is our team better

[awaz]

and the more i think about it, even though it doesn't make sense with glut of centers, it made more sense to move gagne.. we're still only 400k under the cap, with carter it would've been 150k, plus it's pretty apparent the flyers were dealing from a position of weakness.. carter had more value, and therefore more value to lose out in in the return.. trading carter for picks/prospects would've been proposterous (sp?), but we wouldn't be able to take back any salary so thats what it would've had to be

 

[FlyerFinFan]

well moving gagne is a two pronged attack when it comes to hurting the offense.. carter's production, IMO, is going to go down this year if he actually does move to the wing.. and they are one injury away from having 2 scoring lines.. basically those line combinations irritate me (not picking on you fin, thats what i always see).. what i see in those lines is a 'first line' thats a misplaced center at left wing, a grinder with a scoring touch in the middle, and a me-first goal scorer on the other side.. that line makes no sense player-type wise.. obviously no qualms about the 2nd line.. and a 'third line' that didnt really work all that well last year with asham on it, and it might as well be the same line.. power forward that doesn't go to the front of the net, agitator, and a playmaker?.. whats the point of giroux having great passes when there's nobody to put home his passes?.. he was at his best playing with briere, who is a finisher, or on the PP with other finishers

JvR.Carter.Leino
Giroux.Briere.Zherdev
Hartnell.Richards.Carcillo
Shelley.Betts.Lappy

*leino and giroux could switch too

This way Carter can play in the middle, leino can control the puck and find the open guy, and i'm still hopefull that jvr will go to the net, which is what helps carters production so much.. then on 'line 2', giroux is paired with 2 of the best 3 finishers on the team, and then the '3rd line' will be almost impossible to play against, while still having the ability to score goals with hartnell and richards.. plus carcillo has been at his best when playing with richards, who will help control carcillo when starts to get out of control

the only problem i see with those lines is the back-checking.. its going to rely on carter actually getting back like he used to (when he was a solid PK'er) and giroux continuing his progression defensively (he ended up on the PK last year).. but when you get rid of your best 2-way forward (at least winger if you wanna give richards that title) the backchecking will take a hit, i dont really see any way around back-checking holes, which is why the flyers have this ridiculous defense

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No offense taken on the lines my friend I just threw out the standard but definitely agree that Carts has a hard time on the wing but who knows maybe a training camp under his belt will change things? I also can't see any chemistry between Carts and Richie they don't seem to create much together so after thinking of things I'd go this route but wouldn't touch the magic on Briere's line unless they slump of course.

Zherdev.Carter.Giroux
Hartnell.Briere.Leino
JvR.Richards.Carcillo
Shelley.Betts.Lappy

Carts line could be crazy good and if the lines not doing much move Giroux to center...Zherdev may just thrive with these guys. Briere don't fix what aint broken. Richie will produce with whomever he plays with besides he gets lots of ice on the PP and PK....that line will also agravate and buzz the other teams line to death...haha! Betts line IMO will be one of the best 4th lines in hockey...I'm one of the few who believe Shelley will not only protect the team but be a main cog in the cycling game and will pop in the odd goal. This 4th line will be able to match up to any line in hockey and not hurt the team.

Still the Q is will they keep this many NHL quality dmen or drop or trade one for a goalie? If they add another better than average goalie this team could be real good possibly tops next season. Can't wait for it to start!