[blueandwhite]

Niittymaki has a hip injury, could be gone for two months after a mishap in practice yesterday.
If surgery is necessary, the goalie will definintely be out for 4-6 weeks.
Not so good.
And Sean Burke was sent down to the AHL yesterday, after clearing waivers - he'll play for the Springfield Falcons. Main goalie for Lightning is Marc denis, and official backup is Johan Holmqvist.
Remember when Burke was the star on the rise?

[blueandwhite]

Interesting this, because I squished them together in one post - and now it turns out, the Lightning have called Clarke and asked him, hey do you want Burke now that Niittymaki is sidelined?
Clarke said, No. Not yet, anyway.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by blueandwhite

Interesting this, because I squished them together in one post - and now it turns out, the Lightning have called Clarke and asked him, hey do you want Burke now that Niittymaki is sidelined?
Clarke said, No. Not yet, anyway.

Wow...Burke is in Siberia...no one wants him in the NHL...can't be good for his psyche...

Maybe the NHL should have a B team, like European Football clubs...its like the minors but you could still say you are in the NHL...and they could play meaningless games with each other...and there could be all sorts of posts like..."Well yeah, but my B Team slaughtered your B team 10-0!...so there!"

[blueandwhite]

Niittymaki is going to take cortisone shots for his hip, rather than have surgery, which would immediately sideline him for 3 months.
I wonder if taking the shots and choosing not to do the surgery is a wise choice - is he just playing injured so the Flyers aren't out a number one goalie and could there be repercussions? I don't know much about it, but after reading about Primeau and the quick fixes that led to his having to retire when he did, not being treated well enough with the injuries he had - do we just pump them full of stuff and push them back out?

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by blueandwhite

- do we just pump them full of stuff and push them back out?

part of the game when you play 80-100 games a year bluenadwhite girl...you see other leagues around the world and they do not have an 80-100 game schedule...they play about half of that...The body cannot take that kind of beating in a brutal sport without breaknig down somewhat...pump them up and push them out there....or...cut back the number of games.

[blueandwhite]

Maybe the surgery wouldn't have guaranteed his return 100% (ie Belfour and Mogilny) - or maybe the Flyers should have looked around for a 3 month replacement. Niittymaki is an important player. Maybe he should be considered over a longterm plan, not short term.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by blueandwhite

Maybe the surgery wouldn't have guaranteed his return 100% (ie Belfour and Mogilny) - or maybe the Flyers should have looked around for a 3 month replacement. Niittymaki is an important player. Maybe he should be considered over a longterm plan, not short term.

I don't think there is a lot of long term planning out there unless you are in the mist of a rebuilding year...too muh pressure to win.

For example would the city of Toronto accept longterm planning right now?...There is tremendous pressure on them to come out of the gate swinging...I would think the Flyers are about the same...Philly fans can get nasty fast...

No one wants to be the first to say, "Hey, in the best interest of everyone involved, we are going to take our time."...And certainly not with Bobby Clarke at the helm...the played with diabetes, he's missing his teeth, he got bloody often...he's old school Philly...I don't think he would take it well.