None of these are new issues. They've plagued the team all year.

And last year...and the year before that...

You are the best hockey blogger-writer worldwide
- Ondrej F

Nonsense.
You have clearly never read (red) a Garth masterpiece.

I hate Mindy Muff. That would be worse than having to suffer Tortarella in O&B.
- section32

I like Ruff but if a coaching change takes place they need to think about what suits the Flyer kids and fans. Therein (Montreal) has always been known as a teacher, a young player's coach. MacLean (Ottawa) is similar. On the other hand, task masters like Tortarella have a short shelf life before they become tedious for both fans and players.

My comments fall right in line with the topic of Bill's blog. So it is definitely an apropos comment. If you want to discuss other issues on the team, I'd be glad to discuss that also. And your comment suggesting that I don't realize there are other issues, is highly inaccurate.
- MJL

Maybe realize was the wrong term to use...honestly though this team's issues go much deeper than coaching and a system. Bill touched on quite a few of them with the forwards/expectations for this season. Briere, Talbot, Couturier, Hartnell, et al have been major disappointments this season. That has little to do with coaching and everything to do with personal focus/confidence or in this case lack thereof. Briere being unable to finish is not Lavy's fault. Talbot not being aggressive on the forecheck is his own laziness. Couturier giving the puck up constantly in all three zones and not doing a dam thing to get it back is no one's fault but his own. Hartnell taking stupid penalties is nothing new and his play with the puck has been just as careless.

Well balanced response to last night's game. It would be so easy to say these guys don't care or are not trying. Yet, last night, you could see them melt away with each goal. Everybody has different theories about what the primary issue might be.

But, I don't this team lacks skill or talent or heart. I don't think there is an absence of leadership skill. I believe the core issue is the inability of the defense to be able to effectively support the high skill level of the forwards. Hard to believe how dominate the Devils were in the Flyers end.

But, I do not believe they are anywhere near as bad as recent results suggest they might be.

Sometimes the smartest thing to do in a crisis is to decide to do nothing. This might be one case where it is better to step back and figure out what can be done in the off season as a long term response.
- spatso

Completely agree. The defenders cannot get the puck out of the zone cleanly (Pronger & Carle). If you watch a Flyers game, they rarely get odd man rushes against the other team and this is a direct reflection of this glaring hole in the lineup.

Nonsense.
You have clearly never read (red) a Garth masterpiece.
- BuffaloHardHat

An oxymoron if there ever was one!

Maybe realize was the wrong term to use...honestly though this team's issues go much deeper than coaching and a system. Bill touched on quite a few of them with the forwards/expectations for this season. Briere, Talbot, Couturier, Hartnell, et al have been major disappointments this season. That has little to do with coaching and everything to do with personal focus/confidence or in this case lack thereof. Briere being unable to finish is not Lavy's fault. Talbot not being aggressive on the forecheck is his own laziness. Couturier giving the puck up constantly in all three zones and not doing a dam thing to get it back is no one's fault but his own. Hartnell taking stupid penalties is nothing new and his play with the puck has been just as careless.
- aantny88

Confidence is a fragile thing with a young and talented hockey player. Last year Couturier's flaws were mitigated by a successful and entertaining Flyer team. He is very young and very fragile. This is not the time to hold him responsible for what some of the more veteran guys need to do.

Fans in Edmonton are disappointed with Nu.Hop. Landeskog was named Captain in Colorado but has been injured most of the season. Huberdeau and Zibanejad are playing well as rookies but are being spotted. Strome and Schiefle are still in junior. So, if you look at the forwards taken ahead Couturier in his draft year, the kid is doing okay.

I don't even know where to start, like you said Bill, not much positives to go on or build false hopes

fire lavvy, trade briere, kimmo, Coburn, mezzy and replace them with phantoms and tank the season and hope for a #1 or #2 pick
- mydoglicks

They dont need the top 1 or 2. A top 10 pick would do just fine.

Get Terry Murray in here now. The young players on this team need to learn to play a complete game before its too late. To me, even worse than the often abysmal coverage in their own zone, is the constant stream of turnovers just inside the opponents blue line. Those are the turnovers that cause odd man rushes and kill a team. The unwillingness of the forwards to make the safe dump rather than the fancy move or pass is killing this team.

In regards to Bryz, I give him a pass for this year. The combo of constant odd man rushes, terrible D zone coverage and the ridiculous workload have left him with no chance to be successful. I would wait and see how he performs next season with a (hopefully) better defensive team around him.

Lets face it folks, there is NO WAY this team is making the playoffs, its time to sell all the vets they can, bring up some Phantoms and hope for luck in the draft lottery.

Nonsense.
You have clearly never read (red) a Garth masterpiece.
- BuffaloHardHat

Well,
I picked RANDOMLY one of them.
It started with
Its always sunny in Filthydelphia.
End of my road...

This is the worst TEAM playing in the league
- Just5

There's plenty of talent, but it's a bad mix of personnel and style of play.

Trading guys like Coburn and Meszaros -- as suggested by others -- will only set this team back even further. No panic moves. Just find the right coach, or style of play, and continue to mold the roster. Without another major overhaul of bodies.

Notice to all Flyer fans

Do not change coaches now. Or, if you do make a change, hire an interim coach.

If you are going to hire a new coach wait until the end of the season.

The guy who is the best fit for the Flyer kids is:

Luke Richardson

There's plenty of talent, but it's a bad mix of personnel and style of play.

Trading guys like Coburn and Meszaros -- as suggested by others -- will only set this team back even further. No panic moves. Just find the right coach, or style of play, and continue to mold the roster. Without another major overhaul of bodies.
- bradleyc4

The core of youngsters is fine. I am in the Briere buyout crowd. We need a puck moving d man and another top 6 forward. I would actually love it if Briere would take a trade to a contender that needs another top 6 forward ( he may not be that in the regular season anymore but sure is in the playoffs ).

There's plenty of talent, but it's a bad mix of personnel and style of play.

Trading guys like Coburn and Meszaros -- as suggested by others -- will only set this team back even further. No panic moves. Just find the right coach, or style of play, and continue to mold the roster. Without another major overhaul of bodies.
- bradleyc4

Draft a Dman with the inevitable top 7 pick. Replace Briere, not necessarily with star power... but someone who fits the team. Take a serious look at the Centers and ask yourself if you can really afford to carry as many as you do with glaring holes elsewhere.

Everyone clamoring for the great Terry Murray. He's surely working wonders with the Phantoms. Just looked at the standings and basically they are the worst team in the AHL.

I guess it's the lack of talent he has to work with. And if that's the case whose fault is it? Surely it's Peter Laviolette's fault.

Maybe realize was the wrong term to use...honestly though this team's issues go much deeper than coaching and a system. Bill touched on quite a few of them with the forwards/expectations for this season. Briere, Talbot, Couturier, Hartnell, et al have been major disappointments this season. That has little to do with coaching and everything to do with personal focus/confidence or in this case lack thereof. Briere being unable to finish is not Lavy's fault. Talbot not being aggressive on the forecheck is his own laziness. Couturier giving the puck up constantly in all three zones and not doing a dam thing to get it back is no one's fault but his own. Hartnell taking stupid penalties is nothing new and his play with the puck has been just as careless.
- aantny88

There are definitely some needs in terms of personel. And certainly there are some player errors that aren't the direct fault of the Coach. But a lot of it begins and ends with the Coach. He simply has not put the players in the correct position to succeed. And that lack of structure has greatly contributed to the players lacking confidence, and it leads to poor play.

There's plenty of talent, but it's a bad mix of personnel and style of play.

Trading guys like Coburn and Meszaros -- as suggested by others -- will only set this team back even further. No panic moves. Just find the right coach, or style of play, and continue to mold the roster. Without another major overhaul of bodies.
- bradleyc4

Couldn't have said it better.

The core of youngsters is fine. I am in the Briere buyout crowd. We need a puck moving d man and another top 6 forward. I would actually love it if Briere would take a trade to a contender that needs another top 6 forward ( he may not be that in the regular season anymore but sure is in the playoffs ).
- section32

Just curious, why do we need another top 6 forward? Briere isn't even in the top 6 anymore and Read, who is top 6 material, generally bounces around the lineup because he's so versatile. That covers the wingers. Centers? We already have too many.

Completely agree. The defenders cannot get the puck out of the zone cleanly (Pronger & Carle). If you watch a Flyers game, they rarely get odd man rushes against the other team and this is a direct reflection of this glaring hole in the lineup.
- aantny88

Did you see what created those odd man rushes for the Devils last night? Defense did. Playing a sturctured checking game with puck pressure all over the ice did. There is not one defenseman on NJ that is considered a top rate puck mover.

Everyone clamoring for the great Terry Murray. He's surely working wonders with the Phantoms. Just looked at the standings and basically they are the worst team in the AHL.

I guess it's the lack of talent he has to work with. And if that's the case whose fault is it? Surely it's Peter Laviolette's fault.
- PLindbergh31

Of course it's Lavy's fault! Everything is Lavy's fault right now! Funny how that works isn't it...Flyers start sucking in late 2009, Lavy is hired and gets them to the finals, perfecting the use of the timeout and making history coming back from 3-0 against the Bruins. The next season they win the division with 100+ points and the year after another 100+ points. Lavy was considered by many a great coach...now that the team blows, it's all his fault. Gimme a break!

Everyone clamoring for the great Terry Murray. He's surely working wonders with the Phantoms. Just looked at the standings and basically they are the worst team in the AHL.

I guess it's the lack of talent he has to work with. And if that's the case whose fault is it? Surely it's Peter Laviolette's fault.
- PLindbergh31

Compare Terry Murray and Luke Richardson in terms of their AHL results.

Half of Richardson's team has been called up to the Sens. They have back filled with even younger kids and he still has them winning. I take nothing away from the job MacLean has done in Ottawa. But, Luke Richardson, a guy who bled orange and black is a really important part of the Ottawa coaching story.

Did you see what created those odd man rushes for the Devils last night? Defense did. Playing a sturctured checking game with puck pressure all over the ice did. There is not one defenseman on NJ that is considered a top rate puck mover.
- MJL

Well let's see a puck that bounced on Matt Read led to Kovalchuk's goal...and Gervais pinching in like an idiot let to another one. Even when the Flyers pressure the puck, they still don't get odd man rushes, especially not breakaways, because when the d gets the puck they can't make that outlet pass. There were plenty of them last year, as evidenced by the multitude of high light reels showing Giroux burning goalies, but they are non existent this year. But again this is about the "system" that sucks right, yet it worked last year, so what has changed? THE PERSONNEL!

Of course it's Lavy's fault! Everything is Lavy's fault right now! Funny how that works isn't it...Flyers start sucking in late 2009, Lavy is hired and gets them to the finals, perfecting the use of the timeout and making history coming back from 3-0 against the Bruins. The next season they win the division with 100+ points and the year after another 100+ points. Lavy was considered by many a great coach...now that the team blows, it's all his fault. Gimme a break!
- aantny88

Earlier on this page you agreed with someone that the Flyer's Defense can't move the puck properly. Wouldn't you agree that changing your style of game play to suit the talent on your team would be something a coach should do? I don't think the answer is to continue to try and stick round pegs in square holes.

There's plenty of talent, but it's a bad mix of personnel and style of play.

Trading guys like Coburn and Meszaros -- as suggested by others -- will only set this team back even further. No panic moves. Just find the right coach, or style of play, and continue to mold the roster. Without another major overhaul of bodies.
- bradleyc4

Coburn has regressed every year for at least the last 3 seasons. What makes you think he is all of the sudden going to turn it around?

The core of youngsters is fine. I am in the Briere buyout crowd. We need a puck moving d man and another top 6 forward. I would actually love it if Briere would take a trade to a contender that needs another top 6 forward ( he may not be that in the regular season anymore but sure is in the playoffs ).
- section32

There needs to be breathing room on the roster for the young guys to develop.

There's a good top-6 in place already:

Hartnell/Giroux/Voracek
Read/Schenn/Simmonds

With Couturier and Talbot anchoring the "shut down" 3rd line.