Has Scott Gordon done enough to be retained at the Flyers Head Coach for the 2019-2020 Season?

[icehole]

Is there any chance that Fletcher has a better feel for Quenville than we do?  Quenville has had some health issues and he wasnt chomping at the bit to get a job after he got fired.  Maybe he's not fully invested in hockey right now.  Maybe his head is on the beach with warm weather and golf.  Maybe he can make the Panthers somewhat exciting, enough to keep his job in a low expectation market.

 

[elmatus]

10 hours ago, brelic said:

 

The twittersphere has a lot of Leafs fans pushing for Babcock to get fired if they lose early because they don't want to lose Keefe. 

 

I mean, my guess is this is the offseason Keefe gets poached unless Babcock is fired. 

 

I heard that somewhere too. To be honest though, I just can't see it. Babs has a contract to play out.

 

But yes, I would hire Babs in a heartbeat.

[hf101]

A great read by Meltzer on a q and a with Fletcher and Gordon.  Gordon gives a lot of detail.

https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=98827

 

Fletcher said that he would take the time he needs to interview candidates for the head coach job; one of which is Gordon.  It really seems like Gordon will be the choice as both are on the same page with the team needs moving forward.

 

Team needs:  Another top #6 center, Patrick hasn't shown that he is ready.  A veteran defenseman, and a backup goalie.

 

Quote

In terms of what needs to happen on the ice, Fletcher and Gordon were on the same page: 1) The team needs to spend more time attack, less time defending, in part by playing smarter hockey in the offensive zone, 2) Cutting the team GAA is a must, and one component of that is forwards committing to a 200-foot game so that they don't make life tough on the defensemen and both forwards and D-men alike giving the goaltenders a reasonable chance to make saves; 3) The young players in the lineup need to continue to show growth in their games and the team as a whole needs greater consistency.

 

[brelic]

45 minutes ago, hf101 said:

A great read by Meltzer on a q and a with Fletcher and Gordon.  Gordon gives a lot of detail.

https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=98827

 

Fletcher said that he would take the time he needs to interview candidates for the head coach job; one of which is Gordon.  It really seems like Gordon will be the choice as both are on the same page with the team needs moving forward.

 

Team needs:  Another top #6 center, Patrick hasn't shown that he is ready.  A veteran defenseman, and a backup goalie.

 

 

 

The good news is that's what everyone else sees too. 

[elmatus]

41 minutes ago, brelic said:

 

The good news is that's what everyone else sees too. 

 

The bad news is that combo is likely on many team's to-do list. There's always a chronic shortage of top six centers and solid dmen. Back up goalies are a bit easier I suppose.

 

Looking at the pending UFA list for centers is also not heartening. There really aren't any true top six of note. Hayes is probably the closest to it, and maybe the only one I would understand trying. Thornton is getting old, though I guess that kind of vet presence may be good too. None of the other names scream potential top six center to me. https://www.capfriendly.com/browse/free-agents/2020/points/all/center/ufa

 

It might have to involve a trade of some sort to really get a top six guy. Maybe they offload Voracek as part of a center trade and sign Duchene to play on the wing. He's a crap center and always has been, but he might be decent as a winger. Someone would likely have to give him a solid attitude adjustment mind you.

 

Defensemen are a little better. Karlsson is the obvious standout, though I'm sort of conflicted on the idea of giving him the term and salary he's going to command. Edler and Stralman are both alright, though they're both getting older, and neither of them are likely to have that much of an impact. They also might just end up in the bottom pairing with any kind of decline. Then we've got a pair of suspect underachievers in Gardiner and Myers. They don't scream veteran presence to me.

 

So yeah, slim pickings.

 

Back up goalie... yeah nothing of note there either. We'd be just as well getting Stolarz back.

 

Anyway, I'd kick tires on Hayes for sure, and I think you have to at least ask about Karlsson. Thornton could be an okay short term add to see if he can mentor some of the kids or something, but I wouldn't expect too much out of him, especially not in a new environment with a weaker roster than what he's been used to. I would probably ask about Edler as well, though he'd have to be willing to sign for a short-ish term. Goalies it really doesn't matter. We're not going to be in on Bob, and the rest are just all meh to awful.

[brelic]

@elmatus

 

I'd say Duchene, Hayes, and Nelson are the only real UFA candidates I'd consider. Johansson, meh, maybe, but he's more definitely a 3C, not a 2C. 

 

Don't know how much Thornton has left in the tank, and not really interested in finding out. 

 

Frost may or may not pan out, and if he does, I'd bet that he's at least 3 full seasons away from being a legit top 6 if he ever reaches that level. Patrick is 2 years in and still needs a lot of development. Hey, Frost may surprise everyone but that would be unexpected.

 

I'd be ok with any of the three I mentioned. They're all gonna get 6-7 years, I'm guessing. Not ideal, but you gotta pay to play.

 

On the trade front, sure, you could use Voracek to find that 2C. Who would be a realistic target? 

 

You could also use him to find that top defenseman. Again, who would you target?

 

In either case, that opens up a huge hole on RW. On the UFA front, there's Pavelski, Nyquist, Williams, Zuccarello, Connolly. 

 

After that, they fall into bottom six RWers. 

 

Pavelski on a 3-year deal max would be ok. He would add goal scoring. The other ones would be fine too.

 

On defense, the UFA pool isn't great. Karlsson, obviously. He will be a 7-year, $11M kind of guy. Myers? Edler? 

 

Lots of moving parts. 

 

Say you don't move Voracek, and sign UFAs for 2C, RW and D. 

 

G/Coots/Pavelski

JVR/Hayes/Voracek

Lindblom/Patrick/TK

Raffl/Laughton/Hartman

 

Provorov/Meyers

Sanheim/Myers

Ghost/Gudas

Morin/Hagg

 

I mean, that looks pretty powerful on paper. Plus, no more gifted spots for prospects. You want it, you earn it.

 

[elmatus]

3 hours ago, brelic said:

I'd say Duchene, Hayes, and Nelson are the only real UFA candidates I'd consider. Johansson, meh, maybe, but he's more definitely a 3C, not a 2C. 

 

Duchene should not be a center in the NHL. He'd possibly make a good winger though, as I've mentioned. Nelson is alright, but really Patrick is already about as good as he is. Hayes to me is the only one who could actually challenge as a 2C on this team.

 

So if we're looking for a 2C, Hayes seems to be the one to start with, unless you're getting one in a trade for someone like Voracek, at which point Duchene may be an option to replace Voracek as a top six RW. I think that would be worth a shot.

 

It's worth noting Duchene is always a RW on team Canada teams, and he does seem to do well in that capacity.

[OccamsRazor]

1 hour ago, elmatus said:

I think that would be worth a shot.

 

So want to try Duchene on the wing and give him more than the 8 year 64 mill he had already turned down in Ottawa?

[elmatus]

48 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

So want to try Duchene on the wing and give him more than the 8 year 64 mill he had already turned down in Ottawa?

 

No, he'd have to be cool with a pay cut imo, cause he's just not worth 8mil a year.

 

Of course, someone may offer him that amount. If so, I walk away pretty quick. I wouldn't consider him much of an upgrade over Voracek anyway, more like a changing of the guard. 

 

So I guess now we're back to what's the point? And to me, Duchene doesn't seem like a worthwhile venture anyway.