radoran

Philadelphia fans

What are the foundations of a successful hockey franchise?

People do look back at his four consecutive 40 point seasons early in his career and if you want him to be your #1 defenceman on the PP and a top pair against other teams, he can produce that for you. Much like Tony DeAngelo. You won't win very many games, and the Sabres certainly didn't with him in that position. He was -96 while producing those 40 point seasons. His minus went down because they drafted Oh My Dahlin who is an actual, competent, offensive defenceman despite being Swedish.

OK, well, they've got a slogan so we've got that going for us. #bringittobroad

The thing to remember about the Flyers' hockey commentators on television is that they are paid by the team and do toe the team's line. The organization* invested a lot in Ristolainen. They don't want to look like idiots*. They will tell the announce crew to find anything positive they can say about the player. Then the viewers have something positive to say as well. Then the people who made the (ridiculously terrible) decision don't look quite as bad. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. If you go back, you will hear the announcers waxing rhapsodic about Andrew MacDonald. The question, again, is not what Danny Boy & Jonesy say or how they say it, it's what they do and how they do it. And we already know what happened to the last guy that shut the senior hockey advisors out of decision making. The main benefit there is that they are Hilferty's hires and Hilferty may not have the same devotion to the SHAs that Scott did. Again, time will tell. We'll see...

I mean, it's really laughable to think about when you take a moment to sit back and look at this from a purely rational viewpoint not driven by (not entirely) irrational hatred of a player and in the sobering light of reality realize that Scott Laughton is sitting right there. Obvious, innit?

I've driven a car and complained about traffic for years. I'm not qualified to run a car company.

Thing is, Philly fans HAVE better. The Phillies have an MVP and were in the World Series. The Union have back to back Finals appearances. The Sixers have an MVP and are in the playoffs again, with a solid competitive chance. The Eagles were in the Super Bowl having won it six years ago. And the Flyers are... It's not the season ticket buyers they need to appease, it's the entire fan base. Nobody cares about the Flyers. And when I say nobody I mean yes we're here and there are vestiges of a fan base and the inevitable support from youth hockey and those families and (some) local companies. But people need a reason to wear their Flyers gear. I've got a brand new hat, gdTippett! I grew up a hockey fan. The kids today* growing up with successful Eagles, Phillies, Union, and Sixers franchises just might need to be reintroduced to successful hockey. And the only place that's going to happen is on the ice.

I went to a game this year (my wife's company had more than 50% off lower bowl, after Fletch left - and they were playing the Sabres) Watched maybe a handful of minutes on telebision. There's no Executive Hire that's getting me excited. What the executives do is what I'm waiting to see.

I don't think you heard @mojo1917 correctly: They're not doomed to failure, they're gonna get there on their own...

Right, but by the "anything can happen" token, it's not definitely not going to happen. I don't think the Flyers can take a flier on Yakupov Michkov either.

True story.

Fedotov tried to come over for the money. He's playing the rest of his career in the KHL after the government literally sent him to Siberia for trying it.

I'm perfectly fine with Jonsey as a player and an announcer. We'll see how he does as an executive - he and Danny have the chance now. I am perfectly happy to "wait and see" while also acknowledging the striking "old way" the "new direction" has taken. But maybe the Comcast Spectacor exec in his first position hiring a former player as President of Hockey Operations in his first position to oversee a former player as General Manager in his first NHL position will work out fine.

Hey, I am sitting back and waiting for the fireworks

Just the "Jonsey" and "Danny" in this statement make me cringe...

I don't get it at all. I mean, Barry Melrose and Mike Millbury are right there.

Dan Hilferty is the CEO of Comcast Spectacor.

Or when the players are deliberately not adjusting... The players apparently got their wish.

He was the most qualified former Flyer who they interviewed for the job and would accept it.

Look, the Pens are looking at a guy with these qualifications for their next GM: "He's been working for the enemy, serving as the assistant general manager of the Rangers and GM for their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, since August of 2021. Martin comes with nearly 20 years of NHL managerial and administrative experience, working in the Detroit Red Wings organization from 2005 until his hiring in New York. He also has a championship pedigree. He was a member of the front office team during the Detroit Red Wings 2008 Stanley Cup run, and oversaw Detroit's AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, en route to a 2017 Calder Cup championship. " He's not even a former player! And he has managerial experience! What are they thinking!?!?!? You obviously need a former (Flyers) player who took a few classes and sort of oversaw the general workings of a minor league team for a couple years.

They did an extensive search for hockey people who have been through a rebuilding process, have experience running a hockey franchise, and have a demonstrated track record of success. And then went with the former Flyer announcer guy.