This picure will serve as birth control in my home!Well, well, well................Maid Marian Hossa finally hoists the Stanley Cup......after two straight years as bridesmaid, this gifted pussy finally wins the cup.......well, he was on the team that won the Cup...........Hosebag had 3 goals in the entire playoffs, so it is difficult to say he WON the Cup.........he participated on the team who did.......in fact 9 players on the Hawks had more goals than Maid Marian.....9! I am certain that for 65M+ that more was expected of him......As this game unfolded I found myself wondering how committed I was to my new relationship with the Flyers, and to my surprise, I knew for sure when I was sickened by the sight of the cabby beating Patrick Kane's game winning goal go into the net, and when I turned off the whole broadcast as soon as Toews handed the much cherished trophy to Hosebag........Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of Blackhawks I truly enjoyed watching......Toews, Bolland, Keith, Seabrook, Byfuglien, Sharp, Ladd.............and I still think they have by far the best uniforms in all of sports......but for chrissakes, I was still rooting for the Flyers.......no shit........the gloves will come off in October, and the old familiar hatred will arise again, but probably not to the same degree.............
Chris Pronger-Class A trashbag if you listened to many the day the Flyers traded for him.....dirty, cheap, old.........and if was not an asshole before, putting on the orange jersey made him an asshole by default, right? Not from what I saw....yes he had a nasty reputation coming over to Philly, and of course now that he was a Flyer, I wanted to buy into it......and did.....but, I probably watched 30 plus games that involved the Flyers this season and post season.......and I saw nothing more than what you would expect from a large tough NHL defenseman.........sure, he hit people high, sure he whacked their shins with his stick like he was chopping wood, sure he cross checked opposing forwards in their backs if they ventured in front of the Flyers net! Hell, he did it REALLY hard sometimes too!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But ladies, guess what?! That is what the fuck he is paid to do!! That is what Zdeno Chara does....it is what Brooks Orpik does......it is what Andy Sutton does......it is what Anton Volchenkov does.....Are some of his hits in the gray area? You bet they are.........but again, NHL hockey is a violent sport, played by violent men, and anyone who puts on that helmet and those skates knows it............In the games I watched, I saw a very aggressive, nasty, phyisical defenseman who could also put the puck on the net..........period. Post game, I saw a guy with great leadership qualites, and a ready self deprecating sense of humor......Pronger was the fourth leading playoff scorer for the Flyers with 4 goals, 14 assists and 18 total points.....would love the guy if he wore the black and gold!
Scott Hartnell-I hated this guy.....then got a good dose of what a good guy he could be off the ice, but was not sure of him on the ice.......he was MONEY in the Finals............Hartnell was part of so many big goals in the last 8 to 10 playoff games, I got a real good dose of what he can do....He had 8 goals and 9 assists for 17 total points in the playoffs...many of these points came at BIG moments.......much more respect than before as a player..........
Timmonen-ssshhhhhh......always kind of liked Kimo..........
Danny Briere-soft as a babys ass..........disappears in big moments......overpaid weight on the Flyers........well, Danielle as I used to refer to him opened my eyes........the line of Briere, Hartnell and Leino was the most effective line on either team throughout the Finals.........Briere made great plays, set up huge goals, and felt dangerous every time he touched the puck.........with the seats changing in the new arena, I will no longer be able to call him my little Christmas Elf, or any of the other dozens of names I had for him.....Briere led the Flyers in playoff scoring with 12 goals, 18 assists and 30 total points, one more point than Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Toews....
Mike Richards-I laughed my ass every time Pierre McGuire talked about his leadership.....Despite my knowledge that he was a very good player, I thought he was one of the more overrated players in the league..............but again, upon further review.......I watched a captain stand up and take control of his team when they fell down 3-0 to the Bruins, both vocally and with his play on the ice...........his consant forecheck and physical play seemed to be a spark plug for the team, even when the scoring aspect of his game was not there......Richards value to the team goes FAR beyond his scoring touch but he chipped in 23 points including 7 goals and 16 assists for the playoffs.....I truly believe he is the engine for this team, period.
Aaron Asham-I always grudgingly liked this kids game, though I called him AssHammer and his angry reaction every time made Flyers games a special treat............but he surely showed himself to be a reliable mucker who could chip in the occasional goal and contribute with his physical play..............
Ian Laperriere-not much to say beyond taking a 91 stitch cut, and a brain contusion blocking a shot...........and coming back two weeks later to play...........nothing else NEEDS to be said.........
Claude Giroux-this kid will be a beast in this league for a long time........Giroux finished third on the Flyers in playoff scoring with 10 goals and 11 assists.....only Briere had more playoff goals........
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Paul Holmgren/GM-idiotic cement headed former Flyer who thinks winning the fights will win the Cup! Well, give this guy some credit.......I was among many who thought he gave up too much to bring Pronger to Philly....way too much....and for the most of the season, it appeared to be so....but around March and surely throughout the playoffs, the Pronger move looked to be a genius move.........he was KEY to their run...he ran out of gas in the last two games, but all in all a key component.....Leighton.....when Emery went down, picking up Leighton to back up Boucher looked kind of like a joke.......well the Flyers went to OT in Game 6 of the SCF with this reclamation project in the net.......pretty good move I would say......picking up Ville Leino late in the season....Leino had 3 goals at the time he was picked up by Holmgren in return for a traffic cone of a defenseman.........and by the end of the finals had teamed up with Briere and Hartnell to create the most dangerous offensive line by far in the latter stages of the playoffs...Leino had 7 goals and 14 assists in the playoffs.....the scoring depth of a healthy Flyers team would rival that of any in the league at this point.....Holmgren has done a nice job of blending skill and grit.........
I still think Carcillo is an ass monkey, and that Jeff Carter is overrated, and tends to disappear on the big stage, ( a total of 7 playoff points and a -5) but man, there were plenty of Flyers I have a new found respect and appreciation for...I would not be shocked if Jeff Carter became trade bait to solidify the goaltending situation...that said, when October rolls around it will be business as usual around here. I am hoping that watching their bitter rivals come within a game and a goal of winning the Cup will restore the hunger for the Pens, and create some very interesting blood matches in 2010-2011. Until then, congratulations Flyers and fans on an impressive run through the 2010 playoffs. And by the way, kiss my ass! LOL!
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