see, now i dont think niskanen is a number one guy either. a team who expects him to be will be disappointed.

but he still is a really good player, and can do a lot of things well.
- stayinthefnnet

My concern with Niskanen is he that much better then MacDonald? What I mean, is he worth over $6 million a year when the Flyers already have significant cap allocated to Coburn, MacDonald, and Streit.

It will be interesting to see where they go.

A guy near the end of his career.
- PLindbergh31

That helped us two games away from a cup. But homer (frank)ed that year up too

A guy near the end of his career.
- PLindbergh31

But still a Stud. If Pronger didn't get hurt he wouldn't be much now but we would have gotten another great year or 2 out of him.

Flyers have lacked that top pairing stud for decades, it really seems to be working out well for them.
- PLindbergh31

im not claiming to say otherwise. its very hard to win without it, and those guys definitely dont just fall from the sky. but like i said, i just fail to see how thats all on coburn. hes a good player. hes just not a great one. but not being great doesnt preclude him from being good.

it always just seems to be, well coburns not a number one, hes garbage. i just dont see how one fact necessarily dictates the other.

A guy near the end of his career.
- PLindbergh31

Who was still a stud number 1 pairing dman that the age of 34/35.

That helped us two games away from a cup. But homer (frank)ed that year up too
- funmaster18

Nobody gives a flying (frank) who finishes second. What do you get for being runner up a cookie?

Blues making Seabrook pay the price.

The guts of the entire Blues Organization can fit into a thimble.
- PLindbergh31

Think Hitch is in more trouble than people might think

im not claiming to say otherwise. its very hard to win without it, and those guys definitely dont just fall from the sky. but like i said, i just fail to see how thats all on coburn. hes a good player. hes just not a great one. but not being great doesnt preclude him from being good.

it always just seems to be, well coburns not a number one, hes garbage. i just dont see how one fact necessarily dictates the other.
- stayinthefnnet

Facts and ignorance don't play well together

At some point EVERY Team has a part of the schedule that is difficult. It was only difficult for the flyers because there playoff future was at stake. If they had no chance at the playoffs or were comfortably in a playoff spot, that part of the schedule is a non-factor. The fact is, the Flyers haven't play well at since then.
- Daveflyers36

It is true that every team faces the same teams at some point in the season. But the best teams in the league all came during one long stretch for the Flyers. Honestly, if they had not gotten the two OT points against the Blues and Bruins, they might not even be in the playoffs right now.

Think Hitch is in more trouble than people might think
- AllInForFlyers

I love Hitch, but if they lose this series, I can see his roster tuning him out next season for sure.

Nobody gives a flying (frank) who finishes second. What do you get for being runner up a cookie?
- PLindbergh31

im not claiming to say otherwise. its very hard to win without it, and those guys definitely dont just fall from the sky. but like i said, i just fail to see how thats all on coburn. hes a good player. hes just not a great one. but not being great doesnt preclude him from being good.

it always just seems to be, well coburns not a number one, hes garbage. i just dont see how one fact necessarily dictates the other.
- stayinthefnnet

The Flyers over valueing Coburn keeps us from getting a real number 1. They think he can play top pairing so we keep ending up with Streits, MacDonalds, Grossmans, etc etc etc....

My concern with Niskanen is he that much better then MacDonald? What I mean, is he worth over $6 million a year when the Flyers already have significant cap allocated to Coburn, MacDonald, and Streit.

It will be interesting to see where they go.
- ravishingone

im honestly not sure. obviously the market is going to dictate a big payday for niskanen. but whether he is actually worth it remains to be seen i guess.

i dont know if he can be the man on a team, and deal with the expectations that come with that. he will undoubtedly be exposed from time to time. just how much so im not sure. he has been tremendous with the pens this year. he isnt perfect, but there are A LOT of things he does extremely well.

The Flyers over valueing Coburn keeps us from getting a real number 1. They think he can play top pairing so we keep ending up with Streits, MacDonalds, Grossmans, etc etc etc....
- Daveflyers36

They don't really have a choice. If they overvalue Coburn, I dunno why they would go after Suter or Weber, or even Pronger.

im not claiming to say otherwise. its very hard to win without it, and those guys definitely dont just fall from the sky. but like i said, i just fail to see how thats all on coburn. hes a good player. hes just not a great one. but not being great doesnt preclude him from being good.

it always just seems to be, well coburns not a number one, hes garbage. i just dont see how one fact necessarily dictates the other.
- stayinthefnnet

Right now the best hope is Morin develops into one. It won't happen next year, but in today's NHL to get that bona fide two way #1 dman most times you are gonna have to draft him.

This team has not played good hockey against a good team since the middle of March.
- Daveflyers36

That is what you said earlier and it is not accurate.

Since March 15 the Flyers were 8-6-2.
Over those 16 games they played 3 games against teams that were out of the playoffs.
They played the Pens 2x, the Blues 2x, the Bruins 2x.

The Flyers over valueing Coburn keeps us from getting a real number 1. They think he can play top pairing so we keep ending up with Streits, MacDonalds, Grossmans, etc etc etc....
- Daveflyers36

im going to have to disagree there. the history just reads differently to me. they acquired pronger, signed weber to the RFA sheet, and made a big push for suter. all while having coburn on the team. i dont think he precludes them from anything. i am jealous as hell of the flyers for it, but they dont shy away from trying to acquire someone. those guys are just hard as hell to acquire.

Who was still a stud number 1 pairing dman that the age of 34/35.
- opeth_pa

The problem is the guys that are still that good at that age are generational players, and are not easy to find.

Pronger, Lindstrom, Bourque, Niedermayer are some more recently that come to mind. They all have the same thing in common too in that they are damn hard to pry away from a team unless trading the farm or getting lucky enough to try for them in free angency like anaheim did.

I love Hitch, but if they lose this series, I can see his roster tuning him out next season for sure.
- ravishingone

They ponied up for Miller...I've seen coaches get the shiv when GMs, owners think they gave you everything you needed and you didn't win

They don't really have a choice. If they overvalue Coburn, I dunno why they would go after Suter or Weber, or even Pronger.
- feelingkettle

For starters, they never really had a shot at Suter and Nashville wasn't going to let Weber go after losing Suter no matter what it cost them so the chances of either of them coming here were very slim.

Oh well, better luck next game. I'll try not to cry myself to sleep over the flyers huge loss and homers endless failures.

im going to have to disagree there. the history just reads differently to me. they acquired pronger, signed weber to the RFA sheet, and made a big push for suter. all while having coburn on the team. i dont think he precludes them from anything. i am jealous as hell of the flyers for it, but they dont shy away from trying to acquire someone. those guys are just hard as hell to acquire.
- stayinthefnnet

The Flyers had no chance at Suter because he didn't want to come here.

Right now the best hope is Morin develops into one. It won't happen next year, but in today's NHL to get that bona fide two way #1 dman most times you are gonna have to draft him.
- ravishingone

exactly. or somehow acquire him young enough before people really realize what he is. they really just dont get traded. and teams lock them up at a premium. i think the suter thing was more of an anomaly than anything. he wanted out/to go to minnesota.

the guys just dont get traded or even allowed to sniff free agency.

im honestly not sure. obviously the market is going to dictate a big payday for niskanen. but whether he is actually worth it remains to be seen i guess.

i dont know if he can be the man on a team, and deal with the expectations that come with that. he will undoubtedly be exposed from time to time. just how much so im not sure. he has been tremendous with the pens this year. he isnt perfect, but there are A LOT of things he does extremely well.
- stayinthefnnet

Yes, he does, and some team will give him that type of contract. My basic point with what is already on the Flyers roster and mix, not sure it is the best allocation of resources to invest in him. However with Kimmo's $6 million, Mez $4 million gone and move for example Grossmann at $4.2 million, giving Niskanen over $6 million can be accomplished.

The problem is the guys that are still that good at that age are generational players, and are not easy to find.

Pronger, Lindstrom, Bourque, Niedermayer are some more recently that come to mind. They all have the same thing in common too in that they are damn hard to pry away from a team unless trading the farm or getting lucky enough to try for them in free angency like anaheim did.
- the deaninator

While I don't disagree with that it doesn't change the fact that Pronger was still a legit number 1 pair dman the PL claimed the FLyers haven't had one of those for decades.