On the NHL | Additions upgrade Flyers' talent

When Ken Hitchcock was fired as Flyers coach last fall and tenderfoot John Stevens was suddenly given the reins to a team unfit to play in the NHL, you felt for the guy.

Stevens' club lacked all-around talent, a solid goaltender, and speed throughout the lineup.

That was then.

This is July.

No one is going to feel sorry for Stevens in the fall if he fails to make the most of what general manager Paul Holmgren has done for him since last winter, when Holmgren was named full-time general manager.

Stevens' team now has speed, skill, size and a goalie. All the ingredients that helped Anaheim win the Stanley Cup this spring.

His defense will average 6-foot-2, 212 pounds, giving the Flyers one of the biggest blue lines in the NHL. He has mobility with Kimmo Timonen, Lasse Kukkonen, Braydon Coburn and Alexandre Picard, if Picard makes the roster.

He has brawn and the team's best penalty killer with Derian Hatcher. He has one of the NHL's all-time warriors and top shot blockers in Jason Smith. He has the league's hardest hitter in Denis Gauthier, if he isn't traded because of salary. He has depth in Randy Jones.

Up front, Stevens has Scottie Upshall, Scott Hartnell, Joffrey Lupul and the quickest center in the Eastern Conference outside of Sidney Crosby in Danny Briere. Throw in Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, and the Flyers have a young, healthy 1-2-3 down the middle of the ice with some skill.

Marty Biron should be a better goalie because he won't have to play on the edge every night worried about breakdowns in his own end and turnovers in the offensive end leading to odd-man rushes.

"In terms of an identity, we're going to be an extremely hard-working group," Stevens said. "We want to be a team that plays up-tempo and gets after it, and with character and competitiveness, and we're not just talking about the grinder guys. We have competitive offensive people and competitive defenders. It's the makeup of our team."

It's a makeup that should enable Stevens to succeed. He also has Jack McIlhargey, Joey Mullen and Terry Murray as his assistant coaches.

There will be no excuse for Stevens not starting off quickly and not having a strong first half of the season.

Last year, the blame was on general manager Bob Clarke and his not ready for prime-time "B" actors. This year, it's on Stevens to take the entourage Holmgren has given him and make these Flyers work.

There can be no excuses.

Winner and loser. So who was the free-agency winner after one day?

The Rangers stole everyone's thunder with the dual signings of Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, two players with character, heart and soul. Already, the Rangers are the team to beat in the Atlantic Division, right up there with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The bad news was that general manager Glen Sather couldn't keep Michael Nylander. Nylander was pivotal to Jaromir Jagr's happiness - success - last season. Coach Tom Renney's only choice now is to move Martin Straka back to center, where he handled Jagr years ago in Pittsburgh. Where Sather is in trouble most, however, is if someone - the Kings? - hands out a Group II offer sheet to Henrik Lundqvist that blows the goalie away this week. But discussions with agent Don Meehan continue, and it looks as if Lundqvist will re-sign.

This is why the Rangers have not re-signed Brendan Shanahan yet. They have about $12 million left to spend.

The big day one free-agency loser is the Los Angeles Kings. Dean Lombardi is finding out just how difficult it is to sell hockey in Los Angeles. Lombardi wanted to land both Drury and Briere and couldn't. His team needs a major overhaul. He came out with nothing on day one. On day two, he got what was left: Michal Handzus, the former Flyer; Ladislav Nagy; and underachieving former Flyer Kyle Calder.

Lombardi's best move was adding defenseman Tom Preissing, who impressed in Ottawa last season.

The Kings needed to steal some glitz from Anaheim, 25 miles to the south. They didn't. The Ducks still have the loudest quack on the Left Coast.