To say that the Philadelphia Flyers are an intriguing team to watch would be a classic understatement. For fans and media alike, watching the roller coaster ride that is the 2007-08 version of the Flyers these days has been a interesting case study.

You don’t have to be a Flyers fan to enjoy what has gone on in South Philly. From the time last season ended, a season that turned out to be the worst in their history, until today, we see a blueprint for what to do if you want to turn your team around in a hurry and earn respect. However, what the Flyers have done is what not to do in terms of building a team into a Stanley Cup contender.

One major difference last summer as opposed to the previous 19 summers before was the person in charge of redesigning the franchise. Paul Holmgren is that man behind the wheel these days. Former General Manager Bob Clarke, affectionately known in Philly as “Clarkie”, is no longer in charge, but is still a part of the Flyers organization.

Most people will tell you that Holmgren is a disciple of Clarke, and that both have the same philosophy in terms of how to build a team. To put that thought to the test, let’s take a look at some of the moves that have occurred over the past year and try to answer whether Bob Clarke would have done the same.

Would Clarke have traded for Marty Biron? Would he have signed all of those free agents? Would Clarke have drafted James Van Riemsdyk over Kyle Turris?

With all of the praise that has bestowed upon Holmgren these days by the local print media, as well as by the bloggers (anonymous or otherwise) who think “Homer” is the greatest thing since the soft pretzel, lets take a step back and realize some things before we make him a saint.

Holmgren had three advantages over Clarke. First, he had more money to spending than any other team in the NHL heading into free agency. Second, Homer took over a club that was the worst in the organization's history. And last, he had no expectations on his side.

By the way, it is acknowledged here that Clarke had a huge hand in the demise of the Flyers. He was the one that constructed the team poorly coming out of the lockout and the situation just kept getting worse.

Under Clarke, in a league without a salary cap, the Flyers spent more money than most teams in the NHL. Still, he could not push his team over the top by acquiring a key component to winning a championship, most notably a goaltender. Still, year after year, because of the amount of money the Flyers spent on their players, expectations were high every season.

Holmgren took over a team that was at the bottom of the barrel and had no where to go but up. The problem was the Flyers could not turn things around quickly through their own farm system due to the poor drafting over the past decade. Examine each draft since Clarke took over and look at each position currently in the Flyers system. There were just a handful of quality blue chip prospects.

Last summer, with more money to spend in the off-season and with an owner who never prevented his General Manager’s from spending his money, Holmgren had the ability to do whatever was necessary to turn the team around via free agency.

Realistically, it could be said that Clarke would have had the same ability to spend what Holmgren did this past summer. There is a track record to back that up. What we don’t know is whether or not Clarke would have spent it in the same places Holmgren did? Let’s take a look some of the moves Holmgren has made over the past season and see if Clarke would have don’t the same.

The Flyers acquired goaltender Martin Biron from Buffalo for a second-round draft pick. They would have preferred to not give up any of their draft picks, especially for a potential free agent, but Holmgren felt it was worth the risk considering last years draft was not considered good for goalies, and the crop of free agent goaltenders were also in short supply.

Biron has been solid for the Flyers this season. With another year left on his contract, he will be the starting goaltender next season, but after that, it's anyone’s guess.

What would Clarkie have done?

The goaltending position was always an Achilles heal for Clarke over the years. Having tried the free agent route as well as the draft, Clarke tried to make it work, but to no avail. However, it is common knowledge that Biron was on Clarke’s radar screen back in 2001 and 2002.

In fact, a trade offer was made to Buffalo by the Flyers and was reportedly rejected by the Sabres. If that’s true, than the answer is yes, Clarke would have gone after Biron. The gut feeling here, however, is that Clarke would not have spent the second round pick on Biron and would have waited until free agency to obtain him knowing he could outbid anyone else on the market for him.

The Flyers acquired Lasse Kukkonen from Chicago for Kyle Calder. They moved an under-performing former goal scorer for a 25-year-old Finnish defenseman who spent his first full season in the NHL last season after playing six seasons in his home country. Kukkonen also was a former teammate of current Flyers Joni Pitkanen and was brought on board to help him along.

With all of the struggles Pitkanen had last season, having Kukkonen along for the ride didn’t seem to help much. Still, Kukkonen is as solid defensemen, but unfortunately was in head coach John Stevens doghouse this season, and was a healthy scratch on several occasions despite his shot blocking ability.

Calder was a huge disappointment since signing as a free agent, and was one of the many bad decisions by Bob Clarke.

What would Clarkie have done?

While getting rid of Calder was a good thing, Kukkonen’s ability allowed Holmgren to move Pitkanen. Clarke was known for giving up too quickly on good, young talent. The bottom line here is, yes, this is the type of deal that Clarke would have made as well.

The Flyers acquired Braydon Coburn from Atlanta for Alexei Zhitnik. They needed to get younger and faster on their blue line. Zhitnik is a good, consistent defenseman, but the Flyers needed to get his contract off the books. The team saved roughly $2 million, which the Flyers used for their spending spree.

Getting bigger on the blue line might seem like a bad idea at the time given that the Flyers had Derian Hatcher and Mike Rathje on the books, but when you are 6’ 5” and can actually skate, you have to make the move.

What would Clarkie have done?

If the Thrashers were the ones that came to Philly with an offer for Zhitnik, this is a trade Clarke might have done. The Flyers' philosophy for years was to build a blue line full of veteran defensemen. The theory was that vets make less mistakes on the ice then kids under the age of 25. Still, the idea of getting Zhitnik’s money off the books probably would have enticed Clarke to take the deal, especially since Clarke for years loved his players big.

The Flyers acquired Scottie Upshall, defensive prospect Ryan Parent, plus a first and third pick in 2007 for Peter Forsberg. With a team in the midst of the worst season in team history, Holmgren did the wise thing and traded Forsberg, and the daily saga that accompanied him, out the door. Parent has the look of a future top four defenseman, and adding a left-handed shot such as Upshall, who has speed and skill, was alone enough to make the trade worth while.

The Flyers used the first round pick to later obtain the rights to Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timonen in the off-season. A bold move, but one that didn’t make sense for a team that needed to get younger. With the kind of money available to spend on both players, the Flyers most likely would have been able to outbid for both anyway. The truth is, Holmgren wanted to focus all of his attention on Briere a couple of weeks later.

Since the Flyers ended up having the second pick in the draft and used it on a forward, the Flyers should have used Nashville’s first round pick on a defenseman in the draft.

What would Clarkie have done?

Clarke definitely would have traded Forsberg. It is hard to say if he would have gotten the same value back for him, but most likely he would have.

The Flyers signed Briere, Hartnell, and Timonen as free agents. As mentioned before, Holmgren needed to turn his team around in a hurry. He did that by signing all three players. Were all three players worth it? So far you would have to say yes. Briere, despite a mid-season slump, has been one of the best players on the roster. Is he worth the money they spent on him? Probably not, but then again most high priced free agents rarely are.

Hartnell has been solid, and is a prototypical Flyers power forward. He definitely is the kind of player either GM would have gone after. Timonen was high on Holmgren’s shopping list, but would he have been on Clarke’s?

Most likely yes, but with Brian Rafalski on the market and the money to pry him away from an archrival, Clarke might have been too tempted to go after Rafalski rather than Timonen.

What would Clarkie have done?

Clarke is as shrewd as they come, and most likely taught Holmgren the move to trade for unrestricted free agents, like the move Holmgren did with Hartnell and Timonen. It is hard to say if Clarke would have given Nashville’s first round pick back, but if there is a trick in the book, Clarke probably invented it.

The bottom line is, Clarke would have done the same thing.

The Flyers acquired Joffrey Lupol and Jason Smith for Joni Pitkanen, Geoff Sanderson, and a third round pick. With the home fans on Pitkanen, and his skill level going in another direction, this was a move that had to be made. The Flyers are known for taking on other teams former first round picks with that hopes that they somehow have that magic formula to help turn a player around, so getting Lupol in the deal makes sense.

As mentioned before, the Flyers value veteran blueliners, so getting Smith on a team that needed leadership was also a no-brainer for the Flyers.

What would Clarkie have done?

Clarke would have done the deal for all of the aforementioned reasons. It would have been hard for him to have given up on Pitkanen since they drafted him so high, but the deal has all the earmarks of a Bob Clarke trade.

The Flyers drafted James Van Riemsdyk over Kyle Turris. With Patrick Kane being taken first overall by Chicago, the Flyers decided to choose Van Riemsdyk, a left winger, over Turris, who plays center. James Van Riemsdyk is 6’ 3” and 200 pounds.

Van Riemsdyk had 38 goals and 40 assists in 51 games last season playing between the US Under-18 program and in the North American Hockey League. This season he recently finished his freshman season in the NCAA Frozen Four tournament with the University of New Hampshire and was third on his team in points with 11 goals and 23 assists despite playing in the World Junior Championships. In six games, Van Riemsdyk led all scorers with 11 points (5 goals and 6 assists).

Turris also played in the WJC and was tied for fourth overall in scoring with four goals and four assists to help Team Canada win the gold medal. Turris also just finished his freshman season in college hockey playing for the University of Wisconsin where Turris had almost the exact same stats as Van Riemsdyk with 11 goals and 24 assists. Turris is also three inches smaller and 30 pounds lighter than Van Riemsdyk.

Heading into the draft, Turris had the kind of gaudy numbers that pop out of the pages with 66 goals and 55 assists in 53 games last season, and 36 goals and 36 assists two seasons ago playing for Burnaby of the BCHL. The knock on Turris however was the BCHL is not of the same caliber as the three major junior leagues (OHL, WHL, or QMJHL).

Still, Turris was considered by Central Scouting as the top prospect over Kane and Van Riemsdyk. Holmgren decided to take Van Riemsdyk, who in many ways fits the Flyers mold. Of course, the problem is, the mold was created in the 60’s and was formed until the early part of this decade.

The Flyers made no bones in the off-season that they needed a number one center. Could the Flyers have shown some patience and taken Turris over Van Riemsdyk, even it meant waiting one more season for someone who wouldn’t cost $10 million this season? Yes, they could have, but patience isn’t exactly a virtue in Philadelphia.

What would Clarkie have done?

One thing we can honestly say about Bob Clarke over the years is, he never met a center-man he didn’t like, and he never met a player over 6’ 2” he didn’t like either. Knowing his preference for size, you can bet Van Riemsdyk would have been the pick despite Clarke’s love for building a team down the middle of the ice. In fact, Van Riemsdyk was playing some center during the Flyers rookie camps over the summer.

When it comes to Van Riemsdyk and Turris, you can bet your Bob Clarke rookie card he’d have taken Van Riemsdyk over Turris in the draft.

With no disrespect to Paul Holmgren, for all of the mistakes that Clarke made over the years, given the same set of circumstances, it is estimated here that Bob Clarke probably would have done the same kind of trades and free agent signings that Holmgren would have made, had he stayed in charge.

Of course we will never know that answer, but one has to wonder, with all of the praise that Holmgren is getting these days, since he is a disciple of Clarke, and the fact that Clarke is still close to the situation, who is really the one that should be receiving the praise these days?

Would it have been the teacher, or the pupil? You decide.

Brian’s articles can also be found at WWW.INSIDEHOCKEY.COM as well as WWW.PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM.

Brian can be contacted at BRIAN.JENNINGS@PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM or at BJENNINGS@INSIDEHOCKEY.COM.