This proposal should be in a red leather-bound binder stamped "Warning! Idiot Alert!" in bright yellow paint - it would be a rare feat in that it would end up being wrong for both sides.
Case in point#1: The Oilers gave up Chris Pronger for Lupul and Ladislav Smid this past offseason in a deal which simultaneously strengthened Anaheim and weakened the Oilers. Why they would go ahead and trade two young forwards with bright futures to the Flyers (who are positively stocked with young "talent") for a single defenseman? Defense and goaltending are pretty much a wash in the uber-competitive Northwest Division - the only thing separating first and last is the potential to score goals. And they want Pitkanen, who has lit the lamp a grand total of zero times this season? No doubt, the skilled and speedy Pitkanen is ready-made for the best ice surface in all of hockey, but he is certainly not worthy of a two-for-one. He, paired along with Jason Smith or whomever Craig MacTavish decides, would not constitute anything close to what Pronger and his partners on the back line produced last season.
Case in point #2: The Flyers, still unsure whether they need to acquire more talent for a hypothetical playoff run or to tank the season completely, would completely obliterate a defense already crumbling to its foundations if Pitkanen would go to the Oilers. As of today, the young Finn is fourth in scoring (21 points) and leads the team in assists (21). I don't understand how the front office expects him to "pick up his game" when the coach who brought out the best in him and allowed his offensive gifts to blossom is now at the helm in Columbus. And since when is it a crime not to score, especially on a team that is so abysmal, a player's defensive worth should be measured in goals prevented or lack of goals given away instead of actual goals scored? There are enough young forwards on the team now, whether they are tagged as future team leaders (Carter, Umberger, Eager, Richards) or of the deer-in-the-headlights ilk (Ruzicka, Picard, Jones, Calder) that a trade for two more would only necessitate the unfortunate tragedy of benchings, demotions, and more trades.
Also, does anyone notice a subtle pattern of impatience and misuse with European defensemen throughout the Flyers' history?? Thomas Eriksson (serious knee injury aside) had his career derailed because of Pat Quinn's indifference and Mike Keenan's refusal to play anyone other than Mark Howe, Brad McCrimmon, Brad Marsh and Doug Crossman. Jiri Latal? First scapegoat on a sinking ship during the 1991-92 season. Janne Niinimaa's crime was he learned from Paul Coffey and expressed himself too much offensively for Wayne Cashman and Roger Neilson's liking, so he was shipped to Edmonton for Dan McGillis. Dmitri Tertyshny? Well, bless his immortal soul, he passed on before that drama could play out.
OK, so we know it was a bit of a mistake that Bob Clarke traded Ruslan Fedotenko to Tampa for Joni's draft slot, but let's not think even for a second that two wrongs could possibly make a right in this case. The Flyers already have two Lupul and Torres-like players, and the likelihood of having two more at the expense of the Flyers best defenseman (relatively speaking) would not improve their fortunes in the last 39 games.
Tuesday night's 6-2 loss to Washington got the wheels turning inside the ol' noggin, and there are a few stats of note which result:
- It was Washington's first-ever sweep of the Flyers since their 1974 inception.
- It was the first time since 1993-94 that the Capitals beat the Flyers four times in one regular season.
- It also the first time since that 93-94 campaign that the Capitals won twice in Philadelphia - that year Washington won three times at the Spectrum and once at a neutral site where the Flyers were the "home" team.
- It is the first time since 2000-2001 that the Capitals have won a season series over Philly.
- Washington scored 20 goals in the four games, the highest number since they scored 21 in a seven-game season series in 1992-93.
- The Flyers held the lead on only one occasion, scoring the first goal of the game at the Verizon Center in an eventual 4-1 loss.
- Alex Ovechkin scored 11 points (6G, 5A) in those four games.
- The record for goals and points in one season in the rivalry is Tim Kerr's 12 goals and 13 points in seven games during the 1984-85 season, where the Flyers went 5-1-1 against the Caps.
- It would really, really suck if the Penguins moved to Kansas City and the Central Division, forcing Nashville to move to the Southeast, and Washington to the Atlantic, so the Flyers would have to deal with Ovechkin et al. eight times instead of just four per season.
The Quebec native came to Philly in a February 1995 trade already a Cup winner and two-time Cup participant, and stayed until injuried cut short his career at the end of last season. He possessed equal parts finesse, grit, skill, patience and leadership which blended so seamlessly I'm not sure most fans can truly appreciate what he brought to the table - instead turning him into sports radio callers' second favorite whipping boy after Chris Therien when in fact "Rico" became a liability only because the collective toll his injuries suffered in the line of duty caught up to him all at once.
Finally...I'd gladly dress as a waiter and serve up the dishes of crow which everyone who thought that three-game winning streak last week was the turnaround point for this team should be eating about now. In fact, things have gotten collectively worse than at any point previous - being outscored 19-8 and facing continued accusations from coach and veterans alike that the team has quit. Let's hope they can at least squeeze a point out of a flu-ridden Canadiens club.
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