BobbyClarkeFan16

I'm good with another first. I suspect that'll be what they get for Konecny or Laughton. Someone on another board said that if the Flyers can't get a top 10 pick for Konecny they should walk away. I whole heartedly disagree with that, especially if a blue chip prospect is attached with the first. For instance, the St Louis Blues have entered the Konecny fray and if they offer Scandella, the Toronto 1st and Zach Bolduc, the Flyers need to run with that. Get that pipeline flush with talent.

And just remember. Provorov had all the tools and toolkit. Sanheim had all the tools and toolkit. York had all the tools and toolkit. Ristolainen.....well, he's just a tool.....lol

I'm never a fan of taking a late birth year player so high in the draft. Fact is, they have almost a full year of development ahead of others and they look better than others because of that. On top of it, Reinbacher is good defenseman, but he doesn't look great. His skating is good, not great. His defensive play is good, not great. His physicality is good, not great. His offensive game is good, not great. If you're selecting a player in the top 10, they have to have SOMETHING great about their game. Nothing about Reinbacher shouts great. I want a defenseman that has the capability of singlehandedly taking over a game. Reinbacher simply doesn't do it. Maybe he'll get there some day. But I'm not taking that chance at 7. If the Flyers had a track record of developing defensemen, I'd consider Reinbacher. They don't. The forward depth this year is much more plentiful and it's probably going to be much more likely they hit. As I said in another post, wait until next year. There are a large number of defensemen that will be available. That's the time to draft a defenseman.

I really want no part of Reinbacher. This isn't the year to draft a defenseman. Next year though, is something else. As many as fifteen defensemen could go in the first, nine alone being right handed defensemen. I was also reading that St Louis was getting into the Konecny race. I posted on another board Scandella, the Toronto 1st and Zachary Bolduc would be a package that could get it done (Bolduc reminds me so much of Simon Gagne).

This off-season should be very telling. If Konecny is moved and if Allison is traded, that frees up two spots on the right side. You'd have to think Foerster would be marked for one of those spots, Brink would be the other. As for the AHL club, Avon and Gendron are the real wildcards. It's possible that those two and Lycksell could be put on a line together, which could mean three lefties on the same line. I don't know if Avon plays center at the pro level. He seems really built for the left wing, similar to Laughton (Laughton was a center coming out of junior). I could see Avon really taking off on the wing, especially when you know that his step dad is NHL Hall of Famer Steve Larmer. Of course, all of this is moot when you consider Puck Head is the head coach on Lehigh Valley. It's all check check check and no skill development.

I think there is. Briere tolled his contract. If he wasn't coming over, Briere could have let the contract expire. The fact he didn't is interesting. If Fedotov does come over, it completely changes the goaltending situation. This bears watching.

They were also partners on the Swedish junior team. There's familiarity there. I think they're going to have done real success in the AHL this upcoming season.

His spot on the panel for CTV Sportsnet on draft night should be a riot. I'm getting he gets laughed off the panel.

I'm wondering if they're considering moving Hart because it looks like Fedotov is going to finish up his military duty in July and be released. He was seen this past weekend wearing Flyers orange pads and a jersey. If Briere can convince Fedotov to come over and if they can get Alexei Kolosov over (who the organization is very high on), then moving Hart makes sense, especially with Ersson waiting. I know there were reports that Fedotov was going to stay in Russia, but I think he's on the first flight out as soon as he's released from military duty.

I think letting both go for the extra two contract spaces is suffice.

Better be more than just Philip Broberg. It's starts with Broberg, Bourgault and Edmonton's 1st in 2024.

The thing that worries me with Robertson is that surgically repaired shoulder. Well, that and the Flyers medical staff (it took them how long to diagnose Cam Atkinson's neck injury). But if he gets a clean bill of health, I'd be down with that. I wonder if Briere would also throw in someone like Laczynski or Allison into the trade. Tortorella has stated that this off-season is sitting by subtraction and you have to think that Laczynski and Allison will be on the chopping block. Their value is worthless, other than getting a contract off the books.

That's cool. I can dig that. Was it this draft though that someone offered a late 1st for Laughton? I remember when Schmuck signed Scott to the long term deal that there were first round picks offered and numb nuts decided that it was more important to keep him.

Scott Laughton's roll on the team is the same as Keith Primeau's was to Hitchcock. Laughton's the guy who sets Tortorella's game plan with his teammates and leads on the ice as to what the head coach wants. Now, before anyone says "Primeau was the checking center and played a pivotal role", I'm not talking about the on-ice role. Completely different players in that aspect. But yes, Laughton is important to Tortorella and that's why it's going to take a really good package to move him. Those type of on ice coaches are valued around the league. Personally, I'm onboard with moving Laughton, but let's also not think he doesn't have value here. That's the reality of things. All coached have that 'one' guy.

Of note, the Ottawa Senators are apparently interested in Laughton. If that's the case, they have some good prospects that will fit the rebuild. If the Flyers can pull off something like Grieg and Bernard-Docker for him, that's a win.

Laughton is a Tortorella favourite though and that could be a problem with any team trying to acquire him. His value is worth more to the Flyers than any other club because of how much Tortorella likes him. Some team is going to have to overpay to get him. I'm interested in seeing who makes a bid for Konecny. Apparently Edmonton has reached out about him, but I have to think teams like Carolina, Dallas and Colorado would be in on him. The good news is that there's no rush and Briere is playing a great long game with his remaining assets. He's playing it smart and it's good to see. I trust him with whatever he gets in return.

I've read numerous people rip in the Nick Schultz selection at assistant of player development and I believe that we need to pump the brakes a bit on him. I've worked in numerous places where guys like Nick (who is considered a throw back type of player) can't lead a job or department because of that. These throwbacks end up being great player development guys because they see the game evolve and understand what players need to do to be successful. I think Schultz is a good hire and Briere looks to be surrounding himself with guys who think the game the way he does. They all see skill, speed, tenacity and IQ as a must going forward and they all see that the development path here didn't encourage that. You develop those core four and it's easy to fit any player into a system. It's harder to just preach system over development and systemically wide an individual's skill set. Provorov is a great example of that. Myers was also another. They almost did the same to Frost and would have done the same to Tippett. I like the direction. And McCauley is an analytics guru, so you know that's going to play a big part in how things are going to be done. If the Flyers gave Schmuck years to mess things up, let's see if they give Briere years to fix it. The great thing is that with Jones in place, the senior advisors will no longer have the CEO's ear, so no fear of them interfering with things and no worries about knives in the back of the GM, so to speak. Jones will keep those advisors held at bay.

I have a Flyers cap personalized with Provorov. This franchise ruined him. I liked Ivan, but it was clear he didn't want to be in Philadelphia, especially after the season ending press conference last year. I'm betting the senior advisors are seething over this one. You can bet they wouldn't have approved this deal.

They also get a young defenseman with size, skating ability and history with Andrae in various tournaments. It's too bad that Provorov didn't pan out because he should have been a real good one. But the picks are huge and Sean Walker is the kind of defenseman that can be flipped at the trade deadline. Plus, that 22nd overall selection is HUGE. That's Riley Heidt territory. If the Flyers end up with Benson and Heidt in the first this year, that's a win. This is a real solid trade. Briere did well.

Watch them make the pick and then later in summer, they sign O'Brien to an AHL contract.

I'm with you. Gauthier didn't need to be anywhere near this slop right now. Stay at BC, play with your friends, work out any issues you might have and then look at coming to the club next year. If he goes right now, you know he's going to be stapled to the third and fourth lines to "learn the pro game." He's going to get paid regardless, so enjoy your time before being thrown into the frying pan.

Oh, a big part of Schmuck being here was Bobby Clarke. Clarke started grooming Schmuck back in Florida. I love Bobby Clarke the hockey player. Let me preface that. I love a player who is tenacious at both offense and defense. Clarke was the original two-way center. Clarke the executive is terrible and it brings the worst out in him. Bobby Clarke's fingerprints of ineptitude, inferiority and incompetence are all over the organization.

Mark Hunter is owner and VP of the London Knights of the OHL. When he took over the franchise, they were a mess. Perhaps the worst run franchise in the OHL. Hunter overhauled EVERYTHING and they're now one of, if not, the most successful franchise in the OHL. His scouting, management and coaching staff are probably the best in Canada. Eric Tulsky is the assistant GM in Carolina. Another guy with a great eye for talent and contact negotiations. He also headed up their analytics department and it's one of the best in the NHL. Doesn't have a hockey background either. He has an organic chemistry background.

I think Dave Scott's words were prophetic about this being a multi year rebuild. That's a shot fired at the senior advisors and their 'quick fix' mentality that's lead to this point. I know that Holmgren was always in Scott's ear and Scott talked about how he always seeks Clarke for advice, but I think/hope something clicked. As for replacements, I'd love to see Mark Hunter become the new VP of Hockey Operations, Eric Tulsky become the GM, move Briere to the assistant GM role, Kimmo Timonen to be Director of Player Personnel. I know "there's two former Flyers", but Kimmo has a great mind for the game and having him around might be a god send fire the defensemen struggling in this organization. I'd also like to see an overhaul in Lehigh Valley. Get in a guy that knows about player development. Still looking at Kris Knoblauch, who should have never been fired to begin with. Today is a good day. A small, but huge step. Let's see what the spring and summer brings.

How many times have we seen Flyers players play injured and end up with surgery at the end of the season? We'll hear "well things couldn't get any worse so it was ok for him to continue to play." Remember when Gagne broke his foot in the playoffs and they still played him, even though he had a metal roof sticking out of his foot? Or Danny Markov broke his foot and they just shot him up so he could continue to play? Or how about Couturier and his back and they continued to skate him even though his back wasn't right. Obviously I'm not a medical person, but it's incident after incident after incident with this club with regards to injuries.