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How does Ed Snider feel about Mike Richards – once dubbed the next Bobby Clarke – and Jeff Carter playing for Lord Stanley’s Cup?

One associated press writer asked him: [Washington Post]

“It doesn’t make it bitter at all,” Flyers founder and owner Ed Snider said by phone from California on Tuesday. “Quite frankly, I think it’s more interesting to watch. I am very fond of Richards and Carter. I’d love to see them succeed. As far as Jersey is concerned, they beat us. If they win, at least we know we lost to the best.” 

“I think we’re better off [following the trades],” Snider said, “but I’m not getting into details.”

I bet, Ed. 

But are… they better off? Maybe. The Flyers have a bunch of young players that were very impressive this season, so it’s hard to argue with the long-term outlook. But, the reality is that Richards and Carter are young too, and had signed up to be Flyers for a long time. Richards has won at every level and helped lead the team to the Finals in 2010. Carter, while we joke about his clutch bone, is a substantial scoring threat, who at the very least garners the attention of defensemen. He hasn’t been great in the playoffs (nine points in 14 games), but the mid-season trade that sent him to the Kings seems to have given his new team just enough of a scoring boost to make the playoffs and win, oh, say, three rounds.

As such, it’s hard to argue with what’s going on in the real world– Richards and Carter and John Stevens and Simon Gagne’s soupy melon and Ron Hextall and Justin Williams and Dean Lombardi, all former members of the organization, are playing for the Stanley Cup. The current Flyers? Hanging out P.J. Whelihan’s: [the picture is unnecessary, but really I was just looking for an excuse to use it]

Richards and Carter, who were quite broken up about the trades last summer, seem to be just fine with things now. Here’s what Richards told reporters at yesterday’s Stanley Cup media day: 

“We were pretty mad. I’m not going to lie,” Richards said at Stanley Cup media day. “It’s something I’ve never had before. I’ve never been traded. Jeff has never been traded. For us to be traded at the same time I think was a lot of venting to each other.”

“Like I said, everything happens for a reason. If that was the path that was intended for us, that’s great.”

Excuse me while I remove this twisted knife…

Anyway, all of the quotes you’ve read thus far in this post have been expected. But here’s one that wasn’t– Snider on the subject of satisfaction, or whatever you want to call it:

“It’s not so great for someone like me, when we work our butt off and we think we’re in a position to win and we don’t,” Snider said. “But at least we’re competitive every year. A lot of teams in the last three years would have liked to have gone to the finals once and the second round twice. I’m not saying we’re satisfied with that, but it’s certainly not failure.”

Some have been known to call that a Gold Standard.

More: Washington Post