Chuck Fletcher it is...

[rottenrefs]

20 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

 

I would say call the Flyer headquarters to complain about Hextall's firing, but you're likely to get some Indian dude at the other end asking you if you are calling bout Interwebs or cables on teevees…

Then they will put you on hold, while you listen to the Backstreet Boys, then come back on the line and tell you to reset your cable box while asking your for your information so they can send a tech out in case their customer service wasn't quite up to par because they actually don't know what the hell they were talking about and English isn't their primary language...

And no, I am not bitter about Comcast..... its not about me...it's about firing Hextall…..  Hold please...………………………………………….. 

Google Windstream complaints. They have a 1-star rating out of 6. I happened to get a hold of a regional director while he was vacationing in Florida (looking out at the ocean) while I ripped him a new one. We've had near impeccable service ever since and that was about 8 years ago. Considering they were the only provider out here and knowing how many others suffer almost daily - not bad. 

[flyersfan35]

i wouldnt be surprised if fletch trades our older forwards for defensemen, it always the homer strategy that was goaltending and defense and that's why this team is so good, good defense and goaltending, right now we are the opposite of that.

[CreaseAndAssist]

3 hours ago, flyercanuck said:

 

 Holmgren was better than Risebrough. That's no comfort.

 

Yet consider the fact ownership has never been willing to be really bad.  Tough to draft blue chippers when you are rarely ever in the Top 15.  I think he could be ok, maybe he learned something in his time with Shero.  Besides you don't have a Suter whose BFF's with the owner to undercut him.  

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

@ruxpin

Sheesh...and I BITCH about stuff on Facebook and people unfriend me or call me overly dramatic...

[sweetshot]

Philly's young talent in the minors along with a lot of cap space is Chucks wet dream. He'll be like a kid in the candy store. I'm sure he's chomping at the bit to get started!

[ruxpin]

2 minutes ago, sweetshot said:

Philly's young talent in the minors along with a lot of cap space is Chucks wet dream. He'll be like a kid in the candy store. I'm sure he's chomping at the bit to get started!

 

I HATE ALL THE THINGS!

[vis]

7 hours ago, King Knut said:

I really really hope not.  

You know, it may not.  If he's got any sense about him, he'll watch this team - on and off the ice - and see what he has.  Maybe with Hextall removed, this team starts playing to its potential.  He still has holes to fill.  But maybe we won't see anything too drastic - at least not in the short term.

 

7 hours ago, King Knut said:

If it's me, I don't trade anyone but  Weal, Raffl, Lehtera, Weise, Mac, Folin, Neuvirth, Lyon and maybe Simmonds depending on how the team is looking and what his agent is asking for at the deadline.  

Other than Simmonds, no one wants that trash.  If this team continues looking like it has for the better part of the season,  I'm open to trading almost anyone from the roster other than Provorov, Konecny and Patrick.

 

7 hours ago, King Knut said:

The fact of the matter is (and Hextall friggin' knew this) everything the Flyers need becomes available this summer (a year the Flyers just happen to have $32 million to spend.  

He may have known it, but whether he would have done something about it - and done it right - is another story.  

 

7 hours ago, King Knut said:

If it's me, I target, Panarin, Gardiner, Varlamov or maybe Duchene (we still need a 2C/3C) and Nilssen (if you can't get Varlamov) are UFA's to target this summer.  It really doesn't make sense to trade actual assets like Sanheim and Myers for anything like that now.

Depends on a few things.  I'm not sure Varlamov or Nilssen are the rights guys with Carter Hart waiting in the wings.  I really don't know if they should make a play for Panarin.  I think it will cost too much.

 

Quote

 

You can't get all of them this summer because you have to resign Provo, Sanheim, Laughton, Konecny and Stolarz (I'm gonna go ahead and pull an I told you so on that one so far) to bridge deals.  Luckily Provo is having a god awful season and ruining his bargainnng ability in the process, but Konecny is going to get PAID, especially if he keeps it up and in light of the Nylander deal.

Yes, all that cap space will go to some important signings this year.  Less concerned about Stolarz and Laughton.  I think Sanheim gets a reasonable deal.

 

Quote

But I still have some faith in Morin when he's able to return (not sure it should be this year necessarily) and Myers, so if they need to trade Sanheim, I won't get too upset.  He would win cups in Toronto if he goes there though.  

I don't know about Morin and Myers.  Morin is going to have a difficult time making it back.  I was hoping Myers would be dominant in the AHL, but I'm not sure that's been the case.  Any insight?

 

Quote

As far as the coach goes, I'm still not sure if Quennville is the right guy for this team, but I won't have a fit if he's brought in now.

I'd rather see Keefe or someone a little more forward thinking at least considered first and most of those types are Mid-season somewhere.  

They passed on Zito and they will pass on Keefe.  They seem to want established NHL guys.

 

Quote

but frankly, I'd just as soon see Stevens brought in as an interim to finish the season and publicly call it a "Favor to the organization".  Consider letting him stay on as an Asst. under the new regime if he's up for it.  

Absolutely not.

Edited December 4, 2018 by vis

[FD19372]

1 hour ago, rottenrefs said:

2 hours ago, ruxpin said:

 

Likely the Flyers top Top Brass would never buy into Mike Yeo.

Dear God, I hope not.

[icehole]

9 hours ago, mojo1917 said:

Ghost was a third round pick,  just sayin'

You're right...I would take Ghost over McDavid.

[flyercanuck]

3 minutes ago, icehole said:

You're right...I would take Ghost over McDavid.

 

You're right...Edmonton is trading McDavid.

 

 The point is if you don't just throw draft picks in on trades all the time, some of them can turn into very good players. 

 

 Homer threw aways 1sts, 2nds 3rds, whatever, he didn't care. When Hextall made trades, the throw ins were coming back to us. That's part of the reason we have a prospect pool now. Homer left us with a pool alright...of vomit.

 

 Neither GM won us a cup...but Hextall didn't win one in half the time...and left the team sitting in a lot better shape than Homer did. Fletcher steps in with some good pieces, a deep cupboard of prospects at every single position and a ton of capspace. Homer just couldn't take that anymore. MUST WIN NOW!

[icehole]

2 hours ago, flyercanuck said:

 

You're right...Edmonton is trading McDavid.

 

 The point is if you don't just throw draft picks in on trades all the time, some of them can turn into very good players. 

 

 Homer threw aways 1sts, 2nds 3rds, whatever, he didn't care. When Hextall made trades, the throw ins were coming back to us. That's part of the reason we have a prospect pool now. Homer left us with a pool alright...of vomit.

 

 Neither GM won us a cup...but Hextall didn't win one in half the time...and left the team sitting in a lot better shape than Homer did. Fletcher steps in with some good pieces, a deep cupboard of prospects at every single position and a ton of capspace. Homer just couldn't take that anymore. MUST WIN NOW!

I understand the importance of picks.  I dont put as much importance on them as others do, but I understand.  In the NHL draft though, after 5th or even 3rd pick sometimes, you dont know what you're getting.  So if you can get something that is known, and it cost you a role of the dice in the second round, I dont mind that strategy.

 

For the record, I dont think it was fair to fire Hextall now.  For someone like me who wasnt a fan of Hextalls philosophy, the damage was done when you hired him to carry out his plan.  You might as well see it through.  Hiring a new GM wont put butts in the seats immediately unless he does something drastic (we'll see soon).  I think a coaching change would make more of an impact on the way the team plays.

 

I like the excitement of change especially because this team has been irrelevant.  Fletcher seems like a guy who wont let this team get stale like it has been.  His resume doesn't impress me though.  I've never liked Minnesota's teams.  Parise wasnt at superstar level and a guy like Suter wouldn't thrill me.  His other deals weren't exciting either.

 

I think Hextall did set the table nicely but maybe Holmgren didnt have confidence that he would take the next step.  Hopefully Fletcher will continue with what Hextall left for him while adding a little bit of his own touch to add some star talent.

[RonJeremy]

11 hours ago, flyersfan35 said:

i wouldnt be surprised if fletch trades our older forwards for defensemen, it always the homer strategy that was goaltending and defense and that's why this team is so good, good defense and goaltending, right now we are the opposite of that.

That’s why Simmonds and possibly Voracek should be traded.  Acquiring JVR has made one of them expendable , maybe you can get a package of picks , prospects and a dman.

[ruxpin]

In the spirit of old time Christmas specials:

 

Fletcher :

 

"I'm Mister Shitmeister, your team is done. I'm Mister Shitmeister, contacts til 2031. I'm king of crap talent assessment, and what ever I touch, turns to crap in my clutch;  I'll pay too much (TOO... MUCH!)."

Edited December 4, 2018 by ruxpin

[brelic]

I just read through the transcript with Fletcher, and he's definitely saying all the right things. 

 

His goal is to make the playoffs this year, which may or may not be concerning depending on how he goes about achieving that goal. 

 

They are 5 points out right now, which might not seem like much, but it is when you consider that you're battling against 10 other teams to do it (7 non-playoff teams, 2 wildcards, and 3rd in the division).

 

https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Bill-Meltzer/Quick-Hits-Practice-Day-Fletcher-Wilson-and-More/45/96355

 

Chuck Fletcher Conference Call Transcript 

Opening statement:

I’m extremely honored and humbled that Paul Holmgren and Dave Scott chose me to be the next general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers. I’ve been in the game for many years and the Flyers have been one of the standard bearers of the National Hockey League, and one of the best franchises. To have the opportunity to be the general manager of the Flyers is a dream come true.

On the current roster and organizational depth:

I want to start right off by acknowledging the job that Ron Hextall did. The Flyers have as many prospects as any team in the league, if not more. There’s a very strong foundation in place. The team is in a good cap position, and there are a lot of good players on the team. Right now we’re I believe in 15th place in the Eastern Conference; we have some work to do, no doubt. But there are some very strong players here. There are some young players that are finding their way in the NHL and getting better. In a few more weeks I’ll probably have a much better answer for you. I’m looking forward to sitting down with the coaches very shortly and getting to meet the players. I plan on meeting with the players and staff tomorrow and talking generally about expectations. It’s a good group coming in from the outside, but certainly I’m going to take some time here to get to know them much better.

On his impressions of Dave Hakstol:

I’ve known Dave for a while. I met Dave a few times while he was at North Dakota. He did a tremendous job at North Dakota. His teams always got better as the season went on. When you had a player that was drafted by your organization that attended North Dakota, they always got better, they always developed. So I have a lot of respect for what he’s accomplished in his career. I’m just coming in. I’m a big believer in trying to get to know a situation before making a reaction. I’d like to think we can solve a lot of the issues that have plagued the team this year and find a way to get better. I certainly have no intention of making a coaching change tomorrow, if that’s your question. I’m going to meet with Dave and we’re going to try to work together and push. Our goal is to try to make the playoffs this year, it’s that simple. We have work to do, and it’ll be a challenge. But there’s no reason why we can’t get better, and we can’t push to make the playoffs and find a way to get in.


On timetable for hiring an assistant GM:

Certainly I will address that. I’m pretty familiar with a lot of the staff that’s already in place here. I’ve gotten to know them pretty well over the years and I think it’s a really strong staff, and a lot of good people here. Clearly we will look to replace that role and hire somebody, but there’s nothing imminent right now. If we can do it during the season, great; if it takes until the end of the season, that’s great too. That’s something I’m going to put a lot of time and thought into. First I want to come in and see the people that are here and the roles that they’re doing, and maybe where we need to fill. I think that would be the important thing to do prior to making a hire.


On working for Bob Clarke as assistant general manager during the 1993-94 season with the Florida Panthers:

It’s been a while. 25 years ago, Bob hired me and brought me to Florida in April of 1993. I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia when my dad ran the Atlanta Flames, and Philadelphia was the nemesis. That was the team that always beat the Flames, and Bob Clarke was usually the one doing the damage. I grew up with a tremendous amount of respect for Bob. He was a great guy to work for. The first NHL team I worked for, I think I learned more that year than any other year of my career. I consider him both a mentor and a friend. He gave me a lot of autonomy, a lot of authority early on, let me do some contracts when I was 24, 25 years old, and really got me started in this business. 

On his approach here vs. his approach in Minnesota:

I think the first thing I would say, in all candidness – Philadelphia right now, we have a very strong group of young players, prospects… we have nine draft picks this year, an extra third, an extra seventh, we do have cap space. Those are all resources that you can use to make your team better. For me, I think right now looking at this club from outside, and again I’ll dig into it more in the coming weeks, there’s no reason why we can’t be a playoff team now, and going forward I think we’ll continue to get better. You want to compete in the present, and you’ve got to be respectful of making sure you have a strong team for the future. But there’s great resources in place here, and it’s a very fortunate position to be in.

On whether Paul or Dave described the type of GM they were looking for in regards to someone with a “bias for action”:

I don’t know that they said that in so many words. The one thing they did say to me is they were looking for somebody who had been a general manager before and maybe had dealt with some of the situations that come up and that had some experience, but they didn’t necessarily say that. We went through my history and I explained to them the way I’d like to operate, and it just seemed to fit. I was in on Thursday and Friday and we had some great conversations, and I can tell you from my standpoint I feel very comfortable working for Paul and Dave.

On his defining his general approach and whether he will ease in to his new job:

The term “ease in”… we’re 25 games in, there’s still a lot of runway left in the season, but the season also gets old pretty quickly. I would like to see what solutions we have to some of our problems and see if we have some of those solutions in-house, see if we have some solutions internally. We’re 29th in the league in goals against right now, and obviously there’s been a lot of injuries to the goaltending, there’s been a lot of uncertainty in that position. But clearly we need to give up fewer goals. There’s no doubt about that. So how do we go about that? The first thing for me is I’d like to sit down with the coaches and let’s see what we can do. How can we improve? If we can’t find the solutions internally, then I certainly will look externally and do what we can to improve the team. But our goal is to make the playoffs this year, and we’d like to find solutions to get there. I can tell you I’ll be aggressive in that sense, but the first thing I think you have to do is see if you have in-house solutions.

Is there a specific area Paul & Dave wanted you to address first?

Again, Paul and Dave were great. We didn’t get into the specifics of the team necessarily. We did discuss the team a bit, but they made it very clear they will trust my judgment and they will allow me to do the things I think we need to do to get better. I’m just looking at it from the outside, it’s not a secret – there’s five different goalies that have played in net this year, and that’s a lot. We’re 29th in goals-against; that’s too high. We have some young defensemen, and a lot of them are going to be very good players in this league, but it’s a tough league. We just need to look at how do we give up fewer goals. It takes everybody on the ice to prevent a goal. But getting some stability in goal would be great, getting healthy in goal would be great. Sometimes you can’t control that, and that’s why we’ll first look to see what we have here in-house, and if need be, I’m certainly going to make a lot of calls and see what’s out there, and if we have to make a move we’ll be ready to do so.

[murraycraven]

Did we trade all the young good players for all the old veterans yet?  

[EJ0226]

From a Wild fan I feel bad for you Flyer fans unless you happen to have a kink for getting players that had names but are in the very late twilight of their careers and just a shell of their former selves. O and also fans of overpaying for these players with NTC/NMC on these because that is what is going to happen. CF will get the team just good enough to never be able to get a top pick but no where good enough to make a serious playoff run.

[fan4ever]

I was originally going to thank all of our Wild friends for the insight into our new GM, but now after reading all of this, I think we'll need them to keep us all from jumping off of the Walt Whitman Bridge......

 

Good Lord!

[radoran]

1 hour ago, brelic said:

His goal is to make the playoffs this year, which may or may not be concerning depending on how he goes about achieving that goal. 

 

Well, exactly.

 

I might be happier with someone who's goal is to win the Stanley Cup. Making the playoffs is obviously step one of that process. But you have teams like St. Louis that "made the playoffs" every year from 1979 through 2004 and got to the Conference Finals twice over that span, never making the Final, nor winning the Cup.

 

And, yes, there's a bit of pedantry there - Fletcher here is likely talking about his immediate goals and I get that.

 

I am just leery of the old "make the playoffs and anything can happen" Phillyosophy coming back into play. Where they "get to the playoffs" and then lose in the first round to a Cup Finalist and then it's "but we lost to a Finalist!" (Ahem, 2014).

 

You know, this:

37 minutes ago, EJ0226 said:

the team just good enough to never be able to get a top pick but no where good enough to make a serious playoff run.

 

What's the last "surprise" team that came away with the Cup? Sure, the Knights made the Final last year. But they lost. There are "surprise" Finalists (2010 comes to mind) but there aren't a lot of "surprise" winners. Certainly not in the Cap Era. Teams are built these days, not assembled on the fly. Every single Cup winner in the Cap Era has a solid home grown core that they added pieces to when the time was right.

 

Hextall had "philosophical differences" with Homer - and, to me, that was a good thing. Homer's "philosophy" was the embodiment of "close but no guitar." And now we have a guy who apparently Homer agrees with the "way he likes to operate" and is "a fit" with the philosophy.

 

By all accounts, we're approaching an offseason where there are significant opportunities with cap space and assets.

 

I'm waiting and seeing, but more in a Reaganesque "trust, but verify" manner.

Edited December 4, 2018 by radoran

[Podein25]

43 minutes ago, radoran said:

I might be happier with someone who's goal is to win the Stanley Cup.

 

You would think that you wouldn't have to come on to a hockey forum and actually write that sentence. And yet you do.

 

It's frankly terrifying.

[pilldoc]

27 minutes ago, Podein25 said:

 

You would think that you wouldn't have to come on to a hockey forum and actually write that sentence. And yet you do.

 

It's frankly terrifying.

 

Its terrifying to know what may befall this once proud franchise....

[murraycraven]

31 minutes ago, pilldoc said:

 

Its terrifying to know what may befall this once proud franchise....

 

I would hate to be Fletcher.   Guy isn't even in the position 24 hours and he is already a terrible GM.   Seems like everyone on this board is a better GM than him already and he is apparently going to destroy this franchise...

 

Welcome to Philly Fletch!!!

[radoran]

6 minutes ago, pilldoc said:

 

Its terrifying to know what may befall this once proud franchise....

 

Look, three playoff rounds in six years SUCKS. There's no way around it.

 

And I get fans being turned off by "the process" - I get it because I've been somewhat "turned off" by it. I do find the team boring and predictable. It hasn't been appointment television. I mean, it's been six years right?

 

From 1994 to 2004 the Flyers made the playoffs every year. Lost three Conference Finals and a Cup Final. Lost in the first round four times. How satisfying was that? Then they bottomed out in 06-07, replaced Clarke with Homer. Made the playoffs five straight years including a Conference and Cup Final.  And that brings us to where we are today.

 

It took the Blackhawks twelve years in the wilderness to finally get it right. A lot of that was bad management, yes. But it also took the Pens five (plus the lockout, and getting Crosby). It took the Kings eight (plus the lockout) with just two rounds of playoffs.

 

Would those fans have been "happier" with a consistent appearance in the playoffs instead of multiple Cups? Were Caps fans happy making the playoffs nine out of ten years before winning the Cup?

 

I grant you it's possible. And for some that's what they really want to see. A "good" team. I got the distinct feeling that the Caps fans were getting more than a little antsy before last year.

 

It's been forty-four years in Philadelphia. And we "win trades" and have a top winning percentage and have a winning record against most franchises.

 

I'd like to see them win a(nother) Cup.

[OccamsRazor]

3 hours ago, icehole said:

I understand the importance of picks.  I dont put as much importance on them as others do, but I understand.

 

 

Homer is that you???

 

Point being is there is gold in them hills you just have to find them.

 

And in FLetcher's case he hasn't been able to find the gold so i guess it's why he doesn't value the picks.

 

That has to change in Philly he must utilize the the draft to get to where they want to go.

 

I mean just look at Fletcher's last 5 2nd round picks.

 

2017? Didn't have one.

2016? Didn't have one.

2015? Jordan Greenway

2014? Didn't have one.

2013? Gustav Olofsson. A bottom pair D man so far.

 

Ron's last 5:

 

2018? Adam Ginning i think will eventually be no less than at least a bottom pair Dman. Playing in the SHL as a 18 year old!!!

2017? Issac Ratcliffe a top 9 forward eventually.

2016? Pascal Laberge a 3rd or 4th line center minimum (concussion issues) Carter Hart Flyers savior is coming.(HAHA we'll see)

2015? Didn't have one.

 

So they have importance and the jury is still out on how good they'll be. But the picks have value that must be seen by the front office.

 

Edited December 4, 2018 by OccamsRazor

[murraycraven]

3 minutes ago, radoran said:

I'd like to see them win a(nother) Cup.

 

 

Might as well just not watch Philly hockey for the next bunch of years.... I mean based on this hiring and everyone freaking out this team is headed for a sure as sh!t dumpster fire where we trade all the young talent for the hometown boy Bobby Ryan.      

[OccamsRazor]

7 minutes ago, murraycraven said:

 

 

Might as well just not watch Philly hockey for the next bunch of years.... I mean based on this hiring and everyone freaking out this team is headed for a sure as sh!t dumpster fire where we trade all the young talent for the hometown boy Bobby Ryan.      

 

 

I am going to give this a chance.

 

They said Doug Pederson was a terrible hire and that worked out pretty well. He surrounded himself with some good guys.

 

I will give it a chance hoping together they all have gotten better Rick Wilson may help shape this young blueline.

 

He brings 2,300+ regulars season games under belt to the table and a Stanley Cup with him from his Stars days.

 

Nothing wrong with giving it a chance. I understand all the sky is falling stuff however i am a glass is half full type so let's see where this goes.