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Five playoff games, two goals. Let's repeat that: Five playoff games, two goals. And one of those goals was scored in overtime. So from the Main Line to the South Jersey shoreline, the feeling was unanimous -- it was high time for long-time Flyers chairman Ed Snider to make a major move. So he had Bob Clarke fire another coach.
The claim was Bill Barber lost the team and Clarke had lost nothing, despite two straight first-round exits by his pricey club. So as the corporate controllers were demanding an immediate halt to the flood of free agency cash, Clarke went and hired the latest best coach for the job in Ken Hitchcock. The idea is this systematic idea man with the Midas mouth and heavy coaching hand will rejuvenate Mark Recchi, John LeClair and Keith Primeau, keep Jeremy Roenick in line and on line for his first Cup and turn Simon Gagne from unsigned restricted free agent back into a budding superstar.
Oh, and making the second round of the playoffs would be nice, too.
Bad back, step back or rapid decline? Yes, yes and ... remains to be seen. For one, John LeClair's surgically repaired back ... wasn't. It hurt him all year, affected his shot (especially from long distance), and weakened him in the slot. Now, after another offseason operation, LeClair claims his back woes are all gone again. That still doesn't answer one nagging thought: LeClair's "down year" of 25 goals represents his highest career total without Eric Lindros as his center.
Not Czeching out: All Roman Cechmanek did, according to several vocal teammates in the wake of that ridiculous series loss to Ottawa, was quit on his team. He stopped smack dab in the middle of Game 4 against the Senators and gave Barber the signal to pull him out, an offense which would surely result in his expulsion. But all Clarke did was trade Cechmanek's biggest threat -- fellow Flyers goalie Brian Boucher. Now with Hitchcock cheering him on, the question Cechmanek has to answer without going bonkers is this: Can he become as good as his stats says he should be?
A new director: Hitchcock must cast his shadow on this team immediately, and Clarke has to allow that to happen. For too many years now, it has seemed like a South Jersey-based country club for the players, with no logically planned management course. It's certainly time to change that direction.
Preseason schedule
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DATE
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OPPONENT
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TIME (ET)
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Thu., Sept. 19
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at Washington
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7 p.m.
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Sat., Sept. 21
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New Jersey
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7 p.m.
|
|
Sun., Sept. 22
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at N.Y. Rangers
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5 p.m.
|
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Tue., Sept. 24
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N.Y. Islanders
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7 p.m.
|
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Thu., Sept. 26
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at New Jersey
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7:30 p.m.
|
|
Fri., Sept. 27
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at Carolina
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7 p.m.
|
|
Tue., Oct. 1
|
N.Y. Rangers
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7 p.m.
|
|
Wed., Oct. 2
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at N.Y. Islanders
|
7 p.m.
|
|
Sat., Oct. 5
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Washington
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3 p.m.
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| |
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