BobbyClarkeFan16

Everything that you're describing is a coaching issue. And when you consider that Drysdale was coaches by Dallas Eakins, well, enough said there. I'll see what Shaw does with him before coming to a conclusion. If Shaw can turn Ristolainen into a serviceable defenseman, he should be able to help Drysdale hit.

The injuries that Drysdale suffered were freak injuries. I don't think it's an indication of what to expect going forward. Does it merit keeping an eye on him? Absolutely. But at the same time, I'm not worried about them. It would be different if it were concussions or knee injuries. I know I posted this elsewhere, but I think this is a player that Tortorella and Shaw will love and develop him properly. They've side a good job with York and they were defense whisperers with Ristolainen. Any perceived issues with Drysdale will be addressed. Tortorella has started he wants him to be awesome with his skating, so I think there's a chance that they're really going to let him run. I'm really excited by this move. The defense core is starting to shape up nicely.

Drysdale is high end talent. This is a great move. As for the rebuilds, it's still going to continue. Seeler, Walker, Atkinson, Laughton and Tippett are still on the club and a minimum three of those guys are going to be gone. This move doesn't change that. The deck was reshuffled.

Patrick also had a bad melon. If your brain is injured, that's a tough one to get over, especially when multiple concussions have caused chronic migraine issues.

I'm with you on that. I love TK, but at the same time, when this team is really ready to contend (and right now, I think we're seeing a typical second season out of a Torts team), he might not be the same player he is. If the Flyers sell high and if they can get players like Rutger McGroarty and Ville Heinola, them go for it. TK could hit 40 - 45 goals this year. Giving up the two players listed for two more years of TK should be a no brainer for Winnipeg.

I love the trade and Drysdale is a difference maker on the defense. The Flyers now have Drysdale and Bonk on the right side and York and Andrae on the left. Guess what. That's a potentially elite top four group. I get that Drysdale has had injuries, but the shoulder injury was a fluke and the core injury happens. I'm not worried about that at all. Instead, the Flyers are getting an incredibly intelligent offensive defenseman who can skate like the wind and has an incredible transition game. As for Gauthier, well, he didn't want to be here, whatever the reasons might be. The fact he wouldn't even take calls from the Flyers or meet with the brass? That's a punk ass move. That's cowardice. The only thing about this that sucks is that the Flyers are going to have to draft another power forward, but the good news is that guys like Liam Greentree and Tij Iginla should be available when the Flyers go to draft. I hope Cutter enjoys losing in Anaheim.

I'm fine with giving accolades where deserved. Tortorella and Shaw have done a wonderful with the young defenders. Hell, even Ristolainen looks serviceable. They've done a remarkable job.

Cam York. He'll get there and it looks like he's being developed properly.

Size isn't the be all/end all with regards to the forwards. Samu plays in all the dirty areas and is always in the middle of things. The fascination with size baffles me because we've seen over the Fletcher years that he's tried adding size and it blew up on him. You put the best players in the lineup, period, regardless of size.

Boy the IIHF is really showing Russian hockey a thing or two. Conveniently blame hockey players who have no say in global politics.

They'll work out a deal. The NHL would be foolish to not try to get the best players on the world to come over and Russia would be foolish to not accept American money and also knowing that these are going to come back home with millions of American dollars in their pockets. This is 100% about money.

Agree 100% with Andrae. He and Tuomaala should get the full season Lehigh Valley treatment. Just leave them be and let them play and figure things out. Once they do, you've got a beautiful problem in which two players are kicking in the for wanting to play on the big club.

I don't think Gauthier will be a center at the NHL level. Just watching him play center the NCAA and comparing him to other centers, he has so much work to do to even be mediocre. He can finish, he can skate, and he has size. But you can tell that he struggles with defensive assignments and doesn't utilize his teammates as well as he should. I'm not crapping on him though because he can easily be an elite left winger that can run the point on the power play. As for defense, you're correct in that this year is a really deep year for defensemen. I'd love to see them draft another right handed defenseman and the guy who's falling right now who would be a REAL good fit is Henry Mews from the Ottawa 67s. And it's funny to read scouts take on him because he's an offensive guy who doesn't always jump into the offense because he looks after the defensive side of things first, yet he's still averaging close to a point per game and he plays a heavy amount of minutes because coaches trust him so much. Sounds like the perfect defenseman to have here.

I'm know I'm getting ahead of myself, but the Flyers need to draft an actual center this year. The wing spots are incredibly secure for the next several years, but it's time to find a center.

Cutter is going to be a fantastic goal scoring winger. He's not a center by any stretch of the imagination.

He and Bonk are going to make a great pair. Add in Sanheim and York and Grans with another first round pick and the defense is set.

Samu Tuomaala with a goal and assist in a 4-3 lists to Laval. That's now 22 points in 25 games and he's leading the team in scoring as a 20 year old. I'm going to give credit where credit is due - Chuck Fletcher and Brent Flahr may have hit a grand slam with Tuomaala. He's going to be REAL good.

Depends what the offers are for Walker. He's played well, but it seems Briere really wants to build a sound and solid foundation and I'm not sure if Walker fits the bill. I had also read online that Vancouver has started to sniff around and that there have been scouts at Flyers games watching Walker. If the offer is something like Aatu Raty and a draft pick, Briere should be all over that.

Samu Tuomaala with a goal and two assists tonight and Alexis Gendron with two goals in a 5-4 win over Rochester. Of note, Tuomaala now has 17 points in 18 games and is tied for the AHL lead in assists with Brandt Clarke. I think it's safe to say that Samu is back on track and that he looks like a legitimate prospect again. He seems to be hitting stride. Hopefully the Flyers do the right thing with him and leave him in Lehigh Valley for the year. Let him get on a role and dominate down there.

I don't buy the lack of finishers. There's a large number of 20 goal players in that line up. That's more than adequate. The problem is that the power play is a complete mess and Thompson refuses to change it up. When he was an assistant in San Jose, he also ran the power play there. It was 29th overall in the league and now for two consecutive years here in Philadelphia, the power play is one of the worst. What makes it even more concerning is that Tortorella doesn't care that the power play is bad. He's all about grinding out and low scoring affairs. It's not going to change either when Michkov or Gauthier arrive. It's getting really old to see the team continue to struggle to generate any offense and Tortorella continually talks about how they lack talent and how they have to grind it out to win. The league is about offense and we have a coach who has said he doesn't understand offensive hockey and the assistant who is supposed to be an offensive wizard can't put a simple offensive game plan together to utilize everyone's strengths accordingly. Yeah, I'm getting tired of the Tortorella act. It wears thin and it's the same continual garbage over and over. What Tortorella did 20 years ago no longer works now. He needed to adapt. He hasn't.

Bonk putting together a really nice season in London. 22 games, 22 points, 5 goals with little power play time. He might end up being one of those rare defensemen that will put up numbers with very little power play time. I think he's going to make the jump as a 20 year old.

He's been scratched because according to Tortorella he's 'hit a wall.' Young players aren't allowed to play through any signs of adversity.

He's getting a long term deal. You can book that.

That's the thing though. The pipeline is being replenished with goaltenders and Kolosov is REALLY good. And more important, he's signed to come over next year. I had hoped for Fedotov to give over this year, but that's a wash and he'll be used as a ticket to get Michkov out of Russia early. And I fully expect that the Flyers will draft more goaltenders in 2024 and probably look at the NCAA free agents as well. As for Hart, I hope he hits. I really do. But I'm not holding my breath. Yes I get that the Flyers have not been good for the majority of his career. But usually you see goalies embrace that challenge of back stopping a bad team and don't break down mentally over that. That's been Hart's Achilles heel. When things don't go his way, he gets lost mentally and checks out. He needs to get tough mentally.

Here's my issue with Hart. He gets on a roll early in the season and he looks all world. Then a losing streak will happen and he completely falls apart. Like mentally, he completely checks out. To make matters worse, these breakdowns usually happen during important marks in the season. Then once the Flyers are eliminated from contention and the pressure is off, Hart goes back to good goalie mode. I need to see Hart get over this hump before making any commitment. And even then, I'd only sign him to a over year deal to see if he can repeat his success. Yeah I'm rough on Hart, but I've watched this club for nearly 40 years and I've been caught up in good goaltenders before that have flamed out. This is a critical year for Hart to set is he can finally put it all together from a mental standpoint.