Predictions and "Grade-ictions" Series

Dan Carcillo

2009/2010 Regular season stats: 12G 10A +5
2010 Playoff stats: 2G 4A +1
Grade: B+

Dan Carcillo rode the elevator of the Flyers offensive lines this season. At times he saw action on the power play and on the 1st line with Mike Richards and Simon Gagne, but then there were also times were he saw very limited minutes on both 5-on-5 and man advantage play. There were periods this season where "The Stache" was the ultimate pest--getting in players faces, trash talking and forechecking. And then there were times where he was once again the ultimate pest, but those times he was a pest to his own team. He had the huge highs in the postseason--scoring the OT winner in game three against the Devils, and the large lows--he was a healthy scratch in the final two series games against the Canadiens and only played in games two and three against Chicago.

Carcillo has the ability to notch 20 goals in a season, it just all depends on whether he can stay consistent or not. And that's just what the Flyers are hoping for this season...a little consistency.


2010/2011 Predictions: 14G 12A -2

Colin Campbell: A Top-Notch Idiot

Players like Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby get special treatment from the NHL because they're superstars. The refs keep a special eye on them at all times to make sure that no opposing player is intentionally trying to injure them because, after all, they are the face of the league. I have disagreed with giving certain players special treatment for a long time, and I still do. But I do see the reason for trying to protect the NHL's most valuable assets. What doesn't make any sense at all is how the NHL hands out its punishments.

Take a look at these hits...
Matt Cooke hit on Marc Savard

It's a blatant cheap shot elbow to the head of Savard. It was basically the last straw that forced the NHL to implement a new "hits to the head" rule. "A guy like that has to be suspended," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "That's the way I see it, because it's an elbow to the head from the blind side. That's exactly the examples they show of what we've got to get out of this game. We have a guy who's got a concussion. Our best player. He's going to be out for a while. He was [unconscious] on the ice for a bit. That's unacceptable."

Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell's decision: No suspension. "I know Matt Cooke is a repeat offender, he's been suspended twice in the last year," Campbell said. "I can't suspend Matt Cooke for being a repeat offender, I have to find a reason."

So, Campbell isn't suspending Cooke for the hit, but he gives out a two game suspension for this?
Dan Carcillo high stick on David Clarkson

According to Rich Chere, a Devils beat writer for the Star-Ledger, Carcillo verbally apologized to Clarkson right after the incident while the two were still on the ice. Carcillo could even be seen patting Clarkson on the back after he noticed that Clarkson was cut. Clarkson is quoted by Chere as saying that Carcillo shoved him and his stick got a little high, and that he didn't know if Carcillo would be suspended for it. This was, according to the suspension given out by Campbell, an obvious "intent to injure." No, I don't think so.

There's no denying that Dan Carcillo is a repeat offender. He has four career suspensions totaling 12 games. But Campbell said he can't suspend a player for being a repeat offender, right? Well then I would love to know his reason for suspending Carcillo but not Cooke if it's not because he's a repeat offender. Maybe it's because he's missing his front teeth or maybe, and more likely, it's because he's wearing the orange and black.

Dan Carcillo: A Love Story

"Dan Carcillo is a good player who happens to be tough and aggressive. We think he can play in our top nine. The fans are going to love him."

When the trade for Dan Carcillo was made last season there weren't many fans who agreed with with Paul Holmgren's statement. He traded fan-favorite Scottie Upshall and second round pick in 2011 for Carcillo, and it upset a lot of fans. Even during the 2008-2009 season, the fan's sentiment did not change much on Carcillo. He was taking "stupid" penalties and not producing offensively (no goals, 4 assists, and a -2 in 20 games). But things have changed this season.

In 2010, Carcillo is playing like the player Paul Holmgren brought him here to be. He's not taking stupid penalties nor taking penalties at the wrong time. He's being a pest, an agitator, a pain in the ass. He is doing his job well and getting under the skin of the opposing team. Carcillo is the ultimate fighter as well. As opposed to Riley Cote who will fight anyone at anytime but, more often then not, get his butt pummeled in the process, Carcillo fights the right guys at the right times and usually comes out with blood on his knuckles, not on his face. I really like the way Dan has played the game this season. He plays with a high level of intensity and has shown bit of a scoring touch as well.

Maybe it's the Flyers of the mid-70s tributary mustache he's sporting, maybe it's his no holds barred approach to interviews (see: "I was pretty much licking my chops" when asked about getting to fight NY Ranger Marian Gaborik), who knows? Carcillo has certainly upped his game this season and Flyers fans can only hope it continues and takes them into the playoffs.