Gagne is much like former maligned Philadelphia star

In watching this entire debacle that is the 2006-2007 Philadelphia Flyers season, there have been a few thoughts that have come to me. No thought is more prevalent than this one, though. Through these first 15 games, something has become blatanly obvious. As Simon Gagne scored with 2:14 to play in the third period a goal that was essentially meaningless, it became even more obvious. Over these years, Simon Gagne has been brought up in the Flyers organization as the team's bright young star. Yet it is clear that Gagne is almost like, the, yes... Bobby Abreu of this Flyers team.

Now it is of course clear that Abreu and Gagne play two different sports. It's also clear that hockey is much more of a team game than baseball, which relies on individual performance more than anything else. The differences though can be stopped there. Gagne is much like Abreu in the fact that he is a fantastic talent. In fact, it can be said that Abreu was one of the best players the Phillies ever had. Gagne's career is shaping up to be much like that, but both players have faced harsh criticisms from their respective fanbases.

The past tense cannot be used on Gagne's career, but it surely can on Abreu's. Abreu was a superb player, but always seemed to draw ire from fans because of one thing: lack of mental toughness to play in Philadelphia. It really seems that Gagne may be suffering from this as well. What both players have in common is that they both put up huge numbers but never come up with the clutch plays. Every once in a while, a blind squirrel can find a nut. Yes, Simon Gagne did score the game winning goal in overtime of Game 6 vs. Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference Finals two years ago, and yes, Bobby Abreu has hit himself some walkoff homeruns. What makes both men so similar though is the fact that they cannot seem to come up in the clutch consistently.

Another similar trait that the two share is the fact that they have both refused to take on a leadership role when it was clearly there for them. Last season, when it was determined that Keith Primeau would be out for an extended period of time, the Flyers offered the captainship first to Gagne. He declined. Abreu had been with the Phillies since 1997, when they traded for him and sent shortstop Kevin Stocker to Tampa Bay. Certainly has been a long time if I'd say so myself. In his nine years here, what Abreu also failed to do was lead this Phillies squad. Most recently, the embattled Abreu had the team leadership stolen from him by Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Abreu should have been the consumate veteran in this time. He should have stepped up and torn into the team when they weren't playing well, and praised them when they were. In these tough times for the Flyers, this is what Simon Gagne needs to do. Because, honestly, this team cannot afford to lose to the Islanders, which is what transpired last night at the Wachovia Center. With the Sabres coming in tomorrow, it will only get worse. Someone needs to stop the insanity that is the Flyers' futility now. Paging Mr. Gagne...