Philadelphia Flyers try a "Reorganization"

[PGiddy18]

Ed Snider made the annoucement that Bobby Clarke had retired from his position at GM and John Stevens, assistant coach and former head coach of the Philadelphia Phantoms (who won 2 calder cups under his reign), will take the posistion of head coach after firing Ken Hitchcock.

Firing Hitch comes as a shock to many people esp. me. I know that this team has been playing like *SPENSORED* as of late, but I feel like Hitch has been doing alright. It reminds me of Larry Bowa and the Phillies all over again. They players aren't playing for him, and despite everything they just aren't winning.

At 1-6-1, its pitiful to watch this team, I really get so frustrated at times, I just can not watch. To me... something seems a little shady about this whole thing, but if it helps the team, I guess I'm ok with it.


EDIT: The ESPN article (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2634817)is much better than the one on the flyers website. Hitch had JUST signed a contract extension.... like i said before something seems a little off.

[fent]

Hitch is a great coach. I was pretty upset when the Stars let him go a couple years ago.

[dj_stouty]

As an old/former diehard fan of the Flyers, I still harbor resentment with Clarke on the way he treated Lindros. I know most Flyer fans disagree with me on this. Lindros was the face of the organization and he literally changed the game by showing everyone how a bigtime goalscoring offenseman could also give the league's biggest hits and win fights.

He sacrificed his body for his team and I don't think the team respected that after his Nth concussion...

[smoak]

As an old/former diehard fan of the Flyers, I still harbor resentment with Clarke on the way he treated Lindros. I know most Flyer fans disagree with me on this. Lindros was the face of the organization and he literally changed the game by showing everyone how a bigtime goalscoring offenseman could also give the league's biggest hits and win fights.

He sacrificed his body for his team and I don't think the team respected that after his Nth concussion...

As an anti-Flyer fan and impartial observer, I thought Clarke was a complete donkey in the whole situation. He made it personal.

What is killing the Flyers is their inability to adapt to the new system (I think). They were built in a physical mold and the rules now favor a faster almost "finesse" game.

[PGiddy18]

As an old/former diehard fan of the Flyers, I still harbor resentment with Clarke on the way he treated Lindros. I know most Flyer fans disagree with me on this. Lindros was the face of the organization and he literally changed the game by showing everyone how a bigtime goalscoring offenseman could also give the league's biggest hits and win fights.

He sacrificed his body for his team and I don't think the team respected that after his Nth concussion...

I am by no means an Eric Lindros fan, however, I feel that BOTH parties wer wrong (and that Lindros needs to learn how to skate with his head UP), and that Clarke's part in the whole mess was just kind of forgotten by most fans (not this one, that's for sure).

As an anti-Flyer fan and impartial observer, I thought Clarke was a complete donkey in the whole situation. He made it personal.

You hit the nail on the head Bry. It was by far his biggest mistake as GM (next to letting Brian Boucher go, but that is for a completely personal reason...)


What is killing the Flyers is their inability to adapt to the new system (I think). They were built in a physical mold and the rules now favor a faster almost "finesse" game.

The team that they had last year was the IDEAL team that anybody could have asked for... pre-strike. It was full of Big, physical guys, that lacked speed and the ability to create plays (and turnovers). Now, we need to start from scratch again. The team is FILLED with young talent, that we've brought up through the system, Richards, Carter, Niittymaki, Meyer, Umberger to name a few, all of whom have been coached by John Stevens. I think that Stevens has the potential to turn the team around, but I just don't like the fact that they didn't give Hitch the opportunity to do it himself, ESPECIALLY after just receintly extending his contract.

[Minnesota Mike]

I was going to put this into the NHL thread, but what the heck. Personally I was pretty comfortable with Bob Clarke as GM of the F-ers - comfortable that as long as he was there, that team would never win another Cup. So I'm a little disappointed that he isn't there anymore. Hopefully the new guy (who ever it is) will be just as clueless about how to build a team to win in the NHL playoffs.

[PGiddy18]

I was going to put this into the NHL thread, but what the heck. Personally I was pretty comfortable with Bob Clarke as GM of the F-ers - comfortable that as long as he was there, that team would never win another Cup. So I'm a little disappointed that he isn't there anymore. Hopefully the new guy (who ever it is) will be just as clueless about how to build a team to win in the NHL playoffs.

Paul Holmgren, the assistant GM is taking over his spot. Don't look for him to be there too long though, because, according to some people I know, he and Snider are not fans of each other.

[Minnesota Mike]

Paul Holmgren, the assistant GM is taking over his spot. Don't look for him to be there too long though, because, according to some people I know, he and Snider are not fans of each other.

For some reason Holmgren is one of the few guys who have ever worn the Orange and Black that I don't have a problem with. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I live in his home town. He's originally from St. Paul and went to the U of Minnesota.

[PGiddy18]

For some reason Holmgren is one of the few guys who have ever worn the Orange and Black that I don't have a problem with. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I live in his home town. He's originally from St. Paul and went to the U of Minnesota.

:imshock: wow... i never thought I'd EVER read that.

[Minnesota Mike]

:imshock: wow... i never thought I'd EVER read that.

And I never thought I'd type that!

[Minnesota Mike]

A possible new GM:

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=182521&hubname=nhl