BobbyClarkeFan16

It's Clarke number one for me. He was the penultimate Flyer. I'd then rate Parent number two and honestly, I think Giroux is the third best Flyer of all time. I have him ahead of Lindros. I get that Eric was an all world talent, no doubt about it. But all that baggage that came with him was just too much. His mom and dad were a nightmare to the franchise and honestly, when you consider that Eric also burnt bridges in New York and Toronto, well, what more can be said about just how divisive and polarizing he can be. Giroux is none of that. Honestly, he's been the flag bearer for the Flyers and it's absolutely shameful how they continually waste the best from him. Eric had tons of talent around him.

You've answered your own question right there. Help and confidence are not in the Hak manual of coaching......

There was an article not long after Hextall and Murphy were fired that talked about how Provorov, Gostisbehere and Sanheim weren't on the same page as Murphy and there were trust issues. I also think the playoff series against the Pens had a profound effect on him. I think he hasn't forgotten that series and he plays it over and over in his head. Provorov needs a veteran and a coach in the worst kind of way right now. The good news is that Rick Wilson has a history of working with all world defensemen, so it won't be hard to get Provy back on track. I'm not sure what veteran could be had that could help out, although I've always been partial to Duncan Keith. However, the Blackhawks would probably want a ton for him and his contract is a bit worrisome.

In terms of untouchables, there's only a handful that should be untouchables. The list would include: Konecny, Patrick, Lindblom, Provorov, Sanheim, Rubtsov, Hart, Frost, Farabee, Zamula In terms of only being included in a deal if it means the return is a player like a Seth Jones/Ryan Johansen-type: Allison, Ratcliffe, O'Brien, Laczynski, Myers, Friedman, Sandstrom, Cates, Ginning, Kalynuk Draft picks should be off limits.

People are forgetting that there are two big kids coming through the pipe that play that abrasive style that Tkachuk plays. Don't dismiss Wade Allison or Isaac Ratcliffe yet because they aren't here. Allison might be a future 30 goal guy and Ratcliffe is a leadership type that is growing into his 6'6 frame and more importantly, is playing with some serious snarl the past couple of years. The Flyers are going to be OK on this front.

I get it. At the same time, I think the last thing Fletcher is going to do is scorch the earth to find a goaltender. I expect that he's going to rely on his scouts and his personnel people first. I also think Flyers upper management is going to be hands off in terms of letting him find his footing. As mentioned, usually when a GM takes over during the season, the last thing they're doing is blowing everything up or moving the heavens and earths just to establish themselves. I expect that Fletcher will be calculating in his moves and I expect that he's not going to mortgage away the future of this club just to find a goalie. I'm also thinking if Stolarz really gets on a roll (and it's looking like he's getting himself there), then that might cool off the goaltending talks. I know others pointed to Bryzgalov, but that was an Ed Snider ultimatum. Even Snider admitted that and pretty much negotiated that contract. I still think Holmgren was burnt by that and the last thing he's going to do is step on anyone's toes. As long as Fletcher keeps the lines of communication open with Holmgren and Scott, they'll stay off his back.

Personally, the Flyers need to keep away from long term deals right now. I like that Fletcher wants to see if the replacements can come from within the organization first before dealing. As for a trade for Jonathan Quick, I hope Fletcher avoids it like the plague. The injuries, the age, the amount of games played, it's going to catch up and I think we're seeing him on the downside now. I say ride out Stolarz to see what happens. Let Elliott work his way back to health and then re-assess the goaltending at the end of the year. I know the Flyers are expecting more, but the best course of action is to do nothing drastic until the season is over. Go into the off season with a boat load of money (there's going to be some big contracts coming off the books), lots of prospects and picks to work with. There's no need to deal a 20 year old for a 30 year old, but you could certainly deal a 20 year old for a 25/26 year old. More important, I think Fletcher should let teams come to him and not him chase teams. The good news is that it's not going to be an ugly and complicated fix. If Fletcher does the thinkable and fires Hakstol, getting a legit coach and coaching staff will be the biggest boon to this club. On a side note, I love the Rick Wilson hiring. If there's one guy that can straighten out the defense and PK, it's him. Just that move alone should help Provorov and Gostisbehere get back on track and really elevate Sanheim to another level. I'm hoping that he'll be able to work with Myers and Friedman as well.

To me, there were some inconsistencies in his press conference. The only that really stood out was talking about his three phases and phase 3 being go time. If they weren't in go time, then why did he go out and sign JVR to a 5 year/$35 million deal? That's not a move one makes if you don't think you don't have enough to go for it. Ron definitely did a lot of good and that can't be denied. However, he neglected the on ice product. He kept going on about Hakstol and his reputation around the league, but reputation doesn't win games. Being prepared and having everyone on the same page does. Hextall failed there by keeping Hakstol on. We all know about the PK and Hextall keeping Laperriere on. I mean, come on. It was four years of a garbage PK at the time. Any other coach and they get canned. We can talk about the third line center and goaltending. Let's also not forget that Hextall's planned fix for the PK was to sign a guy like Daniel Winnik. I'm still mad that they haven't fired Hakstol yet, but I get it. If you do a full on house cleaning, you have to have all your ducks lined up. The biggest shake up they felt was to fire Ron and then have the new GM re-assess everything and go from there. And no, I don't think Holmgren is going to blow things up right now and give the new GM nothing to work with. I've mentioned it before and I'll mention it again - when new GMs take over, they don't blow everything up right away. They usually assess everything and go from there. I don't expect any of the blue chippers to be moved and I expect that the next GM will clear out deadweight and lame ducks and open up roster spots. That's it.

I don't think Nylander is a need. Honestly, I'd rather they go after someone like Corey Crawford instead. Get a goalie for the next couple of years, allow some time for Hart to be groomed. Crawford also won't cost much either.

I guess I'm not worried about things with regards to Holmgren currently running hockey operations while looking for a GM. As he said, he's not going to do anything to disturb the team and that he's more concerned about finding a GM. Fact is, and I've mentioned this in another post, no GM is going to come in and tear this apart right away. No GM is also going to deal away the team's top prospects. Do I expect second tier and marginal prospects to be moved? Yes, because that always happens due to the max number of contracts a team can have. So, Farabee, Frost, Ratcliffe, Allison, Hart, Myers, Friedman, Sandstrom, Rubtsov are safe. The prospects that will probably be shopped will include: Laberge, Lyksell, Kase, Laczynski, Hogberg. And no, they won't deal guys like Lindblom, Patrick, Konecny, Couturier, Provorov, Sanheim, Gostisbehere. In terms of goaltenders, if you look at the list of goalies available, there's not much out there. I could see a deal for someone like Linus Ullmark from Buffalo or Darcy Kuemper from Arizona and even then, you're probably looking at a mid round pick (4th and beyond) to acquire one of those guys. I guess I'm not buying that they're going to tear everything apart just because Hextall is gone now. If Holmgren did nothing like that when he took over for Clarke, I certainly don't expect him to gut the team now to get a 3C or a goalie or a defenseman. It's going to be status quo until the new GM comes in and gets a chance to evaluate everything. If Homer starts blowing things up now, nobody will want to come here and honestly, everything that I've heard from the press conference, it really seems he doesn't want to be GM again.

What the defense needs is good coaching. Gostisbehere and Gudas have been around for at least five seasons. They're veterans now. The issue with the defense has been coaching. Look at Gord Murphy's track record. In 15 seasons, he's only coached two defenses to top 10 finishes. He should have no business handling the defense. That's why if a coach like Quenneville comes in, you can bet he brings in Mike Kitchen and Mike will get the guys straightened out. I think the defense is probably the easiest part to fix. The hardest is going to be the goaltending. It's also not an issue of waiting for Hart, Voroboyev or Meyers. The issue was that Hextall was into year five of his tenure as GM and the team remained mediocre under his watch. Don't get me wrong, I thought Hextall did a great job in terms of restocking the pipeline and restructuring the organization from a contract standpoint and correcting the cap issues. In terms of the big club, though, his player personnel decisions left something to be desired.

I doubt they're trading for anything major this year. If you look at the history of the Flyers, whenever a new GM has come onboard, they usually take an assessment of what players/prospects/picks are available and they'll build from there. I don't think they acquire a starting goaltender or defenseman this season. I expect that once a new head coach is named, you'll see the fivesome of Provorov, Gostisbehere, Sanheim, Gudas and Hagg all be given big ice time and fill roles that will work for their skill sets. I think the only thing you'll see is maybe MacDonald and/or Folin moved to open a spot for a young guy in Lehigh Valley (Meyers/Friedman). As for goaltending, I think Brian Elliott will be back soon and fact is, his numbers have been decent this year - 2.59 GAA and a .911 save percentage. That's adequate. The good news is that Elliott's injury is only a groin pull, nothing structural like a sports hernia he had last year. He'll be fine. I expect Stolarz to be the back up for the rest of the year. The off-season is when the goaltending will be addressed and I fully expect the Flyers to move on from Stolarz, Elliott, Neuvirth, Lyon and Pickard. I expect that Hart will be the back up and the starter will be someone like a Jimmy Howard. As for the 3C, I think it gets filled internally. I fully expect a new coaching staff to be hired and once the new coaching staff is in place, I expect either Vorobyov to come back up from Lehigh Valley and fill the role. No big moves are being made until the off season. Even then, I certainly don't expect a major overhaul. I expect more tinkering than anything.

Just stop. No GM is going into the Flyers and ripping everything apart. It's just not happening. They're going to get an opportunity to assess what the organization has before making any sort of moves and no, guys like NAK, Rubstov, Allison, Frost, Ratcliffe, Hart, Meyers, etc....are being moved. They also aren't going to move their picks. Hextall had more than his fair share of chances to adequately fill the goaltending spot, 3C and defense and he stayed idle. His inactivity was part of his downfall. The Flyers have an embarrassment of riches in the pipeline to make moves. Nobody is trading a 20 year old for a 30 year old.

It's not going to be a yes man that will do whatever Holmgren tells them. Clarke isn't even involved in processes within the organization anymore. The next GM is going to have to balance between competitiveness and continued stocking of the pipeline. In reality, if you take a look at whenever a new GM has been named in Philadelphia, they've done practically nothing their first year. They've basically taken stock of what they have in terms of prospects and players and then make their changes from there. The new GM won't kill off any depth that has been acquired or built. Will there be moves? Of course there will. Besides firing the coach staff (you know that's coming), you can bet that Simmonds will be one of the guys that will be moved and it won't surprise me if they try packaging MacDonald with a prospect or a mid-round draft pick to get that contract off the roster and free up a few bucks. The only real question I see going forward will be goaltending. However, as much as people point to Holmgren for signing Bryzgalov, it was Snider who directed Holmgren to sign him at pretty much any cost. Holmgren didn't want Bryzgalov and Snider even stated that it was him who went full bore on Bryzgalov. As for Holmgren, he is a figurehead as president. He's got a responsibility not to just the on ice product, but he also has a responsibility to the off-ice/business side of things. When you read that Flyers tickets are selling for cheaper than parking and when the arena isn't full, there's a problem. When you read that fans are getting restless and they want results, there's a problem. In most cases, if you take a look at clubs who are rebuilding/retooling, the turn around time is a lot less than five years (unless it's Edmonton and that's just a complete fustercluck). If you want to pin the Hextall firing on someone, Dave Scott of Comcast might be the best place to start. After all, it wasn't long ago that he was caught having a rather animated conversation with Hextall in the press box about the on ice product and when the Chairman and Chief Executive Operator of the franchise is upset about the product on the ice, you can bet there's thin ice there. My advice is take a deep breath. Things are going to be OK and nothing is going to get blown up by a hand picked yes man.

I expect that whoever the new GM is, they'll want to use a system that both the parent and farm clubs use so that when they recall players, the players will already know what is expected from them. If you watch what Scott Gordon does and what Dave Hakstol does, it's two complete ends of the spectrum with regards to player development and system. I expect that there will be a uniform process throughout the organization going forward.