Solid Article by Bob Ford

[DaGreatGazoo]

This is one of the better articles I've seen regarding yesterday's moves by the Flyers.

 

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/415153524.html

[MaineFlyFan]

"What is most frustrating about the Flyers on the ice is that they put themselves in a position to do well but then don't have the talent to finish the job. They are sixth in the league in shots per game but 21st in goals per game. They are seventh in the league for fewest shots allowed but are 26th in goals allowed. So, they are pretty good at getting shots but not at making them, and they are pretty good at limiting the other team's shots but lousy at stopping the ones they do allow. That's a bad combination, and it doesn't come down to a lack of hard work or effort or character, all those things that hockey players and coaches love to chatter on about. It's about talent, and they don't have enough."

 

BINGO! This paragraph is hard to argue with....lack of talent (aka finishing).

[Howie58]

This was a good article.  I am glad an outsider confirms what most have seen--we try but don't succeed.  Writ large--I think we look back at this season as "Progression through Regression."  The team comes to grips with its essential mediocrity.  

 

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

Well, in fairness, the Flyers top six isn't bad. It's not bad at all. However, the problem is the bottom six and if opposing teams shut down the top six forwards, it forces the bottom six to produce and there simply isn't the talent there to produce. With that being said, there's help on the way. More important, Hextall has seven picks in the first four rounds this year and he should have about $14 to $15 million in cap space to play with this off season. That's more than enough money to add some more parts and the draft picks should help add even more talent to the pipeline. Honestly, I posted this elsewhere, but if our first four picks turn out to be Cody Glass, Robert Thomas, Adam Ruzicka and Macauley Carson, that's a HUGE win for the Flyers. As well, there's talent coming to North America soon with regards to Oskar Lindblom and Mikhail Vorobyov. Eventually the talent in the pipeline is going to start pushing guys out of the bottom six. So, it's possible in the next three years, we could see a forward group of:

 

Konecny - Tavares - Giroux (I'm willing to bet the Flyers are going to go after Tavares REAL hard and move Giroux to the wing)

Lindblom - Rubtsov - Voracek

Weal - Couturier - Schenn

Laughton - Vorobyov - Leier

 

I've got Simmonds as the odd man out simply because the Flyers have all that money tied up in Voracek and Schenn for the right side. Simmonds also plays a power forward game and even though he's been relatively healthy, in 2018, he's going to be at an age when power forwards begin their decline. The fact that he's also going to be a free agent and probably want a 7 or 8 million a year deal will be too much for money at the wing. He'd also be the Flyers most valuable piece and there's no reason to believe that if the Flyers were willing to trade him, there wouldn't be 20 teams interested and more important, a huge bidding war for his services. I think it's something Hextall and company have to investigate.

 

Either way, in the next three years, the influx of young talent on the team is going to be something else to watch. It's about suffering through some crap right now before the cream rises.