BobbyClarkeFan16

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm quite content with this club sitting at 17. There's going to be a very good player available. Every year, there's always a player that drops and there's always a player that rises. My biggest concern is this club trying to make a big splash because the draft is in Philadelphia, but I'm also feeling comfortable in that Hextall has turned down media requests so that he can focus on the draft I really think the biggest moves we see from this club are sending Vinny Lecavalier and Nicklas Grossmann packing.

I'd never say that there isn't a team that would offer sheet him, but the chances of it happening are very unlikely. The only way some team would offer sheet him would be to handcuff the Flyers financially. Even then, if they signed Schenn to a contract between 3.4 and 5.1 million a year, the Flyers get a 1st and a 3rd for it. Agreed though. Power is definitely on the team's side and that he'll get a reasonable offer from Hextall. On a completely different note, I was on Cap Geek this morning and saw that the Flyers only have 6.8 million in cap space. I hope Grossmann and Lecavalier really see that the writing is on the wall for them and that they give Hextall a list of places they'd go to.

I think there'll be heat on Schenn to re-sign at a value similar to Couturier's. He'll probably get a wee bit more simply because of offensive numbers (argue all you want, Schenn was a 20 goal scorer this past year and that means something), but it won't be nearly double of what Couturier is getting (maybe 250 to 300K more). Fact is, Schenn said he wants to be in Philadelphia and that a deal will probably be worked out that will be reasonable and fair for both sides.

@jammer2 and @OccamsRazor, Hextall has already said his first order of business is to improve the pipeline of prospects and development system. He said that he won't gut the big club that Paul put together because he said he likes a lot of the pieces that Holmgren has put in place. His big thing is that he wants to fix the farm system because he sees that's where the biggest issue is. So, I'm expecting that Leier, Laughton, Stolarz, Hagg, Gostisbehere and even Morin (when eligible) are all going to spend time LeHigh Valley before even seeing the Flyers. The only people I expect to see on the big club this year will be Akeson and Alt. I'm not expecting Manning or Lauridsen either as I think they're nothing more than AHL fodder. I get the impression that Hextall is going to have complete autonomy when it comes to replenishing the farm system and building the big club, so I expect very little interference and influence from Snider and company, especially when you consider that Hextall and Lombardi basically rebuilt the Kings into perennial Stanley Cup contenders and winners in 2011 - 2012. I'm just wondering who Ron is going to jettison from the big club.

Hmmmm, Demko and Stolarz in the future to battle it out. Interesting. I'll be honest though. I'm not sure if it's something that I do. Part of the issue is that goaltender values are weak when compared to other positions. You can build a trade package around an elite forward and defense prospect, but you can't build it out of a goaltending prospect because nobody knows how said goaltender is going to project. With that being said, if Demko is available when the Flyers choose in the second, I'd hope they'd be all over him.

@jammer2 Thanks. I'm originally from the Ottawa area and used to see all the 67's games, so I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for the 67's. Yes, I'm in London and yep, I watch an awful lot of Knights games because the company I work for has season's tickets in the box suite. I've got nothing but good things to say about the Knights franchise because they've managed to remain competitive year in and year out, but this upcoming fall will probably be the year that they tank. They're going to lose an awful lot of players this year and they've consistently made big move after big move after big move and they've gutted quite a bit of their depth.

Meh, I'm so so on Goldobin. I've seen enough of him from going to games in London and Sarnia that I can honestly say that there's just something off with him. Million dollar talent, but the work ethic on the defensive side and physical part of the game is definitely lacking and there's been talk that if he gets drafted and gets returned to the OHL, he's bolting for the KHL and Metallurg, who drafted him 8th over in the KHL draft back in 2012. I know he wouldn't be cracking the main roster until he's 21 or 22, so playing in the KHL might no tbe a bad thing, but the Flyers have not had good luck with prospects from Russia. I'm still hoping that if they draft a forward, it's Robby Fabbri from Guelph. If they draft a defenseman, Roland McKeown is the guy I hope they look at.

I prefer the nickname Honka Honka Burnin' Love instead.....lol

Agreed. He won't be around in the 2nd, but he is definitely no longer a lock to be top 10. Too many teams are going to be worried about his shoulder, especially with the game Virtanen plays. I don't think it's unreasonable at all to see him drop to where the Flyers might be able to get him. Look at a guy like Mikhail Grigorenko. He was expected to be the 2nd or 3rd player drafted behind Yakupov and he had quite the fall - and he was healthy on top of it.

I said no. A couple of things: 1) This was Johnson's first year in the NHL and he was also in the last year of his contact, so Tampa Bay was going to have to cough up and pay him the bucks. Seconds, while Schenn had shown progress, he's been slow to progress as far as some of his peers have. His defensive game is still problematic and his scoring is still far too streaky. He needs to develop consistency in all facets of his game. With that being said, let's see what happens to Johnson in his second year. I silk think that was too big of a contract for Tampa Bay to sign him too.

I should also throw this out there. Jake Virtanen, one of the top rated wingers in this draft, just had major shoulder surgery and is out for 4 to 6 months. I think we've found our first player who is probably going to fall in the draft this year.

....and that doesn't even include Morin, who is looking more and more like he might just reach his ceiling and possibly become a Chara type defender. At first, I was hesitant about the Morin pick because I really liked Josh Morrissey, but Morin has really grown on me and I think once he fills out and he's in the 230 - 240 pound range, he's going to be an absolute monster on the back end. He's also going to get a ton of power play time in Rimouski this year and that's only going to benefit his overall game. People are just going to need to be patient with the club and that patience will be rewarded.

I really hope Schenn isn't moved. I think he's just scratching the surface of his potential and that this should be the year he really breaks out. He's been screwed over in terms of his development by the team consistently flipping him between center and wing, so I'm hoping that with Hextall on board, they leave Schenn in the center spot now and just let him play. No more moving him around to accommodate expired flavours. I know I'm aiming high here, but with Simmonds on one side and Hartnell on the other, I think it's very possible that you could see a 70+ point season out of Schenn. Some say he's not smart enough, but the puck seems to follow him around and he's got a knack for scoring in bunches.

Thanks Occams. I'm having a great time here so far. Lots of good people and lots of knowledgeable people, which makes for great discussion.

@RonJeremy - The cost for an unknown like Ekblad isn't worth the Schenn brothers and a 1st. On top of it, if the Flyers do the expected and move Lecavalier, that leaves Brayden in his role as a center and not having to move around to accommodate whatever expired flavour the Flyers might be bringing in. He's a center and that's where he's most effective. I also feel good about prospects like Alt, Hagg, Gostisbehere and Morin all possibly vying for a spot on the big club. If a guy like Alt gets 19 to 20 minutes a night, that's a win. He's done his time in Adirondack and looked very good under the watch of Terry Murray. I really think Alt is ready and he should be able to step in with no problems next season. Does it make him a top pairing guy? No, but if he gives a solid 17 to 19 minutes a night, then that's fantastic for a first year player in the NHL. @OccamsRazor - McKeown would be a fantastic addition to the blue line prospects. Add him to the current group of Alt, Hagg, Gostisbehere and Morin and that's quite a good collection of young defenders. As for Travis Sanheim, his offensive game grew last year and now that Calgary has three defensemen that will be gone due to overaging, Sanheim is going to get top pairing and top power play ice time. It's possible that he can score 10 goals and add 55 to 60 assists in that role. He's got one heck of a shot from the point and he's got good soft hands to distribute passes. I did find some scouting reports on Sanheim and some of the scouting reports liken him to Sam Morin in that he's got exceptional ability, but he's raw. McKeown is a more polished prospect at this point, but the upside of Sanheim could be huge. I'm still hoping for a forward though and that Fabbri is the guy they go with. With four solid defenders in the pipeline right now, the club really needs a legitimate left wing prospect. I doubt they'll draft one of the Russian prospects (if they did, Scherbak from Saskatoon is a heck of a player), so it's pretty much Fabbri or bust as far as I'm concerned. Although, with the draft being in Philadelphia, I'm wondering if there'll be pressure on Hextall to make a big splash to acquire a big name and if the first will be used as bait.

Yeah, I'd trade Vinny. I mentioned in the Vinny thread that I'd consider Ryan Ellis or the rights to Michael Del Zotto for him or if it's with St. Louis, maybe a guy like Ian Cole. Just get that horrible contract off the books and into someone else's hands.....

You know, I'm not really sold on Ekblad. His performance at the WJC was kind of mediocre and while it's not the be all and end all for players, it's certainly brought up some red flags. As for Morin, Gostisbehere and Hagg, one of those three have the potential to be a very good top pairing guy. People also forget that with a guy like Morin, he's still about 25 to 30 points under weight for his size and that once he adds the weight and muscle to his frame, he's going to be a legitimate monster to play against. As well, this was the first time in Morin's junior career that he got to play a bit of offense and he looked good on the point in Rimouski. I hope they send him back and let him dominate as a 19 year old before calling him up. As for this year's draft, as much as I like Honka (and he's a good free wheeling defenseman with incredible hockey IQ), Roland McKeown in Kingston would be the guy I'd target if they draft a defenseman. His coach and GM (who both have played with against Scott Niedermeyer) called him a Scott Niedermeyer clone in how he plays the game. He can skate, play physical, is smart defensively and has developed his offensive game. Another guy to watch is Travis Sanheim from Calgary. He's really climbing up the charts in most scouts eyes and he had a fantastic U18 tournament (a tournament the Flyers scout and invest in very seriously).

Jokinen would be a great fit on the Couturier - Read line. With that being said, he's going to look for a pay day and I doubt he signs for anything less than 4. If he could come in somewhere between 3 and 3.5, then it would be a good fit. You could bump Raffl to the 4th line with Laughton and Hall, move Hartnell to the second with Schenn and Simmonds and then put a guy like Akeson with Giroux and Voracek (yes, I'm a big Akeson fan and they need to make a spot on the roster for him - he earned it with his play in the playoffs).

Thank you. Looking forward to being a part of this community.

Holmgren's best move: Reshaping the Flyers franchise dramatically with two trades - Mike Richards to Los Angeles for Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds and a 2nd round pick; Jeff Carter to Columbus for Jakub Voracek, a 1st round pick who turned out to Sean Couturier and a 3rd round pick that turned out to be prospect Nick Cousins. Holmgren's worst move: Flapping his yap about potentially signing Matt Carle to a team friendly deal, watching Carle sign with Tampa Bay and then go into panic mode by overbidding on Ryan Suter and then signing Shea Weber to that big offer sheet that Nashville said they were going to match. Holmgren had no plan that summer and it was painful to watch him navigate that summer the way he did. Hextall's first order of business: Finding a legitimate top pairing defenseman for the club; Shoring up the back up goaltending.

Oh, I get what you're saying with regards to Andrew MacDonald and his cost. At the same time, MacDonald is going to turn 29 and several teams were prepared to bid on him in the off season. He was going to get a big deal no matter what. Did the Flyers overpay? Yep, but such is the price, especially when the position that MacDonald plays is a premium on the open market. As for Kimmo, you answered your question. He's 39. He's not getting anywhere close to 4 or 5 million bucks a year from any team. At this time, the salary cap is actually starting to do it's job and we're going to start seeing trends in which older players are going to get deals that are worth less than anticipated. I think Kimmo falls into that category. As well, he's not the heavy minute logging defenseman anymore that he used to be. He's a 17 to 19 minute a night guy now where he's going to see most of his time on the Power Play. I expect that he'll start seeing less time at even strength and penalty killing to keep him in one piece for when the playoffs start. I think Kimmo knows that he's not going to get a big contract from the Flyers and I don't think other teams will line up to pay him a boat load either. Now, I love Kimmo and I really think he's been the best defenseman this club has seen since Eric Desjardins (who was probably the second best defenseman in franchise history behind Mark Howe). However, Kimmo has definitely slowed down in age and while he's a great warrior on the ice, he's not the same player he was five years ago and his decline really became noticeable this year. That's why I'm pretty confident he's going to re-sign for one more year for a lot less than what people are anticipating.

Well, if a trade with Nashville goes down, I'd like to see a guy like Ryan Ellis or the rights to Michael Del Zotto come back in return for Vinny. Yes, I'm quite aware of the defensive issues both possess, but at the same time, there's a high level of skill from both guys that if they're partnered with a good defender and if given the opportunity to work with John Paddock (who has been quite adept at developing defensemen throughout his coaching career), either guy can probably get back on track. What I like about Ellis or Del Zotto, besides their untapped offensive games, is that both guys are very smart hockey wise players who just aren't grasping the defensive side of the game (although Ellis did start to show something in the 2nd half of last season). So yeah, put either of them on a pairing with Luke Schenn (who looks like an all world defender when partnered with more mobile defenders who are more adept at puck carrying and offensive play) and you've got something. As for St.Louis, I think the only player you're getting in return for Vinny is a guy like Ian Cole or Jordan Leopold. I can't see the Blues giving up much more than that.

Keith Primeau was nothing but a locker room rat. When Mark Recchi and that loser Brian Boucher went public with their comments about Barber, Primeau did the most uncaptain like thing and threw his coach under a bus. Rather than do the right thing and say that there are things in the locker room that should remain in the locker room, he ended up blasting Barber in public (let's not forgot that it wasn't even a year when Barber lost his wife to lung cancer). Then, when Hitchcock came onboard, Primeau became a locker room rat for Hitch and would often go to Hitch and tell him about how some of the young guys were complaining and Hitch would drive the young players even harder. Primeau wasn't a leader at all and I wouldn't want that piece of human garbage anywhere near this club. Look at his career and Primeau has only been about one person - himself.

If Kimmo gives the Flyers a discount (2 to 2.5 million a year), why not use him on the third pairing with Schenn and then sign a guy like Nikitin to play with Coburn? A second pairing of MacDonald and Streit can be left in tact.

Fabbri is a smaller player, but you know who else were 5'10, 166 pounds when they were drafted? Peter Forsberg and Simon Gagne. Mark Recchi was roughly 20 pounds heavier than Fabbri when he played as well. Lots of room for Fabbri to grow. I'm hoping he's the guy they end up drafting because he can also play left wing, a position of great need right now when you consider there's Hartnell and Raffl and not much else.