EHM:Philadelphia Flyers

[condors]

I have been having alot of problems winning consistantly in EHM. I am hoping writing a dynasty will help me. Also give me notes about tactics and such.

The first thing i do is set up practice, and hire 2 coaches Ron Wilson who looks very capable, and 38 year old Matt Shaw who is tecnically based (i think they are the best coaches) and is excellent with young players.

I offer contracts to all of my unsigned prospects who are at least 20 years old. May send some back to juniors or the Phantoms but i am planning a youth movement (it is needed bad) and may be short on bodies after the wavier draft(where hopefully there are alot of guys leaving and coming in for me). A couple players of note are unsigned prospect left winger Tomi Kallio he could be a 60 point a season guy although he is already 27. Roman Malek looks like he is a capable backup to Esche. Antero is our goalie for the future. One of the three will probally be delt next season.

Defense we are thin on the right side so i call up 2 guys from the Phantoms just have 8 for the preseason. The left side seems fairly set with Markov, Johnsson, Ragnarsson, and Pitkanen. The right side is Desjardins, Timmander, John Slaney and Randy Jones (two guys from the Phantoms)

Forwards currently is quite muddled. I am leaning toward Gagne, Leclair, Kallio and Lapointe for my left wingers, Roenick, Hanzus, Primeau, and Patrick Sharp as my Centers, Kapanen, Knuble, Amonte, and Radivojevic or Turner Stevenson on the right wing, also have Donald Brasher and Todd Fedurak will try then as a crash line with Sharp.

I see a few players in the Phantoms i think could be with the big club after the wavier draft. I like Ben Stafford (he may unseat Sharp on the crash line if he struggles at all). I also think Dennis Seidenburg may be playing with the Flyers this season. Wade Skolney and Freddy Myer could be defensemen off the bench if needed (i usually keep 8 defensman and 13 forwards as my defenders seem to get more tired more often than the forwards)

[condors]

The first game we go with with the default neutral zone tactic and get a 3-2 win at Coloardo. Hanzus Ragnarsson and Gagne getting the goals for us. I don't pay that much mind to the preseason except for looking at guys who do very well. Instead of playing the crash line i send Fedurok down to the Phantoms at least for now. A little tight right now for roster spots. We beat Detroit 4-2 with 2 goals from Kapanen, Knuble and Primeau each got one as well. I got killed in the faceoff circle and they have bad goaltending as they actually outshot us(which is something i want to change so i am upping the hitting to see if it helps any).

[condors]

Oppsie that hitting thing killed us against the Devils (i can't give them credit for the 5-2 win). We just kept sending players to the box. Luckily they were only 2/9 on the power play so it could have been much worse. The took a god awful 63 shots on poor Esche. I immeditaly scrap that tweak i did on the tactic.(probally changed too much as i upped hitting, board battles and pressing). Gagne and Leclair were are goalscorers.

[condors]

They have us ranked 8th overall in the league and predict Roenick will be team MVP and Knuble is the key new face.

I usually try to dump most of my old players for draft picks and try to get by until then. I realised i could make the playoffs with a roster devoid of talent playing a defensive neutral zone trap. (not always but usually close) In fact i played seasons with much better talent and not gotten as good results. With that in mind I am not sure i will be protecting many players over 30 in the wavier draft. Espcially the ones making big bucks. I may end up in 15th place but if that happens than maybe i can get Crosby, but i honestly believe i will still be about 5th-8th seed in the playoffs even if all my unprotected players are taken.

[condors]

We lose 8 players in the Wavier draft,

Jeremy Roenick
Mike Knuble
Eric Desjardins
Marcus Ragnarsson
Sami Kapanen
Claude Lapointe
Keith Primeau
John Leclair

I Honestly probally should have protected Kapanen and Primeau but i really need to turn over the roster and when do you say its time espcially since i am a fan of most of these guys. I picked up 8 guys who play their same postion and they all 26 years old or less so getting young was definatly achieved.

[condors]

We need team captin Gagne to carry this team and Esche to be stellar.

I like are defense with Pitkanen, Markov, Johnnson we could use an upgrade for a fourth defenseman but Timmander isn't all that bad. With Erskine and Sauer(aquired in the draft) being our 3rd pairing.

Gagne Cibak and Radivojevic our top line definatly has youth. All 3 guys are 24 years old and look to have a bright future and long time together.

the 2nd line of Kalio Hanzus and Amonte is more experienced with 2 27 year olds and a 34 year old but i have total faith in Kalio and Zeus to carry this line.

the 3rd line is Fedurok Sharp and Stevenson, again Fedurok and Sharp i am fine with Stevenson should have a decent year (i hope)

the fourth line is Brasher Umberger and Somik (umberger is a former #1 pick but looks like a one way player) Brasher and Somik are just filler for now

Mike Rupp who can play any forward postion was critical for me to pick up in the wavier draft he can give anyone a break or step in for injuries. I like mr verstile alot.

the other guys i picked up in the wavier draft went down to the Phantoms.

[condors]

After 20 games we are doing better than i expected. Sitting very nicely in 4th place. I don't think we are as good as the Devils, Tampa Bay or Ottawa but maybe 4th place is possible if everything keeps going well and Gagne (27 pts in 20 games) stays healthy.

I am very happy with the team so far Cibak has been the biggest surprise i thought he would take some time but he is noticeably better than when i picked him hopefully he can continue to improve. Radio is also looking much better than at the begining of the season making my top line something teams actually need to worry about.

While the 1st line has been better than expected the 2nd line is worse than expected they aren't getting enought points and if not straightened out by the mid point something will have to be done.

The third line is actually generating more goals than our 2nd line. Fedurok Sharp and Stevenson (who i was worried about) are playing great and averaging about a goal a game.

the fourth line has done nothing much but i don't expect much out of them Brashear has dropped the gloves 4 times and won 3 of the fights.

[condors]

Antero was generating interest (as well as Seidenberg) i get a 2nd round pick for him and will have no decsions to make next season as Malek and Esche will be our guys between the pipes.

As far as Seidenberg is concerned i am leaning toward maybe dealing Markov or Johnsson but only if the right deal comes along.

[condors]

Fedurok suffers a 3 month injury, Eric Meloche who i had pegged to come up in this case is also injured, i do a quick look at the unrestricted free agents and i see Josh Green out there. I sign him to a 3 year deal and will give him a shot at stepping right into the 3rd line.

[condors]

We are nearing the trading deadline i place Brashear on waviers since Fedurok is healthy again i also decied to see if anyone wants Amonte or Stevens as i want to get some younger guys playing time.

We seem to have 4th place locked up we are 13 points behind the Devils in our divison for the #1,2 or 3 spot and 13 points ahead of the Penguins who are in 5th place.

I was trying to work out a deal for the Thrashers or Wild #1 pick to get in the Crosby lottery but the Rangers seem to have the edge for the worst team in the conferance.

Gagne was named to the Eastern All star team, He also won offensive player of the month and thanked my contributions (he has a long bright future).

Radivojevic is 2nd on the team in points but a long way behind Gagne. This team is about defense and Gagne. If Gagne gets hurt i am very curious as to what would happen to our team. Gagne is also leading the NHL in points (that is a little surprising i guess if he plays with a couple guys who are told to pass him the puck and are not seen as top line guys it inflates his stats a little).

I honestly can't wait for Jeff Carter and Mike Richards to join the team next season. They were both first round picks. I think Carter is our future #1 center. With Sharp, Cibak, Hanzus, and Umberger it will give me some tough decsions and real top line talent.

The future on the wings is up for grabs. I have a bunch of ok guys but outside of Gagne i don't have a stud. Radviojevic is ok but Fedurok Green Kalio, Keefe Somik and Divisek aren't household names. Getting some wingers will be a top choices in the draft.

Defense we are set. I have a bunch of guys i am comfertable with although i honestly only have 4 top 4 defenders i have 6 guys i could throw out in the 5th and 6th spot and not miss a beat. I am glad i didn't move Johnsson or Markov now although if i get offered a 1st round pick they are gone.

[condors]

Stevenson clears waviers but Brashear and Amonte are claimed that takes over 7 million dollars in salary for 2 old guys who weren't setting the world on fire as is.

[condors]

As expected we finish fourth.

We have the Penguins in the first round. I was surprised to see we went 6-0-0 against them in the regular season outscoring them 31-15. We should be able to handle them.

I think they will suffer playing old guys Recchi and Lemioux on the top line and will be too tired in the third period (i speak from experience).

[condors]

Game 1 is a disastor as Esche gets hurt and we lose 5-4 in overtime. We outshot them 48-45 Beech scored in the 98th minute for the Penguins for the win. We call up Neil Little from the Phantoms but will go with Burke in game 2 and see what happens. I don't have that much faith in either of them.

Game 2 we outshot them 32 to 28 and get a 4-3 win hopefully we can take the games on their ice.

Game 3 we go with Little as Burke is tired from last game and lose 5-3. Our defense has dissapeared in the playoffs.

game 4 is another overtime that we win 2 minutes in with a goal from Randy Jones for a 4-3 win and the series is tied at 2 games apiece.

Game 5 another overtime game with Fedurok getting the game winner 18 minutes into the first overtime. We win 3-2 Little was between the pipes it seems these old guys can't play 2 games in a row.

Game 6 is yet another overtime game with Randy Jones getting another winner at 80 minute mark (funny thing is Markov, Johnsson and Pitkanen should be our defenders scoring acourding to my tactic)

Series is over was much harder than i thought it was going to be.

[condors]

We have the Devils in the 2nd round. We should lose this series they went 4-1-1 against us during the regular season. Hopefully we can shock the hockey world but i wouldn't bet on it.

Ottawa and Tampa Bay are the other 2 teams in the East left. I think both of these teams are better than us.

Game 1 is terrible Esche back from injury was terrible letting in 5 goals on 27 shots. we lose 5-2.

Game 2 goes into overtime 2-2 Kozlov scores for them in the 99th minute for a 3-2 win. We played much better but are now down 2-0. We need to take care of buisness on our home ice.

Game 3 they destroy us 4-0. We are now just trying to avoid the sweep.

Game 4 we win 4-3 and avoid the sweep. I highly doubt we are winning the next 3 games though.

Game 5 they beat us 4-3 and our season is over. I met my expectations in the post season although i didn't think we would finish 4th in the regular season so i am happy with that.

To be honest i don't think we can compete with Tampa Bay, Ottawa or New Jersey right now and i don't think we can next season unless a couple stud wingers sign with us.

I actually have 18 players coming in that were unsigned not sure how many of them are going to be with us most look like Phantoms guys.

I am looking very forward to the draft

Simon Gagne finished the season with 105 points scoring 52 goals and getting 53 assists. He was the top goalscorer and points leader. Radivojevic was 17th in the league with 69 points. Cibak was 31st with 63.

I am wondering if Richards and Carter may bring me Crosby in a trade? 2 #1 picks for a #1 overall (at least he should be) I will try to get him as him and Gagne would be fearsome but i doubt i will be able to do it.

[condors]

Colorado beat New Jersey in 6 games to win the Stanley Cup. I am a little surprised but that is why you play the games.

The Wild win the lottery, I am unable to work out a deal for their pick. I considered giving up multiple #1 picks but center isn't where we need players so i decied to see what happens at #23.

With the 23rd pick i took 12th ranked overall Left winger Guillaume Latendresse. I have no idea who he is in real life but my scouts think he can be a key player for the Flyers in the future.

In the 2nd round i get 24th ranked overall left winger Colton Yellow Horn scouts think he can be a core player for us down the road.

In the 3rd round i get #45 ranked overall Left defensman Matt Lashoff my scouts think he could be a Key player for us (although some say core)

In the 4th round we go right wing #98 ranked overall Tom Nannino (my scouts had him ranked as the top right winger left and i felt we need to add a couple)

In the 5th round we go with right winger Brent Aubin 55th ranked player in the draft

In the 6th round I get center Jason Walters #66 ranked overall and already has 20 for hitting rating this is the last player any of my scouts believe can be a core player

In the 7th round I get right defenseman Paolo Bottiglia ranked 87th overall and i feel i needed to get a body

In the 8th round i took an unranked goalie just to have one Shane Conelly if he is anything but an emergency backup i will be shocked.

In the 9th round i took left winger Oleg Eremev #115 overall he seemed like the best player left i was looking for an enforcer type guy but didn't find one suitable so i went with best overall player left.

Overall i am very happy with how the draft went of course we will see how the players look next season. I don't offer any of them a contract Let them play in juniors and look at them again next season. I have a ton of guys to sort though as it is.

[condors]

We bring in a few right wingers as i felt that was the weakest place on our team. All of them are good defensive players.Jean-Luc Grand-Pier is a 28 year old defenseman/forward i see him in as 4th line right winger and enforcer (ranked ahead of Fedurok). Jessie Boulderice was brought in exhange for a defenseman from the Phantoms he may not be in the mix. He is 26 and has 15 ratings for pokecheck, hitting and checking and i like that. 28 year old Josh Langfield my coaches like, i like his 15 checking 14 hitting and 14 pokecheck ratings. Radivojevic is still our top guy. Somik has shown alot of improvement and if you asked me last season i thought he would be at the Phantoms. Although i thought Sheldon Keefe had potential to be in the mix he doesn't look like he impressing anyone.

Goalie is all about Esche, Malek is a capable backup they are both 27 so i will have to draft a starting caliber keeper maybe next draft.

The left side of the defense is my most talented postion with Pitkanen, Markov, Johnnson, Seidenberg, and Erskine i have 5 guys to play 3 postions.

Markov can play both sides and will be used on the right side along with Randy Jones who played well for us last season, Kurt Sauer who isn't special but did well for us, and Alexander Picard who teams where interested in last season was the Flyers 3rd round pick in 2003 may have the most potential of the bunch.

Left wing is pretty much set. Gagne is our star and top left winger. Next Tomi Kalio played well but only got 18 goals and 27 assists i am hoping for more this year. Fedurok played amazingly last season he did manage 22 goals which is excellent from a 3rd line guy. Josh Green was picked up midway through last season managed 10 goals in 42 games which is fine for a fourth line guy.

Mike Rupp had 6 goals and 7 assists in 34 games as our man off the bench.

Taking a 2nd look at the centers Richards and Carter are players no question about it, Sharp also looks to be good and Cibak also is getting better. Umberger looks to be a goal scorer and has the ability to play right wing. I think he is going to get his chance there although it going to take ice time from someone. Not sure who though yet.

[condors]

I was much less active in the wavier draft this year. Kim Johnsson is our oldest player at 29 years old and we want to keep him around. I end up losing right winger Josh Langfield who i signed as a free agent. I did pick up Brad Ferrance 25 year old right defender who i think is better than Alexander Picard right now so i send Picard to the Phantoms. Jean-Luc Grand-Pier is starting on the 3rd line with Fedurok and Sharp. These guys should have a very good season. Umberger seems to have better shooting ratings so currently he is on the top line with Cibak and Gagne. Carter centers the 2nd line with Kalio and Radivojevic on his wings. The fourth line is centered by Mike Richards with Green and Somik playing the wings.

The league sees us as 12th best (down from 8). I personally think we are better than we were last season. I still don't think we are true cup contenders but should take that 4th spot. One good thing is the Devils best two forwards are Federov and Selane and they are 35. They may find this is their last year on top or even slip up this year. Although i like Tampa Bay or Ottawa still more than my team although i think i am close. If Guillaume Latendresse can come on and produce on our 2nd line i think we may be on to something. Hopefully we can find a stud right winger this season i have tried getting Zherdev from the Blue Jackets but they don't seem interested.

[condors]

20 games into the season and we are in 10th place. I am worried to say the least. The top 3 teams are the Devils, Tampa Bay and Ottawa to nobody's surprise. We are only 4 points behind 5th place Thrashers so a good run can get us in the mix. New York teams aren't doing well the Islanders are in 15th and the Rangers are in 14th.

[condors]

At the midway point of the season we have moved up to 6th place.

I signed free agent Shaun Sutter to be a 4th line right wing. Put Somik on waviers but there were no takers(guess i overate him). I am looking at a couple left wingers to replace Josh Green but to be honest the problem is not the 4th line guys we need top line talent and that just isn't avaiable at this time.

[condors]

With 20 games to go in the season we are actually 1 point ahead of the Devils and in 2nd place(the highest we ever been). I don't know if we will hold off the Devils till the end but at least we are close. It isn't so much that we are playing alot better its just the Devils have not dominated like they did last season. The whole conferance is alot closer than it was last season. While the Lighting are the best team record wise i am not sure they will just go through the playoffs.

I picked up left winger 23 year old Landon Bathe. Ummm so far he hasn't impressed anyone but Josh Green was doing much worse than last season so i figure it couldn't hurt much. I also gave Boyd Kane some games at the right wing spot but i am back with Shaun Sutter(he had gotten hurt). Sutter may have some upside to him. I like Bathe on paper but if he doesn't get something started he may lose his spot.

[condors]

I work a deal for a right winger at the trading deadline with the Mighty Ducks. I trade a 2nd round pick, and the rights to my 3rd and 6th round picks past draft for Corey Perry their 1st round pick in 2003. It will mean that i will need to draft some defensemen this draft but i believe Perry can step right in and give us a lift. He is the top line talent player I have needed.

[condors]

We finish in 4th place as expected. Although we did have 110 pts at the end of the year. We have the Bruins in the first round. Joe Thorton is one player i would love to have.

Game 1 we lose 2-1 i am in a bit of shock to have them take the first game on our ice. Sampsonov scored both goals off Thorton assists. Radivojevic scored our only goal in a close game.

Game 2 Chris Perry scores 21 seconds into overtime for a 3-2 win for us. The series is tied but we lose home ice advantage.

Game 3 The up and down action sees us win a 6-4 shootout. We have home ice advantage back.

Game 4 is an overtime affair when former Flyer Sami Kapanen scores after 97 minutes of action to even the series at 2.

Game 5 is the BJ Umberger show as he scores 4 goals leading us to a 9-4 win. Giving us a 3-2 advantage heading into game 6.

Game 6 we manage 3 power play goals to eek out a 5-4 win. The Flyers are thru to the 2nd round of the playoffs. Hopefully this year we can have a better showing here.

[condors]

The second round we have Ottawa. I am less than thrilled with the draw. We will have to be at our best to pull off the upset.

Game 1:Esche has a bad game in a 5-3 lose where we outshot them.(our defense isn't as good as i think it is not sure if Esche or our defenders or tactics is the problem we leaked alot of goals not sure how we are scoring so many though)

Game 2 is very similar to game 1 we outshot them and lose 3-1 this game though was Domink Hasek is the reason why we lost.

Game 3 is an overtime affair with Umberger getting the game winner in 4 minutes into overtime.

Game 4 is another overtime game and 11 second into the extra time Gagne scores to even the series at 2 games apiece.

Game 5 is a thing of beauty Esche is dominat and gives us a 3-1 win in a game where we were outplayed. (i love watching a hot goalie)

I can't believe what i just was told Simon Gagne is injured. Our star has fallen. Hopefully the team can rally for the next game and he will be ok in time for the next series.

Game 6 is at our building if we lose we probally lose the series. Without Gagne we still manage to score 6 goals in a 6-3 win! I am very surprised at this but i won't complain. Eastern conferance finals here we come.

[condors]

wow we upset Ottawa and the Panthers upset Jersey. We play the Panthers in a series i actually believe i should win. we outscored them 13-11 in a 2-1-1 advantage in the regular season.

Game 1: Gagne is not ready so we try to win without him. we lose game 1 4-3 not the start i was hoping for.

Game 2: Still no Gagne. We lose 5-3 i can't believe our chance to go to the finals and we are without our star.

Game 3: Gagne is back but is it too late? We lose 3-2. Sutter our 4th line winger scored both goals (1 short handed)

Game 4: We give them the buisness in a 6-3 whooping. It may just be too late though. Panthers 3 games to Flyers 1.

Game 5 we lose the game with a late goal 4-3. Overall i can't say i expected to make it this far in the playoffs. After we got here i thought we should have won but it just isn't our year. Maybe the Panthers are a team of destiny?

They are taking on defending champions Colorado. It doesn't seem to matter as the Panthers win in 5 games. Looking at their roster they have some nice players but they definatly overachieved (as thier 6th place in the regular season showed)

[condors]

Simon Gagne led the led in goals and points again (wow he never did that in my other careers but was usually among the top 10 in both) 51 goals and 58 assists for 109 points.

Jeff Carter sneaks away with the rookie of the year award beating out Crosby and Malkin although i think all 3 had very good years. Carter had 21 goals and 37 assists for 58 points. Malkin came in 2nd with 23 goals and 28 assists. Crosby had 23 goals and 27 assists.

Have to say the future is looking pretty good. Gagne thanked me for my contributions but Carter didn't

In this years draft i am missing a 2nd round pick but i have an extra 3rd round pick. I will be looking for a goalie possible in the first round if there is one there otherwise i am going to lean towards a defender. Markov and Johnsson aren't getting any younger.

[condors]

We picked 24th and grabbed left winger Blake Geoffrion who accourding to our scouts has the talent to be a #1 left winger. We didn't see a #1,2 defenseman or starting goalie we liked so i went with the best avaiable player.

with my next for 4 picks i grabbed defensemen but none look to be top line guys. I also grabbed 2 more defensiveman in the draft and a couple centers. I don't feel nearly as good about this draft as last year.

If my top 2 picks from the past two drafts pan out we will be a very scary team with top line talent on the 3rd lines. Gagne Geoffrion Latrendesse and Fedurok could be domanation down the left side.

Teams are interested in Jones, Pitkanen, Seidenberg, funny thing is those are the guys i want to keep. I would consider moving a Johnsson and/or a Markov right now. I guess i can't have too many steady defensiveman. Although Pitkanen is the only #1 guy i believe in the bunch.

[NoSkillz]

Nice job with the Flyers. It's quite an achievement to keep the team competitive with all that turnover, especially that first year. Well done!

[condors]

I have restarted many careers with the Flyers.

I have tried many different players and combos.

It seems no matter what i do i will i am not a true contender so i try to get young and cheap

thanks for reading!

[condors]

Well it seems i am ranked 6th in the NHL

The board wants a cup (they are kidding right?)

Roster Review Goalies

Robert Esche 28 years old not rated in the top 10 although was 8th last year. He is our guy and i like him.

Roman Malek 28 years old. Possible starter for some teams. Will deal him if there is interest.

Jason O'brien 24 years old nothing special would only play in case of injury until i could get a legit keeper.

Shane Connelly 19 years old drafted in the 8th round i doubt he will be anything but a body.

May be hard to land a top notch goalie where i am drafting if the first two drafts are any indicator. Growing concerns for the future.

Defensemen:

Kim Johnsson and Daniel Markov are the first pairing they are both 30 years old but are solid defensemen. Not a weakness on them.

Joni Pitakenan 23 years old. He looks to be our future #1 guy. Alot of teams try to trade for him but he isn't going anywhere.

Brad Ferance 27 years old plays alongside Joni and does what is asked of him. Solid night after night. Not a star but solid.

Dennis Seidenberg 25 years old. On our third line is another guy we get trade offers for but i like him way too much to trade him.

Randy Jones 25 years old. I expected him to be relegated to the Phantoms by now but he outplays all of his competition.

For depth we have John Erskine(26) and Kurt Sauer(25) who were picked up a couple wavier drafts ago.

With the Phantoms i have two guys who i feel could step right in and contribute. Alexander Picard can play both sides and i got a couple trade offers for him but he is only 21 the former 3rd round pick i like him better than Erskine and Sauer but was unable to unseat Jones in camp so is back with the Phantoms to play everyday. The other guy Chris Zarb 21 years old who was a 5th round pick and can also play both sides.

Are 9th defenseman is Jussi Timmonon 23 years old who plays on the left side if i have to play him i am in serious trouble and if i have to go past him i would probally be able to do better with a free agent.

Our top line is Simon Gagne (our lone star reputation player) Martin Cibak and Radivojevic they play well together so i am not breaking them up.

the 2nd line is Tomi Kallio, Jeff Carter, and RJ Umberger (i am hoping these guys can give us the boost we need to get over the hump)

the 3rd line is Fedurok Sharp and Corey Perry. Sharp and Fedurok have been solid the first 2 seasons and Perry may end up on one of the top lines.

the 4th line seems to be a revolving door every season. The only surefire guy is center Mike Richards the left wing is 26 year old Matt Murley i am not in love with him but he is a body. The right winger is Shaun Sutter 26 year old who seems to be ok but nothing special.

Just a note curretly Kallio is out for 3 months and Perry is out for 2 months. I am giving draft picks from 2005 2nd rounder Colton Yellow Horn and 3rd rounder Tom Mannio a shot. I would have the first rounder but my roster was full (mostly crap guys that were on the phantoms so i released some guys but now he isn't coming to the team until next season) They will play on the 4th line and see what shakes out. I have some guys on the Phantoms but i am partial to guys that i drafted and didn't inherit.

[condors]

Pitkanan, Johnsson and Seidenberg are injured (all 3 of my starting LD) Markov moves over and Picard and Zarb get their chance. Mike Rupp also is out long term. We managed to pick up a couple former 1st round picks(who haven't done much but my scouts seem to think they can still get better) and see how they do with the Phantoms. I send Colton Yellow Horn and Tom Mannio back to juniors after 20+ games they really haven't improved as much as i would have liked we will be looking at them again next season along with the 2 #1 picks.

Going into the final 20 games Picard has done well and teams are very interested in him (i don't think he is going anywhere) Zarb hasn't excelled like Picard but seems to be as good as anyone else we have used as a 5th or 6th defenseman.

The standing are very strange for the first time the Flyers are leading the Eastern Conferance 18 points ahead of the devils who are in 5th place. Also Ottawa and Tampa Bay are not leading their divisons (i think its Penguins and Panthers but i am not in front of my home pc right now so i am not sure)

Cibak Radviojevic and Gagne are still playing well together

Kallio, Carter, Umberger seem to work well together as well

Fedurok Sharp and Perry have been shutting down top lines all season.

our 4th line still keeps changing with Richards being the only constant.

The difference this year has been our defense our goals against is way down from our earlier seasons when i thought we had the talent but still let in goals. I think our forwards are much more capable now and keep control of the puck and as a whole the team has gotten better with age.

For the first time i believe the team can actually contend for the cup

I wish i had made a move for Jack Johnson (1st defensman selected in the 2005 draft i think it was 6th overall) he has been tearing it up in the league seems every week i am reading something about him (scoring streaks, defensive player of the week etc)

[condors]

I also want to note that i have seen alot of improvement using "varied" practice schedules. Instead of focusing on offense for forwards and defense for defenseman i change things up every 3 months or so and have the team focus on defense, offense, shooting, tactics etc (usually have 1 thing on the left side on intense with the rest medium and 1 on the right side intense, seems to work better than just setting it and forgetting it). I am not sure but i think Jones Sharp Fedurok and other Flyers who i have kept around have a set potential but they have better ratings than what i have seen from them in the past games. They may not be studs or stars but they are 4 star players who average around 7.5 every season.

[condors]

The season ends with the Flyers winning the Presidents with 125 points

In the first round we sweep the Islanders.

In the 2nd round we win in 5 games against the Bruins

In the 3rd round we beat Ottawa in 5 games

In the Stanley Cup Finals we lose to Calgary in 7 games (4 went into ovetime)

All in all i can't say i am not dissapointed but i am glad we got to the finals.

The draft once again we draft a left winger with the 1st round pick (this is starting to annoy me)

[condors]

With a logjam at the defense postions as i feel Chris Zarb and Picard either need to play or traded as both have teams interested in them. I work out a package deal with Pittsburg. Kallio, Zubov, and Johnsson for their #1 pick in next years draft. All 3 are now 30 years old and in the last year of their contract. Johnsson and Zubov wanted 4+ million each and 5+ million each when they would be 35. I don't want those contracts. I thought about keeping Johnsson but Zubov and Kallio (who both seem to get unhappy quickly) wasn't getting me much of anything. I also unloaded Erskine (defenseman i picked up in the wavier draft) for a 2nd round pick (i would have taken a 3rd and been happy). Having 2 older goalies worried me as well. I traded Malek to the Panthers for a 2nd round pick. That will give me 5 picks in the first 2 rounds of next years draft. Also Esche is 29 is the oldest player Fedurok is 28 and Brad Ferrance is also 28. So we have a pretty young team as well still.

Jeff O'brien moves up to be our backup goalie he isn't very good but won't play too much.

Our defensive pairings are currently pitakanen and picard, seidenberg and zarb then jones and ferrance with sauer and freddy myer ready to come off the bench to give some a rest.

our forward lines are:
gagne, cibak and umberger (cibak and umberger don't look special but play much better with gagne then anywhere else so i either play them here or bench them so far i am playing them here)

Geoffrion(1st round pick in 06) carter perry (i really like this line)
Fedurok Sharp Radivojevic (3rd line checking line)
Latendresse (1st round pick in 05) Richards and Shaun Sutter thinking about moving sutter to the checking line

[condors]

After much thought i decieded to start a new game with the patch (that full effect thing makes me think i may be missing something)

So we are back with the orginal roster and the purge must begin. I add Kevin Constatine and Ron Wilson to the coaching staff and upgrade a couple scouts nothing much there.

The players out: Donald Brashear, Sean Burke, Claude Lapoint, Eric Desjardins, John Leclair, Tony Amonte, Eric Ragnarsson, John Slaney, Stephen Wood, RJ Umberger, Wade Skolney, Mark Murphy and Ben Eager.

The rights traded away:Chris Zarb, Stephen Ruzicka, Gilbert Lalibute, Glen Houle, Tony Scurko, RJ Anderson, Dave Allen, Brett Young, Gino Pisellini and Rejean Beauchamin.

Draft Picks Traded:2nd in 2005 (VAN) and 2nd in 2006 (PHI)

In return the Flyers recieve:
an extra 2nd and 3rd round pick in the 2005 draft and a 3rd round pick in 2006
Tomi Kallio (starting as my 3rd line left winger)
Tomas Visek(sent to the Phantoms)
Jean-Pierre Dumont(2nd line right winger)
Josh Green (4th line left winger)
Erik Cole (2nd line left winger)
Derek Morris (my top right defenseman)
Sean Brown (a spare right defenseman will remain on the roster)
Chris Clark (our 4th line right winger)
Eric Brewer (our #2 right defenseman)
Chris Houle (our 3rd string Goalie)

I hated to trade away a few of the younger guys and prospects but i believe i made out. I kept Richards Carter and Picard who are my top 3 prospects.

[condors]

we make a couple more trades for young talent

we get 21 year old center Derek Roy for Turner Stevenson and Timmander (all 30+ years old) and a 3rd round pick (my scout says he could become a key player for the Flyers) With Sharp, Roy, Carter and Richards are future at center is set.

we also picked up 20 year old left winger Daniel Paille (1st round pick of the Sabers in 2002 who my scout says will be a core player in the future) for Fedurok, Somik and a couple no hopers.

[condors]

I made a few more deals getting towards the trading deadline Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre. I also traded Markov for a 2nd round pick. With Seindenberg, Pitkanen and Freddy Meyer i have 3 young guys who can get the job done. Evegenly Korolev, Andy Delmore, Deron Quint and Sosha Goc will be Flyers next season so there will be a log jam at defense some players will need to be moved. I didn't want to do it but i traded the rights to Alexander Picard for right winger Mark Parrish. I think Parrish adds something and we are kind thin at the right winger spot. He is 28 but hopefully will fill a void and we can draft someone to replace him and kappenan in a few seasons. Since i really like the players in this draft i talk to a bunch of teams about getting another 2nd round pick for Johnsson takes a while but i finally got it done.

That will give us 1 1st round pick 3 2nd round picks and 2 3rd round picks in this draft i expect to be able to get 6 players that will be solid contributers for our team down the road. I would like to get Crosby but i doubt that will happen.

I went with the default unmodified tactic the game sets for you and well i was hanging out between 8th and 10th spot. After 40+ games i went to my tactic and have propelled the team up to 5th spot and will probally finish in my expected 4th place.

[condors]

The season ends with us getting 98 points. In our familar postion of 4th place behind the Devils who had 125. We managed to score 252 goals but let in 203. I have to say outside of Gagne, Kappenan, Primeau and Erik Cole i am very dissapointed in some of my forwards Pallie Dumont and Roenick top the list. Not a single one of them had 20 goals or 50 points and i expect more from them. Our defense let in way too many goals espcially since we had guys making 3+ million a season back there. Esche played at a 7.43 rating so he wasn't killing us but we were giving teams too many chances. Derek Roy only played in limited games but won offensive player of the month for the last month getting 16 points in 9 games. Handzus may have lost his job for the playoffs. Either way with Roy, Carter, Richards and Sharp with veterns Holden and Primeau we need to unload Handzus and Roenick in this offseason for whatever we can get hopefully a couple picks in the 2005 draft. Once again Randy Jones averaged 7.71 rating playing in 14 games (i have no idea why he plays so well but doesn't look good) Freddy Meyer average 7.80 in 15 games so i guess i didn't miss Johnsson or Markov even a little bit.(both players are wanted by other teams now as well as seindenberg and pitkanen)

Our first round oppenent is the Maple Leafs. I honestly have very little hope of winning the cup and will have a tight series here that could go either way.

[condors]

We get knocked out in 5 games although the games were close i am not very dissapointed as my expectations were already met. Tomi Kalio on the other hand has been unhappy most of the season and is again now. I am going to trade him for whatever i can get him and Josh Green are interchangeable. With Erik Cole, Simon Gagne and Daniel Pallie he is a 4th line guy i guess he is only happy when he plays on the powerplay.

Jason Allison signed with us which gives us another center he is 29 and will play on one of the top 2 lines. Roenick Handzus are traded for a couple draft picks.

The draft i believe goes well but can't know for sure for a few years anyways nobody i drafted is stepping in right away.

Going against my own philosophy i have 30 million to spend and look at the free agents i decide to make some offers.

I offer contracts to Sergi Gonchar and Adrian Aucoin if these two veteran defenseman join my team i will have playing time issues but i think they could take us over the top along with our other two guys.

While i am a big fan of Esche i decide to offer a contract to Nikolhai Khabibulin who is a stud goalie and i think goalies can play longer than skaters.

My last offer goes to Michael Peca who could be a solid presence on our checking line.

[condors]

We only get Adrian Aucoin in free agency.

our roster looks like this:

Goalies: Robert Esche 27 years old and he currently says the board would be wrong to dismiss me(i was unaware my job was in trouble although they didn't like some of my moves). He is our #1 guy. I think he is underated as he is never in the top 10 goalies but i think he is better than a couple of the guys named.

Roman Malek 27 years old could start for some teams but will be a backup here

Antero Nittymaki 25 years old and is at least a #2 alot of teams want him i would like to keep him and trade Malek.

Chris Houle 22 years old looks pretty decent although he is a career backup currently has a 10 glove rating (his lowest) and that would worry me.

Defense:
Joni Pitkanen 21 years old and our #1 defenseman. The kid is a stud.
Derek Morris 26 years old will be on the right side on the first pairing he is very good.
Evgeny Korolev 26 years old and looks solid all around.
Eric Brewer 26 years old will be with Korolev on the 2nd pairing he is solid up and down.
Dennis Seidenberg 23 years old could be on the 2nd pairing but his stamina is only 13 and i don't want him too tired out there.
Adrian Aucoin 32 years old will be out there with Seidenberg he is very good and would not be a 5th/6th defenseman on many teams.

we have a bunch of players who can fill in Deron Quint 29 years old and Simon Brown 28 years old can play both sides and will be on the main roster

Down at the Phantoms we have a couple veterans in Andy Delmore 28 years old and Jean-luc Grand-Pierre 28 years old, and a couple young guys Freddy Meyer 24 years old and Randy Jones 23 years old. All 4 of these guys could give us minutes on the big club and we would be ok. We also have Sasha Goc who is 26 and could be a player for us at some point during the season.

I did draft 5 guys who my scouts thought could be at least core players for us some of them look pretty good so our future looks pretty solid. I also have 2 other prospects that if i signed would probally never leave the Phantoms.

Left wingers

Simon Gagne 25 years old and our best player. He is one of the top rated left wingers and a key player for us. Will lead the team in points if he stays healthy.

Daniell Pallie 21 years old and looks very good. My scout recommanded him and i gave up a bit for him but now i am very happy to have him he looks solid scoring and defending i am expecting a big season from him.

Erik Cole 26 years old and the perfect checking line left wing. I love him as a player. He is no slouch scoring either. Highly recommend trying to get him in every game (i do).

Josh Green 27 years old. He is an average player but i don't expect much of him from the 4th line. If i can find a penalty killing specialist he could end up in the Phantoms lineup.

Boyd Kane 27 year old left wing who looks almost exactly like Green played in 2 games last season and got a goal.

Riley Cote 23 years old. He will probally spend his career with the Phantoms but isn't any worse than Green or Kane.

Tristan Grant 21 years old former 9th round pick he doesn't look ready to play and not sure he ever will be ready.

I drafted 2 left wingers that could be core players in the future no real need to rush them at this point.

Centers:
Free agent signing Jason Allison 30 years old will be our #1 guy for now may trade him at some point.

Jeff Carter 20 year old first round pick from 2 years ago expecting huge things from this guy and projects to be our #1 center of the future.

Derek Roy 22 years old that my scout loved. He looks better than he did last season and really came on and averaged over a point a game for us when he played earned himself a spot as our checking line center.

Mike Richards 20 years old first round pick from 2 years ago looks to be ready to contribute will be on the fourth line.

Patrick Sharp 23 years old and finds himself without a place in the lineup. I really like this kid and he played well for us. If i an move Allison i will in a second to get this kid back on the 3rd or 4th line.

Down at the Phantoms we have Milan Kopecky 24 years old and could step up for us but is stuck in a numbers game right now.

Josh Holden 27 years old could step in as a 4th line center if needed but currently is 7th on the depth chart.

Ben Stafford 26 years old has could very well contribute to the cause but i doubt will even get a chance being the 8th guy.

I did draft 4 centers in this past seasons draft Cody Bass is one of them and currently our top rated prospect.

Right Wingers:
Sami Kapanen is a personal favorite player of mine his heart is 2nd to none. 31 years old i am decieding to keep him around for a while as he was one of our best players last season.

Mark Parrish 28 years old and is expect to put up at least 60 points this year again. Solid player all around.

Jean-Pierre Dumont 27 years old and good checking line player i am expecting an improvement on his 29 point total from last season may have a short leash this season as i am very dissapointed in him so far.

Branko Radivojevic 24 years old and looks very good could be taking Dumont place before long only gave us 17 points from the 4th line in 72 games last season but was a +7.

Eric Melochne 29 years old down on the Phantoms has a star next to his name (along with Nittimaki and Jean-luc Grand-Pierre) he is a an average at best guy i don't care for his skillset his good physical and mental skills don't hide he lack of technical ability for me.(he can't score and is a defensive liability)

we draft 4 right wingers including our first round pick Nicklas Bergfors. Devin Setoguchi who was one of my 2nd round picks is wanted by other teams already. The future looks pretty bright here.

I may be making some movement in the wavier draft but i am not sure though.

[condors]

i manage to pick up a few players from the ahl that my scout liked. None are top line guys but will fill in on the 4th line the problem is I had injuries and now that everyone is healthy i am out of players i can just send down to the Phantoms. I have taken a break as i am not sure who i should try to sneak through waviers. I also made deals for 2 young studs on the defense that my scouts liked. I think i need to stop making so many moves and really see how good these guys can get.

[condors]

I trade for RD Doug Lynch 22 years old 2nd round pick of the Oilers and looks like he can step in and play right now allows me to deal adrian aucoin without worry. I also pick up LD 22 year old Jeff Woywitka 1st round Flyers pick in 2001 looks like he is ready but is also considered 4th line for now. To get these guys we had to move LD Dennis Seidenberg, LD/RD Deron Quint, G Antero Nittymaki, van 3rd round pick, Jean Pierre Dumont. The only guys playing were Seidenberg and Dumont and he was very dissapointing.
We signed free agent Luke Sellers 24 year old left defenseman former 2nd round pick of the Thrashers and assigned him to the Phantoms. I sign Eric Messier 31 years old to replace Dumont on the checking line. Jim Vandermeer 25 years old left defenseman was also picked up in the wavier draft. Jani Rita
1st round pick of the Oilers 24 years old looks like he can fill in on the left or right wing on the 4th line for us and Ramzi Abid 3rd round pick of the Coyotes 25 years old also can fill in on the left wing.

So here is situation Josh Green has already been wavied and sent to the Phantoms Simon Gagne is ready to rock but i need to expose someone to waviers to get Gagne back. After alot of thought i am going with Rita. I like Abid a little bit better right now and Sharp is my fill in guy.

I am not sure who my top 6 defenders are now. Pitkanen is my #1 guy that i know. Morris is my top right sided guy. Then i have Eric Brewer, Adrian Aucoin, and Doug Lynch(i really like all of them). On the left side i have Vandermeer, Woywitka and Korolev. Throw in the guys i have in the Phantoms and i am very deep at defense. I will be rotating and see who plays themselves into what spots.

My top line is Gagne, Carter, and Kapanen
line #2 is Cole, Richards, and Parrish
Line #3 is Paille, Roy, and Messier
Line #4 is Abid, Allsion, and Radivojevic

with Esche and Malek in goal i think this team can compete for the cup if it stays healthy.

we are only 8 games into the season though and we are in 5th place hopefully the moves i just made are enough to get us over the top. I am going to keep Aucoin right now as he is playing very well.

[condors]

Rita made it through waviers.

I suffer my worst loss ever in EHM. 8-0 to the Capitals they outshot us 52-5.

I have no idea what the freak happened here. All of my shots happened in the first period.

Looking at what happened it seems my 1st line of forwards played 50 freaking minutes of the game, along with my 3rd line defenders. WTF Next game i didn't change a thing in the tactics (i couldn't find why that happened i only had 1 penalty the whole game) and won 7-3 against the Coyotes. Hopefully this doesn't keep happening.

Anyone seen this before?

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by condors

Rita made it through waviers.

I suffer my worst loss ever in EHM. 8-0 to the Capitals they outshot us 52-5.

I have no idea what the freak happened here. All of my shots happened in the first period.

Looking at what happened it seems my 1st line of forwards played 50 freaking minutes of the game, along with my 3rd line defenders. WTF Next game i didn't change a thing in the tactics (i couldn't find why that happened i only had 1 penalty the whole game) and won 7-3 against the Coyotes. Hopefully this doesn't keep happening.

Anyone seen this before?

I have had that happen to me once before against Dallas. I watched the game (top speed) on the "game view." I was outshot by some ridiculous margin and it looked like my players were all just stumbling around the nuetral zone. Oddest thing ever. It never happened before or since and I have been through about 7+ seasons.

[condors]

The season ends and we have 95 points for the 6th seed in the playoffs. Have to say i am very dissapointed as i expected better. Did alot of tactic tweaking and i think i made some mistakes trying new things.

Gagne had injury problems but team captin Sammi Kappanen stepped up with 99 points scoring 46 goals to lead the tea team.

Rookie Jeff Carter was impressive with 30 goals and 43 assists for 73 points.

Mike Richards rookie season wasn't bad with 25 goals and 33 assists.

Biggest surprise was Freddy Myer who averaged 7.72 rating in 29 games off the bench. Korolev got hurt and when he got healthy he went to the Phantoms and Myer became our extra left sided defenseman.

Our 4th line wingers were as usual disspointing. Radviojevic and Abid both played in 70+ games and only got 6 goals each Allison who centered the line did manage 16 goals.

Esche had a save % of .905 and 2.75 goals against average for a 7.15 average rating, not horrible but not cup winning numbers hopefully he gets hot.

We have the Lighting in the 1st round of the playoffs and pull off the upset in 5 games.

We lose to the Candians in 7 games its not a huge deal as i think we could have been embarrassed by the Devils in the Eastern Conferance finals anyway.

The Devils win the Cup as they dominated all season and throughout the playoffs.

I have alot of my drafted guys signed not sure how many will be staying with the team but they will be in camp to get a good look at them.

I also have alot of room under the salary cap not sure i will sign anyone as i am no longer just looking for bodies but players i know could be the difference in the playoffs this season.

[condors]

The Flyers are ranked 18th in the preseason poll.

I trade 3 older players Aucoin 33 (who was the guy i was trying to move but couldn't work anything out) so i added Jamie Allison and Eric Messier for a 2nd round pick they were all free agent signings last season so i bascially rented them for a year and then traded them for a 2nd round pick. Fans and Board were ticked off with the trade.

I picked up a couple right defenseman in the wavier draft Andrew Ferrance will stay with the team the other guy probally will be a career Phantom.

I also signed right winger Goran he doesn't look special but may compete for a roster spot.

It is really going to come down to are right wingers can Kappenan and Parrish get it done for another season. With E. Cole, Gagne, Carter, Richards we are fine at center and left wing. Pallie, J. Cole, Radviojevic will be solid on the third line and Amid, Sharpe, and Milan Kopansey look to be the 4th line this season.

I sent the kids back to juniors except 1 defenseman who goes to the Phantoms. The team looks similar to last season and i think it is a little lacking right now.

Basically i am just going to try to make the playoffs and see what happens this season and hope some of the guys i drafted continue to improve.

[condors]

Year 3 ends in the first round of the playoffs in 6 games against the Lighting.

Finished the season as the 7th seed with 94 points.

Simon Gagne led the team with a 7.86 rating but only played in 50 games due to injuries.
Derick Morris was next with a 7.76 and played in 66
Joni Pitkanen had a 7.75 and played in 63

Inuries to our top 3 players hurt our regular season standings. Richards and Carter both suffered injuries as well missing 12 and 16 games each.

Overall the season was a dissapointment

The offseason alot of veteran Phantoms will be gone.

There is one Flyer who sadly wants a bigger contract than i am willing to give him. Team Captin Sami Kappenan who will be 34 years old wants a 3 year 20 million dollar contract i was willing to give him 12. This opens a spot for our first round pick in 2005 Nickolas Bergfors. To be honest i don't think he looks ready. There will be alot of guys in camp competing for spots. Hopefully somebody steps up but Bergfors has an edge due to his draft postion and expectations.

Kappenan led the team with 62 points 32 goals was the only guy to break 30 goals.

Dissapointing production from Gagne Carter Richards Cole and Parrish. Although injuries were a factor i expected all 6 of these guys to have 60+ points.

I am considering making noise in the free agent market but will see who is out there.

[condors]

After looking at the free agents i sign Sami Kappenan to a 2 year 12 million dollar deal

I am hoping some of the guys i drafted make me consider moving my veterans but right now i will go into the season looking very similar to last season. The only change is my 1st round pick from 2005 will be on the team probally the 4th line but that could change by the end of the season.

[condors]

The preseason has us ranked 14th with Simon Gagne team mvp, no key additions

for overall postion ranking Simon Gagne was ranked 8th among left wingers.
Derek Morris was ranked 7th among defensemen and Joni Pitkanen was ranked 10th.

Nice to see i have 2 of the top 10 defensivmen in the entire league (although the rankings can be questioned)

Hopefully a Carter, Richards, Bergfors(1st round pick in 2005) and Polak 1st round pick in 2007 will break the list. Polak looks very good and is rated my top prospect followed by a goalie i drafted in the 3rd round. Jordan Staal a c/lw 1st round pick in 2006 is ranked 3rd.

I am looking for a much better season than last year anything less than 100 points will be a severe dissapointment.