GM Paul Holmgren sat down with Burbs' Wayne Fish and went over some things about the team since the playoffs have ended. They ended up having a quick chat about discipline and one name in particular was thrown out: Joffrey Lupul.
Joffrey is the center of MANY trade proposals on HFboards, mainly because of his 4+ Million dollar cap number, but also because of his seeming lack of effort all-around. Here is the quote from Fish/Homer:
Fish: What was your offseason message to Joffrey Lupul, who seems to be inconsistent at times?
Holmgren: "He needs to be stronger, his upper body in particular. He needs to be in the best shape he's ever been. This is a big year for him. He tends to drift every so often. If he's on his game, he has a chance to be a 40-goal scorer. He does many things well, but he drifts in and out. He has to bring it every night.''
I agree with Holmgren entirely. Some nights, it seems he'd rather be doing something else than playing professional hockey. I can understand if some players are like that, but I shouldn't be able to recognize it.
Joffrey: Where is the Lupul I know and believe in that started out on the 2007-2008 season hitting everything in sight, skating his hardest and crashing the net? Your ability is there and you have amazing talent...you just need to put in the effort, my friend, and you can be a consistent 30 goal scorer.
OH
and Holmgren, commenting on the Cap and retaining Mike Knuble:
Fish: Small changes or big changes this summer?
Holmgren: "There are a lot of different scenarios, from moving forward with our group to making drastic, well, not drastic changes but things we're looking at. We're doing a lot of talking with other teams, just doing our homework.''
That's nice to hear. That means he's going to try and re-sign Alberts and Knuble (which are good moves, pending the salaries of course), and he is also talking A LOT with other teams.
What more can we ask for in our GM? I have faith!
(URL to Article)
http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/117/2009/june/21/holmgren-flyers-face-big-decisions.html
that is pretty interesting, I was I had a copy of the article to read in the bathroom as I drop a log to end all logs. I feel it will be a good one and that if Lupul got wind of it, he would instantly man up.
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