He's been bounced around and banged up. I'm disappointed in his play thus far, and I am concerned. That said, I'm not sold he's finished. He'll probably have to adapt to a new role, but he's still got something left to give.
- Jsaquella

For sure. Eventually, somebody up front is going to be sent packing for a defenseman. That's been an impending reality. He'll be here to fill that hole for a time, and younger forwards should continue to shoulder more of the burden as he ages. I'm really not concerned about the cap space he requires.

I watch far to many games to hate....4 years of hate can't be good for ones health.
- landros 2

Precisely! Heart health is so tough to be mindful of these days, with all the damn sodium and what not. I don't need to add that stress to the list too.

I'm concerned about Lecavalier, and I'm not sure how he fits now. It's pretty obvious the intent was to shift Schenn to wing and have Lecavalier play the middle.

Vinny's struggled, not saying he's washed up as yet. I hope he rebounds, because I like him and want him to succeed here.
- Jsaquella

He's got a boatload of talent....but what's left in the tank......this is like the 4th year in a row he's been hurt......bad luck or age......hopefully he becomes the guy Briere was ...a decent vet that chips in I once and a while and teaches the young guys how to be professional hockey players.

Buffalo vs Carolina ain't exactly hockey at its finest tonight..zzzzzzz

For sure. Eventually, somebody up front is going to be sent packing for a defenseman. That's been an impending reality. He'll be here to fill that hole for a time, and younger forwards should continue to shoulder more of the burden as he ages. I'm really not concerned about the cap space he requires.
- BulliesPhan87

If the cap rises like some figure it will, it shouldn't be an issue. Also, I'm sure if he's not happy or productive, they might be able to move him. He's still got a name at the very least.

And the plot thickens....
- BiggE

They are most likely checking out

Alex Nedeljkovic - (G) - Plymouth
Alex Peters - (D) - Plymouth
Matthew Mistele - (LW) - Plymouth
Yannick Rathgeb - (D) - Plymouth
Connor Chatham - (RW) - Plymouth
Ryan MacInnis - (LW) - Kitchener
Darby Llewellyn - (LW) - Kitchener

He's got a boatload of talent....but what's left in the tank......this is like the 4th year in a row he's been hurt......bad luck or age......hopefully he becomes the guy Briere was ...a decent vet that chips in I once and a while and teaches the young guys how to be professional hockey players.
- landros 2

It's a definite concern. I don't dismiss stats when they don't support my opinion, I try to look at what they say and see if I feel like I need to change my mind. I look at the trends they show, and the trends for Lecavalier are concerning.

They can certainly change, and there are too many factors to just use stats to say a guy is washed up. He's been playing with a facial injury, a back injury, been used at different positions and with different line mates all season long.

He's got a boatload of talent....but what's left in the tank......this is like the 4th year in a row he's been hurt......bad luck or age......hopefully he becomes the guy Briere was ...a decent vet that chips in I once and a while and teaches the young guys how to be professional hockey players.
- landros 2

He's had multiple injuries where he's missed a significant amount of games due to a broken hand. And he had wrist surgery a few years back. Those kind of injuries are not concerning in my opinion. But a back injury is. I don't know if that will have a long term effect or not. But that could be from wear and tear, and could be chronic.

He's had multiple injuries where he's missed a significant amount of games due to a broken hand. And he had wrist surgery a few years back. Those kind of injuries are not concerning in my opinion. But a back injury is. I don't know if that will have a long term effect or not. But that could be from wear and tear, and could be chronic.
- MJL

I've seen way too many Flyers miss way too many games due to back problems to not be concerned about VL.

You don't really need to look at analytics to see that Lecavalier has struggled since his injury. He clearly hasn't been the same player after the injury that he was before. Simply look at his goal production. He was scoring at a 33 goal pace before the injury over a 22 game span. After the injury, he's scored at a 10 goal pace over 24 games. He was a player that was hard on the puck, and went hard to the net before the injury. After the injury, he's a player that wasn't strong on the puck, and wasn't around the net much. I think it's clear what happened. Then you throw in being moved around and adjusting to a new position. If Lecavalier doesn't come back from this break looking stronger and showing signs of being the same player he was in the beginning of the Season, then I'll have some real concerns.
- MJL

I agree, but I don't mind the analytics, either. In the case of BSH though, I fall asleep halfway through their articles. I don't need a million charts to get the point.

For instance, that chart that shows the WOWY5v5FenwickCorsiCloseWhateverZ with each individual player, total overkill. Anybody can see he's dragging down linemates right now. But you put thirty rows on that graph and it suddenly looks like so much data. No, it's not, it's still just half a season, and it's still illustrating the obvious.

As if that wasn't enough, there's a hundred other charts I don't care about. I'm not saying they don't watch the games or anything (obviously they watch and care, they're writing about hockey), I just think it's (frank)ing boring to read after so much of it. It stops feeling like a hockey article and starts reading like a Dungeons and Dragons manual or something, idk.

I agree, but I don't mind the analytics, either. In the case of BSH though, I fall asleep halfway through their articles. I don't need a million charts to get the point.

For instance, that chart that shows the WOWY5v5FenwickCorsiCloseWhateverZ with each individual player, total overkill. Anybody can see he's dragging down linemates right now. But you put thirty rows on that graph and it suddenly looks like so much data. No, it's not, it's still just half a season, and it's still illustrating the obvious.

As if that wasn't enough, there's a hundred other charts I don't care about. I'm not saying they don't watch the games or anything (obviously they watch and care, they're writing about hockey), I just think it's (frank)ing boring to read after so much of it. It stops feeling like a hockey article and starts reading like a Dungeons and Dragons manual or something, idk.
- BulliesPhan87

I agree, and it only looks at the analytics and not other issues. It gave the perspective that after missing 13 games, after the back injury, that it didn't have an effect on his play after coming back, or only briefly touched on it. When it clearly has. There's so much more to the game then analytics. But the article was from such a narrow viewpoint to serve an agenda. All in my opinion of course. And for the record, I love analytics, when they're used correctly. After every game I go on extraskater to look at the numbers. Love that site.

Yeah, the one that paid Ville Leino $16mm for 10 goals.
- Jsaquella

Haha
Ya exactly. But not sure your GM was any better

Haha
Ya exactly. But not sure your GM was any better
- Otsegolectric

He's made mistakes, sure. But he also took over a 30th place team and got it to the Stanley Cup Final within 4 years.

Kind of odd seeing a fan of a team in full on firesale mode, who hasn't won a playoff series since 2007, and has failed to even make the playoffs in 4 of the last 6 season talking poop.

I was under the impression that Lecavalier was a shoe-in for the Hart until I saw his advanced stats.

You don't really need to look at analytics to see that Lecavalier has struggled since his injury. He clearly hasn't been the same player after the injury that he was before. Simply look at his goal production. He was scoring at a 33 goal pace before the injury over a 22 game span. After the injury, he's scored at a 10 goal pace over 24 games. He was a player that was hard on the puck, and went hard to the net before the injury. After the injury, he's a player that wasn't strong on the puck, and wasn't around the net much. I think it's clear what happened. Then you throw in being moved around and adjusting to a new position. If Lecavalier doesn't come back from this break looking stronger and showing signs of being the same player he was in the beginning of the Season, then I'll have some real concerns.
- MJL

He was asked if he felt better after the break and he said a little bit. I think his injury needs a year to heal. He's been a mess since returning. He's dragged down every line he's played on. I would rather have Raffl playing in the top 9, but the team would never do that to him.

He was asked if he felt better after the break and he said a little bit. I think his injury needs a year to heal. He's been a mess since returning. He's dragged down every line he's played on. I would rather have Raffl playing in the top 9, but the team would never do that to him.
- PhillySportsGuy

Raffl is always an option. He gives the team depth. I love the Lecavalier signing. That may change down the road, we'll see.

Raffl is always an option. He gives the team depth. I love the Lecavalier signing. That may change down the road, we'll see.
- MJL

I hated the signing when it happened and I still don't like it. Ive never been a fan of Vinny. Its not even about the wasted money. I feel he's taking a top 9 spot from a better player simply because he has a storied career.

I hated the signing when it happened and I still don't like it. Ive never been a fan of Vinny. Its not even about the wasted money. I feel he's taking a top 9 spot from a better player simply because he has a storied career.
- PhillySportsGuy

Which player that's better, is he taking a spot from?

I hated the signing when it happened and I still don't like it. Ive never been a fan of Vinny. Its not even about the wasted money. I feel he's taking a top 9 spot from a better player simply because he has a storied career.
- PhillySportsGuy

Sure because the Flyers are loaded with talented prospects that aren't being called up because of Vinny. I mean there is what's his name, and the other guy who has 10 goals already for the phantoms. Then the guy that's almost back from injury, what's his name.

Flyers need some sandpaper like Dan Cleary, remember him??

Which player that's better, is he taking a spot from?
- MJL

Raffl and maybe Laughton next year.

Sure because the Flyers are loaded with talented prospects that aren't being called up because of Vinny. I mean there is what's his name, and the other guy who has 10 goals already for the phantoms. Then the guy that's almost back from injury, what's his name.
- bird_dog_pa

Raffl has played better than Vinny and deserves to be in the top 9 more than Vinny. Every line that Raffl has played on has gotten better. Conversely, every line Vinny has played on has gotten worse. Vinny is in the top 9 strictly because of salary and respect from the coaches.

Great article.
Me and Mr Peabody really enjoyed the ride on the wayback machine...
Now please cue the Underdog theme (before it was reebok fodder)
- Steelmanpa

Ugh that (frank)ing commercial...

Nice run-down of the Vinny Problem:
http://www.broadstreethoc...strength-possession-yikes


The big take away:

- Tomahawk

Funny, I thought the problem was his broken back and broken face. Silly me.

Flyers need some sandpaper like Dan Cleary, remember him??
- watsonnostaw

No. I have completely forgotten about that possible deal.