Laviolette has to take some of the blame, but to lay it all at his feet for this cluste(frank) is ridiculous.
- PLindbergh31

i do agree with that

doesn't mean a change isn't in order, though

Laviolette has to take some of the blame, but to lay it all at his feet for this cluste(frank) is ridiculous.
- PLindbergh31

At this point, I don't think firing Laviolette displaces any of the blame due to the players. And you may (i.e. will) see the blame due to the players acted upon this summer.

Here's a thought for the room: Briere has gotten ice time despite his poor play. I do wonder, is this a conscious choice by Lavi, or do you think he's been asked to keep Danny on display, in hopes of a trade?

Stolarz seems to be doing great in the OHL...his save % and GAA are on par with subban's....Do you think he starts in the AHL next year, or is it too soon?
- Philly1980

Needs a full OHL season. Also, he doesn't turn 20 until January of 2014.

People in here need new material. SSDD.

At this point, I don't think firing Laviolette displaces any of the blame due to the players. And you may (i.e. will) see the blame due to the players acted upon this summer.

Here's a thought for the room: Briere has gotten ice time despite his poor play. I do wonder, is this a conscious choice by Lavi, or do you think he's been asked to keep Danny on display, in hopes of a trade?
- BulliesPhan87

It's a decision by Laviolette in the hopes of getting some goals.

Danny has been way more attrocious this year then Couter...Id rather have couts play through it this year and learn...where as danny will never learn...that is the biggest issue with that.
- Philly1980

Danny has been awful the last two regular seasons and yes I agree he should have lost ice time. There could be something else at work that explains why he hasn't...he is the highest paid player on the team so there could be a mandate from upper management.

i do agree with that

doesn't mean a change isn't in order, though
- FlyerMike18

Yes. There will be changes. And it will probably start with the coach, but if it stops there not much will change.

It's a decision by Laviolette in the hopes of getting some goals.
- bmeltzer

All he cares about is scoring goals

I don't need my boss to motivate me, or hold me accountable. I do it all on my own. It's a neat concept.
- PLindbergh31

Yes but if your boss tells you to go jump of a bridge, do you do it? Even though you know its stupid?

Its the same thing with a players and coach...Lavy is telling them to play a system that they dont have the personel to play....

Also hockey is a team sport .... if you had everyone doing what they wanted to do they would get beaten to poop every night...their needs to be some structure.

People in here need new material. SSDD.
- Flyskippy

Suzanne Somers was not a double D...

We'll see what happens. Goalie drafting is the biggest crapshoot of all the positions. I am very, very leery of drafting a goalie in round one. Conversely, I am believer in taking at least one goalie in every draft, once you get beyond the best available player phase early. You never know which goalies will be the ones that click.

In fact, very often, the ones who end up being the Vezina candidates weren't the ones who were considered the top guy in their draft year.

So often, the heavily hyped goalies end up being very ordinary when they reach the pros. A few of many examples: Trevor Kidd, who was drafted ahead of Brodeur, was touted as a franchise goalie in 1990. Martin Biron was touted by THN as a "virtual Patrick Roy clone" before the 1995 draft and turned out to be, well, the first Martin Biron. In 2008, Chet Pickard was "the first slam-dunk first-round goalie to come along Marc-Andre Fleury"... in 2013, he's still stuck in the ECHL (side note, thank goodness the Flyers were unsuccessful in their attempt to move up and draft Pickard).

That's not to say Fucale couldn't go on to be a franchise goalie somewhere. But it's going to be a long wait to find out, and the risks are high to draft a goalie in round one.

Here's the risk: Think back to when the Flyers used 1st round picks on Brian Boucher (1995) and Maxime Ouellet (1999) and also used their first pick of the 1997 draft (second round) to take Jean-Marc Pelletier. They also used a 6th rounder in 1998 on Antero Niittymaki; and you can debate whether he or Boucher ended up being the best of the bunch. But for all those early round picks used on goalies, not one of them ended up being the Flyers' long-term starter at the NHL level.
- bmeltzer

This philosophy is the one I agree with. Grab a goalie every year. Look around the NHL. For every Roberto Luongo who was a top pick, there's a Henrik Lundqvist, Evgeny Nabokov or Ryan Miller who was a late round guy.

My strategy is to take the best guy available in the first round. You have to get a NHL player in the first round. Worry about position in the later rounds.

Your earlier example of being 4th, and taking Barkov or Monahan is very apt. I wouldn't take Nurse or Ristolainen over them. At 7 or so, Nurse, Ristolainen, Pulock become more likely.

There are some absolutely awful teachers...but now the onus has shifted from student accountability to the teacher. Students are never at fault for their failures anymore.
- aantny88

gotcha. fair enough

Danny has been awful the last two regular seasons and yes I agree he should have lost ice time. There could be something else at work that explains why he hasn't...he is the highest paid player on the team so there could be a mandate from upper management.
- aantny88

A mandate for what? For him to play like poop....

Yes but if your boss tells you to go jump of a bridge, do you do it? Even though you know its stupid?

Its the same thing with a players and coach...Lavy is telling them to play a system that they dont have the personel to play....

Also hockey is a team sport .... if you had everyone doing what they wanted to do they would get beaten to poop every night...their needs to be some structure.
- Philly1980

Who's fault is it that they don't have the personnel to play his system?

i really have no idea if it's laviolette's fault or not. but it seems pretty clear that what he's preaching isn't getting through (for whatever reason...). so something has to change. just seems more logical to make a change at the top and see if it resonates. unless, of course, the flyers are planning on completely remaking the entire team because players aren't receiving laviolette's message well enough (again?)
- FlyerMike18

My big issue isn't even that Laviolette runs an aggressive system. Obviously, it can work. But that possibility doesn't change the fact that it's not working. When it comes to adjustments, it's not even a matter of he's not making the right adjustments, or not making the adjustments I or anybody else wants. The issue is that Laviolette has made no adjustments, he's run his system the same as it ever was. He'll ramp up the aggression in game sometimes to shift the tide (and we've seen it backfire more than once), but otherwise it's the same song and dance. I don't know if it's a pride thing, or if he just isn't confident in himself or this team doing something different, but as some point he should have stopped, seen the major issues with his game plan, and tried something, because we're kind of in the cellar.

I would remove Laviolette, but I wouldn't mistake it for the absolute solution. This roster needs to be fixed, too.

He'll get one more look. The ACL tear was unfortunate. Personally, I still view him more as an AHL/NHL swing man than a full-time NHLer.
- bmeltzer

gotcha, thanks

Who's fault is it that they don't have the personnel to play his system?
- PLindbergh31

Grabovski's.

it's ok to fill a need in the draft, btw. what's to be avoided is reaching for need...

Grabovski's.
- Feanor

Well played.

A mandate for what? For him to play like poop....
- Philly1980

You would think so with how he is playing!

This philosophy is the one I agree with. Grab a goalie every year. Look around the NHL. For every Roberto Luongo who was a top pick, there's a Henrik Lundqvist, Evgeny Nabokov or Ryan Miller who was a late round guy.

My strategy is to take the best guy available in the first round. You have to get a NHL player in the first round. Worry about position in the later rounds.

Your earlier example of being 4th, and taking Barkov or Monahan is very apt. I wouldn't take Nurse or Ristolainen over them. At 7 or so, Nurse, Ristolainen, Pulock become more likely.
- Jsaquella

Is there any realistic way the Flyers could trade for another first rounder this year?

Who's fault is it that they don't have the personnel to play his system?
- PLindbergh31

Sounds like an excuse, shifting blame to the GM for past failure when the coach is actively making the same mistakes. It's easier to just blame the GM and call it a day, though.

You would think so with how he is playing!
- aantny88

i can see it now

Homer: Hey danny now tha prongers out were going to need you to step it down a notch so we can get a top three pick!

Danny: No problem i only show up in the playoffs anyway...

They were fairly successful last year but lost "talent" this year...or am I missing the fact the players that were subtracted were a lot better than the players they added?
- aantny88

who did they lose exactly of any significance? Jagr? Replaced by Voracek. Bobrovsky? Okay he might have started 2 games by this point under this coach. Carle? Oh wow, I think we have a winner? Matt Carle's departure has plummeted the flyers to oblivion! what shall we ever do?!
No this coach refuses to adapt his system to the personnel he has. In turn other teams have exploited the flaws, now exacerbated by lack of ideal personnel, and beaten this team time and time again. This team can't protect a lead even when they have one. The line changes, for the love of god, did all these players get into the NHL and sign lucrative contracts for being totally inept? No that's the coach, plain and simple.

gotcha, thanks
- nastyflyergirl

that's one area i really think they should prioritize in free agency... go out and get a guy like boyd gordon to center the fourth line. i think a player like that can be a big asset