Flyers snubbed _ again

At the risk of sounding like a homer, you can call the Flyers "Team Snubbed."

When the NHL announced its three finalists for the Calder Trophy, given the league's rookie of the year, Matt Read was bypassed _ even though he led first-year players in goals and game-winning tallies.

Jaromir Jagr, the Flyers' 40-year-old winger, was surprisingly not named one of the three finalists for the Masterton Trophy, awarded for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

The Calder and Masterton are selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association.

On Tuesday, Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren gave the Flyers a Snubbed Trio.

No GM in the NHL came close to matching the guts Holmgren displayed by remaking his team and trading away Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, the faces of the team.

Yet, Holmgren was not one of the three finalists for the General Manager of the Year award. The finalists: St. Louis' Doug Armstrong, Nashville's David Poile and Florida's Dale Tallon.

Voting for that award was conducted by the league's 30 general managers and a panel of NHL executives and media members.

Of all the omissions, Holmgren's was the most unjustified. By far.