Trades I Would Make

Although I have been pleased with much of what I've seen of the Flyers, I see some tinkering needed.

First, let me say that Betts is the new man and is my new favorite player. That guy is a beast and as much as he kicks ass on the 3rd/4th line with Lapierre and Carcillo, I say he deserves a promotion. I'd love to see him on the 2nd line.

Second, Gagne's coming back is likely to come at Pyorala's expense, and will not be a positive. Gagne is exactly what they don't need right now. Pyorala, despite his slightly leaden touch, seems like he could be something with Richards and Hartnell if allowed to stay up on that line.

Third, I just can't warm to Carter and Briere. Briere had a wide open net vs SJ and shot so wide he managed to hit the goalie in the ass and it banked in, but basically he shanked it. Meanwhile they both remain defensive liabilities and take stupid slashing, hooking, interference penalties all the time. I just can't stand them. Briere has little trade value with his fat contract, and actually bugs me less than Carter, mostly because he has the excuse of size. But Carter just continues to bug the shit out of me with his half-assed hits (despite his size), his lazy back checking, and penchant for slinging one of his pretty wrist shots from far out that never go in. Reggie Leach useless slapshot flashback. I say dump Carter to a Western team and get a good stud defenseman like Wisniewski (Ana), Keith (Chi) or Erskine (Wash).

Fourth -- Hartnell and Richards. I think this combo could work if they keep it. But Hartnell needs to realize he never scores from outside as a sniper, and should not shoot unless he is below the circles, and preferably right out in front. Meanwhile, Richards needs to stop turning the puck over so often trying to make Gretzky like finesse (and often backhand) passes, and get back to the grit.

Here are the lines I would like to see:

Hartnell-Richards-Briere -- hope Briere's elevation brings something good out of him

JVR-Betts-Giroux -- both Betts and Giroux deserve more playing time.

Gags/Laliberte-Carter-Pyorala -- demote Carter and make him get grittier. Pyorala has both size and finesse and might work with Gagne. Laliberte shows some good checking skills until Gagne is ready.

Carcillo/Laliberte-Powe-Lapierre -- as well as Carcillo has played, once Gagne gets back, would rather see Laliberte in his place since he seems to have more offensive skill and still willing to back check responsibly. Powe looks like a solid 4th line center and I think could cause havoc with LaPierre, although both are on the smallish size. Still, on line 4, they won't be seeing as much ice time.