Chris Shafer

News Flash: Mike Richards Is Good

To say that Mike Richards is good just may be an understatement. In his last game Mr. Richards became the first player in NHL history to score 3 shorthanded goals when killing a 5 on 3 powerplay. That’s no small accomplishment when you think about Richards turning 24 early in February. Tonight against Buffalo he put another record up on his big board. This was not an NHL record like his incredible goal last weekend. Instead it was a personal best. Richards put up 5 points against the Sabres in Philadelphia while adding yet another shorthanded goal to his career total. He has had plenty of four point nights but never an extra one. His important 5th point came on a steal late in the game where he carried it from the blueline to slice it into the Sabres’ empty net. In fact he was either a part of of scored each of the Flyers’ goals tonight except for the final empty netter scored by Darroll Powe who pulled a Richards-esque steal at the blueline to wrist the puck in finishing the Buffalo Sabres completely.

Goalie Controversy? What Goalie Controversy?

Flyers head coach John Stevens remained cool, calm, and collected the other day as he announced no actual goalie controversy in Philadelphia. He said Niittymaki had the hot glove, and he was in fact going to ride that glove until it cooled down. Of course he didn’t have to wait very long as the Flyers brand new starting goaltender for little under a week let in 5 goals against the struggling Ottawa Senators tonight only managing to fend off 18 of the 23 fired shots in his direction.

The Legend Of Thor Grows: 2010 Olympic Teams Set

It’s a rare thing to see a young undrafted player with only 106 (130 counting playoffs) NHL games under his belt over the course of two seasons become a legend. In fact those looking at his stat line or his brief NHL stint would hardly call a kid like PatrickThoresen a legend. After all he only accounted for 3 goals. That’s not exactly important in the eyes of millions of fans watching some players score 40 a season without breaking a sweat. Still there are two areas of the world that believe in the Legend of Thor. One is the great city of Philadelphia and as of February 8th, 2009 the other is the entire country of Norway, the country Thoresen calls home.

Sbisa To Hurricanes

Don’t panic Flyers fans, and certainly don’t rejoice you Carolina fans. Yes, Sbisa after 39 games with the Flyers will be moving on to the Hurricanes, but these are the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL, strong contenders not only for the Western Hockey League title but maybe even the Memorial Cup as well. Today on the Flyers website there was an announcement claiming that the now 19 year old first round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers from the 2008 Entry Draft will no longer be with the organization for the remainder of the season.

Zetterberg Contract May Hold Ramifications For All

When a Conn Smythe Winner and 90 point forward signs a long term contract with an organization you can expect much of the NHL to take notice. In Zetterberg’s case the rest of the organizations and players around the league may have taken a particular interest in the salary provided to the Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup quality center. It’s not every day that a true NHL superstar signs a “lifetime” deal, and this one will take the Champion well into his 17th season with the club. The cost of Zetterberg for 12 more seasons though isn’t quite the cost that many would have expected Wings General Manager, Ken Holland, to be forced to fork over. Many expected a high salary hit for such a valuable player. Instead Henrik’s frontloaded contract carries a cap hit of $6.08m a year, something very managable for the most dominant organization of the last decade and a half. So what is it that we can assume from such a bargain deal for one of the NHL’s best forwards? Is this the prime example of the fabled “home-town discount” that players will take in order to stay wih an organization, or is this an ominous sign for those seeking fortunes on the free agent market over the next couple of seasons?

Future Star Giroux Nets First NHL Goal

When drafting Claude Giroux 22nd overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Daft the Philadelphia Flyers couldn’t have possibly known what they were getting. It wasn’t as if they were drafting in the top 5 selections which almost always guarantees a successful pick. While various teams in NHL history have always managed to draft well even with selections later in the first round, the Philadelphia Flyers certainly have put their name out there as one of the best drafting organizations of the past two decades. Giroux of course has been no exception to that since he was drafted. All he has done since is quietly win the QMJHL title, score 51 points in 19 postseason games, and make it to the AHL All-Star Game in his first season with the Flyers AHL affliliate Philadelphia Phantoms.