BobbyClarkeFan16

Pretty sure that everyone is getting time to dot i's and cross t's. The London Police screwed this investigation up initially, so I fully expect that they don't want anything to go wrong this time around. Having lived in London and having seen their work first hand dealing with Jacob Hoggard (look up what that creep did), I can understand why they're going to take their time on this. I'm also fairly certain that the defense attorneys are going to have a field day with the evidence here and with the six years of open, closed and reopen investigation, this is not only going to get ugly, but it's going to show just how incompetent one group is and how the lawyers are going to be front and center of everything.

February 5 is the expected date for charges and a press conference by London Police.

You'd figure Hockey Canada would have learned their lessons after Graham James. On the flip side, hockey in Canada is incredibly scummy. The amount of sexual deviancy is something else. Go to any arena after a junior b hockey game and you see the girls lining up and the boys literally having their 'pick of the litter.' I remember in high school how the 'boys' bragged about what they did to the girls and how a lot of the teachers doled out high fives. It was horrifying.

I was reading that Dube is currently in the care of health professionals. He's in seriously bad shape.

Nah. Maybe if there was something coming down the pike, but I don't think they're ready to release anything anytime soon, if at all. I think Hart is in a bad way health wise and that he's going to stay away until he gets healthy, if he gets healthy.

Bonk is excellent defensively. The reason for his jump in offense this year is that Dale Hunter has allowed him to be more of a roamer. He's still one of the first players back on defense and only jumps into the attack of the play allows it. Seriously, Bonk is very good defensively and that will be his calling card in the NHL.

Don't be surprised if Bonk makes a real run at making the team. He might end up playing his way out of the OHL with how well he's played this year. If the Flyers move Seeler, Walker and Staal, my hope is that they bring in a free agent. Brett Pesce and Brandon Montour are both free agents. They wouldn't look bad at all on the right side.

Right?!?!?! His skating is other worldly. Niedermayer is still my comparison.

Watching Drysdale the other night in that Montreal game, his skating reminded me so much of a certain Hall of Fame defenseman who played in the Metro for years - Scott Niedermayer. Yeah, I said it. Drysdale's skating is so good. Yeah, I'm getting ahead of myself here, but if he and York become the new age Niedermayer and Rafalski, we've hit a gold mine. And honestly, I think it's possible those two are going to hit. I'm not even going to mention the name of the player who was traded anymore. He's irrelevant now and someone else's problem. Much like Clarke when he got Desjardins and LeClair, let's marvel at how Briere stole a young number one defenseman from another organization for a malcontent that didn't want to be in Philadelphia.

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/philadelphia-flyers-willing-to-retain-salary-on-pending-ufas-walker-seeler-1.2060488#:~:text=TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger,and Seeler signed at %24775%2C000. Ok TSN posted the above article that the Flyers are willing to retain salary on Walker and Seeler, so I'm guessing that they're both in play. More assets. Love it!!!!

Button just released his new list. I expect that someone like Berkly Catton is going to fall, plus guys like Ryder Ritchie, Tanner Howe and possibly Trevor Connolly will be available. The Flyers will get a center. Not worried about that at all.

I have no problems with using the draft for your franchise cornerstones and free agency to compliment the cornerstones. The difference in the past was that free agents were used to be part of the cornerstones, which is never a good idea. I think that's something Briere and Jones understand. It would really surprise me if they go big game hunting in free agency to land a cornerstone.

He got injured at the wjc and it's been confirmed that he's done for the year.

Tuomaala's career was saved by playing in the Metsis league in Finland last year. It got his game back on track. As for the Phantoms, I'm not worried about Tuomaala's production there. Just watching the games and it's clear that Laperriere has no clue what to do with those guys. The coaching is poor, the team is undisciplined and you can see how disorganized they are. This is one area where Briere should have addressed things, but didn't. I

Yep. Your first round picks should always be BPA. Any round after that is drafting for need. I think Kiviharju is going to go a lot higher than most people think. He's going to be back in February, so he'll still have from February to May to get games in. Honestly, that's enough time to recover his draft ranking and get back in the top 10. Don't forget that Brian Burke took Morgan Rielly 5th overall and he had his ACL tear and surgery and only played 18 games his draft year. Didn't they also say that Adam Jiricek was done for the year as well? Seems that the injury big has bitten some of the top prospects this year.

I don't know if defense is a big need any more. I think the best thing this club can do now is sit back, evaluate the current roster and pipeline, see what moves can be made at the deadline and then reassess when the season is over. I'm still not sure if this is a playoff club and now that some guys are starting to come back to earth, we'll get a better sense of who stays and who needs to go.

...and don't forget that Tuomaala is sitting in Lehigh Valley

He can play both sides

Liam Greentree. There's the power forward the Flyers are looking for.

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.