Fool me once, shame on me -- fool me twice, shame on you

Tim Panaccio writes a mostly critical article on the recent trading of Justin Williams by the Flyers to the Carolina Hurricanes in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer. Williams' confidence, like his goal scoring, may have slipped, but when you consider that Clarke has repeatedly stated that Williams and Simon Gagne were the organization's cornerstones at forward, this deal is difficult to swallow. . . . . . there remains a nagging suspicion that the Flyers again gave up too quickly on a cocky kid who had more heart and grit than some others in the organization. Panaccio goes on to point out that the Flyers have -- within the past few years -- traded away several of their prospects and younger players for more immediate help, with little or no impact on the club’s fortunes. Slowly but surely the media here in Philadelphia have come around to the idea that GM Bobby Clarke is no longer the correct man for the job. I have been saying this for better than ten years now, stretching back to Clarke’s first stint as general manager of the club. There is a popular belief around town that Clarke means more to owner Ed Snider than Snider’s own son, Jay, does. After all, Clarke was the captain of the two teams that won the Stanley Cup for Snider, while Jay ran the team into the ground -- causing the Flyers to miss the playoffs for five straight years in the late 80’s and early 90’s before Clarke was brought back in to right the ship. Clarke’s second tenure as GM has produced little in the way of lasting memories -- one trip to the Finals which was an embarrassing four game sweep at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings, capped by the Flyers own coach saying the team was choking, and the Eric Lindros fiasco, where -- depending upon whom you believe -- Lindros may have almost died as the direct result of Clarke trying to impose his will upon Lindros. Anyway, all of this is supposed to convince you that Clarke must go. But you shouldn’t listen to just me about this. Take a look here, too. (I highly recommend you turn on your speakers when you click on the link.)