Season over, lockout over

Now that the Philadelphia Flyers have hung up their skates for the summer, my ban on hockey talk is over. The Flyers' had me biting my tongue all season long, and I'm finally going to let it rip.

First off, how does a team fool a city into believing there is a chance of a championship when they can't even choose a goalie. Sure the team did well during the regular season, and they fought valiantly through injuries, but when the postseason rolls around, you need a goalie who is ready. What Philly had were two guys afraid to make mistakes.

Against the Sabres, both Robert Esche and Antero Niittymaki (pictured) finished with a goals against average above 4. Esche, who played all six games of the playoffs, could never get into a comfort zone as one mistake could have ownership flipping on their radios and listening to the fans, AGAIN.

When it came to his goalie, it was clear that GM Bobby Clarke could not make a decision. If you turned on the radio after an Esche loss, all the fans would be calling for Niittymaki. If the latter lost, every fan would be calling for Esche. At times, it looked like Clarke was listening. Pick one and stick with it. Goalie is the only position that doesn't change with the line shift and the reason is comfort and repetition. Neither goalie was afforded those luxuries.

What does the future have in store? More of the same, I'm afraid. Clarke stated in a post-season press conference that he doesn't see a problem with the goalie situation and that he was pleased with how they played. Go figure, another complacent GM in Philly who is afraid to admit their problems by fixing them.

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