Matt Carle

Flyers Look Foolish A Year Removed From Trading Vezina Finalist Sergei Bobrovsky

May 8, 2013

Since dealing two of the franchise's most prominent stars of the 2000's, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, it seems the Philadelphia fan base has surgically dissected every single move made by the Flyers front office.

The two most scrutinized moves in the past two years though are the dealings of young stars James van Riemsdyk and Sergei Bobrovsky. To be fair, the former was an even trade that benefited both the Flyers, who got Luke Schenn, and the Maple Leafs, who landed the scorer in van Riemsdyk.

As for the latter, Bobrovsky was traded this past offseason to the Columbus Blue Jackets where he won the starting job over now-current Flyers back-up goaltender Steve Mason. After turning the Blue Jackets around and nearly making the post season, Bobrovsky is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the league's best goaltender.

(Pictured: Serge Bobrovsky against the Stars on April 25, 2013. Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)

Timonen Signing an Unavoidable Necessity

February 7, 2013

Jordan Kuhns

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The Philadelphia Flyers announced that they extended Kimmo Timonen's contract by one year at a cap hit of $6 million. Many may not be happy about it, but the Flyers had to do it. It's really as simple as that.

What else were they going to do? If they lost Timonen, arguably their best defenseman and most capable puck mover, where would this team be in the standings? They most certainly would not be a playoff team. The roster only shows one other capable puck moving defenseman in Braydon Coburn.

Failure to Develop a Blue Line May Have Cost the Flyers JvR

February 3, 2013

Matt Bernot

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Saturday night against Carolina, the Flyers dressed Kimmo Timonen, Luke Schenn, Braydon Coburn, Nicklas Grossmann, Kurtis Foster, and Bruno Gervais as their defense.

All six shared one thing in common -- not a single one of them were drafted by the Flyers.

In fact, the Flyers have a consistent issue with things like that. Since the lost season of 2004-05, the Flyers have not gotten more than 150 games played from a defensemen they drafted and only one home grown defensemen has played more than 200 games in a Flyers uniform since that time, Randy Jones, an undrafted defender.

(Pictured: Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen. Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Tampa Bay Lightning Early Season Notes And Numbers

January 25, 2013

Bill Philp

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After three games the Tampa Bay Lightning are 2-1 with four points and are first in the Southeast division. While it is all but impossible to glean much information from such a small sample of games, the Bolts are buying into Coach Guy Boucher’s platform and are showing signs of improvement on defense and in the net. "It’s going to be defense first. That’s our mindset, because we’ve got the offense," said Boucher. (Photo/Susan Ferlita)

Tampa Bay opened the season at home on Saturday night with a well earned 6-3 victory over division rival Washington. Martin St. Louis and Eric Brewer each scored two goa...

Tampa Bay Lightning Opening Night Roster Set

January 17, 2013

Bill Philp

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NHL rosters aren't due until tomorrow at 5:00 pm, but after stating the team that practices on Friday will be the opening night squad, Tampa Bay Lightning coach Guy Boucher has made up his mind on his 2013 team.

At noon today, Mike Angelidis, JT Wyman, Matt Taorminaand Kyle Wilson were placed on waivers with the intent of being sent to Syracuse. This means that defenseman Keith Aulie and forwards Cory Conacher and Pierre-Cedric Labrie have made the team. (Labrie Photo/Linda Hamilton)

Tyler Johnson, Radko Gudas and Mark Barberio will be returned to the Syracuse Crunch...

2013 NHL Eastern Conference Power Rankings

January 12, 2013

Bill Philp

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The 2013 NHL season is no longer an 82 game marathon, but instead is a 48 game dash to the finish line.

Will teams that had multiple players skating in Europe fair better? Will veteran squads win because they will have fresh legs all season long? Only the next few months will tell.

Here are my Eastern Conference power rankings.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins – A healthyEvgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby will lead Pittsburgh deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs. The addition of veteran goalie Tomas Vokoun gives Coach Dan Bylsma a solid option if Marc-Andre Fleury falters.

2. New York Rangers – With the ...

A Quick Tampa Bay Lightning Abbreviated Season Preview

January 6, 2013

Bill Philp

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NHL hockey is back!

It took a long 16 hour negotiating session in New York yesterday, but the NHL and NHLPA hashed out an agreement in principle around 6 a.m. today.

The NHL did not announce the start date of the season or the number of games each team will play, but it is expected to be a 48 or 50 game season starting on either January 15 or January 19 with teams only playing within their respective conferences. The Bolts had January 15, 17 and 19 as scheduled home games, thus it is a good bet that they will open the season at the Forum.

The new CBA still has to be drafted and ratified by both sides. It is for ten years with an eight year opt-out.

...

Tampa Bay Lightning Players Hopeful But Preparing For Worst

September 12, 2012

Bill Philp

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The players union seems steadfastly united as 250-300 members are expected to meet in New York, today and tomorrow. Lightning players planning on attending are Adam Hall, Nate Thompson, Mathieu Garon, BJ Crombeen, Brian Lee, Matt Carle and Marc-Andre Bergeron.

The NHL and the NHLPA have plans to meet this morning at 10:00 a.m. despite still remaining far apart. If the two sides don’t reach an agreement, the lockout will officially start at midnight on Sunday.

The Lightning players are preparing for a work stoppage. In that case, they will not be able to enter the Tampa Bay Times Forum or any other team facility.

Bolts beat reporter Damian Cristo...

Tampa Bay Lightning News and Notes: CBA Tough Talk, Paul Ranger Found, Mathieu Garon's Health and More

September 10, 2012

Bill Philp

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Here are some Hockey Bay tidbits to hold you over until training camp opens…hopefully.

An NHL work stoppage is nearing reality as the September 15 deadline is fast approaching. A group of Lightning players continue to work towards the scheduled September 21 training camp opening, assembling most mornings at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon, Florida for informal practice. Martin St. Louis, Ryan Malone, Adam Hall, Eric Brewer, Marc-Andre Bergeron, BJ Crombeen, Sami Salo, Mathieu Garon, Dmitri Korobov and free agent Brett Clark are regulars at the morning skates.

These union members are upset that the basis of the league's proposal cuts the players' share of hockey-...

Free Agency 2012: Zach Parise and Ryan Suter Both Sign With Minnesota Wild

July 4, 2012

Kim Pollock

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The two biggest free agents on the market this summer have made their decision, and their decision is Minnesota.

It was announced early Tuesday afternoon that both Zach Parise and Ryan Suter have agreed to terms with the Minnesota Wild, both for 13-year, $98 million deals.

Parise, the former captain of the New Jersey Devils, scored 404 points in 502 games over seven seasons with the Devils. After suffering from a season-ending injury last season, he had a successful comeback season, with 69 points in 82 games. He led his team to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, where they ultimately lost to the Los Angeles Kings.