PHILADELPHIA _ In his 13-plus months on the job, Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher still has not made the signature trade that his bosses seemed to want his predecessor, Ron Hextall, to make. And since he's now up against the salary cap, it will be even more difficult to pull the trigger on that type of deal.
But make no mistake: Fletcher has dramatically changed the Flyers and made them better by adding Matt Niskanen (trade with Capitals) and signing prospective free agent Kevin Hayes.
The best move he has made, however, was signing a guy who about now is sitting in his pontoon boat in South Florida, presumably sipping a martini and forgetting about hockey for a few days.
Alain Vigneault, the Flyers' new coach, deserves some R&R after directing his team to a 27-17-6 record at the All-Star break, including recent wins over NHL heavyweights Washington, Boston, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh. They have 60 points, one point out of a playoff spot in the ultracompetitive Eastern Conference.
The Flyers have 12 more points than at a corresponding time last season. They are on pace for 98 points, 16 more than they collected a year ago.
Under Vigneault, the Flyers are better in virtually every area.
