Why the Flyers won't make the Cup finals (and may not make the playoffs)

A few disclosures up front: I've never been a big Bobby Clarke fan, especially when he GM'ed the Flyers into the ground by packing the team with goons and Tarzans who couldn't really skate or pass. And I was over the moon when the Wings swept the Flyers in the Cup finals in '97. But since I now live 18 miles from Philly, it's hard not to pay attention to the team.

As a whole, the Flyers seem to lack the driving, sweaty passion to win that's necessary to get through the playoff slog. Paul Holmgren did a great job of stocking the team with talent during the off-season and Richards and Briere and Smith and Carter and Biron are playing well. But as skilled as they are, they lack the intangibles necessary to win it all. They don't look motivated. They don't look like they're having fun. They don't play like winning the Stanley Cup is the most important thing in the world. (Look at the tape of Friday's game with the Devils if you think otherwise. Dull and sloppy.)

For that, I fault coach John Stevens. Stevens is a solid hockey coach, and he did a great job with the Phantoms, winnning the Calder Cup in 2005. But there is a difference between the AHL and the NHL and Stevens seems to be bumping up against it. He's also been annoyingly nonchalant about the nasty hits by Downie, Cote, Boulerice, Jones and Hartnell that resulted in suspensions. He seems more aloof than intense and I just don't think he's got what it takes to lead the Flyers to the finals. If the Eastern Conference stays as tight as it is right now, a few teams with solid records aren't going to make the playoffs and I fear the Flyers are going to be one of them.