Please report his reaction. Since this is for posterity, please be honest.
- Flyskippy

One friend who's been a Jake supporter from day one: "Wow. Always been my boy, I saw the greatness in him."
Another friend: "damn right"
A kid I play hockey with: "I still want Bobby Ryan"

him and neal can have a competition for more sneaky headshots/leaping off the feet to check incidents
- stayinthefnnet

Neal would win. It's simple. Neal is dirty and Schenn isn't.

It is a good deal for Lauridsen. I wish the 2nd year wasn't one way, but what are you going to do.
- MJL

I would think he wouldn't clear waivers.

1. Very little cap space - they need to get under $64.3M to maximize Pronger's LTIR exemption. They need to lose money, not add any more.

2. No contract slots - they're at 48 w/ 2 slides, and Manning and Wellwood are still unsigned.
- Tomahawk

1. We are certain to move at least 1 if not 2 dmen before season starts. We can't have 9 dmen on NHL roster and cap payroll. 2. Pronger Goes to ltir. Can't see gagne getting more than onebor two year contract for more than 2 mil/ year. PLay him 12 min a game on 3rd line and penalty kill. Maybe occassional pp and can temporarily move up in lineup to fill in for injuries

I would think he wouldn't clear waivers.
- jstross

We said the same about Bartulis... Latvian Wolf even managed to survive re-entry. Unproven/fringe commodities, who have lost their waiver exempt status, on one-way NHL deals don't exactly have other GMs drooling.

Neal would win. It's simple. Neal is dirty and Schenn isn't.
- dingo8urbaby

haha hey. thats a very nice, totally unbiased opinion youve got there

One friend who's been a Jake supporter from day one: "Wow. Always been my boy, I saw the greatness in him."
Another friend: "damn right"
A kid I play hockey with: "I still want Bobby Ryan"
- five4fighting10

Sabres rookie camp afternoon session 10 bucks but you get a 10,000 Maniacs concert too. I'm sure that will be great. Like the Rolling Stones minus Mick Jagger.

Good job Bill.

I was hoping that you might give us your point of view of re-signing Gagne vs. having a kid like McGinn start the season with the Flyers. Or at least giving us some in site of what you might know about the Gagne situation. The pros and cons of it. Bill, do you want him back?
- dingo8urbaby

Will be one of topics in tomorrow's blog.

haha hey. thats a very nice, totally unbiased opinion youve got there
- stayinthefnnet

In all seriousness.. what cheap shots has Schenn thrown?

I agree. I like Gagne, but time to give some of the young kids a shot.
- MJL

Some people say don't rush kids into the NHL and others push to give the kids a shot... obviously it depends on the player.

Question, how many AHL games is not to few or not to many - just right?

Forwards
Kid - AHL games.
McGinn 109 games
Akeson 138 games

NHL'ers AHL experience.
Read 11 games
Coots 31 games
Giroux 38 games
Schenn 47 games
Simmonds 126 games (OHL)

Defense
Gust 144 gm
Manning 111 gm
OL 59 gm

1. We are certain to move at least 1 if not 2 dmen before season starts. We can't have 9 dmen on NHL roster and cap payroll. 2. Pronger Goes to ltir. Can't see gagne getting more than onebor two year contract for more than 2 mil/ year. PLay him 12 min a game on 3rd line and penalty kill. Maybe occassional pp and can temporarily move up in lineup to fill in for injuries
- SMS4016

1. No guarantee you can dump Meszaros without taking a contract/salary in return. Last time they were forced to dump a player due to decline + cumulative injury concerns, they had to take Matt Walker and his $1.7M cap hit in return.

2. Pronger going on LTIR is the entire reason they have to get below $64.3 before the season begins. If they do, they can spend up to $69M+ for the remainder of the season. If they don't, they permanently lose whatever portion of his exemption that they're over by for the remainder of the season. The link I posted explains it fully.

In all seriousness.. what cheap shots has Schenn thrown?
- jak521

he had a few in that series. and just in general, the guy is a fan of just acting like hes jumping a hurdle every time he has to check. and hes not that small of a guy where its like he grossly needs to overcompensate for size.

like i said, id be the last one to defend neal and his roaming elbows either.

for the record, i dont think either is in the extremely dirty realm, like how matt cooke used to kind of deal.

but they are both fairly unnecessarily reckless with their body for such skilled players.

In all seriousness.. what cheap shots has Schenn thrown?
- jak521

Brayden Schenn PHI 01/23/2013 1 game for charging

It may have been charging, but not necessarily cheap. Brayden like to land some hits, and in my opinion - doesn't cross the line of cheap but isn't exactly legal.

1. Very little cap space - they need to get under $64.3M to maximize Pronger's LTIR exemption. They need to lose money, not add any more.

2. No contract slots - they're at 48 w/ 2 slides, and Manning and Wellwood are still unsigned.
- Tomahawk

Actually they do have contract slots. Once a Q offer is made, it counts as a contract slot. They have the ability right now to take on two more contracts with the slides.

In all seriousness.. what cheap shots has Schenn thrown?
- jak521

like how i never really would say crosby is exactly a dirty player, but when the comparable you guys threw out was danny briere as a dirty player, id say i have to agree. i dont consider each a very dirty, unsafe player, but they do the exact same kind of subtle stuff.

schenn and neal are alike in that as well. no, neither is sean avery, but they both have shown a penchant to unnecessarily aim high with the body

I think that's easy to say, but it overlooks the fact that Chicago just beat the Bruins by playing the type of hockey that, if I had to look around the league, plays like the Flyers would like to.

Pittsburgh has its own, distinct issues -- immaturity not being the least among them. I don't necessarily use them as a barometer of success, because everyone knows that getting them off their game is far easier to do than it should be. I don't think defense is unimportant -- clearly, it is -- but we don't have Zdeno Chara to play 30 minutes a night. That guy isn't coming through any discernible method of acquisition that won't crack this message board in half...

I'm not saying you have to do it forever. I'm saying that not making the playoffs this year is totally unacceptable, and a more clear path to the playoffs means that, at the end of the day, you are winning hockey games, and you do that with goals.
- AllInForFlyers

Chicago was not a team that was all offense and forgot about the defensive end of the ice. Nor were they nearly as pourous as the Flyers were. The Hawks were a solid all around team that played very well at both ends of the ice. In direct contrast to how the Flyers played.
In my opinion the flaw in your premise is that adding an offensive player doesn't mean the team will score more goals. When in reality, playing better defensively, and better in all 3 zones will lead to more offense and goals scored then by adding any offensive player.

Todd Bergen-Zherdev-Daigle
- flyguy12

What about Jiří Dopita - the best player not playing in the NHL.

People kind of forget that he was being penciled into the lineup last summer by most everybody here... I don't really mind them qualifying him if only to hang on to his rights.

I have a bigger problem with them giving Yann Danis (and to a lesser extent, Adam Hall) a contract slot that could mean them losing Simon Gagne and/or being forced into a decision with Laughton over slide purposes due to being up against the 50-limit yet again.
- Tomahawk

They can keep Laughton and still add Gagne if they want to. You need to have a goaltender that you can call up as a backup from the AHL level. Danis fits that bill. And signing Hall was a key signing in my opinion. It's going to make the Flyers a better team. And it's going to make players on the Flyers, better players.

What about Jiří Dopita - the best player not playing in the NHL.
- leon neon

Broken leg. Never had a chance.

Actually they do have contract slots. Once a Q offer is made, it counts as a contract slot. They have the ability right now to take on two more contracts with the slides.
- MJL

I should have said 48 w/ 2 slides, not +2 slides -- sorry if that wasn't clear.

Once Wellwood and Manning are signed, and Laughton likely not sliding, they've probably looking at only having a single contract slot open. Use that on Gagne now, and they're all tapped out before the season even begins. Not a great position to be in.

I would think he wouldn't clear waivers.
- jstross

I agree.

After looking up Voracek's last 82 games... I decided (since work is really slow right now) to look up a few other top line right wingers over their past 82 games. And, YES, Bobby Ryan is included.

Ilya Kovalchuk-
82 games- 31 goals- 43 assists- 74 points

Patrick Kane-
82 games- 35 goals- 46 assists- 81 points

Marian Gaborik-
82 games- 26 goals- 29 assists- 55 points

Bobby Ryan-
82 games- 23 goals- 32 assists- 55 points

Voracek-
82 games- 33 goals- 41 assists- 74 points
- jak521

I should have said 48 w/ 2 slides, not +2 slides -- sorry if that wasn't clear.

Once Wellwood and Manning are signed, and Laughton likely not sliding, they've probably looking at only having a single contract slot open. Use that on Gagne now, and they're all tapped out before the season even begins. Not a great position to be in.
- Tomahawk

Not a big deal. They're going to deal a defenseman, so that could open up a contract slot. Opening up a slot if needed is not a difficult thing to do.

I agree with you, that I'd rather play one of the kids instead of signing Gagne. But I'm not against it due to to contract slot issues.

It's not like McGinn won't see time on the big club this year if he is sent down initially.

Injuries happen.
- johndewar

ty

Not adding a top defenseman, is far more scarier. And the effects of that is something that is definitley going to happen, if they don't. Versus something that might happen a decade from now. Emphasizing might.
- MJL

I'm still all for acquiring Weber despite the contract. It just adds another dynamic to the situation.