radoran

An accurate description of the past ten years...

NONE of it "makes sense" for the term, the amount, or the situation. They wanted to do it. They did it. It's done.

And it took a four year deal Twice as long as any non-entry level deal he ever had At almost four times what he was making With a NTC How much did he WANT to be here? I mean, make me an offer...

It's been great. Since they excised the cancer that apparently destroyed the entire franchise from within over the course of a decade in which... Checks notes... No one noticed.

Well there the C, the two As and the guy signed long term on the blue line. All of them were here when the team found itself completely devoid of any semblance of Flyer hockey. My quibble is more with the latter line than the former. Agreed, I just wish they were doing that. Couturier, Sanheim, Laughton, Ristolainen, and now Seeler are all here for four more years... We live in Interesting times... The Seeler move isn't a Fletch level event, it's just a step (or three) in the wrong direction. An unforced error. Let's see if the next one moves in a better direction...

Pretty much the same thing. Happy to be wrong. They've got a lot pinned on Michkov coming two years from now and we can just hope that turns out right... To be clear, I'm not saying strip to the studs. I do get the need to have vets around. I do see the problems in Buffalo and New Jersey. Then I see a team looking to "build" around three (four) guys who were "big parts" of the group that oversaw the (alleged and apparent) complete and total vivisection of team culture for the past ten years. It's almost as if they don't really mean that the culture was completely destroyed any more than they mean they are rebuilding "the right way"...

It's like the Tortorella plot armor wasn't enough. Could be worse, could be "no movement" Yeah, I have a bad feeling that they are playing the "we're closer than we thought!" card. "Retool" - we're definitely a playoff team! Excitement. Ticket sales. Playoffs!

It's just lucky they signed the only defenceman who was still available. What other choice did they have? With a no movement clauses because double the length and triple the value of any other contract isn't enough of a commitment..

I'm not entirely off board with Danny Jones yet, but the current situation isn't terribly encouraging. If the goal was to "get people back in the building" and "have an exciting environment" then that's been a success - this year. I don't think "the fans" are on board for another long term middling bubble playoff team experience.

They flat out told them that. Then they told the team it wasn't.

A guy who's exceptional value is putting exposed parts of his body in front of slap shots has a lower body injury? And they want to sign him at 30 for another 3-4 years? Sounds about right. #olderaoforange

It's like they're trying to sell the simpleminded on some line that they're making the Flyers great again. Suckers born every minute.

You? Hated Ruff? Sabres coach? You!?

Rick driving to Newark to pick up Ruff when he hears about this two weeks from now.

One of the very few this ol' Fletch did right. Then he used the assets terribly but he did trade Braun twice.

Again, don't at all hate the player. I'm just worried they overvalue him. I just don't think his intangibles are worth more than the tangibles they might acquire for him. Long term view. Short term thinking is that they need him to make the playoffs this year. After all, anything can happen. Make the playoffs this year, see it as a positive, guys got experience, definitely a playoff team next year! Lather. Rinse. Repeat. I wouldn't include a 30 year old journeyman defenceman who just had a career year in a contract year as a multi-year piece of my rebuild. YMMV

not leading the team - leading the league. Again, it's a valuable asset. It does not in and of itself mean the player is a truly effective defenceman. Timonen and Pronger excelled at a high level, consistently, for years at multiple aspects of the position. Nick Seeler is - again - having a career year at 30. That's a reason Timonen had played 493 NHL games and was captain of an NHL team at age 30 and Seeler is at 287 having played for three at the same age. I don't at all "hate the player" any more than I overvalue him or his contributions.

The next lockout/CBA there will be a push for shorter term contracts given the guaranteed nature. To your estimate, six might be good for both player and team.

As I've said, impression is continually being made. There are points where you sit and evaluate whether what people are saying matches their actions. I am happy to have a reasonable debate about Seeler's value. He was a waiver wire acquisition in his late 20s that's having a career year in a contract year, over performing on a team with no expectations. He hopes to flip that into a multi year deal at a significant raise to his current value. Give me 3 years at $1.25M, get a first for Walker, make a serious run at moving Ristolainen and we can talk. That's a stAsHabLe deal. I know you like his shot blocking. He had two nice blocks during the four minute PK the other day. It's a valuable skill. But leading the league means you're giving up an awful lot of shots and we know this because we've seen it happen for the Flyers before. Andrew MacDonald was coming off a four year $550k deal when Homer sent a 2nd and 3rd to the Islanders and extended him for SIX YEARS AT FIVE MILLION PER. If you wanted a clinic on how to give up the blue line and then "block a shot" you, too, could lead the league. Seeler's primary value for the Flyers rightnow is the asset he can return, which c/should be flipped for other assets.

Have you met Rasmus "signed for $5.1m per for three more seasons at age 30" Ristolainen? #fletched

Nor do I. In addition to free agency there's trades. You know what some teams like to get in trades? Draft picks. And expiring contract journeyman defensemen you got for nothing can get you those picks to upgrade into other assets. I just do not get the whole "don't fall in love" line turning into "we're not looking to trade Seels." (To be clear I am totally aware Torts could be blowing smoke here) Calgary got a prospect, 2nd, and conditional 3rd for Tanev. Would having a higher 2nd this year help with a package of a couple 1sts to move up? We may never know if they're really "not looking to trade Seels" #shesabeauty

In the current "trust, but verify" portion of the rebuild, we are in "verify". I'm not "excited to make the playoffs" if it means changing the overall direction of the rebuild. The holes in this roster are glaringly obvious and holding onto 30-year-old journeymen defencemen - at term - doesn't fill any of them. I'm fine watching what happens.

I think if they start doing the "make the playoffs and anything can happen" line, they're no different at all. We'll see whether the BS line was for the players or the fans. "We're not looking to trade Seels" isn't a good place to start.

Hobbles off the ice and...