Still at the Bottom.....Where's up???

Flyers fans the view from down here is pretty grim, but I urge you all to hang in there. While it would be easier to just throw in the towel and follow another team, we just aren't built that way so why fight mother nature? It's a rough patch right now and I understand that it looks like it just isn't going to improve, but it will. Where exactly is up you ask?

Well up is very complicated. The coaching change didn't snap the team out of it so it's beyond time to move onto a new tactic.

Might I suggest the bench/trade method? It's really very simple. Bench the players who aren't playing. If this doesn't get them ramped up and ready to play, shop them on the market.

Don't forget that there is always the option to assign them to Glens Falls. (Okay some can't...but...) The idea of getting sent to Glens Falls should be enough to snap them out of a playing slump. (No offense to Glens Falls. I've been there and while I'd love the snowboarding and other outdoor activities, I can guarantee that these spoiled rotten kids playing on the Flyers would prefer the excitement of Philadelphia and this is after all supposed to be about giving them a reason to show up every night.)

How far do you go? Well, while I understand that most of you want to salvage this season, I would prefer to secure our future. Here it comes, folks....

So, I say strip us down to the youth if you have to. Of course I understand some people aren't going anywhere (ie Pronger, Hartnell and Briere), but there are a lot of guys who could. (Not to mention that I'm sure anyone would be willing to waive their NTCs right about now because some players are actually dying of embarrasement...)

Am I willing to go further than most everyone else? Yes. I'm willing to take the season at a complete and utter loss. It's time to strip the team down and start over. Well, not entirely.

Call it more of a retooling. We have too much money tied up in players that just aren't going to do what we need them to. No offense to Mike Richards, he's never going to be Alexander Ovechkin. That goes for Jeff Carter and a few others too. And Scott Hartnell isn't going to be Mike Knuble. (I'm not saying Mike Knuble was a hockey god, he was just VERY good at his position in front of the net and Hartnell isn't going to be a perfect replacement.)

It's time we give the younger guys the time to really develop. Let's put our focus on Claude Giroux, JVR, Bartulis and Parent. And don't forget that we have Maroon, Matsumoto, Laliberte, Kalinski, Nodl, Marshall and Bourdon aching to get their shot.

Put the time and effort into the younger guys. Now of course, we can't leave them out to dry. But isn't that why we have the veterans like Betts, Lappy, Kimmo and Pronger? And if we dump some of our center city crew we could free up some money to restock with actual prime quality talent.

I realize that the majority of Flyers fans are probably going to think that I'm crazy, but I don't care. You want a turn around? The current situation calls for desperate measures. It's time for management to step up.

While management is at it they might want to stop trying to find the "perfect" players and find the right ones....because they are really two different things...