Mad Dog

Why would I be the same as Samifan???? You don't remember me from philly.com forum?

I am not the Sabres fan, obviously, but I tend to agree that Granato is mismanaging the team. For one, I don't understand how you can play friggin' Casey Mittlestadt ahead of Cozens. these two players are not even on the same planet, unless something is wrong with Cozens (like sophomore jinx or injuries). The kid is the future star and has some unreal skills, while Mittlestadt should be cemented on the third line. This is the good way to mess up a young player...

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Both of these two players are studs and proven stars. The Jets had to do it. I would say looking at the comparable contracts of similar players, these new contracts are in the right neighborhood.

I share the sentiment of those who said it feels longer. I do recall that I left that place around 2007-2008 after I had enough, but that doesn't mean that the actual exodus happened at the same time I left. At that same time, a poster with a handle Forsbergy (a.k.a., JTK) has created his own site called puthepuckinthe.net where many of us temporarily migrated to. His site was intended as a permanent replacement of philly.com (which is what this site ended up becoming), but for one reason or the other, that never materialized. I am sure the philly.com people remember that. Well, what can I say.... Time flies. But........... In an effort to be as objective and fair as one can be, and to remove the tint of personal attachment and prejudice, I have to say that philly.com wasn't ALL bad. Toward the end, yes, that place just completely went to a shitter and needed to go. There was a combination of reasons for the downfall; it didn't happen overnight. But there were also some good memories. First of all, that place offered an unparalleled amount of free entertainment. Beyond that, I personally learned quite a few things from people who know tremendously more about hockey than me. But above all, that place allowed me to meet some quality people with whom I share some core values and a vision of the world we live in, and whom, I am happy to say, I befriended, albeit on a virtual level. Don't raise your hands; you know who you are. Also, in light of what has transpired at philly.com, that place turned out to be a great test of character and really showed who was who. But I will join in thanking the creators of this site. While I only come here occasionally these days, one cannot overstate the amount of work that went into creating this place and what it became.

Nice. I have another 10 years to go till retirement. Glad you are doing well and enjoying your well-deserved retirement.

Rod! How are you pal? It's been a while. I believe the last time we spoke was at philly.com. How are things?

Another Flames' player I would keep an eye on is Noah Hanifin. Man, that kid has some insane skills. And he just started coming around last year. I wonder though if "Suter factor" stifled his development, so I would be curious to see what he can do under a new coach who gives him a longer leash.

Both 7 PM and 8 PM on October 2nd will work for me. Thanks.

They are one team that's really hard to figure out. Objectively, I think they will be mediocre. When they made a decision 2 summers ago to move Tkachuk & Gaudreau for Huberdeau & Kadri, I though that was a terrible idea. Boy, did that plan blow in their face.... And Markstrom... I had that guy in NAHANA on my team for 3 years straight. Prior to last year he was nothing short of brilliant. Only 2 years ago he finished second in Vezina Trophy voting. I don't really know what happened to him last season, but it was like watching a completely different goalie. He was letting in easy goals that he has no business letting in. It was an abysmal performance by all measures. I really think if they can manage to get him back to what he was prior to last season, they have a playoff chance. if they are getting the last year's Markstrom, they will finish dead last in Pacific... yes, below the Ducks and Sharks, as hard as it is to believe.

Bunting and Orlov should help tremendously. And I always liked Brind'Amour's coaching style. The guy is a winner and knows how to get results. If the goaltending holds out, they should win Metropolitan Division if they can get by the Rangers. But the entire Eastern Conference may be more challenging. I think Florida, Boston and Toronto will not just roll over easily. But this team will be in contention again; no doubt about it.

To answer the question, I don't think they are the worst, but very, very close to be a winner of this honorable title. I think Chicago will be God awful in 2023-2024, even *with* Connor Bedard. I think the Coyotes and Sharks will also finish with fewer points by the end of the season than the Flyers. And it looks to me like the Ducks and Blue Jackets will be right about the Flyers' level. That said, it won't shock me if the team completely tunes Tortorella out and finishes as the worst NHL team. Something like this should actually be giving us a cause to look forward to building for future, but given that it's the Flyers we are talking, I have a feeling they will screw this up, again. Yes, Snider is long gone and this new leadership group *should* have a different mindset. But I am NOT sure that's the case though. Something in the way Jones and Dannyboy sound doesn't make me a believer. And I don't trust Dan Hilferty for even a second. The way he talks about pride and going back to the way of winning makes me cringe, frankly.

I really wanted the Flyers to draft him.

How do you guys feel about Nate Danielson? The 9th overall, excellent skater, led Brandon in pretty much every single category.... Can he be NHL-ready as soon as 2024-2025?

That's your prediction, but nothing more than that. Sorry... The reality is, only Putin and his close circle know for a fact why they decided to attack Ukraine and start a full-blown war. I began to listen to politicians, journalists (including World journalists and Ukrainian ones), historians (including Tim Snider, who is an expert on Eastern Europe), and war experts since the war began and continue doing it now, although much less frequently compared to 1.5 years ago. There are many opinions and many theories. But even *they* don't know for a fact why Putin did what he did. It also stands to reason that *if* invading Poland was his true and primary intention, we would have seen at last some signs of that. With today's military, intelligence, and weaponry capabilities, you don't need to occupy Ukraine to be able to occupy Poland. Also don't forget that Poland is in NATO. Putin was told by US and British officials in charge, in terms that even an imbecile can understand, what would happen to Moscow and other major Russian cities, Russia's armed forces, the Russian military and government command, and him personally if he would even make an attempt to attack a NATO country. And he understood. He is a world criminal and a fascist. Yes. But he is not stupid and he is not a fanatic who doesn't care if he dies. He has no plans to die.

I see quite a bit of similarity to the path the Flyers are taking. The only difference I can see is after so many decades (not even years, but decades), essentially going back to the Flyers' winning the Cup in the mid-1970's, they are finally committed to a full rebuild. At least Jones, Hilferty, and Dannyboy saying all the right things. I am not sure the Sharks are fully committed to rebuilding, but I don't follow them closely enough to know....

Thanks Doc. As I mentioned earlier, Saturdays generally would not be my first choice, but I do understand that the draft day will be influenced by NAHANA draft date as well as the desire of the majority. So no need to adjust the schedule based purely on my preference. If I have to, I will autodraft...

Can't be much worse than Sanheim and DeAngelo. But yeah, I am scratching my head over this signing.

They just refuse to learn...

Well overdue, but it's better late than never. In fact, I am ecstatic. This bozo *may* have been the worst GM in the entire Flyers history. This needed to be done if the Flyers had any hope to keep the team. I guess I will give Dannyboy a benefit of the doubt. We'll see what he has up his sleeve.

@aziz Good to see you, pal. Hope all is well...

And how did de Angelo and Risto help correct the defensive woes?

@Math I am sure Nill has done his share of signings when Dallas' fans were scratching their heads. And not being a Stars' fan, my view/analysis is obviously slanted and, I am sure, incomplete. But based on a small sample I see, these most recent signings is a blueprint to solid GM'ing. I don't know how can anybody has any issues with signing your core of the team to very favorable long-term contracts and.... AND.... getting rid of Khudobin's contract?! If Dallas fans are unhappy, we can swap Nill for Fletch.

Sorry, I don't mean to pile up, but you *are* clueless. You are asking what should be done? I will tell you the right way to do things. Jim Nill, the Dallas Stars' GM signed their star player Hintz to an 8-year contract extension through 2031 worth $67.5 mil. A little earlier, he signed his three other stars: Jason Robertson to a 4-year contract extension worth of $7.7 millions a year; Jake Outtinger to a $12 million a year for 3 years; and Miro Heiskanen to 8 years worth $67 million. In other words, he signed the core of his club to long-term very favorable, cap-friendly contracts now with still room remaining in salary cap. And they are a team that has been contending for the Stanley Cup over the last several years. That's how smart, knowledgeable GMs operate - they prioritize what's called asset management (look it up) almost above anything else and don't commit to players who are secondary. And that's why you won't see Nill signing players like Tony DeAngelo or friggin' Ristolainen to outrageous contracts, or Travis Sanheim to 8 years worth of $6.3 a year. Plus, Nill just somehow managed to move Khudobin - a formidable task many pundits of the NHL considered simply impossible. That's what good GMs do. You want another example? The Sabres (who the Flyers fans actually love to laugh about) signed Dylan Cozens to a 7-year extension at $7 million a year. That's what is called good GM'ing. You want to know why it's good? Because Dylan Cozens is just about as a perfect young two-way player as one can find in the NHL today. His defense is flawless. He will play one-on-one against any star player of the opposing team. His offense is improving so quickly that in 2-3 years, Buffalo fans will forget who Jack Eichel was. And Cozens is only 21 years old. In 3 years from now, he will be worth much more than $7 million a year on the team that already has Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Jack Quinn, and Luukkonen. Sorry, but you really have no idea what you are talking about....

To me, Brendan Lemieux was an exclamation point. I would actually be fine if Fletch didn't make *any* trades. I mean... I would be disappointed that the rebuilding team didn't try to acquire some picks, but at the end I would be OK. But acquiring Brendan Lemieux, who is NOT going to play more than 2 minutes a game in Tortorella's system (or any reasonable coach's system for that matter) was an ultimate, final **** you to the fans. There was zero sense in making this trade. This trade was plain offensive.