Not firing Laviolette in April should be a firable offense as a GM. The stories of what (didn't) happen in training camp keep getting worse.

Hextall's not going to come in and be perfect, though. No GM is.
- Feanor

Do we think that the late season winning streak which took the Flyers out of the running for Seth Jones was the reason Lavi got a 3 game extension?

Do we think that the late season winning streak which took the Flyers out of the running for Seth Jones was the reason Lavi got a 3 game extension?
- Flyers_01

It probably was. When he showed the ability to play a more defensive style when he was forced to ice an AHL defense corps, management probably believed the could make an NHL one as good or better.

That said, if the leash was REALLY that short, I would have preferred he went in the offseason. It was a risky roll of the dice that didn't pay off.

Name a player that has been as good or better on any team than he was on his old team. Very rarely does that happen, and in the cases that it does, it is usually a diamond in the rough case.

There is a reason said player isnt with his old team.
- jak521

Jakob Silfverberg, Patrick Sharp. Young guys given chances at bigger roles with their new teams.

Scott Hartnell.
- johndewar

Bernie Parent.

Out of curiosity, why do you feel that way, that he would be relieved after that game specifically?

Most of us (MOST) were applauding his offseason signings (some not to much on Streit), and now that we got off to a bad start, and Lavi's gone to take the blame, it's Homer's fault...again.
- jmatchett383

dont blame Homer, he is senile

Jakob Silfverberg, Patrick Sharp. Young guys given chances at bigger roles with their new teams.
- Flyers_01

He's played 5 games so far this year, as compared to the whopping 53 total in his career (plus 12 playoff games). That's a pretty small sample size.

Like I said, he was just as good here as he was in Anahaiem, especially in the 2 seasons preceeding him coming here. Same with Lappy, he did the same role here the same way he had in Colorado the 2 seaons prior. Talbot went from being a healthy scratch to a 19-goal scorer. Voracek has improved steadily since we acquired him (OH NO, 6 GAMES WITHOUT A GOAL!).

Do you expect Pronger to win another Hart, Lappy to become a 30-goal scorer, and Talbot to score 20 playoff goals? Those guys were brought on to play a specific role, and did exactly what they were expected to based on their track records leading up to their acquisition.
- jmatchett383

i guess i should have been more clear. i meant top 6 forwards and first pairing D who come here and play better for years, not role players or guys who have a decent season.
i liked lappy but he isn't the example i would use. pronger is not ever going to play again, regardless; to me that didn't work out too well for us. giroux, voracek, simmonds, schenn, to an extent, are all pretty below average at this point, and it is more than likely that they all don't suddenly get it together and score 30 goals.

Do we think that the late season winning streak which took the Flyers out of the running for Seth Jones was the reason Lavi got a 3 game extension?
- Flyers_01

It probably had more to do with the uncertainty of a short season with no training camp.

i guess i should have been more clear. i meant top 6 forwards and first pairing D who come here and play better for years, not role players or guys who have a decent season.
i liked lappy but he isn't the example i would use. pronger is not ever going to play again, regardless; to me that didn't work out too well for us. giroux, voracek, simmonds, schenn, to an extent, are all pretty below average at this point, and it is more than likely that they all don't suddenly get it together and score 30 goals.
- hogweed

So Giroux has six poor games to start the season after coming back to play ahead of schedule and is only an above average player? I think it's time to put down the crack pipe already this morning!

He did well with Briere, Emery x2, Hartnell, Timonen, and now LeCavalier...
- jak521

Shhhh! that doesn't fit the premise! And it will be stated that technically, Hartnell and Timonen were trades.

Do we think that the late season winning streak which took the Flyers out of the running for Seth Jones was the reason Lavi got a 3 game extension?
- Flyers_01

Thank god for that late season winning streak! Paid huge dividends.

i guess i should have been more clear. i meant top 6 forwards and first pairing D who come here and play better for years, not role players or guys who have a decent season.
i liked lappy but he isn't the example i would use. pronger is not ever going to play again, regardless; to me that didn't work out too well for us. giroux, voracek, simmonds, schenn, to an extent, are all pretty below average at this point, and it is more than likely that they all don't suddenly get it together and score 30 goals.
- hogweed

Pronger WAS working out until his hand/back/eye injuries shut him down. Everyone knew his acquisition was Cup or bust, and it ALMOST worked.

Giroux is not a bad player. We know he has the skill, he's shown it at every level. For whatever reason, no one is going right now on this team, and the magnifying glass focuses on the big names (rightfully so). Since coming in, his PPG has increased steadily, falling off to (only) a point-per-game pace last season. My crystal ball is a little hazy right now, but I have no reason to suspect that his game can't/won't pick up, a la Ovechkin from last year.

Shhhh! that doesn't fit the premise! And it will be stated that technically, Hartnell and Timonen were trades.
- MJL

Bryzgalov was also a trade, not a signing. We got a good return for Hamhuis, too, he didn't produce much here.

Briere wasn't better than he was in Buffalo... and he missed a lot of time due to injury... and he was bought out with 2-years left to go... so hard to put that fully in the win column.

Too soon to judge Emery for this season, but his getting hurt pretty much ushered in the Michael Leighton era. Speaking of Leighton, he might actually be a legitimate "better than his last team" player.

Hartnell and Kimmo we had to give assets for. There was no open market for them.

Vinny... too soon to say, but the injuries have already started. He's a good player when he's healthy... but...
- Tomahawk

Briere didn't need to be betterthen he was in Buffalo, he just needed to be successful here. And he was. One of the top playoff scorers in all of Hockey when he was here. Injuries are neither Briere's or Holmgren's fault. So remove that from the equation.
Emery getting hurt wasn't anyone's fault.

any more chatter on the Flyers/Oilers trade?

Thank god for that late season winning streak! Paid huge dividends.
- PLindbergh31

Homer did find his hidden gem in Tyrell, cant have enough of those 4th line energy guys

So Giroux has six poor games to start the season after coming back to play ahead of schedule and is only an above average player? I think it's time to put down the crack pipe already this morning!
- aantny88

i'll put it down in a minute....my point is that even our best player (who os absolutely a great player) isn't playing well, let alone all the other guys. it just seems that this is the norm;

any more chatter on the Flyers/Oilers trade?
- Manitobakid

We should offer a player who's actually cracking our roster for their healthy scratch, Yakupov. Total reclamation project.

Hartnell and Kimmo we had to give assets for. There was no open market for them.

.
- Tomahawk

There would have been an open market, but the assets were given so as to have exclusive negotiating rights.

Tomato. To-mah-to.

Homer did find his hidden gem in Tyrell, cant have enough of those 4th line energy guys
- vejim

That pick is extremely puzzling.

Homer did find his hidden gem in Tyrell, cant have enough of those 4th line energy guys
- vejim

Needed to line up the replacement for Zac Rinaldo.

Briere didn't need to be betterthen he was in Buffalo, he just needed to be successful here. And he was. One of the top playoff scorers in all of Hockey when he was here. Injuries are neither Briere's or Holmgren's fault. So remove that from the equation.
Emery getting hurt wasn't anyone's fault.
- MJL

So when a GM acquires a player via trade or FA that has an injury history, and said player gets injured that's no one's fault? It's just bad luck I guess.

any more chatter on the Flyers/Oilers trade?
- Manitobakid

too many other, better options for the oilers. if someone here were standing out, maybe but who looks like they would be worth trading the first overall pick from last year, no matter how much of a nitwit he is?

So when a GM acquires a player via trade or FA that has an injury history, and said player gets injured that's no one's fault? It's just bad luck I guess.
- PLindbergh31

Which injury history are you referring to? And what was that injury history?

too many other, better options for the oilers. if someone here were standing out, maybe but who looks like they would be worth trading the first overall pick from last year, no matter how much of a nitwit he is?
- hogweed

We could always trade for Ryan Smyth so he and Coburn can see who has the crazier nose.