Zzeke

Your opinion is noted and respected. But not in agreement. Points? Points? Points from past performance? There is a bigger picture to a well rounded team and a winning team. Is the 24 year old NAK valuable? Valuable enough to protect in the Expansion Draft over Voracek? We like Voracek. But, he will be 32 this year, carries a very burdensome Cap Hit of 8.25 M for 3 more seasons, and his play is on the downslope. We like the 24 year old NAK. He is the fastest skater on the team, a very hard worker, has some multi-facited skill, ascending skill, and is far from his upside peak. Quote: Back in January, we saw Travis Konecny fly around the ice. Even though he placed 7th in the NHL competition, his 14.1 second time is no joke. There’s a couple of guys who fly around the ice in an orange and black sweater. Joel Farabee and TK would all be invited to this competition, but wouldn’t end up winning. The fastest guy on the Flyers would be Nic Aube-Kubel. NAK has had a stellar bounce back season for Philly. He’s come in and provided a spark for the Flyers while they were red hot. NAK not only plays each shift like his last, but he has the ability to drop the gloves, and even produce some offense from time to time. However, the most underrated aspect of his game is his speed. In that video, you can see how quick he is. His acceleration, his ability to change direction so easily, and overall his grit and fore checking is incredibly for a player of his stature. Coach AV is very smart. Many teams, and certainly our Flyers, form the 4th line to fit a specific role - - all out super-energy for about a 45 second shift. It serves to give the top-9 a breather, and has a very important job as defined by AV's 4th line profile. Average game ice time in the NHL: 1st Line 19:20 2nd Line 16:22 3rd Line 13:28 4th Line 12:35 AV's 4th line profile/requirement is hard skating, hard forechecking, pin the other team in their own end, fast/strong backchecking, defensive work, PK duty. Raffl/Bunnaman-Laughton-NAK When tactfully inserted, this wears down the top lines of the opposition. Valuable. Having these highly skilled 'specific role players' is very, very, valuable in today's NHL. Having these specialists on the 4th line gives needed rest to the top-9 forwards. And, in our Flyers case, this 4th line has a very clear offensive element with Laughton, Raffl, and the young ascending talented NAK. They have the skill and can be dangerous scorers off their high-energy forechecking role. Some goals. The all important well-rounded team. Hmm. Expansion Draft. Protect the declining Voracek or the ascending NAK? IMO, it's not even close. We look ahead, not back. (Oh, and the matter of Cap Management.) There is excellent on-going team depth at RW if Voracek would be selected by Seattle in the Expansion Draft: Konecny Farabee NAK Sandin Allison Points lost, if Voracek is gone, will be gained back on a team basis. Fletcher, and many of us, should be very happy if Seattle selects Voracek and not the ascending NAK. All IMO.

For those who are unable to watch the game, Bill Meltzer is providing a thorough running account - athttps://twitter.com/billmeltzer?lang=en

First intermission:

We don't look back. We look forward. The past vs the future. It's a risk for Fletcher that is a win-win. There is a high probability that Seattle will not take Voracek at age 32, Cap Hit 8.25M with 3 years left on his contract. That is a win for the near term. Cap Management is a major factor in shaping/managing an NHL team. Teams must balance veterans with youth in order to win because too many high Cap Hit players can inhibit signing/keeping high quality 2nd or 3rd contract players. Example: Hart/Sanheim/Patrick are RFAs after this season. They all are due 'big raises' and their agents will push hard with League comparisons. Fletcher needs Cap Space to sign them. In the unlikely event that Seattle selects Voracek, Fletcher gets a much needed 8.25 M Cap Space. A win. And, it opens a RW spot for younger quality prospects Sandin, Allison, NAK. The RW depth becomes: Konecny Farabee NAK Sandin Allison Excellent. If Voracek is protected and NAK exposed, there is some chance that 24 year old NAK could be selected. If so, the organizational depth takes a hit by losing a young NHL proven RW who is highly thought of and far from his peak. And has a low Cap Hit. Ooooops. The Flyers game (scrimmage) on TV is almost starting - - gotta go.

Voracek on Notice Wonder why Voracek is on the 3rd line? Moved to the 2nd PP unit? Conditioning / attitude? Eye opining column this afternoon in the Philadelphia Inquirer on squeezing Jake Voracek. Some excerpts: In his first season, the new coach took the first steps to establish a meritocracy based on accountability. In his second season, emboldened by a playoff berth and with the team completely in his grasp, he is free to squeeze. Alain Vigneault is already squeezing Jakub Voracek. “When we went into the bubble and into the playoffs, I thought Jake played well in that first round against Montreal. I thought he wasn’t as effective against the Islanders,” Vigneault said Friday. Friday was the day Vigneault sent Voracek to the second-string power-play unit. “I talked to Jake about this. I challenged him about this season. There’s a man who’s been in the league for a long time,” Vigneault said. “Basically, he’s won two playoff rounds.” That, in Vigneault’s estimation, clearly isn’t enough. Not for a player Columbus drafted seventh overall in 2007. Voracek has earned almost $60 million in 11 seasons, with $6.25 million more due this year. He has seen one All Star Game in 12 years. Generally, winners get invited to those. Vigneault plans to make a Stanley Cup run in 2021. Oskar Lindblom and Nolan Patrick returned from their illnesses. Recent first-rounder Joel Farabee is eager to earn minutes, and recent first-rounder Morgan Frost might not be far behind. This year, Vigneault won’t wait for Voracek to get with the program. “Making the playoffs is non-negotiable here. To do that, we need Jake to get his game to that top level,” said Vigneault. And if Voracek fails? ”I think there are a lot of young players pushing him,” the coach said. “He’s going to have to earn that ice time that he’s been able to get the last few years.” If that sounds like a shot across the bow of the 31-year-old winger -- the Flyers’ perpetual X-factor -- it was. Voracek is 6-foot-2 and 214 pounds, and when he’s hot, he’s among the game’s best players. But, too often, he disappears. In the Flyers’ first eight games last season, he managed four points -- 0.50 points per game -- and was minus-3. His indifferent defense and sloppy play was driving Vigneault to tears, and the team was 4-3-1. “It took him a while to get going -- I’d like to say it took him the month of October,” Vigneault said. “When he found his stride, our team started to find [its] stride a little bit. I’m hoping that, right off the hop, he’ll be where he needs to be.” When Voracek tightened his play, he collected 52 points in the next 61 games -- 0.85 points per game -- and was plus-17. The Flyers went 37-18-6, won all three of their round-robin playoff games, and took the top seed in the East (Voracek didn’t play in the play-in finale). They beat the Canadiens in six games, in which Voracek netted six points. Then? Then, he had one point in the Flyers’ second-round, seven-game loss to the Islanders. The Flyers are teeming with young talent. If Voracek falters again like this he’s more expendable than ever. NHL teams play just 56 games in this COVID-shortened season, so the Flyers can’t afford to have Voracek use the the first eight to acclimate himself. He’s got to be ready when the puck drops for the opener Wednesday against Pittsburgh. Is that possible? Voracek has never been a fitness nut, and a second lockdown in his native Czech Republic in October restricted his offseason training options and frustrated his efforts to enter training camp in top form. “It’s weird times we’re living in right now, I’ll be honest,” Voracek said. When Jake Voracek is mad that he can’t work out, yes, the times are weird. Vigneault isn’t sure just what he’s got in Voracek. The coach said the restart agreement between the NHL and the players’ association does not allow teams to clinically measure players’ fitness levels, but it doesn’t sound as though he’s impressed by Voracek’s current VO2 max. “He looked OK,” Vigneault said. “It’s tough to exactly tell you where his conditioning is because we aren’t allowed to test players on the ice or test players the aerobic or anaerobic tests that we usually do off the ice, because the rules that were changed this year as far as the players’ association. I can only give you my subjective look.” Subjectively, nothing will be given, either in January or May. Especially May. “There’s no doubt that Jake, with his talent level, can be a force on our team and force in this league,” Vigneault said. “If our expectations are to win, he knows that he’s going to have to be a top performer in the role that he is given. Our expectations of Jake are very high. ... We’re not in this to win one round.” It sounds as though Voracek’s expectations are just as high. His family won’t arrive in the United States until March -- possibly, by design. “We lost in the second round,” Voracek said. “We couldn’t close the deal in the playoffs.” He has more than $21 million coming to him in the three seasons following this bizarre 2021 schedule. He’s 31, but he just logged a season in which he averaged 0.81 points per game, the fourth-best average of his career and his third straight season over 0.80. So, maybe he’s figured it out. The Stanley Cup Finals end in early July. Ask Vigneault then.

Good thinking BCF16. Some of your elements seem good. Couple of thoughts: 1) Columbus just added 2 centers because of need there: Domi and the 37year old Koivu. If they are forced to trade Center PLD, they most likely would not also include their #2 Center Jenner even though they are getting Center Frost back. 2) I agree with you that the plums for Columbus are Frost and Zamula. If I were Fletcher, I'd try not to include Zamula. He is a big part of the Flyers future 'top-NHL' 6-man defense: Provorov, Gustafsson (re-signed), Sanheim, Myers, Zamula, York. 3) However, getting a proven quality defenceman may be key for GM Kekalainen. The Flyers don't have that to give up IMO. If Kekalainen was willing to take Frost and one of Ghost/Hagg/Friedman, that would be good for our Flyers IMO. It's harder, and more important to NHL GMs, to build a quality 6-man defence. For our Flyers, Zamula is 'next up' in the high value prospect stream. It seems Kekalainen wants a proven defenceman and a scoring winger: "When the Columbus Blue Jackets exited the 2020 postseason, the roster had an abundance of NHL-caliber defensemen but lacked proven centers. By the time the 2020-21 regular season begins, the team will have a decidedly different look. With the trades of long-time Blue Jacket Ryan Murray and his occasional D partner Markus Nutivaara, the blue line got thinner. Signing centers Max Domi and Mikko Koivu substantially improved the roster down the middle. The Blue Jackets could use a scoring winger…but who? " 4) And, how would our Flyers accomodate PLD? Would he be happy at Wing? Moving Centers Courturier, Hayes, or Patrick (keep him away from the wall as much as practical) to wing seems a big NO. PLD has played wing, but I remember reading that he wants to be a top center. An issue? Now, I'm not sure what package from our Flyers would work for both teams, although landing the 22 year old PLD to play wing would be awesome. (Yes, if Patrick's health does not hold-up, PLD could slide to Center.)

True. Good point. It's impossible to project the 31 team's Lists, and Seattle's strategy, at this point in time here in January. As we get close to July, this will be a hot subject with a lot of speculation - - - - although we Flyers fans will be occupied with the SC playoffs right up to July 15!

A shot at our Flyers Protected List 7F/3D/1G: 1) Giroux F (NMC) 2) Hayes F (NMC) 3) Couturier F 4) Konecny F 5) Patrick F 6) Lindblom F 7) Aube-Kubel F 1) Provorov D 2) Sanheim D 3) Myers D 1) Carter G Exposed List: van Riemsdyk (Age 32, Cap Hit 7M) Voracek (Age 32, Cap Hit 8.25M) Bunnaman F Twarynski F Kase F Hagg D Morin D/LW Friedman D Exempt: First and Second year Pro (at July 2021) Farabee F 2nd year Frost F 2nd year Ustimenko G 2nd year Sandstrom G 2nd year Don't have to consider protecting - Laughton, Raffl, Gustafsson because they will be pending UFAs and could be re-signed after the June Expansion Draft, if mutual. Seattle, at the July 21 Expansion Draft, would not take a pending July 28 UFA. The disagreement may be regarding protecting Voracek or NAK. IMO, protect NAK for reasons of stage-of-career, age, and Cap Hit. IMO, high probability Seattle does not select the exposed Voracek. If they do - okay - it opens up a top-9 spot for a prospect such as Frost (C), Sandin (RW), or Allison (RW).

Wise contemplation OR. With our current guess of the Flyers Protected List (7F/3D/1G), Ghost will not be protected and will be on the Exposed List. Obviously the 3 defencemen protected will be Provorov, Sanheim, Myers. With the Flyers projected 'Exposed List', Ghost would clearly be the most attractive for the Seattle Kraken. The Kraken must select 1 player from each of the 31 NHL teams, and each team will lose only 1 player. That is why Fletcher has been trying to trade him with no takers with a reasonable offer yet. Fletcher needs to get an asset in return for Ghost and not lose him in the Expansion Draft with no asset return. The sooner he can make a deal, the better. As we get closer and closer to the July 17 Protected Lists Due date, it will be harder and harder to make a trade because all 31 GMs will also be planning for their Protected List and Exposed List. With all this in mind, I wonder if the recent positive comments from Fletcher and AV, about Ghost in Camp, might have a hidden motive to build his trade value/interest to other GMs around the League?

Found this - Sandin, who turned 24 on May 19, is viewed as a bottom-six forward. He tied for third in the SHL with 19 goals in 51 games this season. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Sandin has played mostly center and right wing, and he can also play left wing. The Flyers see him as a right winger. Flahr has seen Sandin play in person numerous times, and he said the winger has improved each season. Flahr credited scout Joakim Grundberg, who was instrumental in drafting Oskar Lindblom in 2014, for his work in pursuing Sandin and “pushing for him from the beginning." “He’s put in his time, worked on his skating and gotten stronger,” Flahr said. “As he’s worked his way up the Swedish development system, he’s gotten better and better. He works hard, plays a North American-type game and goes to the net and gets greasy goals and does a lot of the little things you need. He always seems to be around the puck and has some tenacity.” Sandin isn’t a dynamic skater, but his speed has gotten better over the years. “We’re not going to compare him to Simon Gagne, but I think his skating has come far enough along to allow him to compete over here,” Flahr said, adding he projects Sandin playing on the penalty kill. Sandin would compete for a job with the Flyers this season, but could end up with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms for a bit. He would be waiver-exempt. I assume he is waiver exempt because he is a first year pro (here in North America) on an Entry Level Contract.. Also, I agree with you OR - - he most likely will be on the Taxi Squad.

AV this morning - Why tonight's intra-squad game is very important -

Local region - NBC Sports - Philadelphia, 7PM ET. The game will also be available to stream live on the MyTeams app and NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com.

If AV holds to the same lines/pairings from the last 2 days of Camp, we will probably see these in the game tonight: (Interesting - Lines 1 & 2 vs Lines 3 & 4) ORANGE: Lindblom-Courturier-Konecny Giroux-Hayes-Farabee Twarynski/Morin-Andreoff-Wisdom Provorov-Braun Zamula-Friedman Pouliot/Bigras-Wylie WHITE JVR-Patrick-Voracek Raffl-Laughton-NAK Willman-Bunnaman/Frost-Sandin/Foerster Sanheim-Myers Hagg-Gustafsson Wotherspoon-Prosser

Wow! Correct! Our Flyers Coach Alain Vigneault. I didn' think anyone would get this one. Good job fc. Good 'thinking outside of the box'.

Yeah, a beautiful day like today (at least here in central PA), many people were out and about - - busy lives. In anticipation of a strike-out, I'll wait until Monday.

Anyone else want to take a shot at today's 'Flyers Mystery Photo' or should I shut it down with nobody sharp enough to get it? (earlier in this thread today) (No, this image is not the Mystery Photo.)

Media report out of Pittsburgh today - The Penguins canceled their practice and scrimmage at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday out of coronavirus-related concerns. In a statement, the team indicated “the decision was made out of an abundance of caution due to potential exposure of covid-19.” There was no word yet regarding their scrimmage Sunday that is scheduled for 7 p.m. or the remainder of their camp. The Penguins are the third NHL team to have their training camp disrupted in some fashion by coronavirus concerns. On Friday, the Dallas Stars canceled practice after six players and two staffers tested positive while the Columbus Blue Jackets held 17 players from participating from practice out of an abundance of caution. The Penguins addressed the possibility of experiencing disruptions related to the pandemic on Friday. “It’s crazy times we’re living in,” forward Bryan Rust said during a video conference with media. “We have to expect the inconvenience. There’s definitely going to be times throughout the year where things are affected by it. We’ve just got to expect that’s going to happen, and we have to take things as they come.” The Penguins’ regular season is scheduled to open Wednesday with a regular season road game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

COVID ALERT Today, Saturday, at the Wells Fargo Center, the seven-man Sixers fell to Denver by a 115-103 score. A somewhat brief summary of why the Sixers only used seven players: Seth Curry tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday night, head coach Doc Rivers confirmed pregame. Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle, Shake Milton and Vincent Poirier were out because of health and safety protocols; Rivers said it was his understanding that those players were sidelined because they were at a table with Curry during a team meal. It’s unclear how long they will be out. A Sixers Athletic Trainer also tested positive for COVID. The other absences were injury related. Our Flyers play at the Wells Fargo Center tomorrow night, Sunday. It's not revealed why the absence of Ghost today. It does not mean that there is a COVID positive test. We hope that the WFC staff does a thorough job of cleaning/sanitizing of the facility, especially the common areas that are traversed by both NBA and NHL teams (they have seperate team locker rooms).

I had not read that about our Flyers anyplace. Here are excerpts from the recent report on Sports Teams and PPP: Which Sports Team Got the Most COVID-19 Aid From the U.S. Government? by John Moriello SportsCasting December 8, 2020 Shortly after the money from the Payroll Protection Program started reaching U.S. small businesses in April, it was discovered that the Los Angeles Lakers applied for and received $4.6 million from the federal government. Given that Forbes says the Lakers are worth more than $4 billion and that ESPN reported that billionaires Philip Anschutz, Patrick Soon-Shiong, and Ed Roski Jr. are minority partners in the franchise controlled by the Buss family, criticism was swift. Responding to the outrage, the Lakers announced that they were returning the money so that the government could distribute it to the intended recipients of the program – small businesses. Sportico.com waded through hundreds of thousands of entries from the report on the Payroll Protection Program and found that 3,968 sports businesses received $1.72 billion to support 235,475 jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The most interesting data, however, relates to the pro sports teams that received money under the PPP. Although no NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB teams received direct funding, Sportico determined that Lemieux Group, which holds Mario Lemieux’s stake in the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, accepted $4.82 million. In soccer, the Seattle Sounders, D.C. United, and Orlando City of MLS all took at least $1.7 million. Orlando’s sum was $2,194,200. The team reportedly is being sold for nearly 200 times that amount. The biggest recipient in team sports of Payroll Protection Program money is an outfit that casual observers might not think of as a team. Richard Childress’ NASCAR team, RCR Enterprises, accepted a loan of $6.33 million. RCR’s drivers include Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick in the NASCAR Cup Series.

The respected Charlie O'Connor answering questions today - Here is one on Frost - Question: Considering that the Flyers top 9 is more or less set in stone without Frost again, how close are we to him being considered expendable or .... *gulp*... a bust? Charlie: Lot of Frost questions this week, with most of them in this vein. I get the concern to a degree, but there’s one key factor that everyone should keep in mind: The Flyers always preferred that Frost get more time in the AHL this season before moving up to the NHL on an every-night basis. You may disagree with that approach, but the fact that Frost is seemingly “boxed out” of the top nine because of the apparent return of Patrick doesn’t really change the Flyers’ view of the ideal developmental strategy for him. Basically, what I’m saying is this: It’s not time to panic about Frost’s place in the organization. In a way, this turn of events was always the Flyers’ hope, that Patrick’s re-emergence would allow them to do what they’ve always felt was in Frost’s best developmental interest, rather than having to “rush” him up to the big club to fill a glaring need. Frost not making the team and not having a clear spot right now is actually the opposite of a “sky is falling” moment for Frost and where he stands in the organization. That said, assuming Patrick remains healthy, a reckoning is coming. Eventually, I believe, Frost is going to make it clear that he’s mastered the AHL, and force the Flyers to stop doubting his NHL-readiness. When that happens, they will have to make a decision about his position, and if they continue to be adamant that he only play center, then there isn’t a long-term place for him in the top nine. But I remain confident that if Frost is tearing up the AHL and the only way to call him up is if he plays wing, the Flyers will green-light a temporary position change. After all, they’ve already been rotating him between center and wing the past two practice days at camp. On some level, they know. [Frost has only played Center in his career at all levels.]

Oh No - another NHL team - - And, the Pens are our Flyers opening 2 games opponent - -

Hope you all are able to watch tomorrow night's Flyers intra-squad game some how. (Sunday 1/10 7 PM ET on NBCS-P). I'm fortunate here in Central PA to get NBCS-P and NBCS-P+ channels. Here is an extract from the transcript of the interview with AV today: Question: How important is tomorrow? It seems having that scrimmage scheduled at night helps them get into rhythm. Also, do you think the days of playing 6,7,8 preseason games, do you think these days are over? AV: I’ll answer your first question. I went through my prior notes in the last shortened season when I was in Vancouver. Both Mikes (Mike Yeo and Michel Therrien] went through their notes. I had talked to some other coaches from some other teams. Everybody has sort of a different approach. This here in the time we had, I thought getting what we consider is a real game is the right thing to do. By having them skate here [Vorhees Flyers Tng Ctr] tomorrow, and that is what we are going to be doing throughout the season also if we do have morning skate, they are going to be here and not at Wells Fargo. This is because it is easier for [COVID] testing facilities for us to get tested. So, we have to make a quick adjustment. Initially I wanted everything at Wells Fargo, but because we have to get tested everyday here it is easier. That is why we changed tomorrow. But tomorrow night will be basically the two morning skates and then they will come in at night and play a game. We will have in theory one full game where guys are playing, guys are playing the right way. For us, obviously, we have been evaluating during practice. We have been evaluating during the scrimmages. But tomorrow is a big night. It is an important night for a lot of players. Not just about starting line-up, but where they are on our depth chart, how we feel we can utilize these guys at some point moving forward. It is important. As far as the exhibition games, I believe, in the past there has been anywhere from 8-10, I thought that was overkill. I think 6 is a great number. I think 4-6 depending on the length of the camp.

Actually a very good guess. You have been around CX. But, inorrect.

Continued optimism - - 3C Nolan Patrick - he is going to be awesome to watch -

Playoffs? The good, bad, and the ugly. Ugly - Yes, TK, G, JVR, Ghost, Braun, etc - - But. We remember that Fletcher warned us to be careful about drawing conclusions from the small sample size 13-game bubble playoffs and it's circumstances affecting individual players in different ways. Now we've read about how players are extra-fueled, extra-pumped, because of how the playoffs ended. This is a good thing. This new start will be exciting. This is a very, very, good team. Intra-squad game on TV tomorrow night (Sunday 1/10) at 7 PM ET. I know some here will not be able to see it. Sorry.