flyer4ever

I am far more inclined to trade TK than resign him. My crystal ball tells me he will get $80 mill over 8 years and be at the home for broken Flyers with Ellis, Couturier and Johansen in 3 years. It's the Flyer way.

Who's going to the retirement party?

Has anyone on this esteemed panel of hockey gurus ever been to Vorhees or the Wells Fargo Center in a shirt and tie? The reason I ask is this. A lot, and I mean a lot of respected hockey people have entered Flyerland and shortly after arriving in the hockey ops suites theis nuts have fallen off and their spines have turned to dust. Curious if this happened to you too. Why is this so hard for so many. There are 31 other teams in the league, some successful, some not. All the examples needed are right there in front of their faces, yet somehow the great Flyer mojo continues to get to neither, they just seem so happy to be mediocre forever. I would respect them a lot more if they got in front of a microphone and said " We know we suck, but it's our suck and we don't care what all you suckers, I mean season ticket holders think, we will continue to do it our misguided, assinine way as long as we want, and that's that." After watching Danny B spew his bull crap Wednesday it's hard to think otherwise.

All valid points, no argument here. However, 2 years away from a 50 year cup drought I would rather see a BITFU than stumble through another 14 years of this corporate bulls*#t mediocrity. I would prefer the small glimmer of hope of a few high draft picks over another round of Staal, Atkinson, Johnson, Ellis, Johansen, Couturier contract, etc etc etc. But thats just me. 8 weeks of real hockey until Danny B tips his hand. I am not optimistic.

Another test for Danny Jones. Pass or fail?

Without being in the room, it seems they did their due diligence with Michkov. Will we ever know what happened to Gauthier? Was it the dinosaur coach? Was it the suits upstairs? Whatever happened, it cost them a real asset.

I don't look at this season as a success in any way, other than the maturing of Foerester and York. They lost their #1 goalie, and one of 2 high end prospects. The GM got blinded by a playoff chase and missed a trade deadline opportunity to gather real assets. And last, the dinosaur coach embarrassed himself and several players. Laughton and TK are both now diminishing assets, Coots is now just a bad contract, Atkinson has zero value, and the 2 1st rounders may not ever reach 100 games played in the NHL combined. So is the team closer to the prize now compared to last October? In reality, probably farther away. The real hope, and it is a viable hope, is the amateur scouts knock it out of the park at the draft, and the organization properly develops and drafts some future men, not little entitled turds like Gauthier.

I think the hockey gods have been calling out to the Flyers for many years but nobody in hockey ops is listening. They think they know better.

It must be a rule in the CBA that the Flyers have a goalie issue every season.

I really wished they had played like this all year. That wouldn't be tanking. That would just be sucking dirty air. And just sucking. And then drafting some talent. It's so simple.

IMHO, 2 things need to happen for the mediocrity to end. First they need to get out from under the albatross contracts. 2nd, they need 2 or 3 lottery drafts to get some high end talent. It doesn't have to be a tank, and if it was who cares. The last 14 years have been the worst in franchise history. The cupboards need to be emptied of old and overpaid slow and replaced with young and fast and a bit of snarl. I am a big fan of Koenecny, however his window is closing and the proper asset management move is to trade him. Otherwise you are looking at another bad contract 3 years from now. I have been around young hockey players for over 50 years, and as time has gone on, our youth has had less and less respect for seniority and experience. I say this as a preface to this. I don't think keeping a veteran so called leadership presence is as valuable as it once was. Young people today need to see you walk the walk, the talk doesn't do it. I don't believe Couturier and Atkinson are effective at all, I think the young guys get more out of Hathaway and Laughton. Just my opinion. I like the Blackhawk model from a decade ago. Build a team of young studs, get a great generational leader in Johnathan Toews, and grow it together. Thats the rebuild model I would like to see.

Playing defence in the modern NHL game is EXTREMELY difficult. I am reluctant to cut bait with any of them. Honestly. My first move is buh bye to the coach. I would like to see a season of seasoning for these young guys both in the show and the AHL with some proper coaching from a development perspective, not from a run them into the ground perspective. Staal and Johnson gone, Seeler gone. As for the forwards, Tipett, Foerster, Poehling, Hathaway keep. Adios to the rest. Some have value, some not. Nine firsts and seconds in the next 2 drafts. Should be able to find a couple of 3rd or 4th line guys picking 15th or later. Goalies should be fine unless they keep the coach. In that case better get a veteran or 2. If you haven't sensed my sarcasm, I have zero faith that the GM does anything that indicates a proper rebuild. If the playoffs was the goal this deadline, why didn't he get a goalie at the deadline? This season has just been more of the same old dysfunction in Flyer junction. #1 goalie gone. #1 prospect gone. Lottery pick in the draft gone. Time for golf.

Farabee is what you get in the draft after a playoff push. Get ready for more of the same. Middle of the lineup mediocrity. But the playoff push is invaluable.

Maybe Torts has lost the room with his everyone sucks but me BS. Wouldn't be the first time, or the second, or the third. Everyone in the room has been in a playoff chase. Everyone. When you bench your only top 60 in the entire league scoring race when you are down a goal in the 3rd period of a 4point game in a playoff chase you ought to look in the mirror for reasons .

All this FA talk is what got the Flyers to where they are today. The shiny toy team build. The hire alumni guys who do as they're told build. The draft middle to late in round 1 build. The trade for broken old guys with term build. I seriously have very little optimism about this team going forward. I will have to see a 180 degree pivot at the draft and free agency this summer to change my mind. This season of culture building has done nothing but set the rebuild back another 2 or 3 years. I would love to be hopeful and excited, I just don't see a reason for it. The 2 top prospects are gone and 2 years away. Hard to get excited. Getting whacked at home by the bottom feeder and the coach who built the culture saying it's my fault that we're tired is a sad state of affairs.