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Philadelphia Flyers
Overall: 4
Atlantic Division: 1
It's
not
often that the toughest-talking guy on a hockey team is the
general
manager. But Flyers G.M. Bobby Clarke took his share of
sutures during his Hall of Fame career, and his calculated
decision to publicly challenge franchise player Eric
Lindros this
summer will either help Philadelphia grab a long-awaited
Stanley Cup, or it will blow up in Clarke's face.
"If he wants to be paid like one of the top players in
the game," Clarke said in July, "then he needs to
play like
one."
"My first reaction? I was confused," Lindros
says, choosing his words carefully. "We got into it
privately. I'm not going to go into exactly what was said.
I'm sick of
worrying about
it. [Clarke] has always got something to say. I was right up
there among the league [scoring] leaders when I got hurt
last year. The team had a good season until the playoffs.
Not to belittle what happened then, but the ship
doesn't sink just because we
went through some rough
seas."
What happened was that the Flyers, a year removed from
advancing to the Cup finals, were knocked out of the
playoffs in the
first round by the Sabres. Philadelphia, however, has
everything it needs to roar back to the finals this season,
including the most talent in the Eastern Conference and an
improved attitude.
Goalie John Vanbiesbrouck, who Clarke signed in the
offseason, is a significant upgrade over incumbent Ron
Hextall. Roger Neilson, who took over as Flyers coach late
last season, is convinced the team's problems are unity and
defensive play. In
training camp Neilson harped on
both.
So far Lindros has shown no signs of pouting. He reported
to camp in better shape than any of his teammates, and he
was a terror during the exhibition season. He says his
mind-set was helped by some off-season heart-to-heart chats
with Red Wings captain
Steve
Yzerman, who owns a cabin near Lindros's summer house in
Ontario. Asked what
Yzerman said that stuck with him, Lindros smirks and says,
"Stevie said, 'Just play. Just
play.'"
—By Johnette
Howard
Fast Fact
Keep him busy: New goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck's
goals-against average last season with the Panthers was
2.66 on one day of rest between games, 2.97 on two days'
rest and 3.04 on three or more
days.
Keys To Success
- The Flyers, who blew leads in 19 matches last season, need to play
a more responsible defensive game when they're ahead.
- Captain Eric Lindros, who hasn't had an injury-free season in
his six NHL years, must remain healthy and assume a stronger
leadership role on the team.
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