SW: Is that lack of fight what told you a little more about this team?
PH: No, we went with a change in dynamic, starting in goal. When you allocate the dollars to your goaltender, and you didn't do that before, you've got to change things. We were operating maybe under the Red Wings model before that, by not spending a lot of money on goaltending. Now, we're operating under a new format. We've changed things. We kept our defense intact, which I thought was really important, especially with a lot of young forwards.
SW: On June 23, when you shook up the franchise and traded Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, did you wake up knowing that day what you were going to do?
PH: I was trying to go to sleep that night before, and some things were on the table; I didn't sleep a whole lot that night. They were big decisions for the organization. They were some guys that were both drafted by the Flyers, both developed here, and both gave their heart and soul to the team. That's what makes it hard. I think in the end, we'll see over time how Brayden [Schenn] develops, how Sean [[Couturier]] develops; we'll see how that goes. I think we'll see that they were good trades. But we can't answer that immediately.
SW: When you make decisions like that, do you feel any more pressure on yourself?
PH: I don't look at it like that. I don't feel any more pressure now than I did last year. It's a tough league. It's a competitive league. The ultimate goal of all of the teams is to win the Stanley Cup. The expectations here are always to win the Stanley Cup, and that comes from Mr. Snider. That hasn't changed.
