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How will the Defense shape up?


CoachX

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@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.

 

Agreed.   In all honesty, I think he may still be the easiest contract to move from the defense at this point, specifically at the deadline if we're on the outside looking in (I still think this is likely).

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@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.

Yes Streit is getting old but he might be this year's version of Braydon Coburn at the trade deadline if the Flyers are out of it. He'd be a decent 3/4 defensemen on a playoff team and signed thru the following year. Hexie's objective is trying to find a way to get rid of Vinnie and possibly Umburger while letting the youngster develop in the minors or juniors. As for Luke Schenn, who knows how he's going to play under the new coach. I guess the Flyers management and their fanbase have to use a word not normally associated with this team - PATIENCE. All I can say is it's refreshing to have a GM who actually has a plan and is trying to follow it.

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All I can say is it's refreshing to have a GM who actually has a plan and is trying to follow it.

 

There are few around here that were harsher, earlier on #homecoaster than I was, but I do have to say that he started with "a plan" - up until the point where his plan got the team to the Stanley Cup Final and then he blew it all to pieces.

 

The true test for Hextall isn't in Y1 or Y2 or Y3 of a "plan" but in Y4. Y5 and Y6. Does he stick to it?

 

Given that he comes from an organization that did follow and plan, stick to it and won Cups I think he probably will.

 

Now... does The Old Man allow that sort of patience or does he hear the clock ticking?

 

Time will tell. But I do think this team is poised to make some big strides over the next few seasons. The real issue is that the rest of the Metro is also putting themselves into position to make similar strides.

 

Is there a tougher division than the Metro - in terms of team competitiveness? The Rangers have been deep the past few years. The Islanders are a real threat once they get into a real arena in Brooklyn. The Pens are still the Pens and have added Kessel (will he be a balloon or an anchor??). The Blue Jackets have quietly moved into a pretty good spot. The Caps aren't chopped liver. Heck, does anyone expect the Devils to be doormats perennially?

 

The only team that is on the outs is the Canes - and I really wouldn't want to be the Canes at this point.

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@radoran brings up some good points in the above post.....particularly one that hasn't been touched upon too much:

The Flyers DON'T exist in a vacuum.....they may improve incrementally, but will it be enough to stave off improvements made by other teams within their own division, let alone the Conference?

 

Obviously, when charged with the clean up mess that Hextall has been charged with, one MUST start with small gains.

But if Philadelphia is to win anything anytime soon, then bigger strides must be made, especially on defense to keep up with whatever else the competition is doing.

 

After all, in the big picture, it will do the Flyers no good if they improve by 3x if their competition improves by 5x just an example and to just throw a number or two out there.

 

That means some hard decisions must be made along the way regarding this defense (moving dead weight are the EASY choices...just gotta find takers), so as not to fall behind Philly competitors, even though the Flyers themselves have improved.

And if doing away with aging and/or marginal players (no matter that they have 'been good enough last year or the year before') helps that cause, then so be it.

 

Teams like the Islanders, Blue Jackets, Rangers etc, are not gonna stand still and wait around for the Flyers to get better. 

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@TropicalFruitGirl26

 

Philly has arguably the best prospects on D in the entire NHL. Provorov/Sanheim/Morin/Gostisbehere/Hagg are all NHL calibre prospects, with the first two names potential #1s.

 

That's great. Outstanding.

 

Now...all the Flyers have to do is make sure they pan out and not fall victim to "flash in the pan", "injury plagued", "attitude problems", "personal issues", "cap restraints", "bad management decisions", and any number of a million things that could go wrong.

The challenge really of any NHL team.

 

Hence why I said earlier that for every 5 or 6 'can't miss prospects', teams would do well to actually have a couple live up to their billing.

Flyers, like any other team, STILL need a plan B, C, D, and E to ensure competitiveness on the blue line in case some things don't work out, or the competition does them one better.

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@TropicalFruitGirl26

 

Sure. Nobody is letting their good defencemen leave anymore. The Flyers finally figured out they have to draft their own, and they have been. The best part of their prospect pool IMO is the diversity of them...from excellent all around fast Provorov, to big skilled fast Sanheim, to huge shutdown put the fear of God in them fast Morin, to small offensively skilled fast Gostisbehere to all around good Hagg to all around decent big fast Alt to smaller offensive fast Friedman....in case you didn't notice, they're almost all fast.

 

Holmgren was a complete idiot when it came to the cap (among other things). it'll take a few years for Hextall to dig the Flyers out of the hole. So far he seems to be doing most of the right things.

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I guess there will always be a Milbury, or a Holmgren...or a Sweeney.

Until we get to the point where a professional hiring process doesn't simply involve "who do I have in my Friends circle on Google+".

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Until we get to the point where a professional hiring process doesn't simply involve "who do I have in my Friends circle on Google+".

 

Hmm...so what you are saying is, when Stevie Y is ready to call it a career in management, the Bolts SHOULDN'T hire Stevie Y, Jr. just because his daddy ran the Lightning, eh?   :rolleyes:

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Hmm...so what you are saying is, when Stevie Y is ready to call it a career in management, the Bolts SHOULDN'T hire Stevie Y, Jr. just because his daddy ran the Lightning, eh?   :rolleyes:

 

No, they should hire Stamkos. He played there, he must know how to manage a team....right?  :blink[1]:

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