brelic

Fair enough, but if he's there, and does dress, I'll trust that AV and staff know what they're doing. They aren't clueless. They're intelligent people who know the game inside and out, and the confirmation was to see AV's candid comments about some players (including Stewart) at the end of the Behind the Glass segment. They see what everyone else sees, but they also see WAY more that we don't. AV wants to win. Fletch wants to win. Do you honestly believe they would purposely dress a lineup that takes them away from that goal?

So nice to see. We'll have a really strong lineup when he's back.

At the end of the day, it's better to have Stewart as 13/14 than NAK. NAK wasn't competing against Stewart - he was competing against Twarynski. At least for now, Twarynski gets the nod. In the meantime, NAK gets minutes while Stewart makes popcorn. I like Fletch's approach of a fluid roster, no final cuts, they will give this team a lot of looks until it works.

Haha, I'm guessing they will keep him around without a contract - at least for Europe. Maybe he can get a prax in with his former team. If I had to guess the opening night roster... G/Coots/TK JVR/Hayes/Voracek Lindblom/Frost (if healthy)/Farabee Raffl/Laughton/Twarynski Bunnaman (goes to 4th if Frost can't go, Laughton to 3C) Stewart Provorov/Niskanen Ghost/Braun Sanheim/Myers Hagg Morin Hart Elliott

Very enjoyable.

Mono?

FWIW, Meltzer's take on the roster cuts. https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Bill-Meltzer/Flyers-Make-7-Roster-Cuts-Whats-the-Impact/45/101586 Here's the tl;ldr - Laughton and Bunnaman the only remaining centers in camp (outside of Coots and Hayes and injured Frost) - they will likely be 3C and 4C to open. - AV said battles are on for #6,7,8 D spots. Bill argues Morin seems to be 8th, so the active lineup spot comes down to Hagg v. Myers. - Rubstov started well but faded as camp wore on. - No surprise Vorobyev was cut; too inconsistent. - Farabee and Twarynski likely candidates for two open wing spots on opening night. - Stewart's status remains "shaky depending on rookie forwards making the team and on Pitlick's timetable to play in a game." - Flyers have to get down to 23 by opening night but they plan on taking two extra bodies (likely a third goalie and 14th forward) along to Europe.

@AJgoal @radoran Thanks re: Frost. Man, if we didn't have Hayes, our center depth would look pretty anemic. Interesting take by Sam... he's probably right. I mean, in the end, I don't really care if Stewart ends up being the 13th/14th guy who dresses for a few games when there are injuries or when AV wants a "heavy" lineup. He does have 652 GP and is a 1st round pick. Yeah, yeah, I know, he's 31 and hasn't really done squat the past half-decade. But I don't really care too much about the #13/14 forwards. Now... if he dresses every night as part of the regular 12, that's a different story.

Something tells me Stewart will be the 12/13 forward. Frost is the biggest surprise to me. He's out 5-7 days, which means he definitely won't play tomorrow (and was supposed to) and probably not in Switzerland either. So what does that mean? Could be that Patrick is out longer than expected. @AJgoal I'd say that Twarynski has had more impact in the games he's played than NAK. The goals definitely help, but in general, he's just been much more noticeable during camp.

Just a bit of news from the Leafs camp - they've released Neuvirth from his PTO. I feel for the guy because he could be excellent when healthy, but that quote from Babcock leaves me wondering if there's more than just physical injuries. A lot of his ailments seemed curious and often mysterious, and Bab's quote kinda feels like he was very deliberate in his choice of words. The Toronto Maple Leafs were looking for someone to backup and lighten the workload of starting goalie Frederik Andersen, and added Michal Neuvirth to a professional tryout contract in July as a possible candidate, but the 31-year-old’s bid to win a job ended on Tuesday when the Leafs released the veteran netminder.Neuvirth played 257 games in his 11-year NHL career with Washington, Buffalo, the NY Islanders and Philadelphia, but battled a myriad of injuries during his years with the Flyers, which limited him to just seven starts last season.After missing time early in training camp, the veteran goalie saw action for the first time in Buffalo, making 20 saves on 22 shots in 40 minutes in a 5-3 loss to the Sabres on Saturday, but missed practice and a scheduled start on Monday because he was “not feeling up to it” according to head coach Mike Babcock.

Yeah, Rubstov is surprising. NAK is a bit surprising, but he's competing for a wing spot against Twarynski, who they obviously liked more. So, we have G/C/TK JVR/KH/V Raffl/Laughton/Lindblom Those are the guaranteed spots, IMO. Patrick is guaranteed too whenever he's healthy. So, for now, three open spots (two long-term) left for these guys.. Frost (C/W) Farabee (W) Twarynski (W) Bunnaman (C/W) Pitlick (W) Stewart (W) Did I miss anyone? Does that mean 4 of these guys (for spots #10,11,12,13) make the opening night roster? You gotta figure Pitlick is the closest to having a guaranteed spot among them? Defense is still a mess. I wonder if they'd consider sending Myers down until they settle things since he's the only waiver exempt guy.

Wrong guy... that's Bunnaman lol. But I think Twarynski has the same Bobby Clarke smile. I think he's definitely earned a spot! Hayes, to me, has consistently been the team's best player through camp. Dude is a beast, especially on the PK. What do you think of Ghost so far? I have read a lot about how Ghost seems 'faster' and 'looking like the old Ghost' but I've seen the opposite. Well, the speed is still there, but he looks just as lost and confused on the ice, and if he's not contributing offensively, he's easily the weakest defenseman on the team. Not sure how to get him unstuck. It seems like the issue has always been between his ears. TK was great last night. Lindblom had a solid game too. Wonder if there will be cuts today.

Yes it will be interesting to see what they do. I don't have a preference in the sense that whatever they decide to do, I'll trust that they know better than I. Wouldn't be a bad idea to send Patrick to LHV on a bus, not just paper. He'd get some games in while the team is away. But, in the end, it really depends on what the nature of his injury is. They are sure being careful if he seems to be skating well and cheery, yet not even cleared to share the same ice surface with the team. That doesn't sound like concussion to me, neither does the "we haven't decided on surgery" quote from Fletch. Maybe the mid-week update is to tell us that he's had upper-body surgery lol. Agreed. In LHV he'd be playing the role they expect from him in Philly, but with more minutes and opportunity. May as well work out the kinks there. I also agree about Farabee. I'd be fine if they send him back too, which allows him and Frost to build some chemistry. But with Patrick and Pitlick questionable, there's more opportunity. Yeah, apparently they'd known about it "for a while" according to Fletch, and he said this before training camp opened.

Honestly, the groin injury kinda tells me he'd be better rehabbing that at the AHL level. It would just add another level of uncertainty with the NHL roster at this time. Ah, ok. Good to know. Makes sense.

Yeah, the roster is a mess right now because of the injuries - and we can add Frost to the list. Does that effectively take him out of the running for 3C? He should probably spend some time in LHV anyway where he can be on the top line, PP1, out on the ice late in games, etc. My guess is Patrick won't go to Europe since they're leaving a few days after the 'mid-week' update - who knows if he joins the team on the western swing. So in that scenario, it makes more sense to carry 14 forwards and 7 defensemen. I figured they'd carry 8 D (as Fletch has mentioned/hinted) so they can basically decide which of Hagg and Morin to keep, and it gives them time to work out a deal since neither are waiver exempt. But now... seems like they might want some extra insurance up front on these long trips. So what to do with Hagg/Morin? What a weird camp so far. They came right out and said what was wrong with Frost and gave a timetable, same with Pitlick, Gabriel. Patrick might have ebola for all we know, although that would be a TBI (total body injury). I would think Hagg can fetch a 2nd, which is more value than Morin could fetch. Based on AV's words so far and Morin's usage and slotting, it seems like he might not be in the plans. Basically because of Europe, roster decisions will be made by the end of the week. Should be interesting!

Apparently Patrick deleted his social media accounts yesterday. Probably insignificant, maybe not. Such a strange shroud of mystery around his injury.

Flyers won 4-0 and there was a lot to like about the game overall. Rangers dressed a B squad and we dominated the way our A squad should. - Most noticeable players for the Flyers - Twarynski, Niskanen, Voracek, Hayes. - Really really impressed by Hayes. Looked just as good as his first game. If he plays like this, Flyers fans will be happy. He’s like a hybrid mix of Couturier and Primeau. - Twarynski was noticeable every shift and scored a goal on a great individual effort by poking the puck free and swatting in his own rebound. Can he make the team? Definitely. He’s also very fast. - Niskanen also really impressed. He had a very solid defensive game, making a lot of smart decisions. Keith Jones mentioned that it’s such a benefit to having a guy like that on your team for the young guys who get to see up close little details from veteran players. I’m really curious to see who makes this team in the end. Rubtsov had the early edge, then NAK had a really strong game, now Tawarynski is boldly stating his case. Competition is good.

Updated roster for tonight’s game. Lines are guesses by Meltzer. Farabee-Giroux-TKJVR-Hayes-VoracekTwarynski-Frost-LindblomRaffl-Laughton-StewartProvorov-NiskanenHagg-Sanheim (LMAO)Morin-FriedmanHartElliott

That and the -24 on a very good Jets team. I feel like his game and work ethic would fall out of favour pretty fast here. Flyers fans are pretty intolerant lol.

And playing Fortnite.

Some more smoke... Flyers and Jets Talking?There is a ton of buzz right now that the Jets have interest in a D-man and the Flyers may be upping the package to take an outside shot at Patrik Laine....The Flyers are loaded with prospects and players, but many of them are similar...They do not have a sniper in the group....Could there be a fit here? We will be following this up for sure... Again, I just don’t see how the Flyers can make it work salary wise and - most importantly - improve the team.

Haha, I knew I was forgetting someone. Agree with your analysis, but I don’t think Stewart makes it. To your point, my guess is they will carry 8 defensemen to start, leaving 13 forward spots and 2 goalies. G/Coots/TK JVR/Hayes/Voracek Lindblom/Laughton/Raffl Pitlick/Rubtsov/NAK Patrick Honestly, that roster doesn’t look very promising. There’s a big drop off in talent. Frost could be given a shot at 3C (Laughton to the 4th and Ruby to LHV) if Patrick is out for several games. He looked like he could actually make things happen offensively. Got a feeling Hagg and Morin are 7 and 8 until one is moved, probably sooner rather than later.

I wonder if the Jets would take a flier on a free defenseman, Brennan perhaps.

I hear ya. If he has another 30 point season, it will definitely be cause for concern about his development, but that’s why Fletch went out and got Hayes. Patrick has not seized the 2C role, and who knows when he will. Could be a breakout year this season, or that could come next year or the year after. Either way, if Hayes keeps up his end of the bargain, we’ve got a heckuva 3C in Patrick and the luxury to let him develop at his own pace now. How long did it take Coots? His breakout season was his SEVENTH NHL season. He’d played well over 400 games and never cracked 40 points. I admit I felt it would never happen. But it did, when he was 25. So the way I see it is that we need SOMEONE to step up over the next few years and show that he can take over from Giroux. I don’t care who it is as long as someone does it. We’re gonna need a guy like that.