Flyers.

My groomsman John Kopp got to cover the Pedro Martinez press conference for the Delco times. Check out his article.

Another groomsman of mine, Drew Shankweiler and I were discussing the Flyers goaltending issues this past season. I asked him the difference in skill level between the Flyers then starting goaltender Martin Biron and the Red Wings' (Drew's team) goalie Chris Osgood. The answer was/is that if Osgood is better, it is not by much. The thing that makes the Red Wings so successful is that they play team defense and every player knows their role on the team. Last week Ryan Dixon of The Hockey News posted this about the Flyers. He makes several of the same points Drew and I brought up, and adds on top of that the Flyers added Chris Pronger who, regardless of how ridiculous his 7-years-without-playing-a-game-yet extension is, will only strengthen their defensive core right now.

I don't think Ray Emery will be bad, but it totally sucks that the Flyers just let Biron go and didn't try to talk him into some kind of hometown discount that several of the Penguins players took to stay with their team.

Dixon did note that Claude Giroux's ready to take on a bigger role, which is true. However, that role will be different than Mike Knuble's just because of the skill-level that Giroux possesses. He's not gritty, he's finesse. Taking Knuble out of the picture for the Flyers I think hurts them more than swapping Emery for Biron. They won't have the same grit (different than being a brute) they had last year and Knuble will be missed.

I'm tired of offseason stuff. I just want it to get going again, I'm really excited for this season to start.