Howie58

As long as we sanction Putin for Ukraine, he will embargo top hockey talent.

When speaking of talent and the Flyers, I go back to my "DNA Hypothesis," and why I mentioned Rathje in the SJ game thread. For too long, the people running this team put physicality over skill and speed. And it has kept us from moving out of the fair-to-middling ranks, with an implosion under AV. I don't think we will ever see MM, but I can accept Briere and Company swinging for that fence. The Gurianov deal is similar. The guy may be an NHL bust. But he can fly and seems to have a good shot. I don't think the former Flyers management really scoped high end talent. They wanted people who could play "Flyers Hockey" Acquiring Nic Deslauriers made us "tougher to play against." Right.

Yes, we are having a reality attack. Stripping out the D via trade and injury is icing on the crapper. We have lost 8 in a row to Toronto. Their talent is truly high end. Hopefully, we get there. On that point, hearing Shaw and Thompson post-game has been refreshing. They acknowledge the problems. They provide context. I get Torts' anti-media gig, but as a fan, I lose some color. Shaw and Thompson are truly students of the game, and their take is a learning experience for me. We are blessed to have those guys on board. I wish we heard more from them.

Dear Cheesesteak: Yeah, it is pisser. But it reflects the mess/game the networks find themselves in with sports. Cord cutting damps demand for the traditional networks and linear. But a sizable chunk of viewers want to watch sports in real time (they don't seem to care about it with local news and most other programs) but... that crew is bothered to buy what I might call "multi-sport" packages (cable or streaming) when it only wants one. I think this is going to take years to settle, and the Bally Sports bankruptcy didn't help. So, we'll see this multi-channel model in the meantime.

I hate to say it, but the Cammer's recovery from last year may never take place. As for ND--as we noted at the time, the length of the contract was absurd. At this juncture, he gums up the works for a promising youngster. We can thank Mr. Fletcher for this stellar contribution.

Grateful, I think it was playing SJ. That made me think about the Rathje...yeah, they knew he was not cut out for the "New NHL."

Greetings: Toronto is the favorite (-192); they are on a 7-0 run against us (won back in February 4-3 in OT, Matthews hat trick): https://www.oddsshark.com/nhl/toronto-philadelphia-odds-march-14-2024-2020074 We may be a better defensive club, but they are far better on faceoffs and offense, including the PP: https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-tor/2024/03/14/2023021050 Rocky Thompson said it in the presser post-San Jose: The Flyers can only play one type of game, their own. Going on a penalty fest and playing undisciplined hockey against the Leafs will be painful.

Greetings: The old farts will remember that we signed Mike Rathje and Derian Hatcher post-strike: https://www.hockeyforum.com/threads/flyers-sign-hatcher-rathje-and-therien.32782/page-2 We found out that meant "Twin Pylons" in our D. Hatcher gave us some use. As for Rathje, who was with San Jose: https://thehockeynews.com/news/philadelphia-flyers-defenceman-mike-rathje-sidelined-by-herniated-disc He went on LTIR and contributed next to nothing. I guess San Jose realized what the New NHL would bring. Robert Earle Clarke and other GMs didn't. Let's hope Briere breaks the mold.

Another comment: I think it was JJ who said this was only the second Flyer win at home against San Jose since 2000. Some of the Quant jocks need to assess our troubles against this team. I get troubles out West at the beginning or end of a West Coast swing. But we're even worse at home! On that score, we won, but it was ugly. Too many penalties. Our lack of depth is showing. But I'm glad Frost and Tippett have some game- changing skill. We need more.

This is an important period. I hope we don't gift this game to SJ.

We are taking too many dumb penalties. I like Garianov's speed. Our PK is showing it is human.

I watched Torts' post-practice presser. He mentioned the banged-up D, including Risto. He said to the reporters that "you guys hate him," or close too it, but fail to appreciate what he brings to the table. Interesting.

Rad: Here is another piece on the history between the teams. Our last home win against them was February 2020. Our overall record has to be one of the worst against any team; we are marginally better in San Jose than Philly: https://flyershistory.com/cgi-bin/opponent.cgi?San_Jose_Sharks

Greetings: The Flyers are heavily favored (-238), but read some of the fine print: San Jose has taken eight of the last 10, and they're 12-2 out of the last 14 at Wells Fargo-- https://www.oddsshark.com/nhl/san-jose-philadelphia-odds-march-12-2024-2020004 Statistically, neither team is great at faceoffs, but our defense is better: https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-sjs/2024/03/12/2023021035 But our defense may be impaired via injury. We should be angry after the debacle in TB. But this game may be closer than the bookies suggest.

We are 4-7-2 against the Atlantic this year. Food for thought. If we make the playoffs this year, we'll member the Panthers game. If we don't, it's this disaster. We move on. Meanwhile, the Islanders are playing good hockey.

TB and Amalie are not a match made for Flyers Heaven!

Morganti said TB would be angry. Errson was not at the top of his game. A new 35 year old defender. And only five D men. OK, ingredients forward disaster.

Well, maybe I should be a bookie. I warned about a steamroller. Twelve minutes, fourngoals, and outshot 13-3. Nausea.

Yeah...classic change of scenery gig. The Gurianov did OK in Dallas....then the bottom seems to have fallen out. Well, Briere and Company must have felt it was OK. He is 26...ehh. Sorry we didn't dump Johansen.

I guess the Brass doesn't want the youngins to be overplayed down the stretch. Either that, or some of the walking wounded won't be back for some time. I doubt he's re-signed. Is it worth a fourth-rounder to have peace-of-mind? I wouldn't have pulled this trigger, but I am not the GM.

I was thinking this AM that an unsung hero of last night is Ian Lapierriere. He and his staff are instilling some good habits. He was a tough fu...k. His coaching offspring are showing some of his grit. That is great for both squads.

A short-term cancer in the locker room who might chip in a goal or two might be worth it to somebody. As a car salesman told me, "there's a butt for every car seat." Shoot, even a seventh or future considerations would be better than the dead cap burden. But what the hell do I know?

Normally, Danny seems pretty cautious in his choice of words. But in the case of Johansen, he didn't mince words. He made it clear Johnansen wasn't in the future plans and told him to stay put and effectively keep his bags packed. I can't recall that level of public disdain/contempt for a player from any GM.

If you believe "NHL Morning Skate" on SiriusXM, Loughlin says Laughton (say that five times in a row) is in play. I guess stranger things have happened. They also said that if we eat an additional 50% (25% of the 8 million), somebody might take Johansen as 3C depth. Let's see.

Greetings: We enter as mild underdogs (+125): https://www.oddsshark.com/nhl/philadelphia-tampa-bay-odds-march-9-2024-2021843 Perhaps more importantly, we are 3-13 against them over the last 16; 4-14 out of the last 18 at Amalie. It's fair to say they have our number in recent years. This is an unusual matchup between the best PP and the best PK (and worst PP): https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-tbl/2024/03/09/2023021016 We've split the first two with identical 6-2 scores. That tells me we play a tight, "Flyers Hockey" game or we get steamrollered. This rubber match will be interesting, and I suspect we'll have a lineup similar to our win against the Panthers.