iban3z

I firmly believe that Dan Bylsma is in a hotter seat. The Pens have been placed with a "Cup or bust" label and since 2012 when they got embarrassed by the Flyers and again last year by Boston, I think he's gotta get a Division and another Deep playoff 6-7 run. That team plays a system where most of their players get injured and they lose a lot of man games. Lavy I'd say is in the top 5, with Todd Mclellan, Carolina's head coach, and the two you said. 

@Samifan

Really Bobby Ryan?? 

For me Team: Canucks

Player: Rick Nash

How does Hartnell Suck?

He was rushed back from Injury last year and I don’t count ANYONES stats except Voraceks and Giriouxs from last year’s mulligan.

But 11/12: 37G,30A 67 PTS

 10/11: 24 G, 25 A 49 PtS

 09/10:  14G 30A 44 Pts

08/09:  30G, 30A 60 Pts

07/08: 24G,19 A 43 Pts

Other than a Lockout shortened season which had it been full, he was on pace for 20+ goals, and 09/10 he’s consistently scored more than 20 goals per season and has more than 40 PTS per season since 2005. He’s got 485 PTS in 875 games. That’s pretty decent to me. He’s not a superstar, so you can’t expect him to put up PTS like Giroux or Crosby. He’s a power forward that not only gives you 40+ PTS per season, he wins battles on the boards, plays 2way hockey and stands up for his team mates. He’s not the best skater, I’ll give you that, but saying he sucks is baffling. He is also good in the Clutch. Do you remember the 2010 post season?  He had 17pts in 23 games, scored a goal and an assist in the down 0-3 game 7 and scored the Tying goal in Game 6 in the SCF. You’re entitled to your opinion, but I hate when people say Hartnell sucks when he’s got the stats to back up that he doesn’t. 

My record since 2008. On Cup Predictions from the beginning of the season:

Year           Prediction (Winner)         Outcome        Prediction (Loser)

2008          Red Wings                      Won Cup            Flyers

2009          Red Wings                      Lost Cup             Penguins

2010          Blackhawks                    Won Cup            Flyers

2011          Bruins                             Won Cup               Sharks

2012         Kings (as a joke actually) Won Cup        Rangers
2013         Blackhawks                    Won Cup            Canadians

I predict the Senators will win it this year VS. the Ducks

I want to start a following on Goalie Prospect Anthony Stolarz. I think he's going to be a great Goalie in the future and I think it would be cool to say, "Hey I followed that guy in Juniors!" So feel free to talk about him, his play, etc....

Here's his info from OHL Website:

Anthony Stolarz

London Knights

And his college Stats: (From HockeyDB.com)

There is no question in my mind that if the Flyers have a under .500 record within the first 10-20 games, Lavy will be fired. The question is, who’s out there to replace him?

I don’t think our PP will be any better until Craig Berube is let go. He was a hell of a hockey player, but as an assistant coach, I don’t think he’s the guy to be one of our coaches. The Flyers love giving alumni those jobs and I think it haunts them. Brining in Hextall as an Assistant GM, further proves this. I was hoping the Flyers would blow it up and remove all the Alumni from the front office and rebuild

I think Emery will be our starter with Mason playing well as a back-up. I think Heeter is a AHLer for life, kind of like Neil Little. Stolarz should be NHL ready within 2 years.

Our Defenseman are Defensive Defenseman except Brayden Coburn who’s more of an offensive Defenseman but if very poor at it.

Girioux and Voracek should be in line for a top PTS season. Theres a plethora of talent throughout the NHL who I think can make the top 10 hard for players. (Ovi, Stamkos, Malkin, Crosby, Nugent-Hopkins, Towes, Huberdeau, Taveres, St Louis, Eric Stahl, Kessel, Datsyuk)

Girioux placed 15^th in the top PTS leaders last season with 1PTS per game. (48 Games 49 PTS).  Voracek was 18^th on that list and I think Voracek is going to keep getting better and better. 

Every year, they're picked to win it all and they have a good team, but they're not as good and haven't been as good as the 2009 team. They're getting older, more injuries are happening and people have figured out Bylsma's system. 

He's a solid Player. I've always like him. He's the type of player I'd want on my team. I've been surprised by the subpar performance the Oilers have given the past few years. With Gagner, Hall, Nuget-Hopkins, Eberle and Justin Shultz in the back, they have a good core to be a very successful team. Their Goaltending isn't back either, Devan Dubnyk had a .920 Save % with a 2.57 GAA but with his record of 14-16-6 you wouldn't know it. I expect them to be a good team this year. 

I think the Emery/Mason combo will be fine. I'm more concerned on our defensive corps, playing an offensive system. A system that this Defense isn't build to play. 

That also comes back to the coach. 

It sure has been a quiet offseason for the Flyers. That was however, up until July 18 when the Flyers signed RFA Shea Weber to a huge offer sheet. With just a day remaining for Nashville to match, one has to wonder what the Flyers are going to do with offense. If Nashville does not match and the Flyers get Weber without having to work out a trade, the Flyers will have $4.9 million remaining in Salary. They still have RFA Jakub Voracek that needs to be signed and he is looking for a raise from his $2.25 mil from the previous season.

The Flyers have lost two big forwards in Jagr and JVR when it comes to points, but many people would point out, not nearly as many from the previous offseason. (Richards/Carter) The Flyers are going to need some offense regardless. If they do work out a trade, most likely Read and or Voracek will be dealt and that will make four offensive departures this offseason. Fans may point out that Bobby Ryan is still being shopped, but the asking price is still high for Ryan. Also who do you trade for him if the Flyers end up losing Read and Voracek?

Holmgrim is not looking to blow this young team up again as he did last year. The last thing he wants to do is trade five players to bring in two. Best case scenario, the Flyers get Weber without Nashville matching and could end up trading Read or Voracek, plus a D-man (Coburn or Meszaros) in a package deal for Ryan. The Ducks could believe that they could ask a high price for Ryan, but remember Ryan’s comments, indicating that he does not want to play for Anaheim anymore. The front office knows this and the last thing an organization wants, is an unwanted player in their locker room. The team who is the most patient will obtain Ryan and probably at a reasonable cost.

Still could the Flyers afford Ryan if the price did drop?

If you look at the Flyers current roster here is the breakdown:

F- Danny Briere. Cap hit of $6.5mil. The NHL’s most consistent scorer when it comes to the post season. His veteran presence and leadership as well as his skill level would hurt the Flyers if he were to be dealt.

F-Scott Hartnell. Cap hit of $4.2mil. It wasn’t long ago where Hartnell was at the top of the rumor mill of being traded. That was before Hartnell has the best season of his career by leading the team in goals and earning his first trip to the NHL all star game. Even before Hartnell became a scoring leader, he still had put up 20+goals five out of six seasons and he’s that gritty player that will win battles off the boards, drop the gloves and give it his all every night. Trading him will only downgrade the team’s size which they’re already lacking in the offensive dept. Not to mention even though he’s in a contract year, he’s willing to come back at a discount.

F-Max Talbot. Cap hit of $1.75mil. Talbot also had a career season with the Flyers and was a huge player on their PK and is a younger version of Ian Laperriere. He will sacrifice himself for the team and to win games. He’s also a veteran presence with Stanley Cup experience. Dealing him could cripple the PK.

F-Wayne Simmonds. Cap hit of 1.75. Simmonds, like Talbot and Hartnell, had his best season last year with 28G, 21A for 49 PTS. He’s a younger version of Hartnell. He’s very valuable on the PP, isn’t afraid to drop the gloves and has tremendous potential of being a career 30 goal scorer. His salary is friendly to the Flyers and given if another player is traded, his responsibility will only increase. His name isn’t something you’ll hear every night on the NHL Network, but he is one of those valuable role players that will make whichever team he is on, better. Trading him would come back to haunt the Flyers.

F-Matt Read Cap hit $900,000. Read was an undrafted rookie and probably made plenty of NHL scouts, smack their heads. Read is probably the Flyers’ biggest trade piece because of his rookie season and potential to be a star in the NHL. However his $900k is good for the team asking for him, but no good for the Flyers. If he was moved, another big salary player would have to go with him.

The untouchable players I’ve labeled are: Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier and Brayden Scehnn. Some may also forget that there is

a young player looking to make a name for himself, who is buried down in the Flyers roster. I’m talking about Eric Wellwood. Wellwood has some of the fastest skating I’ve seen since Simon Gagne’s rookie year. He played very well in replace of an injured JVR playing 24 games scoring 5G and 9A. I expect him to make the roster and play on the 3^rd line. We had nine rookies make suit up last year for the Flyers, so why not give him a shot?

We’ll have to wait and see what were working with here, since a lot can happen between now and the deadline for Weber. Will the Flyers become a better team Wednesday night? As a Flyers fan, I can only say, “I sure hope so!”

Follow me on Twitter @iban3zhead