Folks, I've been through a lot of heartache and pain with this team. From the passing of Barry Ashbee, to game 6 in the 1980 SCF, to Pelle's tragic end, to game 7 in the 87 SCF, to five years with no playoffs, the fiasco that was the 97 finals, the messy end to the Lindros era, 06-07, the Hakstol era and the loss of Mr. Snider, but this is even worse. Why? Simple, I have no hope. None. This is a garbage organization from top to bottom and I've had it.
Always, no matter how bad things got, I at least knew that the owner of the team cared, deeply cared, and would do whatever it took to right the ship. Now, there is no hope left in me, not a single drop. Ownership is a corporate behemoth that only cares about dollars and cents. The team President is a buffoon and corporate lackey who knows nothing about hockey and only cares that he pleases his masters. The GM is the poster boy for mediocrity and lets not kid ourselves, if his dad wasn't Cliff Fletcher, he's probably not even working in the NHL. The head coach is a self centered egomaniac that has little grasp of what it takes to win in today's NHL and he never believes that anything is his fault. His assistants are a mix of incompetence and idiocy and the players, with only a very few exceptions, are a mix of so-so players that are far from elite.
I have absolutely zero faith that this group can build a championship team, none, nada, zilch. I'm beyond angry, rather I'm just spent and depressed. There really isn't much else to say. I won't be watching tonight as I badly need a break, but I truly hope the Sabres break their losing streak tonight. That would be exactly what the Flyers deserve. My Flyers, the team I grew up with, the team I loved dearly, the team that brought me so much joy is dead. It's about time I realized it and moved on.
Maybe they'll prove me wrong, but I'm not holding my breath. I truly don't understand how anyone can look at Fletcher's total body of work as a general manager both in Minnesota and so far here and think that this guy can build a championship team. I also cannot understand how anyone can fail to grasp that AV's success in Vancouver and NY was solely due to his having 2 of the best goaltenders of the last 25 years available to bail out his team mistakes. This entire organization needs an enema.