Flyers end long year with a win

Disillusionment was etched across Sami Kapanen's brow as he stood in the hallway outside the Flyers' dressing room.

"It's been a season-long struggle," the Finnish forward said. "Being part of the worst season in franchise history really stinks. You always want a shot at the Stanley Cup, and not even being close at Christmas to making the playoffs makes it a tough ride."

The 40th-anniversary annihilation of the Flyers finally concluded yesterday at the Wachovia Center in a surprising 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres, a team the Flyers need to emulate.

"We didn't expect to be where we are now," said Peter Luukko, the chairman of Comcast-Spectacor, the Flyers' parent company. "It's so disappointing, especially when you are so used to winning. . . . But we have plenty of [salary] cap room to fill the holes we have and compete at the highest level next season."

The Flyers lost five of their final six games, finishing with a franchise-low 56 points. What can anyone take from a season such as this?

"We don't want to ever do it again," said general manager Paul Holmgren, who still maintains a dry sense of humor. "It's an interesting question because it's been a tough year for everybody. I like to believe some good things will come out of it because it's a learning process for our young guys. Next year from the start of camp, we need to have a strong work ethic to get back into the thick of things."

What made this season dramatically different from others is that the Flyers were never in the thick of things.

"We got off to a bad start and never regrouped," defenseman Derian Hatcher said. "It's tough to put in words, toughest season I have ever been through mentally just with the losing. I never saw anything like this coming. You always [had] that hope, even when we were 1-6-1, that we were going to turn it around. I did, anyway. We played somewhat better [at the end], but we still weren't a very good hockey club."

Coach Ken Hitchcock never had a chance with this team before being fired Oct. 22. Former general manager Bob Clarke, who resigned on the same day, had refused to sign impact players at forward and on defense in the off-season, opting instead to stock the team with second-tier AHL players who simply weren't ready for the NHL.

Among the dozen players Clarke acquired in the off-season, only Geoff Sanderson remains on the roster. It took Holmgren 13 moves to rebuild the team for new coach John Stevens, but major holes remain.

A total of $26.3 million is committed to next season's payroll, leaving the Flyers at least $20 million to spend toward free agency this summer, assuming the salary cap rises to at least $47 million.

Only nine players who played in the finale against Buffalo played in the season opener at Pittsburgh.

"Looking ahead, what we did in [player] movement and since, making adjustments, we've set ourselves up for next year," Luukko said. "Paul has done a tremendous job, bringing in Scottie Upshall in the Peter Forsberg deal, bringing in [Lasse] Kukkonen.

"He traded for Marty Biron. We got a goaltender who wasn't signed, and Paul was able to sign him. That sent a message to people in the league that we are for real and we will compete in the future."

Few observers gave the Flyers any chance to compete this season. Even in training camp, the club looked disorganized and dispassionate.

The lack of a competitive will was demonstrated in two statistics: The Flyers were 2-38-5 when trailing after two periods and just 12-25 in one-goal games.

"There were a lot of games this year against a lot of teams where we had to find a way to win and we didn't," Hatcher said.

Added Mike Knuble, "I hope it made us mentally tougher as players. I think we all look forward to coming back with a clean slate and getting this behind us. You move on and hope not much carries over."

At the start of the season, there were glaring weaknesses in both skill and speed on the back line; a lack of scoring on the wings; and horrific goaltending.

"Definitely a year I don't want to remember," said center Jeff Carter. "There is a lot to learn from it."

Adding more pain, the Flyers had 301 man-games lost to injuries.

Not even one of the all-time greatest coaches like Scotty Bowman, who won nine Stanley Cups, could have made the Flyers into playoff contenders.

What camouflaged the Flyers' weak infrastructure, however, was that they had one of the game's greatest players in Peter Forsberg. No team with Forsberg could be this bad, right? Except Forsberg's health - specifically, his right foot - was an issue until his departure before the trade deadline. Before the trade on Feb. 15, the Flyers were 0-14-3 when he sat out.

"If you want to look for an excuse, you can, but we should be better than to hide behind him," Kapanen said. "Even last year, he was in and out, and we were fairly strong. It's a bad excuse."

That's almost as bad as blaming Hitchcock for the team's awful start. He was fired when the Flyers were 1-6-1. Stevens finished with a 21-42-11 record.

"I don't really feel any relief," Stevens said about the end of this awful season. "I am kind of anxious to get this thing turned around. I keep looking ahead and trying to plan for what lies ahead."

Stevens displayed remarkable patience with certain players who were slow to develop. One thing the organization must address this summer is accountability.

"I think we realize it," Hatcher said. "You are going to make mistakes, but we make the same ones over again. . . . It's tough to continually plug people in and play. Look at the Devils. Why are they so good? Because they have a core group and they can plug anyone in. Hopefully, that is what they'll find here."

Holmgren added players who have speed and skill, and many of them shone yesterday. (Biron made 27 saves, and the Flyers won behind goals from Simon Gagne, Stefan Ruzicka, Knuble and Mike Richards.) He knows his team can keep pace with Buffalo. Consistently beating teams like the Sabres, however, is another matter.

The Flyers still lack a playmaking center, a veteran center, a scoring winger, and a mobile No. 1 defenseman.

"We have cap room to pursue people we need to pursue, and we will act accordingly," Luukko said.

Among today's players, more than a half-dozen likely will not be back, including Robert Esche, Denis Hamel and Mike York. An additional five or so are questionable, including backup goalie Antero Niittymaki, Todd Fedoruk and Ruzicka.

The Flyers will have either the first or second pick in the draft, plus Nashville's first-round pick (gained in the Forsberg trade). But this is a weak draft, and no prospect projects as an immediate NHL player. That means the free-agency period will be critical.

"There's work that needs to be done," Holmgren said. "It starts with the draft and then preparation for [free agency] July 1, trying to score big in the free-agent market."

It promises to be a summer to remember.