Howie58 Posted February 10, 2023 Share Posted February 10, 2023 Greetings: Nashville is a mild favorite (-135). The team are very similar statistically with the exception of faceoffs: https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nsh-vs-phi/2023/02/11/2022020836 Historically, these teams are around .500 against each other: http://flyershistory.com/cgi-bin/opponent.cgi?Nashville_Predators We beat Nashville 3-1 on October 22nd. I wonder if we see Sandstrom start today or tomorrow? It would be an interesting signal if we don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted February 11, 2023 Share Posted February 11, 2023 (edited) I found this so funny and typical of the front office... On Thurs, John Tortorella admitted he & the rest of the PHI org didn't expect Tony DeAngelo to need to be "fixed" so much to be passable defensively. “He’s a really good offensive player,” John Tortorella said. “It is our job as a coaching staff to try to help him become better defensively. We need him to become better defensively, without hampering one of the biggest strengths he has for us: getting us out of our end zone, just some plays that people wouldn’t even try that he succeeds out there.” Tortorella isn’t kidding that DeAngelo needs to be better defensively. Out of all NHL defensemen with at least 200 minutes played at even strength this season, DeAngelo ranks third-worst in the league in terms of impact on his team’s ability to prevent expected goals, ahead of only John Klingberg and Ian Mitchell. Only six blueliners have been on the ice for more high-danger chances against per 60 minutes. By all public statistical models and measures, DeAngelo has been one of the worst defensemen in the NHL this season. The problem is it shouldn’t come as a surprise that DeAngelo isn’t good at defense. Yet apparently, it did. “We know what Tony is. I’m a little bit — not disappointed — but the defensive liability is something we need to work at,” Tortorella said Thursday. “I didn’t think the amount of work that we need to do with him … “Last team he played for — Carolina — I think they could absorb some of that with their roster as far as maybe some of his deficiencies defensively. It kind of sticks out more with us,” he said. “I mean, you look at Tony, he played with Slavin last year, a lot of the year,” Fletcher said. “He’s a guy that has played 19-20 minutes on a fairly regular basis.” But Fletcher took the wrong lesson. His takeaway was that DeAngelo was fully capable of taking on top-four minutes, if not top-pair minutes, like he did in Carolina. His takeaway should have been that Slavin is a really, really good defenseman who carried DeAngelo, particularly in his own zone. “We’re not expecting him to come in and be an elite defender. We wanted to get him so we don’t have to defend as much,” he said. But even that comment deserves further examination. Yes, teams create lots of offense with DeAngelo on the ice. They also give up a ton, too. Since 2019-20, he ranks first in the NHL among defensemen (with at least 2,000 minutes played at five-on-five) in combined on-ice expected goals per 60 minutes — adding together the xG created by his team with the player on the ice, and xG created by the other team as well. He’s right near the top in combined actual goals/60 (10th) and even combined shot attempts (fifth) as well. DeAngelo has long been the definition of a high-event player; not one who helps his team to spend 60 percent of the time in the attacking half of the ice but is prone to the occasional defensive lapse during the other 40 percent. If anyone in the Flyers’ organization is surprised by DeAngelo basically being exactly who he has always been and was most likely to remain, they only have themselves to blame. After all, none of this is really DeAngelo’s fault. He’s scored points, leading all Philadelphia blueliners with 31 in 48 games. Tortorella has regularly praised him for his dynamic offensive ability, and he did so repeatedly Thursday even while pointing out his defensive flaws. DeAngelo, as Tortorella acknowledged this week, is what he is. And the decision to acquire him in the first place — and pay him like a far better player than he actually is — stands as yet another total misevaluation from the Philadelphia front office. Enjoy. Edited February 11, 2023 by OccamsRazor #bourbonup 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FD19372 Posted February 11, 2023 Share Posted February 11, 2023 So, how much longer do we have to wait for Sanheim to develop? Asking for a friend. They would be better off selling high on him, at the deadline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted February 11, 2023 Share Posted February 11, 2023 15 minutes ago, FD19372 said: So, how much longer do we have to wait for Sanheim to develop? Asking for a friend. They would be better off selling high on him, at the deadline. Posted this in the Oilers game thread. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howie58 Posted February 11, 2023 Author Share Posted February 11, 2023 (edited) The 11th Commandment. The Flyers Shall Lose in Overtime. Edited February 11, 2023 by Howie58 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCFlyguy Posted February 11, 2023 Share Posted February 11, 2023 2 hours ago, FD19372 said: So, how much longer do we have to wait for Sanheim to develop? Asking for a friend. They would be better off selling high on him, at the deadline. Selling high would have been before you signed him to the big deal. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted February 11, 2023 Share Posted February 11, 2023 (edited) 3 hours ago, FD19372 said: So, how much longer do we have to wait for Sanheim to develop? Asking for a friend. They would be better off selling high on him, at the deadline. It is why they should have traded him instead of extending him. But i think the brass was scared of Chuck getting taken to the woodshed in the trade as i would have. Howie Roseman would have... Edited February 11, 2023 by OccamsRazor #bourbonup 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GratefulFlyers Posted February 12, 2023 Share Posted February 12, 2023 3 hours ago, OccamsRazor said: But i think the brass was scared of Chuck getting taken to the woodshed in the trade as i would have. And that’s why Fletcher is such a terrible GM. You can’t trust him to get fair value when he trades away a player and when he signs a FA it’s even worse for the Flyers. But I’m not convinced Sanheim “is what he is” anymore than Provorov is. They both showed outstanding potential early in their careers, fell off a cliff, got back up to ”good enough” and now seem to have plateaued this season. The point is they both still have the wheels, the defensive skill etc that looked so promising just a few years ago. I don’t know what it’ll take to get them to reach their best and sustain it. Neither one is playing up to his potential. Maybe the ol’ “change of scenery” trade is all that’s left… expect to get robbed… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted February 12, 2023 Share Posted February 12, 2023 28 minutes ago, GratefulFlyers said: But I’m not convinced Sanheim “is what he is” anymore than Provorov is. You could always move both. But you have to get something good back for both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.