Here in the new year, that thing they call 2007, one thing is constant, everyone will get a little older. Age can mean a lot of things, but it doesn't really creep up as quickly as we think. For hockey players though, there are some who are getting just a little too long in the tooth. This segment is devoted to the players that, whether good or bad in the past, need to realize their time has come and gone, and they know who they are...
Peter Forsberg
I hate to say it, I admired him a lot on Colorado, though it was really me admiring how when he got injured, the clutch Joe Sakic would pick up his slack. Sakic is still reeling in the points, but Forsberg, not so much. What separates him from the older guys in this list will be the sad fact that he's still got it. He's still one of the premier centers in the league when healthy and on his game, incredibly strong (took out 2 Panthers with just his shoulder while holding the puck, back to back) and a knack for the right play. So it's harsh to say but very true, his time has come. Like the Flyers captain before him, Keith Primeau, his injuries have done nothing but hurt his team. I've never seen someone come back from injury and get immediately injured in that game so much...the best analogy would be to wrestler Kevin Nash. He hasn't been able to get a skate to fit him almost all year, and with bad foot problems comes groin problems, etc. At the age of 33, for someone who is a true winner, his health can no longer seem to sustain him. Every game he misses, he destroys what fragile a Flyers team there is already.
Jeremy Roenick
I was already sick enough of this guy every single time he opened his mouth, but that was also back when he backed up his play. He rocked in Phoenix and Philly, and when he got sent out west to LA, the wheels fell off in the new NHL. Hmm, not unlike the rest of the Flyers themselves. Things looked grim, but then he claimed he only wanted to play for a Canadian team. So of course, he chose Phoenix, because it's Jeremy Roenick, apparently to him up is down and black is white. But seriously folks, Gretzky was dumb enough to bring him back home to roost and he has done all but stink it up. Sure he had a hat trick in that totally abnormal 8-0 game over the Sharks, but he's been a huge disappointment ever since he crossed back over the Rockies. His greatest career moment was him getting his jaw broken, and thus rendering him unable to make the NHL look stupid for another night verbally. He and Mike Ricci can go swap beauty tips in Flagstaff for all I care, time to get off the ice, Jeremy. And for the love of Bobby Orr, STAY AWAY FROM THE BROADCAST BOOTH.
John Leclair
Wow, what's up with the former Flyers being on this list? Well anyway, Leclair was indeed part of one of the most dangerous Philly teams since the Broadstreet Bullies. After he left, he became a free agent for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who began building a doomed team out of Ziggy Palffy(retired), Jocelyn Thibault(shadow of his former self backing up a kid), Mario Lemieux(retired, again), and Sergei "I take the defense out of defenseman" Gonchar. What's funny is that this year is so drastically different from last year for the Pens. With the additions of Malkin and Staal and the flourishing of Marc-Andre Fleury in goal, they're much better than the bottom dwellers they were. That's not to mention Sidney Crosby leading them and the NHL with 60 points thus far, yes a 19 year old with 60 points. But after Leclair made arguably the dumbest move of his career, blindly missing a pass from superstar-to-be Evgeni Malkin and actually injuring his own teammate I'm not sure where you go from there. Oh wait yes I do, to the minors. See Leclair has done so horrible this year, he was sent through waivers a few times and still not claimed. He of course refuses to retire and refuses to go to the minors. Thankfully, this enacted a clause that let the Penguins release him and save money, as he would not report to Wilkes-Barre.
Dan Cloutier
I have to start by asking, what the HELL is wrong with Marc Crawford? After Cloutier had put in many poor performances in Vancouver, got injured for most of the year and got outplayed by Alex Auld, why in god's name would you acquire him when you move on to LA? Moreso, how could you sign him to a contract extension when he has yet to prove anything? Actually, he has proved something, that he is without a doubt the worst "starting" goalie in the NHL today. It's not as if his defense does not exist, you have the well travelled Rob Blake and the new NHL succeeding Lubomir Visnovsky. But every puck is like a beach ball that he runs away from. Need more proof this loser needs to go? Stats don't lie: Goals Against Average - 3.98, Save Percentage - .860. So according to this and more importantly to the GAA, the more reliable stat, he lets in on average about 4 goals a game. That defies explanation of just how horrible that is. Cloutier, fake an injury or something, but stop dragging down the Kings with you, after all they've been through, they don't deserve this.
Well that's enough for this edition of Time To Hang Them Up. Next time, I hope to touch on the infamous Eric Lindros, the slowest defenseman in the NHL Derian Hatcher and some other lucky hopefuls. Seriously though, what is up with all these former Flyers? Philly just ages a man, I'm sure.
All you retirees-to-be, I don't want to see you at the red line.
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