Flyers 2020-21 season

[flyercanuck]

1 hour ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

I hate you.

 

That is all.

 

Come on...I thought it was the easiest one yet.

[OccamsRazor]

Just now, flyercanuck said:

 

Come on...I thought it was the easiest one yet.

 

 

I actually thought it was Alan Ruck.

 

 

Silly me.

[Zzeke]

If AV holds to the same lines/pairings from the last 2 days of Camp, we will probably see these in the game tonight:

 

(Interesting - Lines 1 & 2 vs Lines 3 & 4)

 

ORANGE:

Lindblom-Courturier-Konecny

Giroux-Hayes-Farabee

Twarynski/Morin-Andreoff-Wisdom

 

Provorov-Braun

Zamula-Friedman

Pouliot/Bigras-Wylie

 

WHITE

JVR-Patrick-Voracek

Raffl-Laughton-NAK

Willman-Bunnaman/Frost-Sandin/Foerster

 

Sanheim-Myers

Hagg-Gustafsson

Wotherspoon-Prosser

 

 

[OccamsRazor]

The Athletics goalie rankings by tier:

 

Hart is listed as a tier 2 goalie.

 

Not bad for 22 years old.

 

 

6. Carter Hart, Flyers

2019-20 RECORD	SV %	GAA	SO
24-13-3	.914	2.42	1

Average 2021 tier rating: 2.00

 

There wasn’t much debate from the panel over whether Hart is trending up, even if he saw a slight dip in his save percentage. The bigger debate centered on what exactly he is right now. Or what he’ll be this season.

 

In the minds of some panelists, he’s already there. He received three votes for Tier 1 from the panel — people who already think he’s a top-tier goalie. But there are still those who want more time to assess.

 

“He’s going to be a (Tier) 1,” said a goalie coach. “We’re going to have a discussion in two or three years that he’s a 1. He still has a lot to improve.”

 

Added a head coach: “I like

Carter. I like him. It’s a little bit … wait and see. I think he’s going to be really good.”

 

So what does he already do well at age 22? Other than being able to handle the pressure of playing for a franchise where goalies have historically struggled, Hart’s style should lend itself to consistency as he matures.

 

“He is one of the most efficient goalies in the league, the way he tracks, the way he moves. I just think, physically, he’s as skilled as you can get,” said a goalie coach. “There’s going to be part of it between the ears that’s going to be the determining factor of how consistent he’ll be. He can shut you down, and it’s fairly simple for him. He’s a modern guy who has grown up in a way that is more efficient than guys (who came before him).”

 

A few panelists brought up Hart’s struggles on the road as something that needs to be improved moving forward. Last season, Hart was 20-3-2 with a .943 save percentage at home. He was 4-10-1 with a .857 save percentage on the road.

 

“He was horrendous on the road,” said a panelist. “He cannot play on the road right now. He’s got to figure that part out. He’s very well versed on the psychological aspect of hockey and life. He’s a man of routine. He gets himself into a pregame rhythm. I just don’t know if he’s found out how to do that at the NHL level (on the road).”

[Digityman]

Any word on the game being televised tonight? 

[OccamsRazor]

The only goalies ahead of him:

 

Tier 1

 

#1 Vasilevskiy

#2 Hellebuyck

tie

#2 Price

 

Tier 2

 

#4  Tuukka Rask 

#5 Markstrom

#6 Hart

#7 Gibson

#8 Bobrovsky

#9 Lehner

#10 Andersen 

tie

#10 Kuemper

[Zzeke]

6 minutes ago, Digityman said:

Any word on the game being televised tonight? 

 

Local region - NBC Sports - Philadelphia, 7PM ET.

 

The game will also be available to stream live on the MyTeams app and NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com. 

Edited January 10, 2021 by Zzeke

[Zzeke]

AV this morning - 

 

Why tonight's intra-squad game is very important - 

 

 

 

[OccamsRazor]

1 hour ago, Zzeke said:

AV this morning - 

 

Why tonight's intra-squad game is very important - 

 

 

 

 

And if I am right is there waivers required for him?

 

I would expect him to at least be on the taxi squad no less right?

[Zzeke]

1 hour ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

And if I am right is there waivers required for him?

 

I would expect him to at least be on the taxi squad no less right?

 

Found this - 

 

Sandin, who turned 24 on May 19, is viewed as a bottom-six forward. He tied for third in the SHL with 19 goals in 51 games this season. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Sandin has played mostly center and right wing, and he can also play left wing. The Flyers see him as a right winger.

 

Flahr has seen Sandin play in person numerous times, and he said the winger has improved each season. Flahr credited scout Joakim Grundberg, who was instrumental in drafting Oskar Lindblom in 2014, for his work in pursuing Sandin and “pushing for him from the beginning."

 

“He’s put in his time, worked on his skating and gotten stronger,” Flahr said. “As he’s worked his way up the Swedish development system, he’s gotten better and better. He works hard, plays a North American-type game and goes to the net and gets greasy goals and does a lot of the little things you need. He always seems to be around the puck and has some tenacity.”

 

Sandin isn’t a dynamic skater, but his speed has gotten better over the years.

“We’re not going to compare him to Simon Gagne, but I think his skating has come far enough along to allow him to compete over here,” Flahr said, adding he projects Sandin playing on the penalty kill.

 

Sandin would compete for a job with the Flyers this season, but could end up with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms for a bit. He would be waiver-exempt.

 

I assume he is waiver exempt because he is a first year pro (here in North America) on an Entry Level Contract..

 

Also, I agree with you OR - - he most likely will be on the Taxi Squad.

 

[Zzeke]

Voracek on Notice

 

Wonder why Voracek is on the 3rd line? Moved to the 2nd PP unit?

 

Conditioning / attitude?

 

Eye opining column this afternoon in the Philadelphia Inquirer on squeezing Jake Voracek.

 

Some excerpts:

 

In his first season, the new coach took the first steps to establish a meritocracy based on accountability. In his second season, emboldened by a playoff berth and with the team completely in his grasp, he is free to squeeze.

 

Alain Vigneault is already squeezing Jakub Voracek.

 

“When we went into the bubble and into the playoffs, I thought Jake played well in that first round against Montreal. I thought he wasn’t as effective against the Islanders,” Vigneault said Friday.

 

Friday was the day Vigneault sent Voracek to the second-string power-play unit.

“I talked to Jake about this. I challenged him about this season. There’s a man who’s been in the league for a long time,” Vigneault said. “Basically, he’s won two playoff rounds.”

 

That, in Vigneault’s estimation, clearly isn’t enough. Not for a player Columbus drafted seventh overall in 2007. Voracek has earned almost $60 million in 11 seasons, with $6.25 million more due this year. He has seen one All Star Game in 12 years. Generally, winners get invited to those.

 

Vigneault plans to make a Stanley Cup run in 2021. Oskar Lindblom and Nolan Patrick returned from their illnesses. Recent first-rounder Joel Farabee is eager to earn minutes, and recent first-rounder Morgan Frost might not be far behind. This year, Vigneault won’t wait for Voracek to get with the program.

 

“Making the playoffs is non-negotiable here. To do that, we need Jake to get his game to that top level,” said Vigneault.

 

And if Voracek fails?

 

”I think there are a lot of young players pushing him,” the coach said. “He’s going to have to earn that ice time that he’s been able to get the last few years.”

 

If that sounds like a shot across the bow of the 31-year-old winger -- the Flyers’ perpetual X-factor -- it was. Voracek is 6-foot-2 and 214 pounds, and when he’s hot, he’s among the game’s best players. But, too often, he disappears. In the Flyers’ first eight games last season, he managed four points -- 0.50 points per game -- and was minus-3. His indifferent defense and sloppy play was driving Vigneault to tears, and the team was 4-3-1.

 

“It took him a while to get going -- I’d like to say it took him the month of October,” Vigneault said. “When he found his stride, our team started to find [its] stride a little bit. I’m hoping that, right off the hop, he’ll be where he needs to be.”

 

When Voracek tightened his play, he collected 52 points in the next 61 games -- 0.85 points per game -- and was plus-17. The Flyers went 37-18-6, won all three of their round-robin playoff games, and took the top seed in the East (Voracek didn’t play in the play-in finale). They beat the Canadiens in six games, in which Voracek netted six points.

 

Then? Then, he had one point in the Flyers’ second-round, seven-game loss to the Islanders. The Flyers are teeming with young talent. If Voracek falters again like this he’s more expendable than ever.

 

NHL teams play just 56 games in this COVID-shortened season, so the Flyers can’t afford to have Voracek use the the first eight to acclimate himself. He’s got to be ready when the puck drops for the opener Wednesday against Pittsburgh.

 

Is that possible? Voracek has never been a fitness nut, and a second lockdown in his native Czech Republic in October restricted his offseason training options and frustrated his efforts to enter training camp in top form.

 

“It’s weird times we’re living in right now, I’ll be honest,” Voracek said.

 

When Jake Voracek is mad that he can’t work out, yes, the times are weird.

 

Vigneault isn’t sure just what he’s got in Voracek. The coach said the restart agreement between the NHL and the players’ association does not allow teams to clinically measure players’ fitness levels, but it doesn’t sound as though he’s impressed by Voracek’s current VO2 max.

 

“He looked OK,” Vigneault said. “It’s tough to exactly tell you where his conditioning is because we aren’t allowed to test players on the ice or test players the aerobic or anaerobic tests that we usually do off the ice, because the rules that were changed this year as far as the players’ association. I can only give you my subjective look.”

 

Subjectively, nothing will be given, either in January or May. Especially May.

 

“There’s no doubt that Jake, with his talent level, can be a force on our team and force in this league,” Vigneault said. “If our expectations are to win, he knows that he’s going to have to be a top performer in the role that he is given. Our expectations of Jake are very high. ... We’re not in this to win one round.”

 

It sounds as though Voracek’s expectations are just as high. His family won’t arrive in the United States until March -- possibly, by design.

 

“We lost in the second round,” Voracek said. “We couldn’t close the deal in the playoffs.”

 

He has more than $21 million coming to him in the three seasons following this bizarre 2021 schedule. He’s 31, but he just logged a season in which he averaged 0.81 points per game, the fourth-best average of his career and his third straight season over 0.80. So, maybe he’s figured it out.

 

The Stanley Cup Finals end in early July.

 

Ask Vigneault then.

 

[Digityman]

Anybody have a YouTube link?

[OccamsRazor]

15 minutes ago, Digityman said:

Anybody have a YouTube link?

 

Wish i had one to share.

 

 

Boo you scored on your teammate....

[OccamsRazor]

 

 

 

I think hey wait that was Hart!!!!!!!!!!! Has his Bryz game going!!!!!!

[Zzeke]

First intermission:

 

[Zzeke]

For those who are unable to watch the game, Bill Meltzer is providing a thorough running account - 

 

athttps://twitter.com/billmeltzer?lang=en

 

[OccamsRazor]

2-1

 

2-2

 

 

Another angle...

 

 

Edited January 11, 2021 by OccamsRazor
Stock up on bourbon!!!

[OccamsRazor]

 

 

 

[Zzeke]

Monday, Jan 11

 

Due date for submitting Rosters and Taxi Squad Lists to the NHL is either today or tommorow, I can't remember which.

 

Anyone want to take a guess at the Flyers Roster and Taxi Squad?

 

My guess:

 

Roster - 23 Players

 

Lindblom-Courturier-Konecny

Giroux-Hayes-Farabee

JVR-Patrick-Voracek

Raffl-Laughton-NAK

 

#13-Bunnaman (C/LW/RW)

#14-Sandin (C/LW/RW)

Provorov-Braun (RH)

Sanheim-Myers (RH)

Hagg-Gustafsson

 

#7-Ghost

Hart

Elliott

Taxi Squad - 6 Players

 

Frost (C)

Twarynski (LW)

Morin (LW)

Friedman (D)

Zamula (D)

Lyon (G)

 

[mojo1917]

On 1/10/2021 at 10:39 AM, CoachX said:

But, if the playoffs were not a result of those issues, then we are back to a lineup that couldn't rise to that level.

I see what Fletcher is saying, I think it has merit, I also see where you're coming from but it appears you view the players as static entities.

Your post doesn't allow for young guys learning how to play in the playoffs.

I said in the PLD thread, almost to a man the young guys on the team said they spent time in the gym and came to camp with more muscle. 

Also, a healthy Lindblom and a Patrick were not on the bubble team.

I'd also point out that perhaps the addition of Grant and Thompson wasn't the boost the team was looking for.

I thought Thompson was alright, he gave honest effort, I thought Grant was largely invisible. So those two guys aren't here.

Given that the salary cap is flat and there is a future to plan for, made making a big signing or trade difficult. 

I think there are more guys on the roster who are on the way up developmentally than on the decline. 

I think the Flyers can ice 4 really effective forward lines, and have 8 NHL defensmen to make into a strong unit.

 

[OccamsRazor]

1 hour ago, Zzeke said:

My guess:

 

Roster - 23 Players

 

Lindblom-Courturier-Konecny

Giroux-Hayes-Farabee

JVR-Patrick-Voracek

Raffl-Laughton-NAK

 

#13-Bunnaman (C/LW/RW)

#14-Sandin (C/LW/RW)

Provorov-Braun (RH)

Sanheim-Myers (RH)

Hagg-Gustafsson

 

#7-Ghost

Hart

Elliott

Taxi Squad - 6 Players

 

Frost (C)

Twarynski (LW)

Morin (LW)

Friedman (D)

Zamula (D)

Lyon (G)

 

Looks like you nailed. I am down with it. Looks improved over last year.

 

Very deep especially down the middle.

[OccamsRazor]

 

So waivers begins...

[RonJeremy]

9 hours ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

Looks like you nailed. I am down with it. Looks improved over last year.

 

Very deep especially down the middle.

I’m very confident in our team this season , but even before Niskanen retired , I felt we needed another good defensively sound  dman. Having Braun on the first pair is very alarming to me and there is no way he lasts in that role. Last year he was outta gas playing third pair minutes, he is not gonna last. I give it less than ten games before he is on the third pair and then he will be replaced completely by  Ghost or Friedman. Here is a guy that was on his way to the unemployment line until Niskanen retired and now he’s a first line defensemen?  He belongs on the first line like Joe Biden belongs in the White House. Both should be put out to pasture.

[Zzeke]

32 minutes ago, RonJeremy said:

I’m very confident in our team this season , but even before Niskanen retired , I felt we needed another good defensively sound  dman. Having Braun on the first pair is very alarming to me and there is no way he lasts in that role. Last year he was outta gas playing third pair minutes, he is not gonna last. I give it less than ten games before he is on the third pair and then he will be replaced completely by  Ghost or Friedman. 

 

- - or Gustafsson. As Gus gets adjusted to his new team, new system, new coaching, he is very capable to be the first pair right side defenceman with Provorov.

 

Quote:

 

At 28, Gustafsson has been around long enough to know the ropes on a top pairing. And besides playing with Keith, Gustafsson also had a chance to compete with other stars (forwards) such as three-time Stanley Cup champions Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.

 

Gus is LH but has played almost exclusevly on the Right Side the last 3 years and prefers it. 

 

“I played a couple games on the left with Calgary (recently) but it didn’t feel right,’’ he [Gus] said. “So right now I’m used to playing on the right side. I feel more confident on the right side. Whatever the coaches want me to do, I play there.’’

 

Today:

 

“For the most part, I have liked what I have seen,” Vigneault said. “I do think as he [Gus] gets more familiar with the way we want to do things, the way we approach our preparation, our expectations — coaches to players — I think the more he understands, the better he is going to play. It is hard for someone coming into a new style of play, a new emphasis on different things, but he seems like a very good young man.”

 

Gustafsson has been “very receptive to the things I have told him, and Mike Yeo, who runs the D, has told him,” Vigneault said. “He’s picking it up every day, and that is what he needs to do if he is going to be an effective player for us.”

 

Left winger James van Riemsdyk has faced Gustafsson in NHL games and, now, in training-camp scrimmages.

 

“He’s super smooth,” van Riemsdyk said. “He moves the puck really well and is just a smart player all around. He’s definitely a guy we’re happy to have on our team. The last couple of days we’ve gotten a chance to do some power-play stuff with him and he is really good up top there, too. That will definitely be a big part of his contribution to the team.”

 

The other element here is that Fletcher and AV know that they have been trying to trade Ghost. The sooner, the better, before we get too close to the July Expansion Draft. He can not make the Protected List (3 defencemen: Provorov, Sanheim, Myers), and a high probability he gets taken by the Kraken, and Fletcher gets no asset in return.

 

We like Ghost's flash-and-dash and PP work, but actually, Gus is better than Ghost in the defensive zone where Ghost continues to struggle.

 

Another element in playing the right side next to Provorov is that Ghost had extra struggles on the right side. AV and Yeo tried to keep Ghost on the left side last season.

 

Quote:

 

"[Gustafsson] has tremendous deception with the puck, tremendous poise," general manager Chuck Fletcher said. "We don't have a defenseman that sees the ice like he does, he can play on the power play. It's a different type of skill set than Matt ... there wasn't going to be that ability to replace Matt per se with the same style." 

 

"We think his (Gustafsson) skill set meshes really well with what we need," Fletcher said. "We think we have a lot of strong defenders on our team and we're very structured defensively as a group. His skill set, his ability to go back on pucks and make good decisions and transition the puck up the ice, we thought was a very important element to add to our group." "Gustafsson’s just got tremendous deception and vision."

 

"I think he generates offense a little bit differently than Ghost."

 

[Zzeke]

GARY BETTMAN
COM, NHL

 

Commissioner Gary Bettman is expecting a $1 billion loss for teams in 2020-21.

There will be a limited number of fans at best in a few arenas to start the season and the NHL derives half of its revenues in ticket sales so it is no surprise that the loss league-wide will be high. " It would be cheaper for us to shut the door and not play," Bettman said on Monday on a Zoom teleconference with the media that also included deputy commissioner Bill Daly and other league executives.

 

"The magnitude of the loss starts with a ‘B.’ We’re out of the ‘M’ range and into the ‘B’ range. It’s just what we have to deal with and what clubs have decided they have to do.

 

Everyone thought it was important to play our game and deliver what people expect from us, and that’s what everyone signed on to do." 

 

SOURCE: Newsday
Jan 12, 2021, 8:16 AM ET