9-1??? WTF???!!!??? Flyers Change In the Air

I'm still in stunned disbelief in the events that occured last night in Buffalo during the Flyers/Sabers game. 9-1. That bears repeating.... NINE to ONE. To put this in perspective, had this been an NFL game, the final score would have been like 63-7. In baseball, perhaps 25-1 or worse. Folks, this wasn't a drubbing or even a good old ass-kicking, this was something much worse. There is NO REASON that a professional team, ESPECIALLY one that is a perennial playoff contender should lose by anywhere near that margin. Even if everything possible is going wrong for your team, if you are at least competing, it shouldn't be anywhere near that bad. The only conclusion I can draw from this is that somewhere along the line, the team has stopped caring.

I have to stop for a second after typing that. Million dollar athletes. People who virtually spent their entire lives playing the game NOT CARING. It makes absolutely no sense. Yet all the signs are there. And they even go back to the preseason. This team is not an unskilled team. We have 2 all-star goalies, one of which won an olympic medal. One of which won the Calder Cup 2 years ago. We have argueably one of the best 2 way players in the WORLD in Forsberg. One of the league's top goal scorers in Gagne. A solid goal scorer in Knuble. Highly talented (and fast) young players in Carter, Umberger and Richards, who have already proven they can play at a high level in this league. Plenty of additional speed - barn burning speed in Kapanen and Sanderson. And even with the perceived weakness of the defense, still enough guys to be productive and competent. And yet there it is in black and white. 9-1. Too many questions to be answered.

I just saw a very interesting interview with all-everything owner Ed Snider, perhaps the single most passionate, caring (about the sport) owner in all of sports. He has basically declared that he is going to spare no effort to get to the bottom of the problem, and solve it himself, if need be. And he also stated very clearly that NO person is safe. Should he deem Clarke or Hitch part of the problem, I'm very confident at this point they are gone, contract or not. Perhaps even one of the "untouchables" would be gone if deemed necessary - Gagne, Carter, Richards, .... Forsberg???

The team has been complacent since last year. Gone is the fire that defines truly good teams. In the past, new NHL or not, a 9-1 loss would have meant MANY good fights and plenty of bad blood. Last night, the team didn't even seem to care that Buffalo was pushing for the TENTH goal. That should have been "stick into Afinogenof's spleen" time long before the 9-1 margin. The other thing that blows my mind is the number of times that people have taken relative cheap shots at the team captain, for cryin' out loud, and all the players just watch. Somebody has to grow a friggin' pair on that team REALLY soon. Maybe the problem really is Forsberg. Maybe not only is he a poor captain, but maybe he really isn't liked in the room? It's all speculation, but I've noticed he does have an odd way of carrying himself during interviews. Without being overtly narcissistic, he seems to almost KNOW he's better than the others, and maybe they resent that. Whatever the issue, there has not been a good leader in that room since Preems went down last year. Hatcher was a fucking disgrace.

I'm stumped. Snider has promised a return to playing "Old Flyer Hockey". Whether that means finally playing AS a team for each other, or simply beating the tar out of everyone that moves as a distraction for your team sucking is yet to be determined. Something needs to happen soon, though. Like yesterday. The first 3 heads rolled today, and if tomorrow's game is anything CLOSE to what happened in Buffalo, I think there may be wholesale changes at all levels. My heart is breaking, but still bleeds orange and black...

s42