CoachX Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 So I gotta believe that Medvedev was brought in for a reason, so he will be playing. Streit is in and I also think they are expecting Gudas to play a significant role. If Del Zotto signs that makes 4 of 6, with Schenn and Mc Donald and Schultz still around. I don't see McDonald moving. I just have the feeling they think he can be a mentor. With all these young guns pushing to make it I'm curious how this unit will shape up. I don't see any other moves that will impact the defense. What a unique position the Flyers are in. As a fan, I don't think I have ever seen the Flyers have this kind of problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ8812 Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Still one of the worst groups in the league, but as the season goes one, it could look better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachX Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 If what you say is true, and I'm not debating your point, then maybe its time to insert a young player or two and let them get their feet wet. I keep reading Sanheim is NHL ready, and maybe Provorov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brelic Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I think you're right, @CoachX. The defense is set barring any moves. Streit/MedvedevMacDud/MDZSchenn/SchultzGudas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I think you're right, @CoachX. The defense is set barring any moves. Streit/MedvedevMacDud/MDZSchenn/SchultzGudas Yes camp will work some of these kinks out....and part of me thinks one Dman may still get moved out for some more cap space wiggle room..plus space for callup space for when/if this blueline struggles to move the puck like Hak wants. You have Morin, Ghost, Hagg, Alt, Mardi and Pettersson all on ELC so i expect some of that to get utilized...and injuries always happen... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poulin20 Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 The thing I get from the times I have heard Hexy speak in person is that in order for a young player to crack the lineup he has to "bust down the door and take a spot from one of the current players". So OR is right, camp will be big and will determine whether or not these young up and comers get into the lineup and by extension the true makeup of our opening night D. Hexy will not allow these guys to come in and take a spot because they are young and he will not let them grow into the role because he does not believe that the NHL is a developmental league. He has been clear many times that the young guys will appreciate the NHL more and not feel entitled if they spend some time in the AHL and truly have to earn their spots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FD19372 Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 So I gotta believe that Medvedev was brought in for a reason, so he will be playing. Streit is in and I also think they are expecting Gudas to play a significant role. If Del Zotto signs that makes 4 of 6, with Schenn and Mc Donald and Schultz still around. I don't see McDonald moving. I just have the feeling they think he can be a mentor. With all these young guns pushing to make it I'm curious how this unit will shape up. I don't see any other moves that will impact the defense. What a unique position the Flyers are in. As a fan, I don't think I have ever seen the Flyers have this kind of problemSchenn I see as a mentor, not MacDonald. I think they almost see MacDonald as a "spare part", so I think they are trying to move him for something or someone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachX Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 They may give bad contracts to players who aren't worth it, history proves that. But when they give the contract initially, they think the guy has that value. Based on his salary (like it or not) they think Mc Donald is valuable and definitely not a "spare part" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murraycraven Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Prov will be on the lineup. Bank on it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radoran Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 They may give bad contracts to players who aren't worth it, history proves that. But when they give the contract initially, they think the guy has that value. Based on his salary (like it or not) they think Mc Donald is valuable and definitely not a "spare part" Yeah, but the guy who gave him that contract isn't there any more. See: Hartnell, Scott or Grossmann, Nicklas Heck, they had a $5M cap hit healthy scratch for more than a few games last season... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter puck Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I think it will be better than last year. But its shape will still be tapered on both ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude Monet Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 If what you say is true, and I'm not debating your point, then maybe its time to insert a young player or two and let them get their feet wet. I keep reading Sanheim is NHL ready, and maybe ProvorovSanheim will back in the WHL next season. Skill wise, yes he is as talented as anyone the flyers have but he needs to work on his overall game. His skating made up for him getting caught pinching up the ice. The hit men had a great defensive pairing that allowed Travis to play against second line forwards and have a more offensive mindset. Sanheim needs to play big minutes at both ends of the ice and on the PK. He is going to be a good one but needs to some seasoning first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJgoal Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 http://www.flyerdelphia.com/2015/07/hextalls-defense-plan-build-from-within-1.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillygrump Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 If what you say is true, and I'm not debating your point, then maybe its time to insert a young player or two and let them get their feet wet. I keep reading Sanheim is NHL ready, and maybe ProvorovI haven't read anything regarding Sanheim being NHL ready. Provorov maybe but not Samheim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Flyers defense will continue to be the team's single biggest deficiency for this coming season and possibly into the following as well. It's nice that Philly has some real nice players in the pipeline, with some of them maybe seeing the light of the NHL in 2015-16, but we all know those guys will still need development time and even then, not EVERY SINGLE one of those guys are gonna pan out.That just usually doesn't work that way....for every group of maybe 5 or 6 promising players, teams would do well if they can find maybe two true keepers.But NONE of that will be told in just a season or two. Kudos to Ron Hextall for moving some bad contracts/players, but the team is STILL riddled with a few of those...even on defense (I.E. Mark Streit and Andrew MacDonald).Luke Schenn MAY fall into the same category as Streit/MacDonald, but what saves him is he is still 25 and can still possibly grow to be a bit better defender. Streit and MacDonald are grizzled vets, they are what they are, and they simply will NOT improve from here on out.I know, I know...many Flyers fans saying "Streit was pretty good for us", etc, etc....hey, I know Streit had been a serviceable defender for Philly. He does have the smarts, the experience, that sort of thing....but he is also also a bit slow of foot (not pylon mind you, but I can't really consider him particularly mobile either), and he will only get slower moving on from his 37 yrs of age. In fact, I would say Mark Streit was one of Philly's BEST defenders last season.And therein lies the problem.When Mark Streit is the best defender you have, things need to be shaken up. Streit makes a very good 4-6D man on a deeper team, but in NO WAY, at this stage of his career, should he be anywhere near anyone's top pairing.Throw in Andrew MacDonald who seems to be projected on everyone's lists as a 3-4D (2nd pairing), and well, one can clearly see the issues...and the need for that young blood to hurry and mature. I think a Michael Del Zotto should be retained and given upper pairing minutes, and he should be paired with a more stay at home type to offset his taking of chances.Radko Gudas, if the Flyers really intend on giving him a fair shake, is best suited to a bottom six role with a more mobile partner, but given the state of the Flyer D now, he can probably do 2nd pair minutes, and while his overall skating and stick handling aren't the best, they HAVE been steadily getting better the more games he got in with the Lightning till he got injured...he could certainly be an underrated asset while the real top pair guys in the pipeline come around for Philly. Nick Schultz is serviceable as well...and that is about as nice as I can be with him. He is plain vanilla, standard, middle of the road, and as non descript as a D-man can possibly be.Standard Schultz is what I have called him for years now. On this team, that will find him a place...but longer term, he just isn't a keeper.Yevganey Medvedev, I don't know anything about, could be good in the NHL, could be standard, could be terrible. A career KHL'er whom the Flyers, because the team's needs on D are so bad, are willing to roll the dice on. Overall though, it is going to have to be the forwards and the goaltending that will have to carry the Flyers while the defense sorts itself out.Just no getting around that.But even for that to happen, some contracts will still need to be moved around and out. My 39 cents as an outsider to the Philly fanbase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Does anyone really think Alt is an NHL player? He looks career AHL to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 [streit] is also also a bit slow of foot (not pylon mind you, but I can't really consider him particularly mobile either), I'm okay with most everything in your post except this and the 4-6 comment. He's not slow. And he's been a 1-4 most of his career. Arguably the best on the Islanders while he was there. I agree he will start declining, maybe even this year (who knows?), but foot speed has not been an issue for him to date. But overall, yeah, fairly decent assessment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 @TropicalFruitGirl26 Streit was 9th overall in scoring for NHL defencemen last year. Tampas top Dman was tied for 28th. I hated the Streit signing because it looked like yet another stupid move by Holmgren. But he's actually been quite good. A #1? No. But he's a heck of a lot better than a 4-6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radoran Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 I'm okay with most everything in your post except this and the 4-6 comment. He's not slow. And he's been a 1-4 most of his career. Arguably the best on the Islanders while he was there. I agree he will start declining, maybe even this year (who knows?), but foot speed has not been an issue for him to date.But overall, yeah, fairly decent assessment.Streit is what he has always been - the best defensemen on a bad to middling team. There's a reason he's been to the playoffs four of nine years and been to the second round once.He'd be a great second unit guy with a flair for the pp, but on the top pair is - base stats notwithstanding - not what a top tier team wants in that scenario.He was brought in to be the #2 guy behind Timonen. He'll put up nice numbers QBing a stacked pp.He's not what I want on my top pairing unless that pair is on an FHL roster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Streit is what he has always been - the best defensemen on a bad to middling team. There's a reason he's been to the playoffs four of nine years and been to the second round once.He'd be a great second unit guy with a flair for the pp, but on the top pair is - base stats notwithstanding - not what a top tier team wants in that scenario.He was brought in to be the #2 guy behind Timonen. He'll put up nice numbers QBing a stacked pp.He's not what I want on my top pairing unless that pair is on an FHL roster. Completely agree with every word. He doesn't actually play DEFENSE well enough to be on the top shutdown pair, IMO. And if that's what TFG was saying I'm on board. I just don't think I agree with the slow-footed assessment, although I think that may be a very valid concern with aging going forward. And if THAT is what she was saying I completely withdraw my objection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radoran Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 And if that's what TFG was saying I'm on board I think he's a solid second pairing option - not a 4-6 but a 3/4. It's just striking to me that when he left the Canadiens their fortunes improved dramatically. He put up 56, 49 and 47 for the Isles - who never made the playoffs in any of those seasons. There are obviously other factors involved, but the Flyers have managed one playoff round in the two years he's been here. Coincidence isn't causation, but three franchises in a row? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 @flyercanuck@ruxpin@radoran Honestly guys, I can't say I paid much attention to Streit while he played on the Islanders, so my observations of him were cursory at best and while he has played pretty well for Philly, yes, my postings were basically what he will be or become moving forward. Not to discount anything he has done in the past, but let's face it: that doesn't really matter a ton moving forward. He is 37, will be 38 before the year is out and unless he is popping steroids or some other performance enhancer, nature will take his toll on him, and he simply should not be a top pair (or even 2nd pair guy, IMO) at this stage of his career. I will admit that perhaps my "slow footed" comment might have been hastily made....but in my defense, whenever I did watch some Flyers games, I was not particularly impressed by his overall speed and agility on the ice. Smarts yes. Positional awareness, absolutely....physical speed? Not so much.Granted, I didn't watch as many Flyer games as a diehard Philly fan would, and maybe I just happened to catch him on the occasions where he didn't have his best games. But still, in the grand scheme of things, MOVING FORWARD, and in the spirit of this thread, I believe his role on the team should be slowly reduced in favor of more dynamic up n coming forwards.I realize it may still be awhile before the young crop are fully able to take the reigns and become go-to guys. And during that time, guys like Streit, Schultz, even MacDonald so long as he is still there, will have to suffice as far as NHL experienced vets goes for this upcoming season But the Flyers, at the earliest possible time, SHOULD want those three replaced with young, hungry, more mobile players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackStraw Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Does anyone really think Alt is an NHL player? He looks career AHL to me. I think he can be a decent bottom pairing guy. He's big, skates well, plays a smart no frills kind of game. Unfortunately he lost a lot of time last year due to injuries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Ideally, The Flyers ship out one more defenseman and give one of the kids a shot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poulin20 Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 When Peter Luukko (who Homer consulted on all signings/ trades) addressed the fans at a Townhall about the Streit signing he told us the reason they got him was that "He has a hammer from the point". That was basically what they saw in him and why they liked him. Due to this comment this @Adamflyers and make Greg "the Hammer" Valentine (from WWF before it was WWE) references when referring to Streit during our in game banter when attending games. The other funny thing about that night is that Homer didnt know how to pronounce Streit's name and kept giving 2 different versions (Street or St-right) and then saying, "whatever:.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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