Since we last met the Philadelphia Flyers…
IN: Having scrimped on goaltending for years, the Flyers went out and made Ilya Bryzgalov a $51 million dollar rich duck (cha-ching!). Meanwhile, Tomas Vokoun’s agent is wondering what went wrong. Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds (miss you, buddy!), Sean Couturier, Jaromir “Dead to Mario” Jagr, Maxime Talbot, and rookie Matt Read are additions at forward. Brayden Schenn is in the AHL, in order to avoid contract bonus problems later. Kid can’t catch a break! Just kidding, the chipmunk should be back soon.
OUT: Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Daniel Carcillo, Ville Leino, Blair Betts. You may have heard just a little about all that.
Projected Flyers lines:
Van Riemsdyk – Giroux – Jagr
Voracek – Briere – Simmonds
Hartnell – Couturier – Read
Rinaldo – Talbot – Nodl
Pronger – Carle
Timonen – Coburn
Meszaros – Lilja
Bryzgalov
Projected Kings lines:
Gagne-Kopitar-Williams
Richardson-Richards-Brown
Parse-Stoll-Moreau
Clifford-Lewis-Westgarth
Mitchell-Doughty
Johnson-Scuderi
Drewiske-Greene
Quick
Let’s be honest: this game does not come at a good time. They’ve been on the road for eighteen days, traveling across two continents. Terry Murray is still tinkering. The most annoying thing about it is the buildup; everyone’s hit the refresh button on rumors and theories, and there’s already been an eye-rolly amount of hype. Testimonials from ex-teammates like Ian Laperriere on the situation lack innuendo, and are therefore ignored.
This will be the fourth game of the season. It’s far too early to start declaring What These Trades All Mean, but that’s not going to stop anyone. Win or lose, there will be grand declarations and stupid headlines. In times like these, I want about 98% of all sports writers to go jump in a tar pit.
If I had a wish for the Kings, it would be to stay focused and have everyone just go out and play their game. Let everyone else tie themselves into knots. And no matter the outcome, keep your eyes ahead.