hockey HQ couldn't have a Avs/Philly game in Denver. It's always a hot ticket anyway. Even ESPN might want that game. Forsberg if healthy gives a lot of upside to Philly in the playoffs, but that is a question mark. His style of play you have to love, but it gets him on the DL a lot and maybe more now that he isn't 25. A consideration for putting big money up with a salary cap.  Hatcher in my opinion is the most overrated signing and frankly I have to short the Philly hype at this point. They will be in the hunt, but a clear favorite not.

General question and I am being serious when I say this cause I'm interested in an answer not starting a war. What 4 teams have the best shot to come out of the east as of right now?(Yes, I know injuries will occur, and we are just playing the games on paper right now)I think in no particular orderFlyersLightningDevilsOttawa

[jack24bauer24 0]

I'd have to guess the top 4 teams, in theory in the eastern conference at this point are....#1 Boston#2 TB#3 Philly#4 OttawaOttawa should be rated higher but I'm afraid Ray Emery isn't going to carry the team deep into the playoffs as their goalie.And yes I'm aware that they have Dominik Hasek on their team, but since the end of the 2001 season he's played exactly 14 games, and on a team that has time and time again lost due to pathetic goaltending I'm afraid that trend is going to continue.TB also has goaltending questions, but their team is extremely skilled, young, and fast, and should be even better with the new rules so I will over look their goaltending questions for the time being.

[WestcoastCanuck 0]

I've only scanned the last part of this thread, but I think people are slamming the Hatcher signing way to much. They didn't break the bank on him, and it isn't like he is anchoring the entire defence. His struggles in Detroit can be explained by 1.) fitting in with a new team, then 2.) coming back from a major injury. He is slow, but he is on a team with lots of mobile defenceman and great defensive forwards. I don't see that many players coming at him at full speed. Penalty killing will be huge in the new NHL, and he is right up there with Pronger when it comes to killing penalties. I would go as far as saying it was a great signing, given Phillies system and the rest of their players.

[digitalmonkey 929]

What 4 teams have the best shot to come out of the east as of right now?(Yes, I know injuries will occur, and we are just playing the games on paper right now)I think in no particular orderFlyersLightningDevilsOttawa

#1 Ottawa Senators#2 Boston Bruins#3 Philadelphia Flyers#4 Tampa Bay Lightning