Hello, fellow readers, I am the Negadelphian. The name should speak for itself. I'd like to thank Jesse and the folks at Olde City Sports Network for the opportunity to share my thoughts. I'll keep my introduction brief and share some thoughts with you on the Flyers.

I don't like to tip-toe around topics, I like to get right to the point. So I'll just say this; I am not here to purposely be negative. I'm not here to ruin anyone's day. I simply like to keep things realistic. As I've told others in the past, I am not someone who gets what I like to call "Philly Amnesia". They suddenly forget about anything that went wrong in a game, a bad play, etc. just because "we came away with the W". Nah, that is not how I operate. I will call the team out when it deserves to be, and being in a rebuild won't change that. I am probably going to shit in your cheerios more than once.

Alright, now that that's out of the way, I suppose I should share my thoughts on the Flyers, as they stand today. I think I speak for everyone when I say I am a bit surprised at their play over the last nine games. They have certainly played better than I expected, given the fact that they just essentially "blew up" the team. Call me negative, call me a skeptic, but I still don't think it'll change a damn thing. Still, it's good to see the organization move in a different direction, and draft kids like Gauthier or Michkov who just may end up playing above the second line for the Flyers in the future. Can you imagine having players who consistently score? Sure, sounds lovely. Aren't you tired of drafting "two-way forwards"? Yeah, me too.

Speaking of rebuild, I've already seen some fans slip into their "Philly Amnesia" because the Flyers managed to win a few games. I've seen talk of adding at the deadline. I've seen criticism of John Tortorella. Let me remind some of you, the Flyers, as we currently know them, suck. Their recent play doesn't change the fact that they won't be a playoff contender for several years. Run that through your head several times. They are going to suck for a while. This is what a real rebuild looks like. I know many of us Flyers fans are not used to this, but the organization has tried every other form of rebuild imaginable and we haven't won anything. While I may be extremely negative about Philly sports in general, I'm still a fan at the end of the day. I don't WANT to see the Flyers fail, but right now, we NEED to see them fail. Their failure now will only mean success later, if done correctly. I can wait.

That said, it is simply silly to be talking about the trade deadline. The Flyers will rightfully be sellers. They should not, however, be sellers "just to get cap space off the books". They need to find the appropriate value in the player(s) they're trading. They should NOT, under any circumstances, be acquiring players unless they're going to be here for several years. What I mean is, there is no need to trade for more veterans just for the locker room presence. I'm all for adding the right guy at the right time, but this entire season is not the time. The Flyers should also do their best to avoid taking on expiring contracts unless they get a nice package of draft picks. It won't be sustainable. Picks are great, especially when they're almost free, but the Flyers need to be wise about what they're bringing in cap wise, especially the term. All it takes is one or two guys to play well enough to earn a big contract, and the Flyers will find themselves in another jam again. Did I just say "jam" talking about the Flyers? Man, I miss Lavi.

Now, let me move on to John Tortorella. This guy should have been coaching the Flyers a decade ago. He is the absolute perfect coach at the absolute worst time. I wouldn't want anybody else behind the bench right now other than John Tortorella. He has a reputation for not playing his younger guys and prefers veterans. So far, I think he's balanced both pretty well. I won't compare myself to him, but I can see similar ways in which we think. He cuts right through the shit. I can understand how some fans, and especially reporters, can come away with a bad taste in their mouth. But that is John Tortorella. He forces his players to play hard. He's turned a team of young guys and random veterans into a team that looks like it can at least keep up with some good NHL teams. That alone speaks volumes to his coaching ability. There are those who will simply just never like him, and that's okay. They'll praise him eventually.

I'd like to go off and talk more about some specific players, but I'll do that in a later piece, should I be granted the pleasure of bringing you my thoughts in some capacity. I wanted to keep this fairly brief and not stray too far off onto multiple different topics, even though this was mainly more of an introduction. I hope to bring you more of my thoughts in future pieces, and I hope at least some of you out there will appreciate my honest thoughts, even if they go against any hope or belief you have in the team. At the end of the day, we can always agree to disagree. I will never call someone a "fake fan" just because they're shitting on their team. People have done that to me for decades now. Everyone has a right to their own opinion, even if it is a shitty one. I'm not, and will never ask you to agree with me. All I ever ask is that you CONSIDER the things I say, instead of immediately going into defense mode or write me off.

Until next time, stay angry Philly!