Howie58

1 hour ago, CoachX said:

Future Laughtons? The one we have presently is bad enough. This is like clearing the way for the future Holmgrens

There is much truth in what you say.  But he is competent (I think last year was his best) and versatile.  What's sad is that looking over the last 15 years or so of first rounders, you could argue he rates well.  He's been reasonably healthy.  He does represent the team in the community.  And he tries.  Granted, he is no game changer.  As my mom would have said, "In the Kingdom of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is King."  

I don't like the cap hit.  But I ask the question again--is there something here we don't know about related to his "escape" from Mother Russia?  Putin is corrupt.  Would we know if there isn't diverted money, or money paid to an agent that ends up in the Former Soviet Union?

Sam can't feel very good about this.  

I watched the PHLY dudes and dudette over lunch.  O'Connor and Bill said:

1. It implies that next year is not necessarily a playoff year, and the Brass doesn't care.  If they did, entering with this tandem makes no sense.

2. An interesting question, with Sandstrom gone and Petersen rotting in the AHL, is the third-in-line?  My take is that Kolosov might fit that bill.

3.  The salary seems absurd.  

4.  Translating KHL to NHL stats is tough.  The save percentage in the KHL is considerably higher given lower caliber of play.  

5.  Carter Hart is out of the picture for good.  

53 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

 

lol

 

The only way that is even a plan is that they signed him to this ludicrous number so when he is waived no one will even touch him with a ten foot pole with that contract - that reeks of Chuck Fletcher mastermind way of making guys pass thru waivers.

 

I would have taken a swing at Stolarz first before handing him this contract.

 

At least Stollie has a proven track record in the NHL as a tandem goalie.

 

Can't wait to hear @flyercanuck thoughts.

 

In a rebuild this just makes no sense...

 

Occ:

I agree the amount seems high.  The term--when you have Petersen (a possible buyout this year) getting paid 5 million for AHL work, I will at least something for this guy.  BTW--my gut says Florida resigns Stolarz.

I am sure the airwaves and blogosphere will go ape over the amount, which does seem high.  Whether Briere is drinking the same Kool Aid as his predecessors, that seems a bit overstated, but I understand your PTSD from Flyers history.

Greetings:

The amount seems high.  The brass must see something.  

This is a huge "TBD."  Maybe a summer of training and whatever and we find something good.  Remember, in his period of relief, he stopped 14 of 15 and looked impressive.  My other take is that  the free agency market for goalies, if memory serves, isn't real good this year.  Maybe they reckon Ersson gets 25-30 games of help, and an older goalie can't cope.  

The other factor is that they expended a lot of human capital to get him here.  A one-year, two-way deal may have raised question about "why bother?" 

There's more here than meets the eye.  Let's hope we have something of value.  As it is so often in Philly, we will enter the season with goaltending being a big question.  History repeats itself, right?

There is clearly some truth to the value of Laughton in their assessment.  You've got a Poehling (who probably has more upside offensively) and Hathaway gets under the nerves of opponents.  From that vantage, Laughts' value as a committed "Swiss Knife" may or may not be what it was a few years ago.

There are times I wonder if Laughts is kept on board to show that a Flyers' first-rounder can actually pan out.  It seems rare.  I agree with @mojo1917 about the PHLY staff.  Matz is funny.  The woman (I think her name is Karen) is generally very quiet, but her take often mixes sarcasm with a knife blade.    

Greetings:

I get a kick (occasionally) out of hearing the PHLY crew that drops videos on YouTube.  By themselves, they're OK, but when Charlie O'Connor is on, their banter is reasoned.

In their latest gig, they asked a question: Who might get traded among the non-expiring contracts this off-season?  The first name mentioned was Front.  In essence, he might not be out of Torts' doghouse, making him expendable.  Next on the list was Farabee.  Yes, he had a "career" season, but he only scored one goal out of the last 19 games (I think), leaving a bad impression on management.  Last but not least, the three mentioned Laughton.  Their reasoning was that he became expendable with Hathaway and Poehling on board, and it was time to give other players a roster slot to become the future Laughtons. 

But another reason--and this is a bit more "cerebral," was that it pitted player quality versus the importance of "maintaining the locker room culture." (my paraphrase).  A rebuild requires a better corps of players.  Yes, Laughts is important to the culture, but as we saw at the end of the season, culture doesn't necessarily win games.

For those here who feel the management isn't really in a true "rebuild" mode, this was thought-provoking.  I would probably agree with their sentiment.  

Howie

Last night, I looked at our historical record and was reminded of how we made it to finals with some regularity in the 70s and early 80s, and then comes 2010. If memory serves, there was a stretch when Boston, Philly, Montreal, and the Isles were a finalist for 6-7 years running.

As I've said before, management hasn't adapted to the New NHL post-2005. We don't get the speed. We don't seem to manage a draft. And yes, there is enormous parity. Every game, pick, and trade matters.

Would this team be better if we had top 5 picks a few years in a row? Hopefully. But I look at the last 15 years of first rounders and bad trades, and wonder about poor luck and management.

 Briere may be the first GM in recent history who is candid about our shortcomings. He rates 2-3 years to see if we finally make it into the New NHL. Drafting Michkov took courage. Bringing Fedotov here took skill and tact. Drysdale may be Patrick II. Let's see. At least he's in our jersey. It appears we'd never see Gauthier.

We have not heard anything from Homer and Clarke. Good. The Cup Era people have passed from the scene. That may have been a bigger impediment than we can imagine.

If we can build on our D and start winning against Metro teams, the worst may be over.

4 hours ago, SCFlyguy said:

Citation needed.

 

I don't see anything different from the last several years, other than fewer players I hate.  That doesn't mean more players that are actually good.

Dear SC:  I know you are in part joshing me, but seriously, I am not saying we are on the verge of greatness.  But we finished above .500 and our longest losing this year was eight games, not 10.  That's improvement.  I agree there's no one player who's that great.  But the product is more competitive.  

I just want to emphasize something in my original post.  Yes, we have made progress.  But that's benchmarked to the post-Bubble funk that took out AV/Yeo and gave the second-worst season in in history.  We have a long way to go before we are top-10.  One observation I'd make is that the fans apparently gave the team an ovation after Game 82.  The fanbase appreciates the effort we got most games.  That's important.  I recall the fear some had that Comcast and brass couldn't tolerate a long rebuild--lost revenue, lost fanbase, etc.   My gut says Briere, Hilferty, and Jones see a fanbase that will play the long game as long as there's effort and incremental improvement.  

By the way, I posted eons ago about the fact that former Sharks GM Doug McClean was adamant about not signing contracts over five years.  I am surprised that the NHLPA fleeced the owners (or vice versa) in allowing eight year contracts in a sport with this degree of physical contact.  I am like McClean--I wouldn't do more than five years.  By the way, part of his rationale was that top free agents did not want to come to a team with aging, non-competitive, overpaid superstars.  This is a collective bargaining issue worth revisiting.  

2 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

 

 

 

Strange.  

@BobbyClarkeFan16 has posted wisely. That said, personnel matter. Putting aside the PP, our historical record in the SO and PP since inception is league-worst. That stretch covers a long stretch and I believe a half dozen coaches. I think that reflects the DNA problem I mentioned earlier. We put physicality over skill in player choice, and I think we've paid dearly. 

It wouldn't surprise me if the dismiss or reassign Thompson.  Then we see if things get much better.

I said it a few weeks ago, and it's worth noting here--Bill Meltzer is correct that the O and B may be faced with some buyout/dead cap issues in this rebuild.  I think Cam Atkinson is a good example for the coming year:

https://thehockeywriters.com/flyers-buy-out-atkinson-2024-offseason/#:~:text=Since his return from injury – after missing,so the Flyers would be saving some money.

Another candidate here might be Cal Petersen, though he could continue to get buried.  Nic D--he appears to be losing favor with Torts--wonder about him.  

While his is an unlikely buyout candidate, Coots value-added could be iffy.  I hope we see a rejuvenated version next year.  Otherwise, we are grossly overpaying for a 3C, and the Captain no less.  

Well, our PP almost gave them a goal. We need greasy stuff against Lindgren.

Greetings:

The Flyers are favored (-135) with a 54% projected win probability:

https://www.dimers.com/bet-hub/nhl/schedule/2023_190_phi_wsh

There isn't much difference between these teams statistically and they've split the first two meetings:

https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-wsh/2024/04/16/2023021299

And as the season ends, and I post what might be the last game thread of the season, the Chairman of the Board and Paul Anka come to mind: 

https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/franksinatra/myway.html

Playoffs or not, I hope the season ends with a good effort.  

3 hours ago, OccamsRazor said:

What a fine young gentleman.

 

Makes me proud.

 

I wonder if he could be talked into coaching.  There's another Lappy.  He'd instill a lot of good stuff into the Youngins.  

Well, can they score on a 5 on 3? 

Greetings:

The O and B are favored (-125) with a whopping 51% win probability:

https://www.fanduel.com/research/flyers-vs-devils-prediction-nhl-odds-4-13-2024

NJ is a better faceoff squad; otherwise stats aren't much different other than PP. They've taken 2 of 3 so far this season:

https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/njd-vs-phi/2024/04/13/2023021274

This is likely to be matchup of two goalies with sub-.900 save percentage. Character matters--I hope the O and B put up a good fight.  

After reading the recaps, it appears to be the kind of game we can win.  Our goalie was well above average--something like a 960 save percentage. Apparently, our D was OK....and we actually scored.  That is "structured" Flyers hockey....the Hakstol-Torts link.  Jordan Hall even used that in his write up.  Yeah...to win, particularly against a good team...that's our path forward.  

On a positive note, I'm glad Cates seems to be finding some late-season scoring. 

39 minutes ago, ruxpin said:

I suspect these two things are connected. 

It's really the only explanation.

Yes, after waiting 49 years for a Cup, this is divine intervention, telling me to stay away.

I missed the game....and they win. Serves me right. 

Is Torts the right guy?  My take:

Talent is the problem, coaching isn't.  The last 20+ years should convince us that's the case.  Could someone be marginally better?  Maybe.  Then we have to weigh the benefits versus the cost of change and evaluation with a new system.  

I agree with Mike Sielski (not a friend of Torts) that the collapse over the last few weeks is likely to extend the "rebuild."  The microscope on the likes of Frost, Farabee, Sanheim, Ersson, Drysdale, and whomever will be more intense, likely leading to their separation.  Long-term, that may be good.  But the turnover will be costly next season.  BTW, a less costly interim move might be to kick Torts upstairs in some management capacity and let Shaw become the new coach.  

Again, I think another coaching change will do little positive at the margin.  Torts is already half way through the contract, and rumor has it eating another 8 million is not high on the minds of Comcast.  

Greetings:

The Rags are favored (-218) with a 65% win probability.  They are 9-0-1 against over the last 10.  

https://www.dimers.com/news/philadelphia-flyers-vs-ny-rangers-prediction-odds-nhl-picks-4112024

Statistically, the only place we are close is in penalty kills: Otherwise, we're world's apart:

https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-phi/2024/04/11/2023021257

This team has given us fits for a long time.  Given the current state of the Flyers, I wonder if the Rags will have two or more players two goals apiece?  A Kreider or Zibanijed hat trick wouldn't surprise me.  

So, the guy is soft.   Yikes.

Well, my concern is why do we want someone like this? We need people who can break down an opponent's defense.  This reads like another 4th liner.  We've got those...maybe too many.