A Modest Proposal for the Flyers: Give Lou His Due

Sports teams love celebrating those people who are important to their success, the icons of their franchise who connect with the fans and leave their mark. Usually these are players, but they can also be coaches and managers, team executives, or (most germane to this article) announcers. And we’ve had a very good one in this town for a long time who, as far as I can tell, has not gotten the formal recognition he deserves.

I’m talking about Flyers public address announcer Lou Nolan.

Philadelphia teams are big on history, and we’ve all seen them trot out the usual suspects year after year to remind us of the “glory days”. It’s fun; it’s fine. But it’s legitimately exciting when someone gets a major honor, like Eric Lindros did earlier this year when the Flyers retired his number #88. And the Flyers, maybe more than the rest of the teams in this city or any other, love a pre-game ceremony that will excite the fans and, more importantly, sell some tickets and create buzz.

I’m not saying that bestowing some kind of honor on Lou Nolan would reach “Gritty level” of front page headlines, but it’s simply overdue for a fellow that has been the Flyers’ PA man since 1972. Lou has been part of our sports soundtrack for just as long as Phillies’ announcer Dan Baker. He pre-dates Merrill Reese. And he started just one year after Harry Kalas. He’s been with the Flyers’ franchise for over 90% of their existence, handling the mic for all eight of the team’s Stanley Cup Final appearances. It has to be an oversight that his name isn’t up in the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center yet.

Now, how to proceed? The Flyers do have their own Hall of Fame, and Lou is a no-doubter for that club as far as I’m concerned. The best comparison here is the great Gene Hart. He was inducted into it in 1992 while he was still broadcasting for the team and was at the 25-year mark. And I do realize that the radio/TV play-by-play that Gene Hart did so well is not the same thing as public address, but maybe that could also work in Lou’s favor.

As the voice who informs the fans who are attending the game, his words have the power to excite or infuriate, depending on the news he has to deliver. And he has always done it in the best possible way. When giving “bad news” like an opposing team’s goal, Lou is straightforward and professional, deadpan but clear. Many other PA announcers around the league do it very hurriedly, and some even intentionally mumble in a way that enrages me personally because it is their job to properly announce the goings-on of the game, whether good or bad when viewed from the perspective of the home team. Announcers like this either don’t have any pride in their work or they think that their schtick is bigger than the game. Washington Capitals PA announcer Wes Johnson is particularly terrible in this regard.

On the other side of the ledger, while Lou does get excited over Flyers goals and the like, I have always found it to be at an appropriate level. He does not stretch out players’ names to 18 syllables like some around the league do. So, while it is obvious that Lou is an ardent supporter of the home team, one can plainly see that he is also a professional who can be objective. As someone who has always been enamored with the field of sports announcing, I find his tone and inflection to be close to ideal.

Returning to the matter at hand, hopefully the Flyers will soon come to their senses and induct Lou into their Hall of Fame. It would be great for him to get a “night off” from his normal emcee duties and let Jim Jackson or someone handle a ceremony where Lou gets to enjoy and finally reflect on his legacy. 

But while the Flyers Hall of Fame would indeed be a suitable honor for Louis James Nolan, I have my sights set higher. Give the man his own banner. Slap his name and a microphone on a big orange tapestry and hoist it up. There is precedent.

Dave Zinkoff was the 76ers’ public address announcer for 22 seasons, and he filled that same role for 16 years with the Warriors before that. In 1986, three months after he passed away, the Sixers “retired” his microphone with a banner at the Spectrum. Zinkoff was a Philly icon, and the honor was surely a deserved one. It was just a shame it came posthumously. Lou has been a part of the sports landscape for even longer than Zinkoff was. Not to be too morbid, but he is 72 years old. Let’s get this thing done.

With hockey season just underway, there is still plenty of time to make a plan in the coming months to honor the man who has spoken to the fans at every Flyers game for over four decades. The man who justifiably yelled at said fans when they were acting stupid and throwing bracelets on the ice a few seasons ago in the playoffs and then uttered the most disgusted “way to go” when a delay of game penalty was issued. Lou had earned the right to do that.

I got to interact with Lou a little bit when I worked as a freelancer at the Whatever-It-Was-Called-Then Center about a decade ago. It was easy to see that he was well-liked by those in his orbit. Couple this with the excellent work he has done for so long, and the Flyers should do their best to put him in a place of honor in the very near future. 

So, let’s make it happen. I’ll take full credit when they decide to do it.

Published October 1, 2018

As we enter year 4 of Dave Hakstol’s tenure as head coach, is this season make or break for him?

Kevin Lagowski: In a word, yes. This guy got the team to the playoffs in his first season when expectations weren’t very high. But he and the team have failed to build on things since then. Last year’s 10-game losing streak had most people calling for him to be fired, but Ron Hextall gave him a big vote of confidence. This year, with that “young core” we’ve been hearing about for years basically all with the big club, there are no excuses. Missing the playoffs would be unacceptable, and he really needs to actually win a round. Even if not, Hextall will probably keep him around, but his seat would be red-hot to start the following year. If strides aren’t made, it’s time to call his four-year tenure a failure and move on. I think all Flyers fans are getting tired of seeing our division rivals win Stanley Cups while we either miss the playoffs or go out meekly in the first round. Hextall can’t possibly stand by this guy if the same thing happens again.

Matt Juliano: If Hakstol cannot get the Flyers past the first round of the playoffs, this will be his long overdue swan song. Coming to the NHL from North Dakota State, his college resume includes ZERO NCAA championships, even though both coaches before and after him did. The Flyers are too sporadic in their play to make me feel confident that Hakstol can suddenly morph into a Staley Cup caliber coach. He is about to enter his fourth year and he consistently makes costly decisions, such as last season’s bizarre loss to the Predators in Nashville (losing a challenge on an offside call, which led to a penalty, with them losing on the ensuing power play). Often he looks overmatched by more seasoned coaches, failing to make the necessary in-game adjustments. What really drives me to the whiskey bottle is his choice of coaching staff, specifically Ian Laperriere. How is he still an assistant coach that is responsible for their penalty killing? The Flyers have consistently ranked in the bottom third of the league the past four years, yet he keeps his job after the team banished Joe Mullen when the Flyers were a top power play unit! Hakstol is by no means a bad coach, but he will not be the one who delivers the long awaited third Stanley Cup to Philadelphia.

Do you believe that James van Riemsdyk will be over or under his 2017-18 totals?

MJ: He will be under. I wasn’t a fan of his signing in the summer and I’m not a fan of it now. The Flyers overpaid for a player who averages 53 points per season and does not offer a significant upgrade. His numbers are almost identical to Wayne Simmonds; they are just more expensive now given the ridiculous $7 million contract that he was handed. Here’s proof: if JVR were to reach 53 points, that equates to $132,075.47 per point. If Simmonds reached 53 points, that would only cost $75,094.34 per point. This is a waste of money and poor judgement from Hextall…but I digress. I have van Riemsdyk slotted for 2nd line duties along with Jakub Voracek and Nolan Patrick. This trio will give the Flyers an NHL caliber 2nd line, but I don’t believe in JVR eclipsing 54 points. The only possible scenario where I can see him beating last year’s output is with power play points since he makes his living around the front of the net. Still, this is a best-case scenario, one I highly doubt will happen.

KL: Hey, Hextall was just paying the going rate, with hockey circles largely agreeing that the JVR contract was a reasonable one. And we don’t all have to be on the same page for every move, but this team needed an impact free agent signing; it had been eons. Short of John Tavares, who I am still annoyed that the Flyers weren’t even in the running for, JVR was the most polished forward available this past offseason. Last year, he tallied 36 goals, a career high. I expect him to pot 30 again this year, but fall short of that mark. As for the 54 points, he will pass that. His numbers actually took a bit of a hit last year because Toronto coach Mike Babcock inexplicably shorted him on ice time for long stretches of the season. His season average ended up being 14:54 per game, the lowest since his second year in the league. He’ll get 2-4 minutes per game to do damage this season. I expect a final line of about 31G-28A-59P, and I think I’m being a bit conservative.

Which rookie(s) will have the biggest impact this season?

KL: I know we all want to yell “Carter Hart”, but the Flyers are hoping against hope that the goaltending isn’t so bad or injury-riddled that they need to rely on him this season. Instead, look for Mikhail Vorobyev to play regular minutes, perhaps even as the team’s third-line center. He isn’t going to set the world on fire offensively, but if he can eat up minutes and provides a reasonable amount of offense, why wouldn’t you play him over stiffs like Jori Lehtera? Also, Oskar Lindblom just barely missed qualifying as a rookie last year, falling two games short of the 25-game threshold. You can bank on him being the Flyers’ leading “rookie scorer” since he retained that status. The other name to watch is Philippe Myers. Big-bodied, right-handed shooting defensemen can be worth their weight in gold in this league, and so Myers should get every opportunity to establish himself as an NHL regular after making big strides the last couple years. He won’t be up with the big club as a seventh defenseman spending most nights in the press box. If he’s up, he’s going to play. When the inevitable multi-week injury strikes one of the defensemen, I think that Myers will take full advantage of his opportunity to seal his place with the Flyers.

MJ: Kevin, I’m going to go right ahead, grab my megaphone, head to the top of the Wells Fargo Center and scream two words: Carter Hart. He’s been impressive during the pre-season and has outplayed every other Flyers goaltender on the roster by a large margin. Although Elliott looked much improved at Boston on Saturday, that’s too little too late. Hart has the skills along with the mental fortitude needed to be thrust into the spotlight. Just look at what the Canadians did with Carey Price back in 2007.  He played in 10 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs before making the jump to the NHL, posting 24 wins to go along with a .920 save percentage and 2.56 goals against. Keep in mind that Hart is a 2-time CHL player of the year and his stats were all substantially better then Price’s. Given that he expects to be the Flyers’ starter this season gives you an idea of this kid’s determination. If, for some ludicrous reason Hextall keeps Hart in the minors all season, then I would look out for Oskar Lindblom. The big Swede’s skating, which was his biggest flaw, looks much improved. I envision him on a line with Raffl and Vorobyev, who perfectly complement his playing style. The problem for the Flyers is they have a logjam of forwards right now and I doubt Wayne Simmonds gets regulated to the fourth line. Lindblom could find himself back in the minors until the Flyers can find a trade partner for Simmonds. 

With Wayne Simmonds entering the final year of his contract and Oskar Lindblom pushing for a top 6 role, should the Flyers trade Simmonds or retain him and risk losing him for nothing?

MJ: As unpopular as this decision is going to be, I believe it is time to move on for both parties. For the Flyers, they are stocked on power forwards for the next couple of years with the returning JVR and promising Lindblom. Simmonds would be a 3rd line winger, which is a line often used to match up against an opponent’s top line. This is not an effective use of his talents. From Simmonds’ perspective, he wants to prove that he is still an All-Star caliber player after an injury-plagued season saw him post his lowest totals with the Flyers. In a contract season, being relegated to a shutdown winger role is not doing him any favors. He is a minus 58 in 522 career games with the Flyers. Considering the young offensive talent currently on the roster and in development, Simmonds has become obsolete. They have too many players that will be off their rookie deals soon (Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim and Ivan Provorov come to mind) and will need new contracts. Showcase him during the first half of the season and, barring an injury, move him to a Western Conference team later in the season.

KL: I like the part you added about “barring injury”, because we all know that’s exactly what’s going to happen. If it’s to Simmonds himself, obviously he’s untradeable. But you’re really going to need him when one of the top-line forwards inevitably goes down for a while. Having Simmonds around really helps the Flyers’ forward depth, although I am a bit concerned about the line matchups, as you point out. So I say to stick with him this season, because I don’t know that any return for him would justify moving a player who is still productive when healthy, not to mention popular (not that Hextall should care that much about that). I mean, if the Flyers are 15 points out of a playoff spot as the deadline nears, you trade him. (And fire Hakstol). But I would not strip him away from this team if it looks to be gearing up for the postseason. After this year, all bets are off. I love the guy and all that he’s poured into this team, but I think it’s time to move on. Let someone else overpay for a guy with a lot of miles on him.

We'll be back on Wednesday with part 2 of this stirring debate.