- Flyskippy

The sacrifices I make, eh?

The sacrifices I make, eh?
- Jsaquella

It's that Westmont swagger. If you can deal with the rats of Newton Creek near your high school, you can sit through burger-making documentaries hosted by Troy McClure and 33-goal serenades hosted by Nik "Bullfighter" Grossmann.

/sarcasm laid on thick



2 minutes for holding

His injury history scares me a bit more in regards to a possible decline.
- flyer_nutter

Giroux's injury history? I think he'll be OK if he stays away from dodgy golf clubs.

It's that Westmont swagger. If you can deal with the rats of Newton Creek near your high school, you can sit through burger-making documentaries hosted by Troy McClure and 33-goal serenades hosted by Nik "Bullfighter" Grossmann.

/sarcasm laid on thick
- Flyskippy

You ain't kidding it's thick...

I hope that Read and Gustafsson can go tomorrow. They need to do some TCb this week, schedule gets brutal after that.

Morin will be in the NHL within two seasons. Mark it.
- exlund

I think Ghost will be, too.

Which is why I'd rather sign a FA defenseman to a short term deal than trade away any of the young forwards unless another team wants to really overpay.

I think Ghost will be, too.

Which is why I'd rather sign a FA defenseman to a short term deal than trade away any of the young forwards unless another team wants to really overpay.
- Feanor

I'd get a good young guy. I like the kids the Flyers have drafted/acquired the last couple years, but none rate as future number one guys.

I'd get a good young guy. I like the kids the Flyers have drafted/acquired the last couple years, but none rate as future number one guys.
- Jsaquella

i feel like the market is just brutal regardless of whatever position youre looking for. contracts are getting so egregious that teams are just locking people up sooner and for longer in the hopes of getting discounts before things rise. sure makes the pickings slim

I came up with this idea. Apparently Ottawa is willing to sell some youth (other than Curtis Lazar) for veteran players so they have a chance to win now. Well, I was looking at their prospects and im intrigued by Cody Ceci. He could be the answer to our puck moving defenseman problem in the next few years. I have no idea what would be fair value but its just an idea.

Any thoughts?

I came up with this idea. Apparently Ottawa is willing to sell some youth (other than Curtis Lazar) for veteran players so they have a chance to win now. Well, I was looking at their prospects and im intrigued by Cody Ceci. He could be the answer to our puck moving defenseman problem in the next few years. I have no idea what would be fair value but its just an idea.

Any thoughts?
- FrmRusiaWifGlov

not that its relevant, but i was perusing their board earlier, and they value a lot of their prospects like gold bullion. their list of untouchables is beginning to rival that of edmontons. they definitely do have some nice young assets though

We're on the same page, basically...I've been advocating the patient approach...many Flyer fans aren't used to this but in looking at the big picture I see a good core of young players coming into their own up front, and a good measure of young, but largely unproven and/or undeveloped talent in the pipeline...there's a couple of aging vets and spots they vacate will need to be filled...

No one single player is going to make the Flyers current lineup Cup ready. They need to mature more, the window opens up more when guys like Couturier and Schenn, Simmer and Jake, along with G, are dominating and the best out of guys like Laughton, Cousins, McGinn, Raffl, Alt, Ghost, Akeson, Lauri, Morin are earning spots in the lineup...for the most part, this is likely 2-3 years away imo. If the Flyers can conjure a deal for a 24-28 year old 1st pairing D man for a reasonable price, that's a nice piece to add...but they shouldn't dump any more money into players that will be giving diminishing returns a few years from now versus those younger players who'll primed to make a run when the time is right.

Let the youth be served...be patient, calculated and selective when it comes to deals for outside players...that's what I want to see.
- exlund

Rock on brother

I'm actually tired of the rather fickle, up and down critcism around the available fan and media outlets...fans need to see the big picture and be patient instead of slamming the team after a couple of losses and clamoring to get rid of quality guys who happen to slump. Before the last two games the Flyers made an incredible run for several weeks and turned their season around...they beat some good teams, some of them, in their own barn. How could they do such a thing if the D is supposedly so horrid? Many of the same guys people are ripping on played significant parts in helping the team win games.

If the team effort is there at both ends, this team can win lots of games...it may not be able to beat the best the league has to offer in a playoff series, but very few teams are in that position right now and only a few can be at any given time...the Flyers aren't there yet and won't be there this season, no matter what they do...so I'm being patient...I'm looking for growth and development of the young players and for careful and calculated moves from management to help augment the process as it progresses.
- exlund

Which in reality, is where all of my frustration would lie. At the end of the day teams win in this league more often than naught because they have a better collection of players. Not coaching. Not other BS. Everything matters, but if the team isn't doing well I would put blame first and foremost on management. They build the team and set the direction. Better moves could have been made in the past, and while hindsight is a beautiful thing, its the only real way to evaluate. Stay the course. Keep the youth. Suffer the pain, and build it right.

If a good deal comes along for a younger up and coming d-man, sure make that deal, but change the mantra.

not that its relevant, but i was perusing their board earlier, and they value a lot of their prospects like gold bullion. their list of untouchables is beginning to rival that of edmontons. they definitely do have some nice young assets though
- stayinthefnnet

Good to know. I thought I would throw it out there. Somewhere theres a solution for our D. Also Ottawa shouldnt be doing that. I think part of the reason why Edmonton is in this mess is that they are unwilling to make a trade that they could potentially lose. I would hate to see Ottawa go down that way

Good to know. I thought I would throw it out there. Somewhere theres a solution for our D. Also Ottawa shouldnt be doing that. I think part of the reason why Edmonton is in this mess is that they are unwilling to make a trade that they could potentially lose. I would hate to see Ottawa go down that way
- FrmRusiaWifGlov

im honestly not as familiar with ottawa and what they really need or what direction they should be going in, and how close they are. they looked good last year but seem to be struggling this year. should they want to play more for the present, they definitely have the assets to bring in help. but if theyre mainly looking 2 or 3 years down the line, at the same time they have those assets that will develop. if thats the case though, i find the bobby ryan deal a bit perplexing, regardless of how good he is.

I think Ghost will be, too.

Which is why I'd rather sign a FA defenseman to a short term deal than trade away any of the young forwards unless another team wants to really overpay.
- Feanor

we have no idea how those 2 will perform in the NHL though and when they start in the NHL they won't immediately be studs

we have no idea how those 2 will perform in the NHL though and when they start in the NHL they won't immediately be studs
- 2Real

exactly. if you guys are waiting for internal solutions, realistically you need to be willing to wait likely 3 and possibly 4 years before you see a real return on these guys. the more i think about it, that's a lot of time, specially if you can probably absorb the forward loss for a decent young guy should the right deal arise. i think you guys have said it best. if you could acquire that solid but has some upside 25 to 29 year old blueliner, despite the high price tag, its likely worth it to do. but if thats not available, patience is better over a quick fix bandaid.

They have to avoid taking Rinaldo 2.0 in the third round.

That's what worries me. Overall, they don't draft poorly, but they are prone to mid round reaches.
- Jsaquella

And seemingly refuse to draft European wingers, which drives me nuts

Think about this

They gave up 3 of their own first round picks (including Sbisa) for a 34 year old at the time Pronger.

They were willing to offer 4 1st round picks for Weber who was 26 at the time.

That's a lot to pay & for me still leaves many holes to fill with only Laughton & no other prospects to fill the holes & a free agency that offers little each year with teams keeping more & more & not letting them hit free agency.
- ob18

There's really no way they can afford to pay that price again... it would have pervasive effects up and down the system. They'd be right back to filling the cupboard with long-shot overagers and unsigned UFA's (without the guarantee that there would be another Read)... and they'd probably have to hit the Richards/Carter reset button again to compensate for the lack of cheap youngsters on ELC's.

They're soooo lucky that Poile decided to match... because he was probably smart enough to not refund those picks a la Esposito in the Gratton debacle.

I doubt guys like Jones, PK Subban or OEL, who might they might actually provide a net return on that level of investment, are even available at that price. Their teams know how rare those finds are... they might be priceless.

Giroux's injury history? I think he'll be OK if he stays away from dodgy golf clubs.
- Feanor

Likelihood of repeated golf injuries is directly proportional to missing playoffs... so maybe that's what he's talking about.

I think Ghost will be, too.

Which is why I'd rather sign a FA defenseman to a short term deal than trade away any of the young forwards unless another team wants to really overpay.
- Feanor

I have a feeling at least one of them will be forced into the lineup next year... out of necessity more than anything.

Development? What's that?

They should have Gus, Alt, and Manning and Lauridsen to use as 5-6-7 defensemen next season. Other teams fill out their D with cheap young players... why can't we?

Anyone catch this?

NSFW (keep sound low)

https://vine.co/v/hLZLe6q99bL

They should have Gus, Alt, and Manning and Lauridsen to use as 5-6-7 defensemen next season. Other teams fill out their D with cheap young players... why can't we?
- Feanor

I agree with this sentiment...I think many other teams do a better job of promoting their prospects while the Flyers have seemed inclined to trade for (or sign) NHL ready players to fill their vacancies while using their picks and prospects as trade bait...that has its advantages, but also can stunt the growth of the prospect pool as it clogs up the path to promotion. While it is a widely held belief that D men take longer to develop, the league is getting younger and many young D men are getting shots to enter the league sooner, some out of necessity, some, more by design.

Each player is different and some will need that extra time, but some will surprise you with how they adapt and fit in with the big club sooner than later...I want to the see the Flyers give some of their top prospects more of a shot over the next season or two to see what they have as opposed to continuing to fill vacant spots with established (and pricier) NHL players. So, yeah, Morin, Akeson, Ghost, Alt, Manning, Lauri, Straka, Laughton, Cousins etc., let's see what some of these guys can do.