SCFlyguy

This to me is the important part and why this team feels different than the last 8 or 9 years. They may lose a close game or two in a row, they may have a bad first period and get blown out, but they don't seem to have extended stretches of just being repeatedly outplayed. For years the Flyers would get pinned in the defensive zone for nearly periods at a time. My favorite part of this team is how quickly they get control of the puck in the defensive zone and transition up ice. The first guy gets it in the corner and immediately makes a very short chip/pass to another guy nearby who skates it out of the zone.

Suddenly the bottom six is so good. They have a ton of smart, rugged guys who can kill penalties and score a little.

This Flyers team is the most solid team they've had in years (not saying much). No real game changers, but play a smart, tough team game, with very deep scoring. Third and fourth lines have been contributing a lot. Reminds me of Vigneault's Rangers teams. Could still use some additional speed . . . Surprisingly they seem unfazed by the Cap's physicality. I get the JVR hate, but he has been playing fairly well lately and losing him will hurt. Farabee just is not ready yet, especially for the playoffs. I attribute most of their success to good goaltending and the big mobile defense who get the puck out of the zone quickly.

I was one of those complaining about Fletcher's moves (at least Hayes) so I will respond. Niskanen seems like an excellent move that has given Provorov the support he needed to continue to develop. They are certainly the best top pair we've had since Timonen and Coburn at least. Hayes is about what I thought he would be, maybe a little better. I didn't realize he would be, by most accounts, a good locker room guy. No one was complaining about what Hayes was going to do in Year 1. We'll see how well Hayes is doing in Years 5, 6, and 7.

They gave up the chance to draft another Lindblom in the 5th round. That being said, I'm not too upset about this trade. No term on the contract and it could have been worse.

Larsson was 23 at the time of the trade and a 4th overall pick. Not sure this is a fair comparison. Regardless, the window to get something of substance for Ghost is rapidly closing. My money is that this is the real Ghost, which is why everyone wants to trade him, so you better trade him before every last team figures this out.

Typical. Flyers fans want to get rid of a guy they don't want anymore, but think he's worth prospects and 1st round picks. Ghost looks mostly like a two-year offensive flash in the pan with defensive issues. I wouldn't expect more than a 2nd and conditional 3rd round picks at this point (unless we are taking back an equally problematic player).

Banning coaches for saying the n-word is the hill you want to die on, huh? It's bad enough we have to read your moronic takes on hockey, but please spare us your moronic takes on politics/society.

And yet Ron Jeremy and others have complaining about team toughness like its 1985.

And yet we have caveman moron Flyer fans complaining the team isn't tough enough. Speed kills.

I guess it wasn't the coaching, huh.

I was at the game. Some observations: 1. The entire team was fighting the puck and had difficulty completing a pass. Islanders were very good. Barzal is blazing fast; no one on the Flyers has his speed. 2. Gostisbehere was terrible. That pinch on the Barzal goal was obviously dumb. As soon as I saw him make that pinch, I said to myself, "uh oh." He made a lot of other poor plays and generally got pushed off the puck at every opportunity. Have fun playing in Seattle, dude. 3. I know it was his first game, but Morin looked like a newborn giraffe on skates. He kept falling over and lunging at the puck with his stick. He had no clue so he fit in perfect with Gostisbehere. 4. Hart was terrible. He hasn't been good outside of the streak last year. Might be time to send him to the Phantoms. 5. I was impressed with Hayes. He was one of the few Flyers who looked like he had legs. He protected the puck very well, takes up a lot of space on the ice, and seems like a smart player. Not very dynamic but brings a lot to the table.

Fletcher is a stone cold idiot. Anyone nostalgic for the days of our cap situation causing us to dress ECHL defensemen because of an injury will love this guy.

There is a 0% chance this happens. They are already an incredibly young team, they aren't going to add three more players under the age of 21.

Overpaying for a middling second line center UFA while playing hardball with your homegrown #1 defenseman is such a perfect Flyer move. Fletcher fits this organization perfectly.