Goodfella25 Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 Maybe I am making too big of a deal out of this by making it a thread, but I think it's just plain pathetic. Own up to something for once. Clarke is saying the Flyers loss had nothing to do with inability to adapt to the new NHL...gimme a break! Like we didn't have any injuries. That's ridiculous, we had a ton and we still persevered so it's no excuse. Clarke: Injuries, Olympics hurt Flyers Associated Press 5/4/2006 4:02:28 PM VOORHEES, N.J. (AP) - General manager Bob Clarke says injuries, not an inability to adapt to the new-look NHL, proved the biggest factor in the Philadelphia Flyers' early exit from the playoffs. He also blamed the Olympics. Flyers players missed a league-leading 388 games because of injuries. Clarke, speaking at a new conference Thursday at the team's practice facility, said those missed games contributed greatly to a late-season nosedive and the team's first-round loss to Buffalo. "Halfway through the year, we were at the top of the league, we were a good team," Clarke said. "We had so many serious injuries and I think if you look at the teams that sent the most players to the Olympics - the Rangers, Detroit and us - they are out in the first round. "I know those are excuses but there is some reality to it." Clarke noted that only the line of Peter Forsberg, Simon Gagne and Mike Knuble and two defencemen - Joni Pitkanen and Mike Rathje - played together all year. "We were a bunch of guys playing hockey, but it was difficult to play as a team when we got to the playoffs," Clarke said. Clarke acknowledged there will be some rebuilding. He has five unrestricted free agents - Eric Desjardins, Kim Johnsson, Donald Brashear, Brian Savage and Chris Therien. Brashear and Savage definitely will not be back, Clarke said. He left up in the air the status of Johnsson, who was sidelined from Jan. 28 until the end of the season with post-concussion symptoms. "I don't know if he will play next year," Clarke said. "This year was the first time we saw him as an inconsistent player. He had been solid, consistent. I don't know why he was inconsistent." One area that will be addressed is defence. Over the next several years, the Flyers have about $10 million US invested in Derian Hatcher and Rathje, two big defencemen who were not very effective in the NHL's revamped, skating-friendly game. Clarke called stay-at-home defencemen almost obsolete and said, "We have to get quicker." Coach Ken Hitchcock will be back next season, the final year of his contract. Clarke said he would discuss a contract extension with the coach. "Even with all the injuries, he dragged a lot out of the players," he said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_sauve28 Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 Has Clarke lured Mark Messier out of retirement yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 Maybe I am making too big of a deal out of this by making it a thread, but I think it's just plain pathetic. Own up to something for once. Clarke is saying the Flyers loss had nothing to do with inability to adapt to the new NHL...gimme a break! Like we didn't have any injuries. That's ridiculous, we had a ton and we still persevered so it's no excuse. Clarke: Injuries, Olympics hurt Flyers Associated Press 5/4/2006 4:02:28 PM VOORHEES, N.J. (AP) - General manager Bob Clarke says injuries, not an inability to adapt to the new-look NHL, proved the biggest factor in the Philadelphia Flyers' early exit from the playoffs. He also blamed the Olympics. Flyers players missed a league-leading 388 games because of injuries. Clarke, speaking at a new conference Thursday at the team's practice facility, said those missed games contributed greatly to a late-season nosedive and the team's first-round loss to Buffalo. "Halfway through the year, we were at the top of the league, we were a good team," Clarke said. "We had so many serious injuries and I think if you look at the teams that sent the most players to the Olympics - the Rangers, Detroit and us - they are out in the first round. "I know those are excuses but there is some reality to it." Clarke noted that only the line of Peter Forsberg, Simon Gagne and Mike Knuble and two defencemen - Joni Pitkanen and Mike Rathje - played together all year. "We were a bunch of guys playing hockey, but it was difficult to play as a team when we got to the playoffs," Clarke said. Clarke acknowledged there will be some rebuilding. He has five unrestricted free agents - Eric Desjardins, Kim Johnsson, Donald Brashear, Brian Savage and Chris Therien. Brashear and Savage definitely will not be back, Clarke said. He left up in the air the status of Johnsson, who was sidelined from Jan. 28 until the end of the season with post-concussion symptoms. "I don't know if he will play next year," Clarke said. "This year was the first time we saw him as an inconsistent player. He had been solid, consistent. I don't know why he was inconsistent." One area that will be addressed is defence. Over the next several years, the Flyers have about $10 million US invested in Derian Hatcher and Rathje, two big defencemen who were not very effective in the NHL's revamped, skating-friendly game. Clarke called stay-at-home defencemen almost obsolete and said, "We have to get quicker." Coach Ken Hitchcock will be back next season, the final year of his contract. Clarke said he would discuss a contract extension with the coach. "Even with all the injuries, he dragged a lot out of the players," he said. I hope he hasn't finally figured it out. His pylons and AHL caliber goalie routine was obsolete in the OLD NHL. Please Bobby, let this just be lip service. I love your orange pylon D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X. Benedict Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 Thanks for that Goodfella. I needed a good laugh today. :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spandrel Posted May 5, 2006 Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 Good. Let him keep drinking that Kool-Aid and keep building these slow, old and overpriced teams that can't compete in the Playoffs. More room for the rest of us. :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyHavlatismyGOD Posted May 5, 2006 Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 "Halfway through the year, we were at the top of the league, we were a good team," Clarke said. "We had so many serious injuries and I think if you look at the teams that sent the most players to the Olympics - the Rangers, Detroit and us - they are out in the first round. Of course bobby clarke is going to try and cover his own ass... Sens had Nine go, they are still in - having players go to the olympics is no excuse.. I think we can all agree that Phillie lost because they played a better team. Nine Senators selected for Olympics (12/23/2005) "It's good to see that we're (the Senators) pretty well represented," Redden said. "It's exciting for a player because everyone knows how important it is to have a chance to go and play. It's going to be unbelievable." The Ottawa Senators will be well represented at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, in February. Thursday, Dec. 22, marked the deadline for countries to submit their hockey rosters, and nine members from the Senators have been chosen to represent their countries at the Olympics. On Wednesday, Dec. 21, four Senators were named to their countries lineups with left-winger Dany Heatley, defenceman Wade Redden and centre Jason Spezza (taxi squad) being named to Team Canada, and Christoph Schubert getting the nod by Germany. On Thursday, another five Senators received invitations from their countries, including: right-winger Daniel Alfredsson, Sweden; goaltender Dominik Hasek, Czech Republic; defenceman Anton Volchenkov, Russia; and defencemen Zdeno Chara and Andrej Meszaros, Slovakia. Canada is the reigning champion in men?s hockey, defeating the United States in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Hasek is the only current Senators player to have won a gold medal in Olympic competition. He backstopped the Czech Republic to gold during the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan. He played in two other Olympics in 1988 and 2002. Alfredsson, Chara and Schubert have represented their countries in the past two events. Making their Olympic debuts are Meszaros, Volchenkov, Heatley, Spezza and Redden. Below is a list of the Senators players selected for this year?s Olympics and their previous involvement in international competition. Andrej Meszaros, Slovakia World senior championship, 2004 World U20 junior championship, 2004, 2003 World U18 junior championship, 2002 Anton Volchenkov, Russia World Cup, 2004 World senior championship, 2002 World U20 junior championship, 2002, 2001 World U18 junior championship, 2000 Christoph Schubert, Germany Olympics, 2002 World Cup, 2004 World senior championship (tier II group), 2000 World U20 junior championship, 2000 Daniel Alfredsson, Sweden Olympics, 2002, 1998 World Cup, 2004, 1996 World senior championship, 2005, 2004, 2001, 1999, 1996, 1995 Dany Heatley, Canada World Cup, 2004 World senior championship, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002 World U20 junior championship, 2001, 2000 Dominik Hasek, Czech Republic Olympics, 2002, 1998 (gold), 1988 World senior championship, 1990, 1989, 1987, 1986, 1983 Jason Spezza, Canada World U20 junior championship, 2002, 2001, 2000 Wade Redden, Canada World Cup, 2004 World senior championship, 2005, 2001, 1999 World U20 junior championship, 1996, 1995 Zdeno Chara, Slovakia Olympics, 2002 World Cup, 2004 World senior championship, 2005, 2004, 2001, 2000, 1999 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted May 5, 2006 Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 Only one person can save the Flyers..................Pat Quinn :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puma2577 Posted May 5, 2006 Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 Quinn, Domi, and Tucker. With Esche in goal, the possibilities are endless. HAHAHA They'd make the Blackhawks look good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReneRobert Posted May 5, 2006 Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 Only one person can save the Flyers..................Pat Quinn :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: nice... Though, reading your sig line.... it should read "smarter than..." Signed, ReneRobert Smart-Aleck Bills and Sabres Fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted May 5, 2006 Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 What are the Flyers complaining about? Ottawa lost their top goaltender (and one of the reasons they did so well) to the Olympics they seem to be doing fine with a not so great goalie (good but not great) and have faced injuries too. Its not Buffalos fault team USA needed the dynamic Esche to win their gold that they had no room for Miller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopeleslyobvious Posted May 5, 2006 Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 What are the Flyers complaining about? Ottawa lost their top goaltender (and one of the reasons they did so well) to the Olympics they seem to be doing fine with a not so great goalie (good but not great) and have faced injuries too. Its not Buffalos fault team USA needed the dynamic Esche to win their gold that they had no room for Miller. I bet that one game Esche played in during the Olympics really wore him out down the stretch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JujuFish Posted May 5, 2006 Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 Boy, Flyers fans can be delusional :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottlecap Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 I was watching the 1972 Canada Cup highlights and they showed Clarke taking a baseball swing (under orders from John Ferguson) at Kharlamov's ankle and broke it. Later, they interviewed him about it and he laughed. The man has absolutely no class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 I was watching the 1972 Canada Cup highlights and they showed Clarke taking a baseball swing (under orders from John Ferguson) at Kharlamov's ankle and broke it. Later, they interviewed him about it and he laughed. The man has absolutely no class. Yeah, but that play made a nation love him even more than they loved Paul Henderson. :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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