RENBERG RETURNING?
I can tolerate a lot of silly things. I can tolerate the fact
that the American general public made the guy who invented Beenie
Babies a millionaire. I can deal with the fact that Europeans
regard John Tesh and David Hasselhof as talented musicians. Hell,
I can even tolerate the fact that not everyone gets spontaneous
diarrhea from Celine Dion.
But when it comes to all the hubbub about Mikael Renberg, I have
to draw the line.
In case you haven't heard the latest, word is that Bob Clarke is
about to trade Chris Gratton straight up to bring old Renny back
to the orange and black. Let that sink in for a minute.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Clarke just ship Renberg AND
Karl Dykhuis to Tampa Bay for Gratton just a year and a half ago?
I won't even get into the boatload of money he threw Gratton's
way.
What the hell is it about Renberg that would justify such
devotion? Sure, Tampa Bay stinks worse than Roseanne Barr at the
end of a 10K race. But this guy scored only 16 goals and 22
assists in 68 games last year. And he finished -37 for the
season. Even on Tampa Bay, that's pitiful.
That's not to say that Renberg wasn't an excellent player with
the Flyers. He was easily the best backchecker on the Legion of
Doom line and a more consistent hustler than Lindros and LeClair,
too. But that was before his chronic abdominal injury reduced him
to a shell of his former self.
A lot of Flyers fans are understandably upset at Gratton, but to
trade him even-up for Renberg would be a colossal mistake. Even
in light of his laughable production (one garbage-time goal in
the recent rout of Vancouver), he's still a more valuable
commodity than that. How many 23-year-old players have a 30-goal
season on their resumes?
The Flyers would be far wiser to attempt to package Gratton with
fellow underachievers Dainius Zubrus and Alexandre Daigle for
another reliable defenseman, maybe Scott Lachance of the Isles.
That's a deal that would at least make sense.
After all, the Flyers sold enough of those silly Legion of Doom
hats, didn't they?
C'MON, CLARKIE!
Regular readers of this column know that I've always been a
staunch defender of Bobby Clarke. His theft of John LeClair and
Eric Desjardins made the Flyers into instant Cup contenders and
he's acquired many other useful players for a used puck bag or
less. But some of his recent maneuverings are making me start to
wonder about his ability to effectively evaluate players and
coaches.
Clearly, trading Gratton straight-up for Renberg would be
admitting that bringing old Stone Hands to the Flyers was a
terrible mistake. But unfortunately for Flyers fans, it wouldn't
be the only bonehead move Clarke has made lately. In less than
two full seasons, Clarke fired a coach who took them to the
Stanley Cup finals, replaced him with two guys who haven't come
close to matching his results, and brought in high-salaried busts
Gratton and Luke Richardson. And even though he gave up next to
nothing to acquire Alexandre Daigle, bringing in the NHL's #1
malingerer isn't exactly a feather in his cap, either.
Add the inability of John Vanbiesbrouck to upgrade the Flyers'
goaltending situation and it's easy to blame the Flyers' recent
inconsistency on Clarke's cloudy judgment. Let's hope that the
recent acquisition of Keith Jones is proof that Clarke is about
to become a genius again.
SPEAKING OF GOALTENDING...
Hardly anyone has noticed, but suddenly Ron Hextall is creeping
back into competition for the Flyers' top goaltending spot. Not
only has Hexy won his last four starts, he's allowed only five
goals during the span. Vanbiesbrouck hasn't been as sharp,
allowing two goals on the first four shots he faced in a 3-0 loss
to Buffalo. Hextall also leads Vanbiesbrouck in save percentage
(.900 to .892) and winning percentage (.714 to .529) for the
season.
Typically, Hextall has refused to make a controversy of the
situation, repeatedly stating that his role has not changed. His
impeccable attitude seems all the more impressive considering
that Vanbiesbrouck recently called a whiny bull session with
reporters about the team's inconsistent defensive play. That's
closer to excuse-making than Hextall has ever come.
Roger Neilson says that Vanbiesbrouck will remain #1 for now. But
Neilson conceded that Hextall could garner more playing time if
he continues to be the sharper goalie.
Could this season see a repeat of the past two, with the Flyers'
back-up goalie replacing the established starter in the playoffs?
If it does, it'd be poetic justice for Hextall, who was
superseded by Garth Snow and Sean Burke in the last two
postseasons. Look out, Beezer.
HERE COME THE DEVILS
The Flyers begin a crucial home-and-home with New Jersey this
week - a test that should tell the orange-and-black whether their
recent improvement is real or a mirage. New Jersey should
certainly be primed for the showdown. Not only did the Flyers
post a rare victory against the Devils in their last meeting,
they pummeled them 6-1 and made Martin Brodeur look like Darren
Pang. And that's REALLY saying something.
The Flyers enter the series four points behind the Devils, so
they can tie for the division lead with a sweep. The teams have
both played 24 games.
