To be fair to him, scoring 30 goals a game would be pretty difficult...
- JAKEw1234

Just for the record... that whole "3rd line bit" that has been used before, and debunked before, is a crock of poop. He led all forwards in ice time the year he put up 76 points.
- jak521

Took the words right out of my mouth (insert Meatloaf reference). He averaged nearly 20 minutes a game that season.

To be fair to him, scoring 30 goals a game would be pretty difficult...
- JAKEw1234

I meant a season

I agree with u again, I don't think Mason is any worse then what Bryzgalov did here, but is Emery the answer again?

I wish we had one solid answer to the position finally
- puckhead17

I don't think Mason will be worse than Bryzgalov, the thing is a .900 save % and allowing a bunch of soft goals isn't good enough to take this team on a deep playoff run.

Mason is better than Bryzgalov by a good margin in two key areas. Lateral movement, and handling the puck. I'm cautiously optimistic that the goaltending can be above average.

Cause he plays the PK, GET WITH IT
- GOA88

lol.. he was 50 seconds behind Briere for the Forward lead on even strength ice time, and the leader for PP icetime among forwards.. Keep'm coming.

I don't think Mason will be worse than Bryzgalov, the thing is a .900 save % and allowing a bunch of soft goals isn't good enough to take this team on a deep playoff run.

Mason is better than Bryzgalov by a good margin in two key areas. Lateral movement, and handling the puck. I'm cautiously optimistic that the goaltending can be above average.
- PLindbergh31

Id argue a third reason as well. Cap hit.

I don't think Mason will be worse than Bryzgalov, the thing is a .900 save % and allowing a bunch of soft goals isn't good enough to take this team on a deep playoff run.

Mason is better than Bryzgalov by a good margin in two key areas. Lateral movement, and handling the puck. I'm cautiously optimistic that the goaltending can be above average.
- PLindbergh31

2010 suggests that caliber goaltending might get you through a long playoffs run. The caveat is that team defense has to be very good to make it work. Hopefully some work has been done on that, and more is done through the season.

Cause he plays the PK, GET WITH IT
- GOA88

How are your orange tinted glasses treating you?

lol.. he was 50 seconds behind Briere for the Forward lead on even strength ice time, and the leader for PP icetime among forwards.. Keep'm coming.
- jak521

The fact that Giroux is better at every aspect of the game besides offense is enough to prove my point

lol.. he was 50 seconds behind Briere for the Forward lead on even strength ice time, and the leader for PP icetime among forwards.. Keep'm coming.
- jak521

I agree 100%. I also don't want Giroux blocking shots at the point on the PK.
- MJL

Yes. That too. I hope Laviolette cuts back some of his PK ice time. At least have the game situation dictate. If the Flyers are ahead or behind by a sizable margin don't give Giroux any PK time etc...

The fact that Giroux is better at every aspect of the game besides offense is enough to prove my point
- GOA88

Thats cute.

Yes. That too. I hope Laviolette cuts back some of his PK ice time. At least have the game situation dictate. If the Flyers are ahead or behind by a sizable margin don't give Giroux any PK time etc...
- PLindbergh31

BOOM. Bring in Laughton

Im not saying G is the best but one of the best and Im also not saying he is gonna win a selke, Im saying he is a complete, all-around player. The guy can do it all at a high level. If he was the sixe of Lindros he would be crushing players with huge hits as well.
- GOA88

Well I guess were going to have to disagree then. I think Giroux is a great player. One of the top playmakers in the League. A true leader with a competitive spirit that is as good as it gets. A solid player on the PK. But he is not a complete player defensively. At least not yet.

2010 suggests that caliber goaltending might get you through a long playoffs run. The caveat is that team defense has to be very good to make it work. Hopefully some work has been done on that, and more is done through the season.
- BulliesPhan87

Yup. True. I think the Emery/Mason duo is better than Leighton/Boucher, the big difference is the 2010 team had a certain first ballot HOFer on the backend.

Well I guess were going to have to disagree then. I think Giroux is a great player. One of the top playmakers in the League. A true leader with a competitive spirit that is as good as it gets. A solid player on the PK. But he is not a complete player defensively. At least not yet.
- MJL

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree then.

BOOM. Bring in Laughton
- jak521

I'm not against Laughton being on the team. If he proves he's one of the best 12 forwards during camp, put him on the team. Competition for roster spots is a good thing.

anyone put up The Shift yet, or are we too busy getting hostile in here?

The fact that Giroux is better at every aspect of the game besides offense is enough to prove my point
- GOA88

Despite it being an imperfect stat, if he was elite defensively like you're trying to argue, his +/- wouldnt be so bad

Yup. True. I think the Emery/Mason duo is better than Leighton/Boucher, the big difference is the 2010 team had a certain first ballot HOFer on the backend.
- PLindbergh31

Yeah, therein lay the rub. I'm cautiously optimistic that a better mix of talents on the blueline can at least get us a little closer to that kind of cohesive team play.

Yes. That too. I hope Laviolette cuts back some of his PK ice time. At least have the game situation dictate. If the Flyers are ahead or behind by a sizable margin don't give Giroux any PK time etc...
- PLindbergh31

Thats like not putting Richards on PK, if you have a player thats superb at killing penalties, you use him.

anyone put up The Shift yet, or are we too busy getting hostile in here?
- -davies-

Who do you think you are asking that kind of question?

Despite it being an imperfect stat, if he was elite defensively like you're trying to argue, argue his +/- wouldnt be so bad
- JAKEw1234

The team as a whole are responsible for that. Giroux or anyone else for that matter cant do everything.

Thats like not putting Richards on PK, if you have a player thats superb at killing penalties, you use him.
- GOA88

Giroux's better offensively than Richards, though. I'm in favor of translating some of those PK minutes to offensively favorable ones for Giroux.

Voracek developed a lot of chemistry with Brayden Schenn early on last season. They were fun to watch together. I think Schenn trailed off offensively when Voracek got promoted to the first line. As much as I don't think it's going to happen (Hartnell will likely play first line LW), I'd like to see Schenn with G and Voracek.