Why the Flyers aren't living up to expectations

[pilldoc]

Are NHL beat writers that desperate for a story....nothing here that is earth shattering new.....

Gee do they read our forum to get story ideas....

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=662078&navid=nhl:topheads

[brelic]

I think the article needs to be retitled:

"Why the expectations for the Flyers were nonsensical"

Seriously, consider what we did in the offseason:

Out:

Jagr

van Riemsdyk

Carle

In:

Luke Schenn

Fedotenko

Knuble (following in-season injuries)

How can any serious journalist believe that the 2012-2013 Flyers would improve upon their 2011-2012 finish (5th in the East, 2nd in the Atlantic)? Expectations are out of whack with reality.

[DaGreatGazoo]

Personally, I don't think this team making the playoffs was a stretch. Most of us figured they would be a low playoff seed. This team being 4 points from last in the conference is something NO ONE would have predicted.

[toughfighter83]

the thing is that they are putting too much pressure on the young players, alot of these young players dont belong on the first two lines, they werent on these lines last year which is why they were scoring goals, i think lav screwed the chemistry up the playoffs and it showed against the devils, he should have kept the lines as it was before the playoffs started.

[doom88]

I'm still thinking playoffs are reasonably possible, especially with a regulation win tonight. It's just a close race at the bottom.

[pilldoc]

@DaGreatGazoo

I predicted at the beginning of the season a 7th or 8th seed. We simply lost too much during the off season and replaced it with subpar talent. And for the record I have NEVER trusted Bryz. Through in Leighton as a backup and I knew it was a recipe for disaster. I am shocked how bad they are, but now looking back retrospectively....we have seen the handwriting on the wall.

[DaGreatGazoo]

I'm still thinking playoffs are reasonably possible, especially with a regulation win tonight. It's just a close race at the bottom.

The last website I looked at the calculates those things, had the Flyers at a 10% chance of making the playoffs. It's not happening..they have to jump 3 teams. No way.

[pilldoc]

I'm still thinking playoffs are reasonably possible, especially with a regulation win tonight. It's just a close race at the bottom.

No offense Doom, and I totally respect you as a poster, I don't want this team to make the playoffs. This team simply has too many issues. To make the playoffs, IMO, would certainly mean as the 8th seed and I believe we would get smoked by the likes of Boston or Montreal. For whatever reason, this team seems to play relatively well vs. the Pens. (In state rivalry I guess).

I would rather this team miss the playoffs, jettison some dead weight and draft 1 or 2 impact players if possible. Of course asking members of management and the front office to do the right thing is like asking a Republican to support Obamacare.

[JackStraw]

The last website I looked at the calculates those things, had the Flyers at a 10% chance of making the playoffs. It's not happening..they have to jump 3 teams. No way.

Actually, they have to jump over 5 teams to get to the 8th spot. But who's counting?

[jammer2]

@JackStraw Yeah, 5 teams a lot to leapfrog, esp since there are so many 3 point games, it makes it near impossible, barring some wild 10 game winning streak, we are done. Just a note, Brys is 1-7 against the Rags, and a hefty 3.57 GGA....this should be fun...

[DaGreatGazoo]

Hey I was close...

Brelic..hope that last post didn't come across to harsh..didn't mean to sound like a dick. I was on my phone..so I can't type too well

[doom88]

I won't hope they miss the playoffs, but I wouldn't be too upset about it this season. A lot of hockey left, let's see how things shake out.

[hf101]

Gee do they read our forum to get story ideas....

Not enough.....

FIRE HOLMGREN NOW

[doom88]

Once that DelZotto manufactured (diving *****) PP let to a goal, I felt this game was over. Losing Simmonds didn't help. The team has no fight beyond Rinaldo and Gagne.

[doom88]

Bryzgalov, the cure for the cold shooter.

[OH1FlyersFan]

I think the article needs to be retitled:

"Why the expectations for the Flyers were nonsensical"

Seriously, consider what we did in the offseason:

Out:

Jagr

van Riemsdyk

Carle

In:

Luke Schenn

Fedotenko

Knuble (following in-season injuries)

How can any serious journalist believe that the 2012-2013 Flyers would improve upon their 2011-2012 finish (5th in the East, 2nd in the Atlantic)? Expectations are out of whack with reality.

Based on last season's performance, I have to admit that my expectations were a little higher this season than last for our young forwards - and I'm talking about the under 25 (26 for Read) group. Hoping, expecting them to build on last season's strong effort - thought they had some momentum, developed some skills, got some experience they could build on this season.

But Read (7 G, -3) has siginificantly slumped, Couts (2 G, -13) is awol, Simmonds (11 G, -8) is significantly off pace from what I expected, B. Schenn's (6 G, -6) not really lighting it up, Giroux (10 G, -10) has faded, Voracek (14 G, -8) has barely met but not exceeded my expectations, Rinaldo (3 G, -6) has at least met, maybe exceeded expectations - his energy level has beenawesome - just not contagious enough to get the rest of the team fired up. Overall, it's been disappointing. Apparently they're all in some sort of sophomore slump or they just don't care. The +/- stat for all these players is what's killing me. As far as I can tell, Talbot, with 0 (zero), is the only forward that isn't in the red and he's pushing 30. There's always next season, I suppose.

[jammer2]

@OH1FlyersFan " Voracek (14 G, -8) has barely met but not exceeded my expectations,"

Really? Voracek sits a comfortable 12 in NHL scoring, with 34 pts in 32 games, more than a pt per game! I didn't expect that out of him. He's shown me he can be a top flight 1st line NHL winger, and I didn't know that going into this year. What more could he possibley do?.....those are some lofty expectations....LOL!

[doom88]

@jammer2 and those lofty expectations are the problem. And OH is a solid poster.

[brelic]

Hey I was close...

Brelic..hope that last post didn't come across to harsh..didn't mean to sound like a dick. I was on my phone..so I can't type too well

Haha, no worries Gazoo. I agree with you that expecting the Flyers to make the playoffs is completely reasonable. My issue was with the article expecting us to be BETTER than last year, and compete for the Atlantic title and a top 4 finish. That just makes no sense.

[RonJeremy]

The reason the Flyers are not living up to expecataions is simple, the expectations were too high. Our goaltending is better than last year, but is still mediocre. Our defense, even if we still had had Carle, was not good enough. Look at what the Devils did to us in the playoffs, they dumped the puck in and hammered our defense, and we couldnt even get out ouf our zone, now our defense is even less mobile. Our forwards are young, but not ready to step up to the levels we expected.

[brelic]

Based on last season's performance, I have to admit that my expectations were a little higher this season than last for our young forwards - and I'm talking about the under 25 (26 for Read) group. Hoping, expecting them to build on last season's strong effort - thought they had some momentum, developed some skills, got some experience they could build on this season.

But Read (7 G, -3) has siginificantly slumped, Couts (2 G, -13) is awol, Simmonds (11 G, -8) is significantly off pace from what I expected, B. Schenn's (6 G, -6) not really lighting it up, Giroux (10 G, -10) has faded, Voracek (14 G, -8) has barely met but not exceeded my expectations, Rinaldo (3 G, -6) has at least met, maybe exceeded expectations - his energy level has beenawesome - just not contagious enough to get the rest of the team fired up. Overall, it's been disappointing. Apparently they're all in some sort of sophomore slump or they just don't care. The +/- stat for all these players is what's killing me. As far as I can tell, Talbot, with 0 (zero), is the only forward that isn't in the red and he's pushing 30. There's always next season, I suppose.

I'm with @jammer2 in saying that Voracek has been nothing short of excellent this year. He's battling for the pucks, setting up goals, and getting some of his own. And he plays the point on the PP, and is defensively responsible. He's on a pace for 51 pts in 48 games, which would be his career best! He got 50pts in 80 games with Columbus. He took a HUGE step forward this year, and has been doing it even without Giroux.

Simmonds has also impressed me a lot this year. He's in all the right places, battles hard, fights for the front of the net, gets into fights, hits, scores goals. He's becoming the power forward that will (or already has) replaced Hartnell. He's on pace for 59 pts over 82 games, which would be another career high (previously 49, which he got last year).

Forget the +/- stat of these guys for this year... it's not just a function of their play, but of team play, goaltending, defense, and coaching style. All combined, this team is not having a good year. But those two guys are the only standouts in my mind.

[JackStraw]

<br />Look at what the Devils did to us in the playoffs, they dumped the puck in and hammered our defense, and we couldnt even get out ouf our zone, now our defense is even less mobile.<br />

This is the #1 problem that has to be addressed during the off-season imo. The recipe for beating the Flyers is simple: get pucks deep, forecheck, and watch the turnovers and loose pucks come pouring your way. The team needs two mobile defensemen who can handle the puck and pass. One (hopefully) should be a true #1 guy. The other a 2nd pairing type who can move the puck and play the PP. Draft, trade, kidnapping, whatever. They need to address this problem.

[doom88]

The Devils exposed the lack of RH defenseman.

[Mad Dog]

I'm still thinking playoffs are reasonably possible, especially with a regulation win tonight. It's just a close race at the bottom.

Probably yes. But why should this matter? Aside from a stupid Philadlephia pride, what possible good can come from this team making the playoffs this year?

[OH1FlyersFan]

@OH1FlyersFan " Voracek (14 G, -8) has barely met but not exceeded my expectations,"

Really? Voracek sits a comfortable 12 in NHL scoring, with 34 pts in 32 games, more than a pt per game! I didn't expect that out of him. He's shown me he can be a top flight 1st line NHL winger, and I didn't know that going into this year. What more could he possibley do?.....those are some lofty expectations....LOL!

I agree with both Jammer and Brelic -- to a point. Voracek has been excellent this season, on a team that suffers from a lack of excellence. So maybe that's why his play stands out. He's actually one of my favority players to watch. I was pretty excited to see him thrive in Philly his first season after watching him play, and struggle to a degree, here in Columbus. Based on his performance last season, perhaps I set the bar for this season too high. He had 18 goals last season, I was hoping he could double that - but I do understand that this is a shortened season and to be at 14 goals after only 32 games is pretty darn good - so he's meeting my expectations. He was +11 with 49 points at the end of last season. That's good too. But he was looking like a player who I expected to blow through that this season. I was hoping for a top 5 kinda player. But maybe that was unrealistic. He's really, really good and I think he has that potential but maybe I got too carried away with what he could do in only his fourth NHL season. He's still young. But because he's had flashes of brilliance, and has put up some decent numbers, I'm only going to expect more and more from him. Because I think he's capable.

But look at his numbers in a different way - by league rank. His goals scored put him at 14th in the League - which isn't bad. He falls behind guys like Stamkos (23), Tavares (20), Kunitz (19), our very own Jeff Carter (18), and Kane (17). So he's just outside of being in some very good company. The other stat I used, +/-, Voracek (-8) is ranked 712th in the League. That's not so great. The list of guys ahead of him here is too long to post - but includes names like Fraser, Winnik, Voynov, Saad, Kobasew, and many well-recognized names. If you're looking at just RWs, the list includes guys like Orr, Bertuzzi, Asham, and Kaleta.

So I'm a little disappointed. It would be hard to argue that here is no room for improvement. He can't always help what happens to him when he's out on the ice and a goal is scored, it's a team game, but he can help his numbers by scoring and assisting on plays - being a playmaker. So, he's meeting my expectations. Last season I would say he exceeded because he did much better than I had anticipated he would do based on his play with the Jackets. This season, he's holding his own so far. Maybe I'm too hard of a grader. Ha.