I just read THIS:

http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&a...rticleid=367281

Which I kinda saw coming but still.. holy deleted.

With Stamkos in the mix as well.. this team might really have something this season. Thoughts?

This should be in the Off Season Thread, to be honest.

i agree and they just acquired brian roloston from the wild as well

He is a UFA though.

****. They're going to be really good this year. Thats insane.

My fault for putting this in the wrong place.

^^This. He informed the Lightning he's testing the market.

Everything except defense. Which is still up in the air for the Flyers but we are way ahead of the Tampons.

Its Homgren 07 VS Feaster 08

Roberts is still 42 and who knows with Prospal. I'm not sold on them yet. I'm also not sold on the Flyers' defense either. This season won't be a cakewalk for them...

Is this "General Flyers Discussion?"

Wow, Roloston as well. I know they traded Richards, but their cap space...

IMO, I think we need to sign one more big name offensemen, since we lost RJ. I'd still like to see them sign a good defensmen too though, I guess we wont see both.

Why yes it is.

Oh, I see.

The mods will move it if necessary. It's really not a big deal.

Oh, thanks for the reassurance. I was about to start a petition to get it moved, because it was such a big deal.

Do I have to call Flyershooligan in here?

Hey, any team has a chance.

They've made some good signings so far. Who knows what else they'll do. However, I must say that Robert's years are way behind him.

Rolston i believe said he's not signing. They traded for his rights.

Last time i checked you need D and a good goalie to win the Stanley cup. They have neither.

Come on, a bunch of free agents signings/ trade acquisitions don't suddenly make a champion. They already had Prospal and it didn't help them make the playoffs.

Bah.

How long do you think it will be before we see the Flyers sign a UFA?

well seeing as free agency doesnt start for another 30 min i would say atleast another 30 min

GAH I CANT WAIT THAT LONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What if the lightning sign Emery?

They prop will, they are so desperate after copying what the Flyers did

If the Lightning sign Emery.. I would expect nothing less then a spectacular playoff run for them next year. That would be epic for the Lightning.

I wouldn't say that.
Every Stanley Cup Champion has a big amount of players they have traded for or gotten through FA at one point.
All the Red Wing players didn't come out of that farm system.
Same with the Ducks the year before as a matter of fact quite a lot of that teams core players were brought in via trade or free agency. (Pronger, Niedermayer, Selanne)

You can go look at any NHL roster and you will see most of the players on those teams didn't start out with that organization.

Tampa Bay certainly is headed in the right direction.

As for Prospal he certainly wasn't the reason they were in last he had a heck of a season. If you forgot though he was part of that Stanley Cup team they had. He was a key player for them in that and he wasn't the problem with them last season so they brought him back.

I think this is ridiculous. I am sorry. They are being hyped up way to much.
Flyers did all those trades/aquirings last season, and ended up in the ECF.
Now Tampa has all this hype about them, and no idea where they are going. They are trying to pull a quick turn around season like the Flyers did, but for some reason, i don't think it will work for them.

I think TB is definately poised to be good. Definately more of a threat than last year so I'm a little nervous but it's still really unknown.

Congratulations on the Mike Green signing. Good luck in the Eastern conference semifinals next year (as long as you don't get us in the first round again ).

Will they be better? Yes. Stanley Cup Champions? Don't make me laugh.

It started at midnight last night I believe...

they also just signed Vrbata, they are loading up on the front line, but their ineptitude with the back line and the goal tending with prevent them from being contenders

No, free agency started at noon.

nope, thats the NBA, NHL starts at 12 PM noon eastern time

They need to forget about forwards now, and start signing defense...They are going to be just like us with no room to play with.

No way. Their offense looks pretty good right now (Prospal, Lecav, St. Louis, Vrbata, Malone, Stamkos) but look at their defense and goaltending. They still have a long way to go.

I have no doubt they'll be better than last place, but the thread titles suggested they might win the cup this year. That's a bit of a stretch.

Tampa will be good this season maybe. It all depends on how well they gell as a team. Plus they have a coach who hasn't stood behind a bench in almost a decade. Stanley Cup Champions? No way.

It is a stretch, though honestly I don't think it is that ridiculous.
I think you made that post before some of these guys were signed but as of now I really think Tampa Bay will be a cup contender.
The only good player they lost was Richards and Stamkos is replacing him, they upgraded everywhere.
For a last place team they were still pretty good. There lines should look something like this...

Malone - Lecavalier - St. Louis
Prospal - Stamkos - Vrbata
Jokinen - Halpern - Quellet
Roberts - Tarnasky - Ward

Boyle - Ranger
O'Brien - Kuba
Picard - Lukowich

Kolzig
Smith

Those are very good lines in my opinion, better then our Flyers even.
3 very solid scoring lines and they kept 2 of the big 3.
There defense isn't really as bad as people think, lots of firepower on there and I am sure they will straighten up and play to there potential.
Kolzig should be a pretty solid goalie for them, Smith has good potential himself.

They improved a lot from last season.
We stayed about the same really and Pittsburgh got worse.
Really the only team good team that I think improved was Montreal but they still lost Streit and who knows what Price will look like after his playoff performance.

I look at Tampa Bay's roster and honestly I think they are better then the Flyers and most of the Eastern conference teams.

I don't think they will win a cup but it wouldn't surprise me if they did.

I think of our roster and then I look at theres and this is what stands out to me, they are fast all over, and where we have Briere they have Lecavalier.

We shall see!

I'll be pretty PO'd if the Bolts win another cup and we Flyer fans are left out in the cold for the 34th straight year.

See, why do you have to say stuff like that? We've got bad enough voodoo already.

I was just posting my predictions for how next post season will turn out here. My prediction is that the Blackhawks will win the Cup. I also predict that a lot of people will be unhappy with my predictions for the East.

All of your predictions are a possibility. The Hawks may be a bit of a stretch, but it makes it interesting.

Kozig is done, IMO, so I don't see the Lightning as Cup champions, but good for them for trying to improve. There is absolutely no excuse to be the worst team in the league when you have Lecevalier and St. Louis on your team.

Personally, I think St. Louis is very overrated, but any team with Lecavalier should do better then what they had as you said

The Prospal, Vrbata and Stamkos line will be interesting to see!

Unless Smith develops very quickly goal tending could be a problem. They've got a real solid group put together though and have to be the (very) early favorites to run away with that southeast division.

It's fun trying to predict a new team to emerge from the fold. I really think the Blackhawks and the Coyotes in the West. I think they will be competitive for years to come.

I really can't see Tampa being a cup contender. The new owners are just throwing money around without a plan. History does not favor that approach.

I agree, the team all around looks pretty good but since they won the cup goalie has been the biggest issue... Smith never was a starting goalie before in the league and Kolzig is on the down slope of his career... They do have Ramo if Kolzig or Smith aren't getting the job done, but he's not a guarantee either... They're the Flyers of this year in rebuilding the team