mojo1917

@GratefulFlyers @CoachX No, it's not that Sean will play 86 games compared to everyone else's 82...c'mon. Couturier has played through terrible knee injuries, concussions, now the back surgeries, I know it is the players choice to make themselves available, but somewhere there needs to be an adult in the room that says, hey bud you probably ought not play on that knee with the torn mcl. Those injuries wear a player down, making them less effective, Couturier was dinged up in January and somehow managed to play through whatever it was, did it heal? maybe . We'll find out in April I reckon. Wayne Simmonds played through some ridiculous injuries so the team could make the playoffs or have a run at the playoffs. He had severe shoulder and knee injuries.

Since he's one of my favorite players I hope not. I remember a lot of questions in the scrums in the early part of the season where the coach was asked if there were any restrictions on Couturier, and he said no. I assumed that to mean he was told "by all them doctors", the player was good to go. He was going to play him the way his play dictates. For most of the year that was as a top 6 centerman. Most reasonable people would try not to run the guy with the bad back into a nub. I can see why he scratched him, I can see that it worked in the short term, I still don't like it.

I think this is it. There were going to be inevitable dips in Sean's play based on the reasons we've covered. Perhaps benching the captain tells the young guys, you need to step up. Last night's result was the young guys did. Frost, Tippett, York, all had really good games. I thought Brink and Foerster were noticeable too, mostly in good ways. I do wonder if Bob is too small for the NHL, he was around the play but not able to make them. He got bullied quite a bit by a soft bunch. That's not good- he needs to get stronger somewhere/how so he can execute the plays he sees developing. Ersson was fine, everyone is talking about all the posts the Leaves hit, well, that's all that was available to them on 3 of the ringers. It's not like Ersson was **** and the Leaves missed wide open nets. Short term, the scratch will piss Couturier off, maybe he plays better, and maybe it was the hand grenade the room needed to wake up and get all 23 guys rolling. I'm not sure of the long-term ramifications though, seems like an easy first step to losing the room he's so proud of .

He's been super harsh with Morgan Frost. I think in the cases with the "younger players" the tough love has mostly kinda worked. Sanhiem, after the scratch and trade fiasco went to the gym and put on some **** y'all weight and has been quite good this season. Frost has been mostly alright since emerging from chateau de' Bow-wow too. I really don't see where this treatment benefits Couturier in the least.

Thing is, I wasn't disappointed with how Couturier was playing. I was expecting some lulls in his effectiveness. I think as spokesman for reasonable people everywhere; to expect a guy who has had 2 back surgeries (and subsequently hasn't played much hockey in the last 3 years) to play 20 minutes a night, in all situations, for 82 games, at hair on fire pace is ****** looney tunes. I haven't minded the Fonzie show until now. I know Couturier can "take it", still I don't want him to "have to". Fonzie has to answer for the mismanagement of the player. I hope it's the first question Anthony SanFillipo asks him.

What ?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!

maybe, he is a handsome devil.

@OccamsRazor I can't help but think Couturier is worn down. On the one hand I understand needing more production and play driving from him. Also, everyone is accountable, even the newly named captain. I think his play driving metrics are alright, he's not scoring but he's net positive xGf if I understand that metric properly. ....but, I think this move by the coach might not have the desired result. I don't think you can get blood from a stone. I think Sean is running on fumes.

Keith Allen and the first go-round with Robert Earl, those were successful. That 80s team was my favorite, so borrowing from that culture would be fine by me.

If I could get that tenner out of the ignition chamber I wouldn't bet it. I'm sure those words will be uttered...a lot.

I think he has to be "healed" to be sent down for rehab.

It's not insignificant.

@JR Ewing We live in an age of hyperbole. Everything is the greatest it's ever been...blah, blah, blah. Sometimes this is true. McDavid is so much better than the next closest guy. Sometimes the greatness is close but not greater than. Sometimes it's people trying to sell ad-space.

I am, because I don't give any credence to the Homer/Clarke cabal secretly puppet mastering the franchise into the gutter. There isn't a "what's the blue line for?" nincompoop in the GM, Chairman or President's position. I don't think the current big 3 rely on the doddering old fools at all.

@OccamsRazor I think the Ryan Johansen "thing" is he injured? where is he going to go? could he be waived when he was? is ****** things up right now. FTR, I think Johansen's cap hit counts against the Flyers NHL cap so he can rehab- evidently a guy can't be waived and demoted if they're injured.

Well, Lycksell can be counted on for zero in his 8 minutes. Maybe Ginning paired with Attard is the magic Adam needs to become a real boy. The ship is taking on water, I'm okay with it. A swoon will improve the draft position. It's all winning from this point forward.

That looked like a man taking the puck from a baby. holy ****.

@radoran My memory of being on athletic teams is there were definitely hierarchies based on ability, seniority and forcefulness of personality. My study of leadership through various points of my career has reinforced those learnings. If the senior, best guys are behaving one way, the junior guys struggle to have their voices heard. Especially if those junior voices contradict the seniors. There are intrapersonal dynamics working in all group situations. Because Couturier wore a letter while Giroux was the captain doesn't automatically make him a complicit acolyte or willing participant of the "for who , for what?" mentality that creeped into the room and accelerated once Simmonds was traded. The culture of the organization was damaged by Scott, Camillo, Fletcher and the folks who tried to "modernize" the organization without at least honoring the past. Gritty, as much as I like him is symptom A of the mentality. The rot starts at the head or words to that effect. I think it's too simplistic of a point to say, yeah, Coots was there so he sucks just as much as Giroux, and he should have stopped whatever was going on.

Comments about Laughton are around 6:30. Still don't hear a guy thinking his team is built.

Listing every 4th rounder who has done anything in the league doesn't move the needle for me. It just doesn't How many 4th rounders % make the league? Hint it is more than 10% but less than 11%. https://dobberprospects.com/2020/05/16/nhl-draft-pick-probabilities/ Oh, past guys have traded more assets for guys drafted in the 4th round? So what. Those guys aren't making the decisions. Those old guys still dodder around on the club level and are given office space where they've worked for most of their lives? Again, So what. At the end of the day Danny is the guy making the decisions. The team is in a position to make the playoffs, the GM trades one of the top 2 defensemen on the team, and goes bargain shopping for a player to help with depth because in the 2 weeks before the TDL- 3 defensemen hit the IR. These decisions aren't made in a vacuum, they're made in the messy real world by humans, the decisions affect other humans and not bytes of information. Danny is sending a message with the Johnson deal. I don't think he is only sending a message to this room, he's sending it to other guys that the Flyers may target via trade or free agency. Still, people lose their goddammed minds - because, because there is an 11% chance that the asset used may become an NHL player in 5 years? wtf am I missing? There is an 89% chance that guy becomes Wade Allison instead of Kris Versteeg. And Wade Allison is one of the better examples for the 11% argument, he got a sniff at the NHL- do we want him taking a roster spot? Icing a defense of Andrae, Ginning Attard, Staal, York and Sanhiem for the remainder of the season has a better than 11% probability of alienating guys like Forester, Tippett, Farabee, Cates, Drysdale and Poehling. Guys that are pretty good and fit a timeline for Michkov's arrival.

@GratefulFlyers What, I can't support a post of yours with different information?

If the team falls out of a playoff spot, I'll be disappointed for the boys. They've been fun to watch most of the year. This stretch of games vs the best teams in the conference is highlighting/bolding/underlining the gap in talent. We all see it, because we see it, I don't expect a quiet offseason . Falling to 15-12 in draft position and some luck after that could get them into position to spend to get a player they like if he's available. Seems like they battled again, but came up a little short. It's a better result than most of the recent games v the Bruins.

I can't get that tenner into the ignition chamber. It's been tried.

@GratefulFlyers They didn't spend a prime asset on the player. They didn't trade Foerster for 20 games of Tanev . They did trade their defenseman with the best underlying metrics on the team for a pick while in a playoff position . That doesn't scream going for it to me @SCFlyguy. They're not rebuilding according to your blueprint, we'll all have to wait to see if they're successful.

@CoachX Couple of things. Not pick #13 in the first round. One of 13 picks in this draft. They're not keeping him around for nostalgia, ffs, Laughton was the only player Fonzie deemed worthy of an offical leadership role in his first year as coach. There were terrible assholes on that team to negotiate around. Laughton did that. Also, let me remind everyone, Laughton has another year on his contract. There is no rush/pressure/reason to shop him. I've said in these very threads, next year is a different story. Hell, after the season is a different story. I don't see anything wrong with rewarding a guy for hard work or valuing a guy for the things he's done for the team during a transition period. Ymmv.