Inquirer columnist Mike Sielski has been waking waves with the Philadelphia Flyers organization this week. First, he upset owner Ed Snider at new head coach Craig Berube’s introduction press conference with questions about the Flyers losing culture. Then he wrote a column on Tuesday blasting the Flyers culture:
The Flyers’ lack of patience, their unwillingness to consider a longer view or embrace an innovation before it’s already become old hat, their reliance on the tired cliché of “Flyers hockey” – together, those factors have created a vicious cycle that has kept them from achieving their ultimate goal.
The foundations of their franchise, as Berube said, are “character, hard work, competitiveness” – intangibles that are meaningless without the necessary talent or tactics. They pat themselves on the back, as Snider did Monday, for doing whatever it takes, for acting immediately in the name of chasing championships. Still, they apparently never stop to wonder whether that very approach contributes to their failure to win another Cup.
Then after the game on Tuesday night Berube was asked about Jay Rosehill’s four-minute penalty in the third period. Berube called it unacceptable and Sielski then asked what punishment Berube had in mind and Berube responded with:
“What do you want me to do? Spank him? Get lost. That talk’s stupid.”
Sielski may want to cool it before he finds the Flyers giving him less and less accessibility.