And I’m sure many of you who don’t share my affinity for the Canadian-born sport are yawning and thinking, “Please keep it that way.”


But I can’t help it. I have to vent about what’s happened to my beloved Philadelphia Flyers.


Three seasons ago, the team was one win away from the Stanley Cup finals, losing a hard-fought, seven-game series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the eventual Cup champion.


After years of embarrassing early exits from the playoffs, the perennially underachieving club seemed to be headed in the right direction under coach Ken Hitchcock, who possessed an enviable track record, having led the Dallas Stars to a Stanley Cup title in 1999.


In fact, the Flyers probably would’ve beaten the Lightning, and earned a shot against the Calgary Flames in the finals, if defenseman Eric Desjardins, a team linchpin, wasn’t hurt.


But then, before the 2005-06 season, the National Hockey League instituted a salary cap and new rules designed to open up the game by cracking down on hooking, interference and other penalties.


Skill became paramount, and teams with good goaltending and lots of speed, such as the Buffalo Sables and Carolina Hurricanes, thrived.


The Flyers signed Swedish superstar Peter Forsberg coming into the season, and hopes were high. The club survived an incredible rash of injuries to have a respectable year, which produced bright spots like the emergence of rookies Jeff Carter and R.J. Umberger, who each eclipsed the 20-goal mark. Uber-talented left winger Simon Gagne also produced 47 goals playing on a line with Forsberg.


But the year ended with another first-round playoff defeat, to the younger, quicker Sabres.


Even with that disappointing ending, which was hardly unexpected, I had no inkling the team would regress so badly this season.


At first, I jokingly thought, the problem was simply poor luck resulting from Hitchcock’s decision to shave off his mustache (you know, that whole Samson-and-Delilah thing).


But it stopped being funny awhile ago.


Though the Flyers won two games in a row for the first time this season last week, defeating Anaheim and Los Angeles, after Thursday’s games the team was tied for the second-fewest points in the league, with 12.


They’ve allowed the most goals in the NHL, 75, and their power play has been awful.


Fresh off signing a lucrative long-term contract, Gagne leads the club with a very pedestrian total of 14 points in 19 games, though he has netted 10 goals.


Injuries, again, have played a role, but it’s clear the Flyers are lacking in talent, especially on defense. The retirement of Desjardins left a void, and the choice not to resign blueliner Kim Johnsson, coming off a concussion, seems bone-headed in retrospect.


Hitchcock was fired weeks ago, and general manager Bob Clarke, the architect of the current team, resigned. Their successors, John Stevens and Paul Holmgren, respectively, have a big mess to fix.


It’s so bad that when I recently asked my father if he watched the Flyers game, all he said was, “I don’t want to talk about it.”


In my case, I’ve started looking ahead to the 2007 entry draft. I figure if the Flyers aren’t going to make the playoffs, they might as well finish near the bottom so they can have a shot at the No. 1 draft pick.


Hey, I need to find a silver lining somewhere.


Paula Wolf, a sports enthusiast who uses a wheelchair because of rheumatoid arthritis, is a staff writer for the Sunday News. E-mail her at pwolf@lnpnews.com.