Zzeke Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 MICHAEL RAFFLLW, PHILADELPHIA FLYERS The Philadelphia Flyers have loaned winger Michael Raffl to Villacher SV of the ICE Hockey League in Austria. Raffl played with a high ankle sprain during the post-season, thought to have been suffered during the round-robin portion of the tournament. Raffl. who turns 32 on Wednesday, was born in Villach and played there until he was 24. He then joined the Flyers and has been a bottom-six forward through most of his career. Raffl had eight goals and 20 points in 58 regular season games last year but shone in the playoffs with four goals and an assist in nine games. SOURCE: Adam Kimelman on Twitter Nov 28, 2020, 12:00 PM ET I think that this is the first Flyers rostered player loaned out. Flyers prospects loaned are: - Felix Sandstrom G Vasterviks IK, Sweden Allsvenskan - Kirill Ustimenko G Gomel, Belarus, KHL - Linus Hogberg Allsvenskan’s Vita Hasten HC, Sweden - German Rubtsov C HC Sochi, Russia, KHL - David Kase C/W Karlovy Vary HC, Czech League - Linus Sandin RW/LW HV71 Jonkoping, Sweden, SHL - Maksim Sushko RW Dyamo Minsk, Belarus, KHL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachX Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 I didnt realize Raffl was 32 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zzeke Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 2 minutes ago, CoachX said: I didnt realize Raffl was 32 Yeh CX, and this 2020-21 season is the last season on his contract. 1.6 M Cap Hit. The fact that the Flyers sent him out on loan at this time is not a good sign that there is optimsm to get the new season started in January with NHL Camps in December. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaineFlyFan Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 Well that does not bode well for the start of the 2020-2021 season..... Gonna be a long, BORING isolated winter here in the Northeast. Enjoy Everyone! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachX Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 Maybe this just doesnt bode well for Raffl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zzeke Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 52 minutes ago, MaineFlyFan said: Well that does not bode well for the start of the 2020-2021 season..... Gonna be a long, BORING isolated winter here in the Northeast. Enjoy Everyone! Hey MainFlyFan, like your Profile Icon - - Maine Mariners! Trivia question - - Who is this Mariners' player??? Anyone know? Maine Mariners 1983-84 Season Defense -- shoots R Born May 14 1961 -- Quebec, PQ [59 yrs. ago] Height 5.11 -- Weight 200 [180 cm/91 kg] 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted November 28, 2020 Author Share Posted November 28, 2020 3 minutes ago, CoachX said: Maybe this just doesnt bode well for Raffl Nah he is a very valuable bottom 6 guy. Someone is going have to beat him out to take his spot. If my memory serves me he was tied as the leading goal scorer this past playoff run. So no worries in fact someone would have to overpay me for his services come the trade deadline because he is valuable for a playoff run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zzeke Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 1 minute ago, OccamsRazor said: Nah he is a very valuable bottom 6 guy. Someone is going have to beat him out to take his spot. If my memory serves me he was tied as the leading goal scorer this past playoff run. So no worries in fact someone would have to overpay me for his services come the trade deadline because he is valuable for a playoff run. Yes, AV can plug him in on LW/RW on any of the 4 lines when needed, due to injury or penalty box, and be confident that he will play responsibly, not hurt the tem, and as OR said - will get timely goals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilldoc Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 5 hours ago, Zzeke said: Hey MainFlyFan, like your Profile Icon - - Maine Mariners! Trivia question - - Who is this Mariners' player??? Anyone know? Maine Mariners 1983-84 Season Defense -- shoots R Born May 14 1961 -- Quebec, PQ [59 yrs. ago] Height 5.11 -- Weight 200 [180 cm/91 kg] Our very own coach AV 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zzeke Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 1 hour ago, pilldoc said: Our very own coach AV Bingo. Winner! When AV played for St. Louis, he was a tough guy that stood up for his teammates. As a Head Coach, his players have respect for him. Check this out: NHL Feb. 16, 1983 Stewart Gavin,TOR v Alain Vigneault,STL Toronto Maple Leafs St. Louis Blues 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegionOfDoom Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 Raffle loaned to his home country makes sense if he is staying in his country during the offseason. If he was here in Philly and took a flight to Austria, then that's a different story. But it seems like he was already over seas, so why not start playing some games and get a head start to the season. Especially if your going to be playing for a contract. With the uncertainty of the world optics and oppositions on how the world should be, I don't blame him for playing in Austria. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zzeke Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachX Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 19 hours ago, OccamsRazor said: If my memory serves me he was tied as the leading goal scorer this past playoff run Well, someone had to win This is about the same as what we are witnessing qith the NFC east 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachX Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 13 hours ago, Zzeke said: Bingo. Winner! When AV played for St. Louis, he was a tough guy that stood up for his teammates. As a Head Coach, his players have respect for him. Check this out: NHL Feb. 16, 1983 Stewart Gavin,TOR v Alain Vigneault,STL Toronto Maple Leafs St. Louis Blues Nice tackle, the Eagles are looking for linebackers 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zzeke Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 Are our Flyers on the leading-edge of the NHL New Era defence? Thinking about our Flyers Defence Group and the addition of Gustafsson - (If there is anyone uncomfortable with a long post, please just pass on this.) In reading all the transcripts of Fletcher/Flahr/AV media conferences of the last few months, it seems like they are thinking of a more up-pace defensive corp that is competent in the D-zone but also has speed/quickness/smarts in quickly exiting the D-zone and joining the rush. Erik Gustafsson wasn't signed to replace Matt Niskanen, but the Team feels the 28-year-old defenseman can give them something they were lacking. >> "[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." << GM Fletcher: >> "Gustafsson’s just got tremendous deception and vision. I think he generates offense a little bit differently than Ghost. I think Provorov’s elite defensively. Sanheim and Myers in my opinion will become elite shutdown defensemen in this league. Justin Braun is an elite defender [defensively]. Hägg is a good defender. So why not have a couple guys that can spring your offense? If we can defend less, that would be a great thing." << Fletcher: >> As I mentioned when we spoke about Matt Niskanen a few weeks ago, it’s going to be very difficult to replace Matt Niskanen. There wasn’t a defenseman in our opinion in the marketplace that was anywhere near as complete the player as Niskanen with the obvious exception of Pietrangelo. Whoever we were going to bring in was not going to fill the same role or have the same stylistic fit that Matt did. Essentially, we were able to bring back Justin Braun on a two-year deal. Justin in our opinion is an elite penalty killer and has that ability to defend and shut down in certain situations. Erik [Gustafsson] is a player that at least the last three seasons, has had a high impact offense at 5-on-5. Of all the defensemen in the game, I think he’s 10th at even strength points per 60 (minutes) over the last three seasons, which is a remarkable number. He has tremendous deception with the puck. Tremendous poise. We don’t have a defenseman that sees the ice like he does. He can play on the power play obviously. It’s a different type of skillset than Matt certainly, but as I mentioned a few weeks ago, there wasn’t going to be that ability to replace Matt per se with the same style. << These statements are a big hint to what Fletcher and AV are planning. Leading edge. Key statement:"So why not have a couple guys [read Provy/Gus/San/Myers] that can spring your offense? If we can defend less, that would be a great thing." "If we can defend less, that would be a great thing." (Flyers 5-man units including very mobile defencemen and with offensive puck-possession a higher percentage of game time.) The 'new era NHL' approach to the defence corps - - multiple defencemen who are very mobile, fast/quick, puck-moving out of the D-zone, join-the-rush, and can put up solid offensive numbers (in addition to being competent defensively). We now have 4 of these. Maybe it will work. Provorov - Gustafsson Sanheim - Myers (RH) Hagg - Braun (RH) #7 - Friedman (RH) (Ghost traded at some point) Instead of looking at losing an excellent defenceman in Niskanen, who complements/protects Provorov, and saying 'Gustafsson doesn't replace Niskenen' - - - can we say that actually now 'Provorov replaces Niskanen and the skilled Gustafsson replaces Provorov in role for that pair'? Do we older Flyers fans, fixed in our thinking of many years, need to open our eyes, get out of the box, and try to understand the new wave NHL with unique defencemen skill-sets and roles? Are our Flyers on the leading edge? Provorov, Gustafsson, Sanheim, Myers, Zamula, Wylie, York. Also, Fletcher played it smart - - signing Gus for 1 season. Advantages: 1) if Gus was signed for multiple years, and assuming Fletcher would opt for the Protected List 7F/3D/1G choice, Provorov/Sanheim/Myers would be protected, and Gus would be vulnerable to be selected by Seattle. Not so with Gus on a 1-year contract because Gus would be a pending UFA at the June Expansion Draft (UFA on 7/1/21). Most likely, Seattle will not select pending UFAs in the Expansion Draft. And, our Flyers would have a shot at signing him after the Expansion Draft if mutual interest.* 2) it gives Fletcher/AV a chance to evaluate Gus over the assumed 48 or 60 game 2020-21 season, plus playoffs, without commiting to a mult-year contract. *Assuming Gus has played very well for AV's team, and our Flyers want Gus back on a multi-year contract, and assuming Gus likes it here, Fletcher could 'pay' Gus with a new contract. All this without losing him in the Expansion Draft. NHL New Era Defence - - are our Flyers on the leading edge? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachX Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 (edited) good post. Appreciate the POV. You can log me the "doubt it" column. I think the Flyers have a great core of defensmen, and if used properly, should be the strength of the team. But a "new, leading edge"? I can't get there. They are not better without Nisky. And with him, they got exposed and torched in the playoffs. You can spring the offense all you want, but if the offense can't control the puck or score goals, you're going to find yourself in a lot of odd man rushes. All the quotes in your post sound like filler during a boring off season Edited November 29, 2020 by CoachX 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zzeke Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 NHL Rumors: Lightning, Ducks, Red Wings, Flyers, More BY JIM PARSONS NOVEMBER 27TH, 2020 Chances of Future Trade for Flyers’ Gostisbehere According to Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic, interest in Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere has been few and far between. And, while it doesn’t look like he’ll move this offseason, don’t rule out a future trade. O’Connor still believes the defenseman is the “most likely candidate” to be traded if the Flyers need to clear salary cap space. But, O’Connor writes: “His deal is largely buyout-proof (the Flyers would save just $666,666 in 2021-22 cap space by doing so next summer), making a trade his most likely way out of Philadelphia. As injuries start to pile up around the league during 2020-21, perhaps a club has a change of heart and decides it needs another puck-moving defenseman.” source – Charlie O’Connor The Athletic Zzeke Comment - With the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft coming in June, Fletcher will probably look to trade Ghost soon - - because Ghost would be on the Flyers Exposed List and most likely be taken by Seattle. Therefore, Ghost would be lost - - without compensation for our Flyers. Most likely Flyers Exposed List: (Who do you think Seattle would take from this List?) van Riemsdyk (Age 32, Cap Hit 7M) Voracek (Age 32, Cap Hit 8.25M) Bunnaman F Twarynski F Kase F Gostisbehere D Hagg D Morin D Friedman D Exempt: First and Second year Pro (at June 2021) Farabee F 2nd year Frost F 2nd year Ustimenko G 2nd year Sandstrom G 2nd year Don't have to consider protecting - Laughton, Raffl, Gustafsson because they will be pending UFAs and could be re-signed after the June Expansion Draft, if mutual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted November 30, 2020 Author Share Posted November 30, 2020 9 hours ago, Zzeke said: van Riemsdyk (Age 32, Cap Hit 7M) Voracek (Age 32, Cap Hit 8.25M) Bunnaman F Twarynski F Kase F Gostisbehere D Hagg D Morin D Friedman D You need to add Sandstrom to that list as well. It would suck to lose Ghost for no compensation when I would prefer them to take a JVR or at least Jake I could live with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zzeke Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 1 hour ago, OccamsRazor said: You need to add Sandstrom to that list as well. It would suck to lose Ghost for no compensation when I would prefer them to take a JVR or at least Jake I could live with it. You may be right about goaltender Sandstrom. Perhaps he is not exempt because he has has already played 2 years NA Pro: Phantoms 1 game in 2018-19 and 1 game Phantoms / 25 games Reading in 2019-20. Assuming he plays a 3rd season NA Pro here in 2020-21, he would not be exempt. Agree with you. From media reports, it seems that Fletcher has been trying to trade JVR and Ghost with no success. All the other teams are also planning their Expansion Protected Lists, and taking-on another veteran that may need to be protected could complicate it. Gut feeling - - JVR has little value on the the trade market because of age, Cap Hit, length of contract (3 more years at 7 M per), and play. All teams have video records. Ghost has some trade value but no trade deal yet has emerged. He also has 3 years remaining on his contract at a 4.5 M Cap Hit per. My guess at the Flyers 7F/3D/1G Protected List: 1) Giroux F (NMC) 2) Hayes F (NMC) 3) Couturier F 4) Konecny F 5) Patrick F 6) Lindblom F 7) Aube-Kubel F 1) Provorov D 2) Sanheim D 3) Myers D 1) Carter G (If Patrick's health does not hold up, perhaps that would open-up a Forward spot. Hopefully he will be well again.) There may be disagreement regarding protecting Voracek or NAK. IMO, protect NAK for reasons of stage-of-career, age, and Cap Hit. IMO, high probability Seattle does not select the exposed Voracek. If they do - okay - it opens up a top-9 spot for a prospect such as Frost (C) or Allison (RW) - (assuming Sandin already on the team for 2020-21). Should our Flyers protect Voracek or NAK? Or JVR?? The Expansion Draft rules dictate that the Kracken must take one player from each of the 31 teams. Under this Flyers Protected List and Exposed List (post above), who do we think Seattle will take? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted November 30, 2020 Author Share Posted November 30, 2020 2 minutes ago, Zzeke said: Pro: Phantoms 1 game in 2018-19 and 1 game Phantoms This was actually his first season that counted on his entry level deal many forget he was loaned to the SHL that season so it actually counts towards the two pros seasons required. 2019-20 was his second season. It is why he is behind the 8 ball so to speak development wise. Ustimenko has actually passed him after he struggled last year and toiled in the ECHL. He has two other goalies in Ersson and Fedotov right on his heels, this is a huge year for him to prove something I think the Flyers would love to bring one of the two I just mentioned over in 2021-22 to play with the Phantoms so space is limited and going fast. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted November 30, 2020 Author Share Posted November 30, 2020 9 minutes ago, Zzeke said: There may be disagreement regarding protecting Voracek or NAK. Not from me. I would go with the list of names you have for protection. Best case is Ghost is a deadline deal if the season ever starts. Get what you can for him so you wouldn't lose him for nothing to Seattle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted November 30, 2020 Author Share Posted November 30, 2020 12 minutes ago, Zzeke said: Under this Flyers Protected List and Exposed List (post above), who do we think Seattle will take? I am thinking they take JVR he would only have two years left at 7 mill cap hit and can play on their 2nd or 3rd line LW. Or Ghost if he is still around. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zzeke Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 4 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said: This was actually his first season that counted on his entry level deal many forget he was loaned to the SHL that season so it actually counts towards the two pros seasons required. 2019-20 was his second season. It is why he is behind the 8 ball so to speak development wise. Ustimenko has actually passed him after he struggled last year and toiled in the ECHL. He has two other goalies in Ersson and Fedotov right on his heels, this is a huge year for him to prove something I think the Flyers would love to bring one of the two I just mentioned over in 2021-22 to play with the Phantoms so space is limited and going fast. Ah. Good stuff. Thx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachX Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 17 minutes ago, Zzeke said: You may be right about goaltender Sandstrom he usually is....he's the teacher's pet NAK has to be protected. Otherwise OR will go off and commit malfeasance I say Seattle takes Jake. I'd like them to take JVR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachX Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 8 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said: Not from me. I would go with the list of names you have for protection. Best case is Ghost is a deadline deal if the season ever starts. Get what you can for him so you wouldn't lose him for nothing to Seattle. here come the NAK pom-poms..... a lot of love for a an over hyped 4th line grinder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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