My line up changes would be....

[Jmdodgesrt4]

Fire the coach to start with.....

His scratching of players are now more confusing then berube. It's like he's lost and grasping at straws.

B schenn will be centering the second line with simmonds and gagner. Coots back to the 3c with read and umberger when healthy. Look to upgrade the third line in offseason. Coots isn't a 2c. He's a great 3c just give him more talent on the wings. 4c Laughton and white and maybe a young player . Vinny never sees the light of day and he's told to go away from the team. Ghost even though he's young and needs more work he's stays up and I'm trying to move streit when he returns. Manning gets waived and if he's lost oh well.

[DaGreatGazoo]

17 games in..yeah, let's fire the coach. SMH. Firing the last 4 coaches made a big difference.

News flash-this team isn't that good. They can play good periods/good games at times but they simply don't have the depth or the proper make-up to sustain long term success right now.

But by all means-fire the coach. Again.

[Brandonn]

I'd go: 

 

Schenn - Giroux - Voracek

Simmonds - Gagner - Raffl

Read - Couturier - Bellemare (Umberger when returns)

White - Laughton - Vandevelde (gets bumped out) or (Lecavalier if preferred)

 

Del Zotto - Medvedev (Streit when returns)

Schultz - Schenn 

Gudas (gets bumped out) - Ghostisbehere 

 

Mason - Neuvirth 

 

 

I mean I'm no coach or no genius at all by any means, but I agree the Flyers have done a really terrible job managing their lines/players so far this season.

[RJ8812]

I'd go: 

 

Schenn - Giroux - Voracek

Simmonds - Gagner - Raffl

Read - Couturier - Bellemare (Umberger when returns)

White - Laughton - Vandevelde (gets bumped out) or (Lecavalier if preferred)

 

Del Zotto - Medvedev (Streit when returns)

Schultz - Schenn 

Gudas (gets bumped out) - Ghostisbehere 

 

Mason - Neuvirth 

 

 

I mean I'm no coach or no genius at all by any means, but I agree the Flyers have done a really terrible job managing their lines/players so far this season.

 

thanks for clarifying that 

[NRH]

Fire the coach to start with.....

His scratching of players are now more confusing then berube. It's like he's lost and grasping at straws.

B schenn will be centering the second line with simmonds and gagner. Coots back to the 3c with read and umberger when healthy. Look to upgrade the third line in offseason. Coots isn't a 2c. He's a great 3c just give him more talent on the wings. 4c Laughton and white and maybe a young player . Vinny never sees the light of day and he's told to go away from the team. Ghost even though he's young and needs more work he's stays up and I'm trying to move streit when he returns. Manning gets waived and if he's lost oh well.

 

Talks of changes in the offseason before the trade deadline is even here?

[Brandonn]

thanks for clarifying that 

 

hilarious

[AJgoal]

I go, when healthy:

 

Gagner - Giroux - Simmonds

Schenn - Laughton - Voracek

Read - Couturier - Umberger

Raffl - Bellemare - White

[briere48]

Fire the coach to start with.....

His scratching of players are now more confusing then berube. It's like he's lost and grasping at straws.

B schenn will be centering the second line with simmonds and gagner. Coots back to the 3c with read and umberger when healthy. Look to upgrade the third line in offseason. Coots isn't a 2c. He's a great 3c just give him more talent on the wings. 4c Laughton and white and maybe a young player . Vinny never sees the light of day and he's told to go away from the team. Ghost even though he's young and needs more work he's stays up and I'm trying to move streit when he returns. Manning gets waived and if he's lost oh well.

 

 

they cant fire the coach, that's a given, hextall is not going to keep switching coaches every season, the thing that has to change is the players, forwards and defense. i think the main problem with this team is that coach needs his own players because if this is the same team that's doing the same thing over and over again with three different coaches then the thing has to change is the players because it's a mental problem, nothing is going change until hakstol gets his own players that want to play and win.

[OccamsRazor]

17 games in..yeah, let's fire the coach. SMH. Firing the last 4 coaches made a big difference.

News flash-this team isn't that good. They can play good periods/good games at times but they simply don't have the depth or the proper make-up to sustain long term success right now.

But by all means-fire the coach. Again.

 

 

Yeah it couldn't be the players lack of execution within the system. It's just the Flyers bad luck landing 4 bad coaches...Stevens, Lavy, Berube and now Hak...yeah it has to be the coaches.... sheesh........

 

A good read for all....enjoy....

 

 

Understanding Dave Hakstol's System: The Basics

 

http://www.broadstreethockey.com/2015/11/12/9706218/philadelphia-flyers-dave-hakstol-nhl-system-analysis

[aziz]

...Stevens, Lavy, Berube and now Hak...

 

pft.  holmgren, dineen, simpson, murray, cashman, neilson, ramsay, barber, hitchcock, stevens, laviolette, berube, hakstol.

 

the reality is that no coach over the last 27 years has been able to get this team to an elite level and stay there.  these message boards have only been around for the last 9 of them, but we have had these exact conversations during the tenure of each.

[OccamsRazor]

pft.  holmgren, dineen, simpson, murray, cashman, neilson, ramsay, barber, hitchcock, stevens, laviolette, berube, hakstol.

 

the reality is that no coach over the last 27 years has been able to get this team to an elite level and stay there.  these message boards have only been around for the last 9 of them, but we have had these exact conversations during the tenure of each.

I blame it on Lindros.

[OccamsRazor]

Ryan White is out 2-4 weeks with UBI.

Callup Goulbourne. Do not i repeat do not dress Vinny!!!!!

Well nevermind i forgot they scratched Brayden so i guess they'll just bring him out the press box and Leier more than likely stays....

[murraycraven]

thanks for clarifying that

RJ, you get my vote for winning the interest today. We'll done...lol, that was great

[murraycraven]

Fire the coach to start with.....

His scratching of players are now more confusing then berube. It's like he's lost and grasping at straws.

B schenn will be centering the second line with simmonds and gagner. Coots back to the 3c with read and umberger when healthy. Look to upgrade the third line in offseason. Coots isn't a 2c. He's a great 3c just give him more talent on the wings. 4c Laughton and white and maybe a young player . Vinny never sees the light of day and he's told to go away from the team. Ghost even though he's young and needs more work he's stays up and I'm trying to move streit when he returns. Manning gets waived and if he's lost oh well.

Mario99 is that you?

[Jmdodgesrt4]

Just tired of the wtf roster moves. Coots is not a 2c. Wtf is manning doing on the ice and wtf is b schenn scratched. And manning isn't ? I mean manning is playing and b schenn isn't. I'm just completely lost !!!!

[Bertmega]

@Jmdodgesrt4

 

I agree with you, but there may be more to it. Schenn could  have tweaked something or was feeling a little under the weather. Or maybe they are resting him up. I try to look at the other side, but I too am puzzled with some of the line combos and scratches.

[AJgoal]

I think part of it is Hakstol still trying to find what works with this team. He's got a lot of parts that don't quite fit together. So he's got to juggle things around to see what works best. However, I'd like to see the combos he tries get more than a game or two before he juggles it to something new.

[King Knut]

Fire the coach to start with.....
His scratching of players are now more confusing then berube. It's like he's lost and grasping at straws.

 

 

I don't agree with this assessment. 

Hakstol isn't grasping at straws because Hakstol isn't desperate to win right now.  Nor should he be.

I don't understand his rhyme or reason, and seriously, how much does Manning have to Eff up every game he plays before he's just not viable as a call up any more?

 

But everyone was all excited about Hakstol's "accountability" and people love that word. 
 

But I don't think benching people increases their accountability.   Anyway, I don't think he's changing his lines in desperation to find the right combos so he can win now, because I don't think there was an expectation to win now. 

 

I honestly don't know why he's benching people and switching up his lines other than experimentation.  There is an expectation for more responsible play now.  They looked like they were learning it early on.  Then it fell apart.  I'm dumfounded by it.

 

Every time I complain about being dumfounded by it, cocky folks here like to act all philly smart and "educate" me about how they're just too old, or never were any good or can't be fixed and just need to be put out of their misery and replaced with draft picks.

 

But we have those picks in the form of REAL prospects, and every time anyone mentions playing them, we get an earful about how they need development and can't possibly play in the pros yet.

 

Meanwhile neither can the vets.

 

The fact of the matter is that even if Hexy decided, development be damned, HE SIMPLY CAN'T PLAY THE PROSPECTS because of homer's idiotic cap management and ridiculous contracts.

 

It's all a massive Cluster.

 

Right now I just don't understand (still) how this team abandoned what they were learning early on in the first few games.  How did they just give up on it all?  They were positioning themselves on the ice so well, now it's just gone.  I'm at a loss and Maybe Hakstol is too?

[Bertmega]

@King Knut

 

"Every time I complain about being dumfounded by it, cocky folks here like to act all philly smart and "educate" me about how they're just too old, or never were any good or can't be fixed and just need to be put out of their misery and replaced with draft picks."

 

This basically sums up how I feel recently. 

[jackhole]

Check out Meltzers blog. Has some good insight into B. Schenn riding the pine.

[RJ8812]

you know why B. Schenn was scratched?

 

Because he's been invisible for awhile now. This should be a big year for him, but he hasn't taken that next step. Yes, he's scored some goals this year, but other than that, he's played poorly. He can't carry the puck in, He can't fight for the puck. He can't win any board battles.

 

Even if you play for a bad team, if you're a good player, you should still stand out.

 

Schenn doesn't stand out.

[canoli]

you know why B. Schenn was scratched?

 

Because he's been invisible for awhile now. This should be a big year for him, but he hasn't taken that next step. Yes, he's scored some goals this year, but other than that, he's played poorly. He can't carry the puck in, He can't fight for the puck. He can't win any board battles.

 

Even if you play for a bad team, if you're a good player, you should still stand out.

 

Schenn doesn't stand out.

 

I see him completely differently RJ. I've watched about half the Flyers' games and I've been happy with BSchenn. He's been strong on the puck, winning battles, moving his feet w/out the puck...in general he's playing with an edge and purpose to his shifts. I'm not saying you're wrong, I haven't watched all the games, maybe his intensity has dropped off lately?

 

Apparently it's a mystery to BSchenn too. Here's part of a story in the Delco Times today...

 

http://www.delcotime...lf-on-top-line

 

Schenn practiced on the top line with Giroux and Voracek.

 

“I didn’t expect it, I’ll say that,” Schenn said. But he has shuffled positions and linemates throughout his NHL career, and spent a stint as the top line’s left winger last year. Until being scratched Saturday, he played mostly on the third line this season.

 

According to Schenn, Hakstol did not talk to him about what he may have been doing wrong or what he needed to do better.

 

“It’s hard to figure out sometimes,” Schenn said. “I didn’t talk to him. I don’t know what the reason is, but at the same time I’ll be ready for my opportunity.”

 

 

So BSchenn will skate with G/J tonight...from the press box to the top line in 2 days. I'm with Schenn, "It's hard to figure out sometimes."

 

He gets benched then promoted, meanwhile he has no clue why his coach made either move. Apparently no Flyers' HC can resist bouncing BSchenn all over the lineup. Is that a testament to his versatility or are they trying to fit a square peg into a round hole?