Thoughts On Brayden Schenn

[Dynamo 47]

I am picking up from a philly post where people were all but trading Schenn for Sbisa. We need defense but there is no way I make a Schenn for Sbisa trade.

How do you feel about Schenn? Trade him? Keep him? Potential?

My thoughts are that the Flyers fans are being totally impatient. Trading him would be a total mistake.

To me Schenn is an awful lot like Mike Richards. He is a little bit bigger and I think he has a higher offensive upside. I think he will give the Flyers exactly what Richards did and that is 25 - 30 goals a year, play well defensively, win the majority of his face offs and play with a physical edge.

I think the biggest thing hurting Schenn right now was being traded for Richards obviously but the media. When the trade was made it seemed like everyone tried to justify it by saying he was the top prospect not in the NHL. For a lot of fans it seems like they assumed that to be someone like Lindros, Crosby, or someone like that who would come in and score 30 goals their rookie season.

Fans need to realize he is a rookie and it will take time. I noted to look at Richards rookie season. Richie's number were hardly legendary - 11 goals 23 assists and 34 points, it was a sign of things to come. By his third season he was putting up 28 goals 47 assists for 75 points. Look at Giroux - he went from 27 to 47 to 76 points last year and in this his third full season has become one of the best players in the league

While I don't think he has looked great but he is player with a ton of potential and if given time and patience to develop will give the Flyers 3 of the top centers in the league within 3 years with Giroux, Schenn, and Couterier.

What are your thoughts on Schenn?

[Podein25]

Patience D 47, patience.

[FlyersFan4Life]

let him grown. flyers tend to give up on talent right away. he needs a 2 season in the nhl before we can judge him. he is very young give it time. because if the flyers were to trade him more than likley he would blossom on another team

[AJgoal]

While I would prefer to keep him (Briere is not getting younger), the idea of trading from a position of strength to address the future of the defense isn't without its merits.

I'm not in favor of actively shopping him, but if you get a deal for someone who will seriously improve the defense and Schenn is asked for in return, you have to at least consider it, don't you?

It's got nothing to do with his ability, and everything to do with his marketability.

[phlfly]

I think it's a good one. flyers aren't deep in defense, Timmo can retired next couple years, but Sbisa will be likely a good first or second pair

[Bertmega]

I would keep Schenn. His upside is too great to just let go after 2 games in the O&B.

I would like Sbisa, but not at the cost of Schenn. I would give them Read and our 2nd from LA for Sbisa. I doubt they would take it, but it seems fair.

Read has shown he is ready for the big time and the 2nd would probably be around 48-49th pick.

[Illflyaway]

I am picking up from a philly post where people were all but trading Schenn for Sbisa. We need defense but there is no way I make a Schenn for Sbisa trade.

...

I watched the 1st period of the Ducks vs Caps game today. I couldn't help but notice that Sbisa fumbled almost every chance he got. Luckily, he was either able to get the puck back or got help from his teammates to bail him out. Don't know if this issue was only that that period, but I don't recall him being that unsure when he was here in Philly. He did look much bigger though.

[aziz]

What are your thoughts on Schenn?

my only thought on it is: with giroux, couturier and briere on the team through the summer of 2015 (end of biere's contract), at what point will there be a regular roster spot for schenn to take? it is dumb to give up on a kid after a handful of games, but from a roster depth/needs point of view, i don't know how he could fit into the team's plans. on the other hand, with coburn, carle and timonen becoming UFAs in the next two years, there are organizational depth needs on the blueline. a value for value, need for need trade makes some sense.

schenn may very well become awesome, i'm just not sure a 2-way, top 6 center is where the flyers ought to be concentrating their prospect value. if it can be turned into a 2-way, top pair defenseman, it strikes me as a good idea.

[Spinorama]

I'm in favor of keeping him. While we certainly could use some help on D, I can't possibly fathom dumping him after only four game. I haven't been impressed yet ( like the way I am with Couts) but it's way to early in the season/his career to give up on him. As others have said, if he finds his groove, he'll be a good replacement for some of our aging forwards.

[aziz]

but it's way to early in the season/his career to give up on him.

absolutely, but trading a player doesn't always mean you are giving up on him. sometimes it means you have other needs that he can be leveraged to fill.

As others have said, if he finds his groove, he'll be a good replacement for some of our aging forwards.

sure, but who? briere in 4 years?

the problem is: where does he fit on the roster between now and briere's contract expiring? until that time, you are looking at 4 top 6 centers. couturier looks like he can work magic on a 3rd line...but does that mean schenn is 4th line material until 2015? or do you bump briere or giroux to a wing, when each has proven FAR more effective in the middle?

i just don't know how you work him into the roster.

[SoCalFlyfan]

Schenn frustrates me, but still you have to be patient. I'm more concerned about the fact that Couturier seems like the better player at 18.

[Spinorama]

absolutely, but trading a player doesn't always mean you are giving up on him. sometimes it means you have other needs that he can be leveraged to fill.

sure, but who? briere in 4 years?

the problem is: where does he fit on the roster between now and briere's contract expiring? until that time, you are looking at 4 top 6 centers. couturier looks like he can work magic on a 3rd line...but does that mean schenn is 4th line material until 2015? or do you bump briere or giroux to a wing, when each has proven FAR more effective in the middle?

i just don't know how you work him into the roster.

I honestly don't know either. I've said before that to this point he hasn't really impressed me a whole lot. On top of that, the few games he played for the Flyers, they look out of synch, as if he screwed with the chemistry or something. I guess I don't have a long term plan for him laid out in my head, I just know he's a young talent and I've been frustrated in the past with the Flyers letting go of fresh young talent only to watch them flourish somewhere else.

The Flyers are currently enjoying a luxury no one knew they had before the season started at the forward position. The thought was the D was going to make up for the supposed lack of scoring, now that seems to be the teams weakness. If they were to give him up, it better be or something good. And by good I mean a proven D man who isn't at the end of his career.

[Dynamo 47]

my only thought on it is: with giroux, couturier and briere on the team through the summer of 2015 (end of biere's contract), at what point will there be a regular roster spot for schenn to take? it is dumb to give up on a kid after a handful of games, but from a roster depth/needs point of view, i don't know how he could fit into the team's plans. on the other hand, with coburn, carle and timonen becoming UFAs in the next two years, there are organizational depth needs on the blueline. a value for value, need for need trade makes some sense.

schenn may very well become awesome, i'm just not sure a 2-way, top 6 center is where the flyers ought to be concentrating their prospect value. if it can be turned into a 2-way, top pair defenseman, it strikes me as a good idea.

That is my issue. I think he is going to be a darn good player but like Richards might be better suited to be a third line center where he can provide offense but win faceoffs, go against the other teams top lines.

Would you consider NOT signing Carle and Coburn and going after Ryan Suter for 6.5 million? Or knowing that Nashville is in a position where they could possibly lose Weber and Suter, make a pitch for one of them?

[flyercanuck]

There's no way in hell I trade Schenn for Sbisa. And the only way I'd trade him is if somebody gives you an offer you'd be crazy to pass on. No Schenn hasn't shown much in his entire 50 minute career as a Flyer. But for the most part the same people who think he's a bum thought Giroux was 50 minutes into his career as well. And no, none of us know whether Schenn will turn out to be anywhere near as good as #28. But that's just the point. He has the potential to be a great player. Can we just wait and see if he needs a few months, or, (shudder) dare I say an entire season, you know, like most NHLers, to get up to speed before we go writing off yet another guy who can play.

And having too many centers is a problem every gm of every hockey team on the planet wishes he had.

[aziz]

And having too many centers is a problem every gm of every hockey team on the planet wishes he had.

sure, a problem every GM wishes he had...but it is still a "problem". again, assuming a healthy roster, where does he play? 4th line? who sits so you can give schenn a regular shift?

[flyercanuck]

Well for now we obviously don't have to worry. But if Simmonds or Voracek or JVR, for starters, don't start carrying their weight, I can think of a few spots. Schenn can play wing, successfully. And down the road, Briere will start to deteroirate, if he hasn't already.

I know one thing. ONE of our centers better start winning some bloody faceoffs!!!!

[Podein25]

ONE of our centers better start winning some bloody faceoffs!!!!

x2

It is appalling.

[flyerrod]

I am not against moving Schenn for a solid defense man. He has tremendous upside but we need to look at the flyers current defensive makeup. The flyers currently have a glut of centers(a good thing) and a shortage of d-men after the top 2 pairings. Lilja seems like more of a seventh dman than a five or six. Walker is a decent 7th too but not for the money. Pronger and Timmo are both going to be wiped out by playoff time if the Flyers don't get a strong 5 or six dman to carry Lilja or Walker. look at the minutes the top 2 pairings are already logging to carry the weak 3rd pair and it is already showing towards the end of the games. If they are going to keep Schenn, he needs to play top line minutes with the phantoms so he will be ready to step in next year for Jagr who will probably be gone. Bottom line is the Flyers need Defensive Help NOW.

[flyercanuck]

Sure, if say, St Louis wants to trade Alex Pietrangelo for him, I'm in. But for Sbisa, no thanks.

[jammer2]

Agree with fc, gotta have patience here...although I will admit he has looked rather pedestrian to this point. He just needs time to get used to the speed of the league.

[SoCalFlyfan]

my only thought on it is: with giroux, couturier and briere on the team through the summer of 2015 (end of biere's contract), at what point will there be a regular roster spot for schenn to take? it is dumb to give up on a kid after a handful of games, but from a roster depth/needs point of view, i don't know how he could fit into the team's plans.

-Patrick Sharp says "hello".

[Vincent05]

I agree with keeping Schenn for now even though he hasn't showed anything at the NHL level. Yes he hasn't showed us anything in the games he's played so far but why trade him for a defensive prospect? Everyone says a F will develop quicker than a D, also the Flyers can't seem to develop any Dman at all. Example is Niinama, Pitkanen, Carle and Coburn, the last 2 still frustrates the hell out of me most of the time. So in my opinion let Schenn develop into a Mike Richards clone or close to it then trade him or Briere for a established Dman. If they trade Schenn now for a prospect Dman, will you guys have the patience to wait for him to develop as you are showing patience for Schenn?

[radoran]

I'm all in for the Pietrangelo trade. Sbisa, not so much.

Schenn would likely be on this roster if not for the salary cap problems. His cap hit as I understand it is less than it would have been had he made the opening day roster. He went down and put up immediate numbers in the AHL. He was brought up, playing 3/4 line time as I recall, and didn't set the world on fire, but hardly looked out of place.

LA didn't "give up" on Schenn by trading him, they acquired Mike Richards. You can't get a good player for spare parts (usually...*) and certainly not a captain with a 12 year contract. The Flyers wouldn't "give up" on Schenn to trade him for a solid player that fills a need.

St. Louis isn't dealing Pietrangelo for Schenn. And no one is trading anything for Schenn for at least the next month, if not early next year. Nobody trades for a player with a broken foot.*

* Mike Millbury is no longer employed as a GM in the National Hockey League.

[aziz]

-Patrick Sharp says "hello".

why is patrick sharp saying hello? what point are you trying to make?

if schenn were a winger, my point of view on this would be different. unless the flyers are planning on converting him to a wing, you tell me what spot he is going to take on the roster. 6 minutes per game on the 4th line?

i really don't understand how some people can't get their heads around the idea that an asset can be parlayed into another asset without the move representing some kind of surrender. the kings didn't give up on schenn when they traded him; they used his value to fill a need on their roster.

the flyers have zero need for another top 6 center. at least not for the next 3 years. top 6 winger? yes. top 4 dman? yes. top 6 center? no, not at all. spending the next 3 years trying to find ice time for him, juggling lines around all the time so giroux, briere, couturier and schenn can all get their chances, is only going to continue the confusion we saw when the flyers tried to make it work with richards, carter, giroux, and briere.

as far as i'm concerned, the answer is to either convert couturier or schenn to a wing, or move couturier or schenn. not "give up" on them, but trade their value for equal value in a position they have a need for.

[Vincent05]

why is patrick sharp saying hello? what point are you trying to make?

if schenn were a winger, my point of view on this would be different. unless the flyers are planning on converting him to a wing, you tell me what spot he is going to take on the roster. 6 minutes per game on the 4th line?

i really don't understand how some people can't get their heads around the idea that an asset can be parlayed into another asset without the move representing some kind of surrender. the kings didn't give up on schenn when they traded him; they used his value to fill a need on their roster.

the flyers have zero need for another top 6 center. at least not for the next 3 years. top 6 winger? yes. top 4 dman? yes. top 6 center? no, not at all. spending the next 3 years trying to find ice time for him, juggling lines around all the time so giroux, briere, couturier and schenn can all get their chances, is only going to continue the confusion we saw when the flyers tried to make it work with richards, carter, giroux, and briere.

as far as i'm concerned, the answer is to either convert couturier or schenn to a wing, or move couturier or schenn. not "give up" on them, but trade their value for equal value in a position they have a need for.

Out of curiosity who would you trade Courts or Schenn for that is equal value? I don't think you can get anyone that can really help right now unless it's a package.