radoran

If you look down in the lower right corner you can see the official has the "intent" to blow the whistle and it's like he waits for the hit to happen before blowing it. Weird. That hit's the definition of at least a major penalty.

Which is great, but the call was interference because he can't make that contact with the player. I don't believe Makar had "intent" to injure, but he did injure the player who just happens to be the leading scorer. You get that sort of stuff with playoff intensity, but it's still a penalty and I would certainly consider a suspension.

The only problem with it being "clean" is that McCann is not eligible to be hit in that situation.

You just know GMDB goes for Cristall out of that "The Rest" group, right? A) Canadian B) Undersized C) Canadian Fletch would 100% go Moore.

JVR is UFA, TDA is going into his second year, Atkinson replaced Voracek at a lower number. "For years" is where I'm curious.

And lost.

18 mediocre players can win a game. Maybe two. They can't win three seven game series. That's not all you're saying and you're not wrong but as a child of the Miracle on Ice one can't base an NHL franchise on that.

Some players on this team got performance bonuses after that season. Too many of them. No, really.

I mean the obvious and signature piece is Hart which you view as an obvious gutting of the team and you're not wrong. There's not a lot I would give Hart up for and I don't know that I would do the Matthews deal straight up or otherwise. I don't know that the Flyers have the assets other teams could offer, but they do have something the Leaes desperately need. If Arizona (whoever) mortgages the farm for him - walk away. Briere needs to walk into every discussion being willing to walk away. That was Fletcher's problem (one of) that he targeted a player and then overpaid in negotiation.

I am not a hockey expert, but I do play one on a message board.

He was the clear #1 overall - by a wide margin - in 2016. "Size, creativity, and work ethic." https://web.archive.org/web/20190906215202/https://bangordailynews.com/2016/06/24/sports/maple-leafs-land-matthews-with-no-1-pick-in-nhl-draft/ If the 18-year-old Matthews with the 18-year-old Matthews' pedigree was in this draft I'd say he's top 3. Not as good as Bedard.

A major question facing the organization* is whether they are going to do things differently. All of it is. I've been saying we won't know what's going on until the end of the playoffs, the draft lottery, and the draft. But it's not a bunch of rookies and young players. Konecny is 26 Provorov is 26 Laughton 28 Tippett 24 Sanheim 27 all of those guys are under contract for at least the next two years (Tippett an RFA) and should be entering their prime. Farabee is going to be 24. Heck, Noah Cates is 24. The "has to be here" Nick Seeler is 29. Deslauriers (32) is likely here for another three years. Couturier is 30 Atkinson is 33 I left out Hayes (30), Deangelo (27), and Ristolainen (28) as we hope to be free of them but that's more than half the roster. We saw this year that the team has "compete" level growing, but it lacks the "talent" area. Again, I dont think Matthews will be a Flyer, but do think they would take a look at him if he is available.

The "problem" for Tronno is the $11M in Tavares who is clearly not worth that. That's 33-year-old "15 points in 21 Leaes playoff games" Tavares. If they're going to need to move one of their young guns, that's why. Then you look at the fact that they have two forwards who make more than their entire defense (three forwards once Muzzin if off IR) And that they're playing in front of goalies who are cast offs from other teams (neither of whom are in the playoffs this year). It's not hard to see why they don't succeed in the playoffs. And it's got a whole lot to do with a whole bunch that doesn't have much to do with Auston Matthews.

Honestly, I don't watch Leaes games Well, there's nothing that says acquiring Matthews - if he's available and if the situation is right - precludes doing anything else. I'm fairly confident that Briere can walk and chew gum at the same time. Could even be that you make Tronno take Hayes in a Hart for Matthews deal. You might note that I've been cool to the idea of DeBrincat or Gaudreau on other threads. The difference between an undersized scoring winger and a dominant 1C should be pretty obvious. The question is more "when a superstar is available." They don't grow on tree and they don't come up too too often. As it is the Flyers are the two years away from being two years away they've been for the past decade. My point is not that they have to move heaven and earth to get Matthews, it's that if he is available it is irresponsible not to explore the possibility.

Makes sense and gives them an actual star that could fill their 5000 seat hockey arena. Coyotes would also have the draft capital and prospects Tronno c/w/should be looking for.

To compare him to Kevin Hayes is simply crazy. Plus if the guy can score 35+ goals as an unmotivated jerk, what could a Tortorella do for him? I give you Vincent Lecavalier. I honestly don't think that they make the big move to get Matthews, but it's certainly not beyond the realm of comprehension or possibility.

35 points in 40 playoff games. Could do worse. If the Leaes don't get out of the first round, look for them to make a big move (which they need to do anyway...) Matthews just seems like a guy Briere would be interested in. Not that any of it matters until we know what happens in the playoffs, lottery, and draft.

Yeah, I honestly can't stand it, either. Kids today...

So, Claude Giroux, then? No. Good point. Of course, in the "beatdown" where he "disappeared" he had two points and was +1. And, again, not necessarily advocating for the move, just noting that the move may be out there to be had. If an "Auston Matthews" is available to be acquired and your rebuilding team doesn't take a serious look at it, that's borderline malpractice. That doesn't mean you mortgage the farm to get the player. It means you don't discard the opportunity to acquire a player who has never scored less than 34 in a season and has 35 points in 40 playoff games because you don't like his mustache.

FIFY

Well, unless they trade for him, they can't get him... You can only move up 10 spots.

Yeah, getting a generational talent would set the franchise back decades...

We call them The Laughties!

The point is more that this is a courtesy that teams do for veteran players. Not moving JVR from the player perspective isn't as much about getting the return as it is showing players that you have the respect for them. Could easily be that Fletch had no respect for JVR's game. Which is fine. Could be no one was willing to drop a 7th on a 20-goal scoring forward. Could be that Fletch is a terrible GM. I'm going with a combination of the three, with the last one being the most important. But this is the kind of thing players think about when they are deciding whether to join as team as a FA. It may not be as important now that Chuck's gone, but if you don't think hockey guys have long memories, just look at Ryan Ellis sitting on IR with Poile reviewing the Shea Weber offer sheet...

Ottawa won't, so there's that. Then there's Hayes' 10-team NTC, so there's that, too. If the only way to move Hayes is to have Ottawa trade DeBrincat to the Flyers, then they're not moving Hayes. It's not, and they probably are.