I know that the bottom line in hockey is what matters because when you brush away the fandom and the loyalty, pro hockey is a business.
The losses of Tony Amonte and John LeClair I could handle. They were expected. Tony was picked up since Phoenix couldn’t use him. John had been on the trading block for a couple seasons due to the idiocy of signing him for $9 million/year.
However, I didn’t think that my team would trade away their biggest draw, Jeremy Roenick! But they did because they made a lucrative offer to get Peter Forsberg, currently one of the best players out there. The Flyers had dibs on him over a decade ago and traded him away for Eric Lindros. We all know how wise that decision panned out to be. However, I must admit that it was a colorful period for Philly then.
I will remain a Flyers fan first because I believe that the Broad Street Bullies have one of the strongest chances of winning the next Stanley Cup. I would have preferred it with Jeremy Roenick, John LeClair, Mark Recchi and Tony Amonte on that team though.
So I will give Peter his chance, JR even admitted that he’s the best player on the ice right now. Class to the end.
Oh yeah, the Flyers also signed Darien Hatcher. The guy who broke JR’s jaw with an intentional charge when they were playing for Dallas and Phoenix respectively. Guess JR had to bail with that acquisition.
No matter what though, I can remain a faithful Flyers fan and still root for JR as he gets closer to breaking Joey Mullen’s record. I just hope the Kings get him some help to pull it off or they trade him to Phoenix which has a better chance, and he still has a house there.