Top Players in Flyers’ History: No. 6 Ron Hextall

Ron Hextall may have very well been the best goalie in Flyers’ history if he had won the Stanley Cup.  I know that it is a stretch, but he was unbelievable, and easily the most unique goalie that ever played for the Flyers, maybe the most unique one in NHL history.

He was a late draft pick, 119^th overall in 1982 by the Philadelphia Flyers, and immediately started to make an impact for this team.

He was quickly a fan-favorite in Philadelphia, as his aggressive play was something that Philadelphia fans not only love, but yearn for.  And when it is an NHL goalie that is fighting and making big hits, well, it makes the game that much more exciting.  He holds the NHL record for most penalty minutes in one season for a goaltender with 113 in the 1988-89 season.

His famous hit is when he knocked Chris Chelios hard into the boards in the 1989 season, and continued to beat the crap out of him until the refs sent him to the locker room.  He was then suspended for the first 12 games of the 1989-1990 NHL season.

He also became the first goalie in NHL history to score a goal by shooting it down the ice into an empty net.  You can see the goal at this link:

He was traded to the Quebec Nordiques in the trade that brought Eric Lindros to Philly, and then was traded from Quebec to the New York Islanders, but the Flyers eventually got him back, and he proceeded to take the Flyers to the Stanley Cup finals in 1997.

He did indeed win the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1987 as the MVP of the playoffs, yet the Flyers did not win the Stanley Cup, and Hextall clearly showed that the MVP trophy did not mean anything if his team was only second-best.

Here is a list of Hextall’s awards and honors:

Dudley “Red” Garrett Memorial Award — 1986

Named to AHL First All-Star Team — 1986

NHL Rookie of the Month of November — 1986

Vezina Trophy — 1987

Conn Smythe Trophy – 1987

NHL All-Rookie Team — 1987

NHL First All-Star Team — 1987

Inducted into Flyers Hall of Fame – February 6, 2008

These are parts one and two to Hextall’s induction ceremony into the Flyers’ Hall of Fame during the 2008 season.  I watched this live, and it was a touching ceremony, where the fans showed how much they truly appreciated Hextall and all of his antics throughout his career in Philadelphia.

He is an unbelievable goaltender, and at least the second best one in Flyers’ history, which earns him this spot as number six on my list of top players in Flyers’ history.

This is the fifth part of a ten part series.  Stay tuned for the rest of the series!

Alan Bass is a writer for The Hockey News and THN.com. In addition to writing for Inside Hockey and Pro Hockey News , he has also worked for the Philadelphia Flyers. He is the General Manager of the Muhlenberg College hockey team as well. You can contact him atBergHockey24@gmail.com.

Top Players in Flyers’ History: No. 7 Mark Howe

The Flyers have never drafted a future star defenseman.

Mark Howe did not change that.

But that is only because he was not drafted by the team.  He was drafted 25^th overall by the Boston Bruins in 1974, and after spending time in both the WHA, he finally joined the NHL after the WHA folded in 1980.  He never did play a game for the Boston Bruins.

Being the son of the great Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe, there were great expectations on young defenseman Mark when he entered the NHL.

While on the Flyers, Mark Howe was a Norris Trophy finalist three times, and was the backbone of a dominant Flyers’ team in the early and mid-eighties.

His best season in the NHL was in 1985-86, when he put up 24 goals and 58 assists for 82 points with an astonishing +85 rating.  He also had seven shorthanded goals.  He was indeed overshadowed by Paul Coffey who had broken Bobby Orr’s records that year, so he was unable to get a Norris Trophy under his belt.

Howe had many different injuries during his tenure with the Flyers, and in 1992, he was granted the opportunity to explore the free agent market so that he could attempt to win the Stanley Cup.  He joined the Detroit Red Wings, but was unable to win the elusive trophy during his career.

The honors and awards that he won go as follows:

OJHL First All-Star Team (1971)

Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (Memorial Cup Tournament MVP) (1973)

WHA Second All-Star Team (1974)

Lou Kaplan Trophy (Rookie of the Year – WHA) (1974)

WHA First All-Star Team (1979)

NHL First All-Star Team (1983, 1986, 1987)

NHL Plus/Minus Leader (1986)

Played in NHL All-Star Game (1981, 1983, 1986, 1988)

He was elected to the USA Hockey Hall of Fame, and to the Flyers’ Hall of Fame, and there is still the distinct possibility that he could be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame, but it seems unlikely that it will happen.

Throughout his NHL career,  Howe scored 197 goals, 545 assists, and 742 points in 929 games.

He is indeed known as the best defenseman ever to play for the Flyers, and only someone like Eric Desjardins comes close.  I will tell you now that he is the only defenseman on this list of top ten Flyers, because of the fact that the Flyers have not drafted good defenseman.

Either way, though, Howe was an unbelievable player, and number seven on this list of best Flyers of all time.

This is the fourth part of a ten part series.  Stay tuned for the rest of the series!

Alan Bass is a writer for The Hockey News and THN.com. In addition to writing for Inside Hockey and Pro Hockey News , he has also worked for the Philadelphia Flyers. He is the General Manager of the Muhlenberg College hockey team as well. You can contact him atBergHockey24@gmail.com.

Top Players in Flyers’ History: No. 8 Eric Lindros

This article is going to feature many YouTube videos, because Eric Lindros’ career is filled with amazing highlights.

Unfortunately, they are not all good highlights.

This one is a compilation of how much of an all-around player Lindros was when he came into the NHL.

Eric Lindros was the most touted played since Mario Lemieux when the 1991 NHL Entry Draft was coming.

The problems with Lindros’ teams started well before he was in the NHL.  When he was drafted first overall by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Lindros had already stated that he was not going to play for the Greyhounds.  Owner Phil Esposito drafted him anyway, and wound up trading his rights to the Oshawa Generals.

In Oshawa, Lindros tore up the league, scoring 97 goals and 119 assists for 216 points in just 95 games played.  At the end of his OHL career, Lindros’ number 88 was retired by the Generals.

Before the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, Lindros had also stated that if drafted by the Quebec Nordiques, the team with the first overall pick, he would not suit up for them, “citing distance, lack of marketing potential, and having to speak French” (Wikipedia).  The Nordiques drafted him anyway, and said that if he was not going to play for the Nordiques, then he was not going to play at all in this league.

Then, in 1992, the Nordiques had finalized trades with the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers for Lindros.  After much fuss, an arbitrator ruled that the Flyers had the rights to Eric Lindros.  The trade with the Rangers would have included Lindros being traded for Doug Weight, Tony Amonte, Alexei Kovalev, John Vanbiesbrouck and three first round draft picks (1993, 1994 and 1995) and $12 million.

The epic trade that has gone down as one of the worst in Flyers’ history went as follows:  Eric Lindros to the Flyers for Peter Forsberg, as well as Ron Hextall, Chris Simon, Mike Ricci, Kerry Huffman, Steve Duchesne, a 1st round selection (Jocelyn Thibault) in 1993, a 1st round selection (later traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, later traded to the Washington Capitals – Nolan Baumgartner) in 1994, and $15,000,000 cash.

Eric Lindros immediately dominated the league, and won the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP in the lockout shortened 1994 season.  He was even ranked 54^th on THN’s list of top 100 hockey players of all time, and he had only played six seasons!

However, things quickly went south for the superstar center.  Not only did he start having problems with General Manager Bobby Clarke, but his health deteriorated as well.

This is one of many concussions that Scott Stevens had given to Eric Lindros throughout Eric’s career.  Lindros also had problems with team doctors after the Flyers’ training staff had failed to realize that Lindros had suffered a collapsed lung.

The Flyers’ staff continued to have problems with Lindros, and even after stripping him of his captaincy, he still did not shut up.  He and his father seemed to want out of Philadelphia, and after years of problems and numerous concussions, Bobby Clarke finally executed a trade between the Flyers and the Rangers, a deal in which the Flyers got significantly less than they gave up to get Lindros in 1991.

In his NHL career, Lindros scored 372 goals and 865 points in 760 games, 659 of those points being with the Flyers.  He is indeed one of the best Flyers’ to ever put on the orange and black of the team.  Even though there were many problems, there is no argument that Lindros changed the team for the better for at least the first few years of his career, and is number eight on this list of top Flyers’ in history.

This is the third part of a ten part series.  Stay tuned for the rest of the series!

Alan Bass is a writer for The Hockey News and THN.com. In addition to writing for Inside Hockey and Pro Hockey News, he has also worked for the Philadelphia Flyers. He is the General Manager of the Muhlenberg College hockey team as well. You can contact him atBergHockey24@gmail.com.

Top Players in Flyers’ History: No. 9 John Leclair

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If you score two overtime goals in the Stanley Cup Finals, and your team wins the Stanley Cup, you aren’t going to want to leave, right?

Well, John Leclair really didn’t have a choice.

Traded to the Flyers in 1995 along with Eric Desjardins and Gilbert Dionne for Mark Recchi and a third round pick, Leclair’s life was on the rise.

However, let’s start by taking a look at his hockey life before the NHL.

John Clark Leclair was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 1987 33^rd overall.  He graduated from Bellows Free Academy High School, and was one of the most highly touted recruits in the United States when he committed to the University of Vermont. He played there for four years, and then signed with the Canadiens after he graduated.

He scored his first NHL goal less than a week after signing his first pro contract, and scored seven points in ten games in his first season.

His most successful season was the 1992-1993 season in which he scored 44 points in 72 games, but when he was traded to Philadelphia, he had no idea how much his stats were going to jump.

He was immediately paired with a young phenom named Eric Lindros and another player named Mikael Renberg.  In his first full season with the Flyers, Leclair scored 51 goals and 97 points, both career highs that still stand for him.

He continued to have three consecutive 50-goal seasons while playing alongside Eric Lindros, the talented, big center who carried the Flyers to the Stanley Cup finals against the Detroit Red Wings in 1997, only to be swept in four games.

After the lockout, though, Leclair was more of a liability than a talented player, forcing the Flyers to buy him out to save cap space.  He was signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he played a little more than one season before being let go.  His career numbers are as follows: 967 games, 406 goals, 413 assists, 819 points, and 501 penalty minutes.

He won the NHL’s plus/minus award in 1997 and 1998, and the Bobby Clarke award as the MVP of the Flyers in 1997 and 1998.  He was also named to the NHL First All-Star Team in 1995 and 1998, and the second team in 1996, 1997, and 1999.  He played in six All-Star games, and won a silver medal with Team USA at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.

He is also the president of the John LeClair Foundation, which awards grants to non-profit Vermont organizations that sponsor programs for children.

LeClair is one of the best players ever to put on a Flyers’ jersey, and unfortunately, was hurt by both the Lindros-Clarke affair and the lockout.

However, he has earned his spot as the ninth best Flyer in team history.

This is the second part of a ten part series.  Stay tuned for the rest of the series!

Alan Bass is a writer for The Hockey News and THN.com. In addition to writing for Inside Hockey and Pro Hockey News, he has also worked for the Philadelphia Flyers. He is the General Manager of the Muhlenberg College hockey team as well. You can contact him atBergHockey24@gmail.com.

Top Players in Flyers’ History: No. 10 Tim Kerr

Can you name me a top player in the league right now who was not drafted when he was eligible?

How about Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning?

Can you now name me a similar player from the past?

How about Tim Kerr?

The Philadelphia Flyers signed Kerr at the beginning of the 1980-1981 season as anundrafted forward.  The team immediately saw results, as Kerr scored 45 points in 68 games as a rookie in the NHL.

He slightly improved the next year, scoring 51 points, but then dropped to 19 in 1983 as he started to fall victim to the injury bug.  In 1984, though, Kerr exploded offensively, scoring 93 points in 79 games, including his first 50-goal season.  He continued his NHL dominance, as he had four consecutive 50-goal seasons, and four straight seasons with 80 points.

In 1985, Tim Kerr set NHL records.  He scored four goals in a period in a playoff game on April 13, three of them on the power play.  Both of those were NHL records, as were his 34 power play goals in the 1985-1986 regular season.  He also holds the Flyers’ record for most 50-goal seasons, with four.

Unfortunately, his career was cut short by shoulder injuries, and he retired at the young age of 33.  He finished his last two NHL seasons with the Rangers and Whalers, respectively.

He finished his career with 370 goals and 674 points in 655 NHL games.  An extremely impressive accomplishment, considering that he seemed to be perpetually injured.  However, he was a great player, and one of the best players behind the Flyers’ Stanley Cup Finals berths in 1985 and 1987.  That is what makes him number ten on the list of top ten players in Flyers’ history.

This is the first part of a ten part series.  Stay tuned for the rest of the series!

Alan Bass is a writer for The Hockey News and THN.com. In addition to writing for Inside Hockey and Pro Hockey News, he has also worked for the Philadelphia Flyers. He is the General Manager of the Muhlenberg College hockey team as well. You can contact him at BergHockey24@gmail.com.

Western Conference Playoff Preview

The race for the playoffs is extremely tight in the Western Conference. With four bottom-half teams realistically having a shot at making the playoffs, and a fight atop the standings, the final ten games of the season will be as important as ever. Veteran playoff teams like the Red Wings will be fighting for the eighth spot, while newbie teams like the Coyotes will be challenging for the top spot in the conference.

1. *Chicago Blackhawks – 97

Since training camp, the Blackhawks have been most people’s favorite to win the Western Conference. They are in great position to do that, as they have the highest goal differential in the West and have dominated what is always an extremely tough conference. Patrick Kane has lead the team from the get go, while Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi have held down the fort in goal.

2. *San Jose Sharks – 96

The Sharks have been the NHL’s premiere regular season team for years, though their division title is being threatened by the Coyotes. San Jose’s defense has been solid all year, while Dany Heatley has flourished in a new system. Evgeni Nabokov is still one of the NHL’s best goaltenders.

3. *Vancouver Canucks – 92

On the reigns of a career year by Henrik Sedin and great support from a once-injured Daniel Sedin, the Canucks are once again looking to take the Northwest Division crown. Olympic golden goalie Roberto Luongo is driving this team towards the playoffs yet again, and looking for a deep run.

4. Phoenix Coyotes – 95

With all due respect to the NHL’s team, no one expected them to be in the race for the playoffs at the beginning of the season, and for sure no one thought that they would be challenging both the Sharks and the Blackhawks at the top of the conference. Yet, Ilya Bryzgalov has lead this team from the start with incredible goaltending. The Coyotes are one of the best defensive teams in the league.

5. Los Angeles Kings – 87

The Kings have been out of the playoffs for many years, but for the past few, they were always that team that was “on the verge” of greatness. However, they are now on the threshold of being a great team, as they are looking to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2001-02 season.

6. Nashville Predators – 87

Coach Barry Trotz has managed to make the playoffs almost every year with a team that is short on talent. He is able to squeeze whatever he can out of his players on an annual basis, and it is showing as they are about to clinch another playoff berth.

7. Colorado Avalanche – 86

Craig Anderson and Co. have lead a surprise season in which the Avalanche should qualify for the playoffs with a couple games remaining. Rookie Matt Duchene is a front-runner for the Calder Trophy.

8. Detroit Red Wings – 83

In danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in almost two decades, the Red Wings are slowly moving up the conference. With a game in hand over the ninth-place Flames, Mike Babcock is attempting to win the Stanley Cup and Gold Medal in the same season.

9. Calgary Flames – 81

Having a disappointing season, the Flames are, pardon the expression, flaming out.”

10. St. Louis Blues – 77

The Blues went on a surge at the end of the 2008-09 season to make the postseason, yet it looks unlikely to happen again in 2010.

11. Minnesota Wild – 76

Even star goalie Niklas Backstrom is not able to bring the Wild to the playoffs by himself. The new regime in Minnesota still has a few more years left before they can compete.

Alan Bass is a writer for The Hockey News and THN.com. In addition to writing for Inside Hockey and Pro Hockey News, he has also worked for the Philadelphia Flyers. He is the General Manager of the Muhlenberg College hockey team as well. You can contact him at BergHockey24@gmail.com.

Backchecking: Clarkie Continues Legacy in Front Office

If we could all accomplish just a fraction of what Bob Clarke did in his career, I’m sure we would all be content with our lives.

Clarkie, as he is affectionately referred to by fans and friends, was playing for the Flin Flon Bombers of the Saskatchewan Junior League and had put up impressive numbers. However, he was rarely scouted, as few teams sent scouts to Western Canada in the 1960s. Clarke believed the only teams scouting him at the time were Detroit and Philadelphia.

Although he was a dangerous offensive threat, many teams passed on his services in the 1969 NHL draft because he had diabetes. “Just pissed me off,” Clarke said of teams not willing to take a chance on him. “But anyone who’s competitive would just say ‘(screw) you.’ ”

The Philadelphia Flyers decided to take that chance by drafting Clarke in the second round, 17th overall in 1969.

Fifteen seasons, two Stanley Cups, 358 goals and 1210 points later, Clarke had silenced his doubters.

He retired from his playing career in 1984 and was offered a position in Flyers management. The love and pride of an entire city would now be moving from leading the team to running the team. But the transition from the ice to the front office wasn’t an easy one for Clarke.

“It was really difficult to go from being part of what’s going on on the ice to just sitting there watching, not being able to do anything,” Clarke said. “So many times you have to just sit patiently and it can be frustrating if your team is struggling and you can’t do anything about it.”

One of the toughest tasks Clarke had to accomplish as GM of the Flyers was building a competitive team for the “New NHL” after the ’04-05 lockout.

“It was an impossibility to create a team for the new changes in the game, because we had no time to do it,” Clarke said. “All of a sudden we’re playing a game that none of us knew. Some teams had the right players for it, but it was all luck, none of it was by design. Some of us didn’t have the right type of players for the new game, but you’re still responsible.”

After the Flyers’ 2006-07 season began poorly, Clarke resigned from the GM position, citing a lack of desire and burnout from the game. A few months later, he was offered his current position of senior vice president.

“Paul Holmgren will ask me questions of things I’ve gone through in similar situations – talk to me about making trades,” Clarke said of his role on the team. “He uses me to talk to so he can bounce things off of me because of my experience.

“For me, it keeps me with the Flyers, it keeps me involved in the game and you still sleep better at night in this position,” Clarke said with a laugh.

The Flyers have consistently been a tough team to play against throughout its history, owning the NHL’s second-best all-time winning percentage behind the Montreal Canadiens. Clarke attributes that to the tremendous support of owner Ed Snider.

“We were allowed to spend the money, we always tried to win,” Clarke said. “We didn’t do what Pittsburgh did; lose seven years in a row so they could get good. They did it twice, in fact. They went through six or seven different owners. We’ve had one owner.”

Clarke finds the strategies of some current teams appalling when considering the way other organizations have built competitive teams.

“It’s somewhat embarrassing that three of the last teams (in the 2009 playoffs) missed the playoffs six or seven years in a row; Washington, Chicago, and Pittsburgh,” he said. “Now they’re good and the teams that try to win all the time get penalized. Our philosophy has never changed since 1967.”

Although Clarke was never able to capture a Stanley Cup in the front office, it wasn’t for lack of effort or desire.

“We do everything we can to win; it is our responsibility to our fans.”

Alan Bass is a writer for The Hockey News and THN.com. In addition to writing for Inside Hockey and Pro Hockey News, has also worked for the Philadelphia Flyers. He is the General Manager of the Muhlenberg College hockey team as well. You can contact him at BergHockey24@gmail.com.

Useless Rules

Some rules are made to be broken. Some are made to be ridiculed.

So, in light of the recent General Manager meetings in Florida, where the NHL Rulebook is subjected to its yearly scrutiny, let’s bring the rulebook out once more. If the GMs and Board of Governors can analyze it like lawyers analyzing a contract, we certainly can be lawyerly too. (Unfortunately, we don’t all get to lounge in Florida while we do it.)

Often, we find that some rules are not just pointless – they are stupid. That is legalize for: They are so ridiculous that they should not even be found in the rulebook.

Let’s look at a few of those rules, and please leave your IQ at the door, as this journey through stupidity may drop your intelligence by several points…

1. The Trapezoid
This is often known as the “Martin Brodeur” rule. It was implemented in order to prevent goalies like Brodeur from handling the puck like a third defenceman. However, why is this a rule? Aren’t we supposed to encourage our kids to learn every skill they can? So if a young goalie is incredible at passing the puck from his net to the opposite blue line with Sidney Crosby-like accuracy, why tell him, ‘No.’?

I’m not shooting down the idea of the trapezoid, but why not allow goalies to play the puck outside the trapezoid, at the risk of being checked legally by opposing forecheckers? Is there anyone in the league (besides Devils fans) that wouldn’t love to see Mike Richards slamming Brodeur into the boards in the corner? That sends the simple message of, “Stay in your net!”

2. The Bloody Rule
The NHL Rulebook states, “It is required that any [equipment with blood on it] be properly decontaminated or exchanged.”

Not that I’m complaining, but don’t we see bloody jerseys all the time, whenever someone gets badly cut?

3. Obstruction?
What is the point of obstruction? Isn’t it the same thing as interference? I understand the “New NHL” wants to stop the clutching and grabbing and hooking and holding, but why do you need to make a new rule for this? Can’t we just call interference and holding more often? We need another Tie Domi to set things straight…

4. Tie-downs
How awesome is it when, during a fight, a player’s jersey comes up over his head, and he gets tackled because he can’t see? Don’t we want to see it more often? This rule is pointless, as there is no logical reason why a jersey has to stay on a player’s back during a fight.

5. Kicking
The NHL has a rule against kicking or high-sticking the puck into the net. I can understand the high-sticking part, as that can turn into more injuries, but there is no reason why players should not be allowed to kick the puck into the opposing net. How about some sweet soccer kicks to give Alex Ovechkin his 50th goal? Or a player who dribbles the puck in his skates on a shootout shot to give his team the win? It also would allow us to accurately tell the players to “Kick it up a notch.” BAM!

Alan Bass is a writer for The Hockey News and THN.com. In addition to writing for Inside Hockey and Pro Hockey News, has also worked for the Philadelphia Flyers. He is the General Manager of the Muhlenberg College hockey team as well. You can contact him at BergHockey24@gmail.com.

Eastern Conference Playoff Preview

* – Division leader

1. *Washington Capitals – 103

It’s tough to find a weak spot in the Capitals’ game. With a fourteen-game win streak, this team is not slowing down. Some say they are a one-man team, with Ovechkin leading the way. However, without him in the lineup this season, the Caps have gone 6-2. The Capitals lead the league in goal differential with a plus-79 rating.

2. *New Jersey Devils – 87

Under new coach Jacques Lemaire, the Devils have had a rebirth, jumping atop the always-tough Atlantic Division. With the fewest goals against in the league, Lemaire has brought his defensive play back to New Jersey where it all started. Hall-of-fame goaltender Martin Brodeur has had a great comeback year, as he’s put up a .914 save percentage and leads the NHL in wins.

3. *Buffalo Sabres – 82

On the back of an MVP-worthy season from Ryan Miller, the Sabres are back on top of their division. With great contributions on the defensive side of the puck, the Sabres are second in the conference in goals against. They have ten players with 20 points or more, but no one over 70, giving the Sabres depth that they have not had in past years.

4. Pittsburgh Penguins – 87

The Pens have talent that has not been matched by any Pittsburgh team since the days of Jagr and Lemieux. Sidney Crosby has found his goal-scoring touch and currently leads the league with 45. The Penguins have 13 players with 20 points or more and six players with 40-plus; a number matched only by the Philadelphia Flyers. However, their defense has been inconsistent, often leaving Marc-Andre Fleury to fend for himself.

5. Ottawa Senators – 79

After falling off the face of the Earth following their Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2007, the Senators are once again challenging for the playoffs. After replacing Dany Heatley with Alexei Kovalev, the offense is slowly making its way back up to where it used to be. However, their defense and goaltending is lacking, as is shown by their minus-14 goal differential.

6. Montreal Canadiens – 78

Currently on a six-game winning streak, the season story is a goaltending battle of epic proportions. With the trade deadline behind us, the goal now is to win the starting position for the playoffs. Right now, Jaroslav Halak is most likely the go-to guy, with an impressive .923 save percentage and a winning record, something that Carey Price cannot claim he has.

7. Philadelphia Flyers – 77

Inconsistency has been the story for the Flyers, as they are on the brink of a mid-April tee time. With goaltenders Ray Emery and Michael Leighton out for the remainders of the season, the Flyers are stuck with Brian Boucher, who has not played well in big games since his departure from Philadelphia before the lockout. On the plus side, the Flyers are the only other team besides the Penguins with six 40-point players.

8. Boston Bruins – 74

Coming off last year’s storybook season in which the Bruins claimed the top spot in the Eastern Conference, they have struggled to regain their composure. Reigning trophy winners Zdeno Chara and Tim Thomas have failed to meet high expectations, while no one on the roster has more than 50 points. Losing Marc Savard will not help the cause, either.

9. New York Rangers – 71

The final team in the East with a chance to make the playoffs, the Rangers are riding on the wings of incredible seasons by Henrik Lundqvist (.919 save percentage) and Marian Gaborik (73 points). Sean Avery, after being a consistent healthy scratch, is becoming the pain-in-the-you-know-what yet again and the Rangers have responded.

Alan Bass is a writer for The Hockey News and THN.com. In addition to writing for Hockey54, Inside Hockey and Pro Hockey News, he has also worked for the Philadelphia Flyers. He is the General Manager of the Muhlenberg College hockey team as well. You can contact him at BergHockey24@gmail.com.