off_the_post

Agreed. 

So that would mean at least 2 more dmen would come in?  One to replace Kimmo and one to replace Gus as a 7th.  Hopefully one to replace Gill too but I hope they could do internally somehow.  Either way it will be interesting to see the blue line next year especially if Kimmo retires. 

Gus was never going to replace Kimmo.  I believe we all agree with that assumption.  However being the 3rd smaller dman is mentioned a bit in reading about Gus' departure.  However what happens if Kimmo retires?  Either way this will be interesting to see how it plays out. 

  I keep Rinaldo, no questions asked. Besides the odd bone headed penalty, he does nothing to hurt the roster. He skates well enough to keep up the pressure on the forecheck, hits like a friggin train and works his ass off. Makes close to the vet minimum, so not a drain on the cap situation either. At least twice last year, he knocked out 2 opposing d-men in the same game, which played a huge role in wins in those particular games. That's the kinda thing that never shows up in a stat sheet, but equates to a sneaky plus.

 

  In a long and drawn out playoff series, he's capable of hitting hard enough to eliminate key opposing players, which is a nice thing to have in your back pocket. Love his intensity and work ethic. He's not even close to being one of the major problems on this team.....way more pressing problems than this kid.

Well said.

First order of business is to find a suitor for VLC.  That will help in the resigning process for BSchenn.  Failing that a sign and trade is in BSchenn's future.

Yes, they were easy to defend against in this series. Against the Rangers. In 2014.



But what about 3 years from now? When Schenn is 25 and approaching his prime, Giroux is 29 and in his prime, Couturier 24 and should have had a breakout year, Laughton will be 22-23 and very comfortable with the game. Simmonds will be 28 and in his prime. Voracek will be 27 and in his prime. Mason will be 28 and in his prime as well. Ghost, Morin, Hagg should all be on the blueline. Timonen will be 43 and still ticking as the #1... Ok, I'm kidding about that part



I'm optimistic about the future of this team.



All that being said, I still think Brayden Schenn will be traded this summer. He's been disappointing and this franchise does not have patience.

I'll say i felt sorry for him he looked so ill prepared....certainly not his best game...but at his age it could be he is at his ceiling. Chubak may even be a better prospect than him...cause there is no way he looks like 6' 4"...no way.

 

Anyways thank God for Stolarz.

Funny, I was saying the same thing to my father as we watched the game.  For 6'4" he covered the same amount of net as Darren Pang.

I know BM call's VLC a power play specialist but I don't see it. I think using him on the 5-3 set up is a waste. I would much rather leave the PP lines alone. Anybody know where to access the 5-3 stats for this year? I don't recall having a worse 5-3 PP and I point the finger at VLC.

http://www.csnphilly.com/hockey-philadelphia-flyers/flyers-notes-5-3-power-play-fails-again so the answer to my question was written today by Sarah Baicker.  The 5 on 3 is 2 for 14.  She even indicates that the total time played 5 on 3 is 10:50.  In almost 11 minutes of 5 on 3 how can you only score 2 goals? 

And back to VLC specifically. He has played 2 of his best games as a flyer on the "4th" line as already indicated by others.

I don't mind the move.  I don't see many options. I think moving McGinn to the 2nd line might be trying to recreate the feeling the 2nd line had when hartnell was there and it was a bit more of a bang and crash line.

I know BM call's VLC a power play specialist but I don't see it.  I think using him on the 5-3 set up is a waste.  I would much rather leave the PP lines alone.  Anybody know where to access the 5-3 stats for this year? I don't recall having a worse 5-3 PP and I point the finger at VLC.

That all said I have nothing personal against him and I wish him well but I also wish he was playing somewhere else.

I didn't understand the signing then and I hate it now. I would have rather had Briere since he only has 1 more year left on the contract I believe.  Briere would have been the lessor of two "evils".

Excellent signing.  I thought he could have asked for $1.5m per season though. 

Watching this weekend I was impressed to find out Matt Read now sits with 19 goals.  Not bad for a "3rd" line winger which is a line anchored by Downie (anchored in a bad way not the best sprinter in the last leg of a 4*100m race).  Also not bad for a guy who only sometimes sees time on the 2nd PP unit when there is an injury.  He currently has more goals that JV and SH who both are on the 1st line and 1pp unit.

I had started a thread about the "Value of Matt Read" before he was resigned.  I think a 4 year, 14.5 million contract was justified.

Oh, and Luke Schenn is starting to look like a good defenceman again.

I have not read the rest of the thread yet to see if this was discussed further but I agree with you.

I am all for VLC moving anywhere up/down the line up.  I had even pondered if he could become a defenseman which is obviously absurd.  I was going to start another crap of VLC thread a week or so ago and then he scored an OT winner so that bought him some time. 

I am very happy to see Meltzer make a point about his play.

@ TedZep.  I am with you. I am a bit dissapointed in seeing him go.  I always thought he was a bit better then most here game him credit. That might just be because when the puck came back to him on the point you thought something could happen instead of a corner dump in for the winger to retrieve.  I hope he does well in Boston.

I think some untimely penalties turned the game around. I am pretty sure Downie took one of them.

Move Raffl up and sit Downie. Bring up anybody to fill the extra spot or dress 7 d men.  I had supported the Downie deal since it provided some spark and more flexibility in the offseason with his contract coming off the books.  Now I just want to see him off the ice. 

Well, Andrew MacDonald is an interesting option. He is top pair in NY (or at least he was), so he could play a #2/3 role here. With Meszaros and Timonen likely gone by season's end, he's a solid pickup. Of course, he might make Grossmann redundant.

Streit/MacD

Coburn/Grossmann

Gus/Schenn

I'd rather have a mobile guy with Coburn. See if there's interest in Grossmann or Schenn?

My fear with Andrew MacDonald is that is the new Jeff Finger.  I've not seen him play but I do watch a lot of hockey and when I started to read up on available trades I was like, "who is that guy?".  I guess if I actually watched him play I could be a bit more objective.

Had to go to the bathroom.

I have a feeling they will go with Neal on that line. Failing that Carter will go to that line and I think St. Louis will then get the spot.

Yes is there a correlation between Kimmo being out and a more mobile Gus and Mez in.  Personally I think I saw a few plays on the PP where Streit was able to make a move, keep the puck in, etc. where I think Kimmo would have been a step too slow and the play would have come out of the zone.  IMHO I think Kimmo can "rest" until the Olympic break.  I'd love for him to regain his old form but as is well discussed here time and all those nagging injuries which he has played through have caught up to him.

I am not sold on the D yet but I do have to wonder how much of the recent play has been as a result of faster foot speed. 

You have to give Homer credit for getting this kid... he can play and can really play in all situations.   Was a great find and he is the best interview in the entire locker room.  The kid is funny...

Interesting. I don't I've seen him interviewed. Again watching the other teams' feed I actually don't see many interviews.

He was actually in a 2nd tier league in Sweden, but point taken. I actually think it's pretty remarkable that he plays as well as he does. The thing that really impresses me is that he always seems to be in the right place at the right time. His skills could use some refinement but the tools are are there. And the toolbox to use them seems to be there too.

Thanks for the clarification. That makes more sense.

Being out of the local Philly market I am forced to watch a lot of visitor feeds on center ice.  In doing so I have witnessed a number of announcers comment that Raffl is a solid player.  Just recently in the LA game the announcers were commenting on his defensive positioning, blocking shots (not that I think he is a pure shot blocker) PK work, good on his skates and is able to cycle the puck in the offensive zone. 

Now I am paraphrasing but I recall a number of situations like this over the year.  I find it interestings that a guy can go from a 2nd tier league in Austria to the NHL.  Good on him.

I'd hate to be a downer but I don't see a lot fo W's in the future either.  I agree with your next 4 game except I think the SJ game will be an OT loss.

Let's see if he can make it through those 14 days first...