The fallout on the offensive line continues for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Less than 24 hours after the shocking, sudden retirement announcement by OL Lane Johnson for undisclosed reasons, the Birds dealt struggling center Cam Jurgens to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for a 5th-round pick in 2027 and a second-rounder in 2028.
Also heading down 95 South is a 7th-round choice in '27.
Jurgens had been a Pro Bowl level center for the last two seasons, but was pressed into duty this year at left guard thanks to an injury to usual starter Landon Dickerson. In April of '25, two months after helping the Eagles win their second Super Bowl and fifth championship in franchise history, he was rewarded with a 4-year contract extension.
Per a recent column by Jeff McLane of The Inquirer focusing on Johnson's experience, Jurgens had lost confidence in himself to ably perform at a high level.
However, like Johnson. And Jason Kelce. And Fletcher Cox. And Dickerson -- it appears years of battle caused Jurgens' body to fail him first, before his mind.
Timing of the move is certainly interesting, given Jurgens self-reported concussion symptoms on Monday morning, one day after the Eagles' 24-20 home loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He was in concussion protocol, according to several sources, but no other details were available ahead of the trade announcement.
It appears that Willie Lampkin will be shuttled into the open spot beginning Sunday.
Jurgens, a 27-year-old native of Nebraska who played college ball for the Cornhuskers, was taken in the 2nd round of the 2022 draft and subsequently appeared in 62 games (45 starts) over the last 5 seasons. He leaves a club sputtering at 2-2 heading into a London date with the Jacksonville Jaguars, to a Ravens team sitting at 3-1 heading into a Sunday night tussle in Atlanta.
Staring down the barrel of an 0-2-2 start with no end in sight and their young core failing to recapture the magic which defined last year's stretch run to a playoff berth, Flyers GM Danny Briere made a move on Tuesday.
Unsigned free agent forward Michael Bunting was brought into the fold on a 1-year, $1.2 million contract.
Bunting, who like Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet is a product of Scarborough, Ontario, spent last season split between the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars, collecting 14 goals and 19 assists over 74 games but carrying a minus-24 rating.
The former 4th round draft pick of the Arizona Coyotes has compiled 109 goals and 143 assists across 418 regular season games for the 'Yotes, Maple Leafs, Hurricanes, Penguins, Preds and Stars. Bunting's high water marks in offense came with Toronto in 2021-22 and 2022-23 (23 goals each season) while his career high 103 penalty minutes was also achieved with the Leafs.
Bunting's arrival hints at several issues that need buttoning up in the early going: one, that a veteran forward with some sandpaper is desperately on order after Briere let go of three veterans who populated the 4th line and two, that a proven veteran presence who has played under Tocchet could relay his message to the young core while also providing necessary competition for players who may be too comfortable.
The signing also removes the possibility of dipping into the prospect pool at Allentown, with the Phantoms' season just underway last weekend.
Less than 48 hours after being a late scratch for the Eagles' 24-20 home loss to the Los Angeles Rams, veteran offensive lineman Lane Johnson announced his retirement in a statement issued on his personal X page.
If this abrupt ending holds, the 36-year-old native of Texas -- who the Birds selected fourth overall in the 2013 draft out of little-known Kilgore College in Oklahoma -- rides off into the sunset having participated in 171 games over parts of 14 NFL seasons having won 2 Super Bowls. He also earned 1st Team All-Pro honors twice and was selected to the Pro Bowl on 6 occasions.
Earlier this season, Johnson stated this would be his final pro campaign. In addition, he mentioned his parents' health and the attendant toll it took on his mental preparation as a contributing factor to absences from the team. There is no official word from either the team or Johnson himself whether this played a factor in his decision.
On WIP shortly after the announcement, fellow veteran OL Jordan Mailata said Johnson "was everything you could ask for." when offering advice and guidance for the Australian to acclimatize to the NFL.
"I've never seen anybody work as hard as he worked, even in meetings," Mailata added. "He was researching things all the time (about recovery modes). He never gatekept success, always shared it with the other guys."
It is kind of sad to think Lane was the last of the old guard," he admitted. He was part of the original Core Four. One of the greatest groups of all time to come through a locker room."
It wasn’t even Day One of the new NHL season and I see you’re already aiming to move from the back of the room with all the cool kids to Head of the Class in the Bryce Harper School of Pandering to a Long Suffering Fanbase.
Yeah, I read that whole thing. Cause I’m a crusty old dude who can concentrate for 7 minutes at a clip, rather than zoning out for a 30-minute podcast with pretty pictures.
I love these pieces because it’s as unfiltered a voice from the players themselves as anyone’s gonna get. Just a little polish to smooth out the rough edges. Sticks it to all the award-baiters out there who fancy themselves “story tellers,” because it comes straight from the hearts and minds of the men and women in the arena.
You hit all the major points: hockey mad kid in Ontario. Dad who was a former draftee and never made it. Flyers fan in a region of the province that’s mostly Maple Leafs supporters. Backyard rink. Gassing up the big dogs who came before and carried your hopes and dreams for the Cup. Cute pics with your heroes. Dream fulfillment to wear the sweater for real. First experience with the bloodlust that comes with battling the Penguins.
I get it. You’re a first round draft pick. Big freshman season with Sparty that stopped well short of a natty party. Took the town by storm with a strong stretch run. The hope of nations.
You’re young, dumb and full of … a desire to live up to expectations: your own along with the Flyers’ fans and organization.
The franchise is placing a tremendous amount of faith in ya, bud. First-line winger. First power play unit.
Remember why you’re here with all the distractions that will eventually find your doorstep with that unblemished face. Do I even want to cite that line where Mickey doesn’t consider Rocky a true fighter until he gets his nose busted?
Just steer clear of any deodorant commercials. And cross-checking dudes square in the back when all four pairs of zebra eyes are fixed on a net-mouth scramble. Also, no interviews with cartoon rabbits, ducks, pigs or Martian conquerors. Eyes on the prize.
This city and its starved hockey fans don’t need someone who gives the team's admin star eyes with the fresh drip every home date. Don’t need an aw-shucks type of dude trying to gain crossover appeal in the Phillies broadcast booth with the National Treasure and his Mets-fan side kick.
You wanna be in the driver’s seat? Be more like Max Verstappen than Toonces. Harder than it looks, isn't it. Had your first goal of the season wiped out and the team hasn't won a game yet.
We don’t wanna hide our faces anymore. Done with discussions over whether Kate Smith should be out, loud and proud or stuck in a wooden crate guarded by top men. Just win, baby. We need ya to internalize that mindset with every stride of every skate blade on every fresh slice of ice from this day forward.
Harper’s done more to integrate the Phillie Phanatic into high-end off-the-field couture than he’s done to bring us a championship on it. Seriously, son, don’t start.
Don’t be wearing Gritty socks and Gritty Hawaiian shirts and shooting hoops with the Sixers in Camden or shagging flies across the street with a Gritty headband. No Gritty-themed skates for children’s cancer research.
It’s been done to death.
You know your head coach, “Tocc?” He wasn’t expected to be a savior and that’s not what we want, either. His development into a folk hero was a rare and beautiful thing.
Went from a wild-eyed kid from another borough (Scarborough) who’d do anything to get ice time and do anything to keep it, to a bona-fide threat with his hands on every shift. No Insta posts of the second his fist met some poor unlucky bastard’s face.
You know what this city and its starved hockey fans need more than a wide-eyed kid ready to tell the world how great Philadelphia is? A 30-goal scorer.
Haven’t had one since Travis Konecny scored 33 a whopping 3 whole years ago. Better yet, they need a 40-goal scorer. Haven’t had one of those since Jeff Carter in 2009 and the only guy who’s been close since, was Scott Hartnell (37 in 2011-12). Only Simon Gagne has done it more than once this century, back-to-back seasons (46 in 2005-06, 41 in 2006-07).
Better still, a 50-goal scorer. Rarest of the rare. It’s a Six-Timers Club: Rick MacLeish. Reggie Leach. Bill Barber. Tim Kerr. Mark Recchi. John LeClair. Last time was 1998.
The Flyers haven’t drafted and developed a true sniper … EVER. Only traded and signed for their red-light rockers and in two rare cases, sent them right to the NHL after a brief, scorching period in the minors.
We also need a player who executes his role on the power play immaculately. Last season, Trevor Zegras was the first Flyer to hit double digits in PP goals (10) since James van Riemsdyk (10) in the COVID shortened 2021 season.
So why not shoot for let’s say, 15 goals on the advantage. That hasn’t happened in an uninterrupted season since Brayden Schenn (17) AND Wayne Simmonds (16) did the dirty work 10 years ago.
Although ticket prices in the 21st century suggest a base who’s been successful enough in life to build backyard rinks for their kids in cul-de-sacs that dot the ‘burbs, the spirit of our suffering is more fundamental.
City living. Heavy trouble. The small kids and the smart kids needing to look over their shoulder. Abbotts milk crate for a net. Mylec plastic for a stick. Cars parked on one side of a small street for boards. Scatter when the big kids take over the rink or try to roll with ‘em?
Or if you lived in a neighborhood that believed in public outlets for youth with a lot of energy, a rink with 8-foot-high cyclone fencing, two painted blue lines, one red line and 4 empty 20-gallon drums as goalposts.
Wanna know where you should go?
Scanlon Ice Rink. I and Venango. Recently refurbished in the middle of a once working-class Catholic neighborhood that could use a boost.
Rizzo Rink. Front and Washington. Check out what’s pretty much the last generation of guys and gals who take it upon themselves to play whenever and wherever there’s an open spot. Fishtown Rec. Girard and Montgomery. Burke Playground. 2nd and Jackson. Same deal.
Tocchet talked about "connections" on the power play. This is your shot to connect for real. Not Insta real. Real real. With the kids who look up to you and the adults who need you to produce so they don't submit to public embarrassment when they lose their fantasy league in April.
McDevitt Rec Center. Scotts Lane. Little Falls. I would also have said Houston Playground in Andorra, but,
oops … 3 years too late.
Of course, it’s also gonna be *strongly suggested* you stop by the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation.
You’ve got a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be the kind of player who’ll never need to pay a bar tab or pick up a check for the rest of your life. Time to walk the walk. We’ll be in your corner. Until we’re not.
Forgive me if I didn’t rush outside to see if white smoke poured from the roof vents of the Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees last Wednesday when I dropped in on training camp, but the Philadelphia Flyers have a power play.
Six days ago, Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet definitively stated he selected a crew to man the first power play unit. And its construction is interesting – four forwards and one defenseman: Trevor Zegras. Porter Martone. Matvei Michkov. Tyson Foerster. Jamie Drysdale.
Tomorrow night, when the curtain and the puck drops on the 2026-27 season, they’ll get the first of an indefinite number of chances to fulfill their destiny –- to raise the ailing man advantage out of the dregs of the National Hockey League.
In the midst of an answer which bordered on glazing, Tocchet did manage to keep his feet stuck to the floor, saying there’s some “special gifts that they have” that pushed this five-man band to the head of the line.
“The key is connection,” he explained. “I think ‘Mich’ and Trevor’s connection the last 3 days has fast tracked. And Porter’s got a really good brain when it comes to scoring goals. I hope the connection stays.”
Of course, Tocchet said this when the only video evidence of the new unit and its formation was, at first, an individualized side-session with 3 of the guys alone and then a full-unit try against 4 players providing no pushback.
We can only hope the five neat guys did their summer reading and are ready to put the plan in action. You wouldn’t want to upset the teachers, who worked so hard to prepare themselves.
“I think Yogi did a Hell of a job with Jay of identifying where the goals are scored, how they’re being scored and also the details of (positioning) a flanker, a low player, a bumper,” Tocchet noted.
The instructions weren’t just on the technical side. They apparently asked each player to view, analyze, digest and provide feedback. The better to read and react in real time, as Tocchet asked the guys to consider the following: “Why is Mark Stone so good low? Why is Jack Eichel and those guys good on the half wall?”
Interesting that their pair of sets shown during the first period in a 2-0 win over Boston last Thursday in their first of two home preseason tilts featured both a 3-1-1 formation and a 2-1-2 formation. No goals, but it was clear there’s something different in store:
Then, on Saturday, in a 5-1 loss to the Capitals it was another oh-fer but more good motion and reactions. Process over results for now, I guess.
On Sunday, Tocchet strongly hinted that there are other players “competing” for permanent spots on the power play and lightly hinted that the top 5 may not remain a unit with improved play from others.
Without any other context, I think we can assume that all spots on PP2 are up for grabs to start the year. Alex Bump, he of the shoot-from-anywhere ethos -- of whom Tocchet said, cryptically, is a guy who can't receive and process a whole lot of information at once -- is slated for the second unit as well.
“That can kinda amp a power play into getting better, is when there’s competition,” he added. “Sometimes you give (players a no-fault chance to remain in place), they get comfortable. Yorkie (Cam York) looked pretty good. I think he was one of the better guys moving the puck. He’s in the mix, for sure. And David (Jiricek) and Drysy (Jamie Drysdale).”
You can see York head into uncharted territory just ahead of a power play in Saturday’s game:
Tocchet also emphatically stated the power play, as a function of their whole offensive mindset, needed to generate more open chances and needed to record more shots on goal.
Part of the improved puck motion appeared to be better reactions by the puck handler, distributor and shooters how to move based on the opposition’s penalty kill. Tocchet said it back in May was the most pressing technical need to solve.
“It’s the one thing we gotta stay on top of,” Tocchet offered. “What’s the read? Is it a box, is it a ‘top-down?’ What happens if the flanker or defensive d is too high, what are we looking to do? We have to get better at that because last year, the reads were a little bit off.”
Accountability doesn’t stop there. Tocchet also expects the improved reads to incorporate better hockey IQ. More than that, he wants off-ice confirmation they’re picking up what they see on ice.
In a move that’s only going to further obsess the chronically online armchair warriors, Tocchet also said he’d be “an idiot” to shake things up if things don’t go well over the first batch of games. For that trust, he’s expecting growth and discipline but also basic hustle and desire even if the process fails.
“They gotta get to the 50-yard-line, too. They gotta do the stuff that we’re asking,” he said. “If they’re not chasing down the puck on a retrieval, that’s a whole different story. I don’t think that’s gonna happen, but there has to be accountability on their side.”
Tomorrow night, the Flyers and Penguins – who are simultaneously celebrating their 60th seasons of operation as two of the six franchises included in the league’s initial 1967 expansion – will face each other in a Philly home opener for the 8th time.
A recap of the previous ones:
Oct. 19, 1967 - The very first home game for the expansion Orange and Black saw Bill Sutherland’s third-period marker and 21 saves from Doug Favell stand up in a 1-0 victory.
Oct. 17, 1968 - Brit Selby, a 1966 Calder Trophy winner with Toronto, notched a goal and assist, while Bernie Parent made that margin stand up by halting all 20 pucks he faced in a 3-0 decision.
Oct. 9, 1980 - The defending Campbell Conference champions began their title defense with a 7-4 decision courtesy of 2 goals from rookie Yves Preston, 2 more from Al Hill and 24 saves from Phil Myre.
Oct. 10, 1991 - The defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins topped their hosts, 6-3, on the strength of 2 scores from future ex-Flyers coach Joey Mullen, a goal and two helpers from future ex-Flyers defenseman Paul Coffey and Tom Barrasso’s 18 saves. Brad Jones netted his first goal in his first game with the Flyers.
Oct. 5, 1993 - Buoyed by 8 straight wins to end the previous season, the Flyers squeaked out a 4-3 win after falling behind by 2-0 in the 1st period. Rod Brind’Amour, Eric Lindros and Slava Butsayev scored to erase the deficit, Dmitri Yushkevich provided the winner early in the 3rd.
Jan. 19, 2013 - The NHL returned after a prolonged lockout and the Flyers were a step slow in a 3-1 loss to the Penguins, whose only interesting tidbit happened after the game. A young man on a tour of the ice-level facilities broke from the pack, went up to the podium in front of the assembled media and got about 3 sentences out before security exited him off the premises.
Jan. 13, 2021 - The truncated COVID schedule pitted these rivals together again, with 2-and-3-game series scheduled to cut down on travel. Six different players, including the late, lamented Nolan Patrick, Oskar Lindblom and Kevin Hayes in a 6-3 triumph. Carter Hart added 31 stops on his winning ledger.
