Guess Who's Back?

Boucher's back...tell a friend.

Seriously, now. Isn't bringing back the hero of the 2000 playoff run slightly more about fielding a competitive team with the Phantoms so more adult butts go in the seats, rather than as insurance should Antero Niittymaki go down with another hip injury? Boosh is really no longer a viable NHL back-up. Spending a year split between Chicago and Columbus can do that to a man, especially after he's been shunted from Calgary and Phoenix before then.

The scouting report on him consistently chides his lack of consistency and mental preparation -- something we in Philadelphia could have told you between his magnificent rookie season and his disastrous two follow-up years as a spot starter behind Roman Cechmanek. Does this version of the Flyers organization realistically believe a return to the place which developed him can mitigate some of his erratic play?

In reality, hockey fans in this city can put two and two together and figure out two things: a) that the 2005 Calder Cup winning Phantoms received a huge boost from the addition of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter in the late going and that the club's victory was a product of so much talent already targeted for or played in the NHL, and b) that the Phantoms of the last two seasons have been atrocious by comparison, since half the roster is now with the Big Club.

So, Boucher's addition is an immediate boost to the defensive fortunes of the farm team. Plus, it will serve as an accurate gauge as to whether he can be brought up and showcased for a trade, or whether he'll become the veteran sequel to Neal Little, or...if he's just one step closer to becoming the head coach at his alma mater of Mount St. Charles in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

Boucher has never come close to duplicating his 20-win, under-2 goals-against regular-season performance in 1999-2000, even in the year he posted five shutouts in five starts. Let's just hope he gets his mind together back with the team who took a chance with him when all things were possible.