MUST BE DREAMING: TEMPLE IS 9-2?
The death Tuesday of former Flyer Peter Zezel, 44, brought a broad range of reactions from his ex-teammates and management types. The Flyers on Wednesday released the following statements from some of those individuals:
RICK TOCCHET: “It is a sad day. Obviously, as a former teammate, it is a sad loss. I know he touched a lot of lives. Unfortunately, I had lost touch with Peter the last few years. We kind of went our separate ways in the hockey world. In talking recently with some of his friends regarding the stuff he was doing with the youth hockey he had been involved with back in Toronto, I am sure he will be leaving behind a legacy. He was just a great guy.
“In the time that we were teammates in Philadelphia, he was probably one of the most popular guys, not just with the Flyers, but among all sports figures in Philadelphia. He was probably one of the top three athletes in Philadelphia at that time. Everybody recognized him on and off the ice. As far as his play was concerned, he was one of the best draw guys in the league and one of the best passers. I know his rookie year he had a bunch of assists. He had really good chemistry with Timmy Kerr on the power play. He was just a guy you could count on. He was a guy you couldn’t knock off the puck. He was a big part of our team.
“Peter was a matinee idol. He was one of those guys who were infectious. When you went out with him, the girls just really liked him. He had a fan base of girls that in all the years I’ve played in the NHL, I have never seen a guy that had so many girls flock to him. He was very fan friendly. I never saw him turn down signing an autograph. The public relations department loved him because he never turned down hospital or school visits. Mr. Snider will even probably tell you that Peter was one of the most accessible Flyers who ever played the game.”
BOB CLARKE: “It obviously is way too early for a man to die at 44 years old. The tragedy surrounding it is just horrific for any of us who knew Peter. Peter was a pretty good hockey player. When he turned pro in Philadelphia, which was my first year (as management), he was an instant favorite with the fans, particularly the young girls. He could play hockey. He was a tank on skates. He could hit and hit very hard. He was terrific on face-offs. He was very skilled with his feet, with the puck and actually very skilled with his stick setting up plays. He was a really good young player who quite possibly had a shot a being a lot better.”
KJELL SAMUELSSON: “I am very sad and very surprised. I knew he was a little bit sick but I didn’t know it was this serious. He was a great guy. I played with him for two years in the Flyers organization. As a player he was very strong on face-offs and a good offensive player. I know when he was here there were guys like Derrick Smith, Rick Tocchet and him. There were a lot of girls, a lot of young girls, wearing Pete Zezel, Rick Tocchet and Derrick Smith jerseys. I do remember that. He was a good teammate. He was kind of a low-key, quiet type. You had to get to know him before he opened up to you.”
CRAIG BERUBE: “Obviously, it is very upsetting. He was a great guy. He was a great teammate. He always had a smile on his face. He came to the rink always happy. He was fun to be around and was a good hockey player for a long time. He played hard.”
BRIAN PROPP: “I was really saddened when I heard of the passing of Peter Zezel. He was a good teammate with the Flyers. I know that he was very involved in the community in Toronto in teaching a lot of ice hockey to children up there.
“Peter was a very good role player on the third and fourth lines as a center ice man. He was very good on face-offs and did whatever the team asked of him. He was a good passer, played on the power play a little bit. Overall, he was a real good role player.”
The Flyers' interest in controversial goalie Ray Emery does not bother the agent for Flyers goalie Marty Biron.
Gilles Lupien, Biron's agent, said on Tuesday that he knows how "the game is played" and how Emery's agent is "shopping" his client.
The bottom line, Lupien said, is that the Flyers say they want to sign Biron, "and Marty wants to stay with the Flyers."
Lupien said he was relatively confident Biron would sign with the Flyers, but that it "depends on the cap" and how much money the team is able to spend. He doesn't expect Biron to sign until around July 1, the day his client can become an unrestricted free agent.
"Marty's first option is Philly," said Lupien, who can't contact other teams about signing Biron until July 1.
Biron made $3.5 million this season; he had an up-and-down regular season but was solid in the playoffs.
From here, the view is still this: Re-sign Biron and upgrade the defense by adding Jay Bouwmeester and/or Mike Komisarek.
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Flyers winger Scott Hartnell was named one of the NHL’s five dirtiest players in a players’ poll conducted by Sports Illustrated.
“I guess any press is good press,” said Hartnell, who led the NHL this season with 54 minor penalties, one more than Komisarek. “If the players are talking about me, I think that’s a good thing.”
Hartnell, who scored a career-high 30 goals, said he doesn’t consider himself a dirty player.
“I play the game hard. I think I play it fair,” he said. “But I guess maybe after the whistles and stuff, that’s where I might get a bad name.”
In the poll of 324 players, Anaheim’s Chris Pronger and Dallas’ Steve Ott each received 13 percent of the votes, followed by Ottawa’s Jarkko Ruutu (12 percent), the New York Rangers’ Sean Avery (10 percent) and Hartnell (5 percent).
Hartnell said some of the players on the list “are going to be disliked for a long time. I will just keep chirping and getting in players’ faces. I guess that’s why I am called dirty.”
The Flyers have shown interest in signing a goalie who helped the Ottawa Senators reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007, but has a history of off-ice problems.
Ray Emery, who put together a 12-3 record in the first three playoff rounds two years ago to steer the Senators into the Finals against Anaheim - and excelled in Russia this season - is on the Flyers' radar screen, general manager Paul Holmgren confirmed on Monday.
In 2006-07, Emery had a 33-16-6 record, a 2.47 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage, and he was 13-7 in the playoffs. The next year, he slumped to 12-13-4, 3.13 and .890.
Known for his flashy clothes, exotic cars and extravagant lifestyle, Emery conceded he was a heavy partier in a 2008 interview with USA Today. During his time with Ottawa, he was involved in some well-publicized confrontations with teammates, and there were rumors about Emery and drug use.
Emery, 26, nicknamed “Sugar Ray” and “Razor,” could not be reached for comment early today, but in the USA Today interview last summer, when asked to describe his use of recreational drugs, he said: "I really don't want to go into details. I'm not a saint and I'm not in jail, either. I think I've learned a lot of lessons. I didn't feel comfortable. I got myself into some bad ways. It took some time to clear my head."
The Senators waived him and then bought out his contract after the 2007-08 season, and he subsequently signed a $2 million deal to play last season in Russia.
"I don't think anyone would disagree that Emery is a sound, competitive goalie that just two years ago won 13 playoff games in leading his team to the Stanley Cup Finals," said Holmgren, who admits to having a soft spot for players with a troubled past. "Before we look at signing any player, we do our homework on that player, especially with his off-ice lifestyle and work habits."
In Russia’s Continental League, Emery posted a 22-8 record, 1.86 goals-against average and .926 save percentage this season.
The Flyers’ two goalies, Marty Biron and Antero Niittymaki, are unrestricted free agents. Holmgren continues to have talks with Biron's agent.
Emery's career NHL numbers (2.71 GAA, .907 save percentage) are slightly below Biron's (2.59, .911).
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Upgrading the defense should be the Flyers' off-season priority if they want to become a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
The team's wish list should include signing free agent Mike Komisarek and dealing for Jay Bouwmeester _ and signing him before he becomes a free agent on July 1.
The economy is down and Komisarek is coming off a disappointing, injury-plagued season, so perhaps the Flyers can sign him to a backloaded deal that will only absorb, say, a $2.5-$3 million cap hit next season. We shall see.
I've outlined the moves I would make in Sunday's Inquirer. Click here to read the story.
And so now the Flyers have come clean: Mike Richards played virtually the entire season with two bad shoulders that will require surgery, and Jeff Carter played most of the last four playoff games against Pittsburgh with a separated right shoulder that will not need surgery.
Give both players cedit for their gritty efforts, but it doesn't change the disappointment of the first-round exit.
Carter's injurty occurred early in Game 3. With the Flyers holding a 2-1 lead late in pivotal Game 2, Carter appeared to have an open net but was robbed by goalie Marc-Andre Fleury with 8:30 left. He then committed a penalty in the waning minutes _ though it appeared Jordan Staal grabbed Carter's stick _ that led to a Pittsburgh power-play goal that tied the score and led to an eventual Penguins win.
Carter and Richards each scored just one goal in the playoffs in a combined 51 shots.
If they were healthy, would it have made a difference?
Doubtful, but it does explain some of the faceoff deficiencies. It should be noted that the Penguins were bothered by lots of injuries, too. The bottom line: Pittsburgh produced in the clutch and deserved to advance.
And when you cough up a 3-0 lead in an elimination game at home, you don't have the right to make excuses.
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