hell yeah. ive been enamored with him for a while now. best defensive center in the league. and the offensive tools are there.
- stayinthefnnet

200-ft beast... if he were on a team that didn't obsess half as much w/ playing it safe, and they gave him full seasons of Gaborik-level wingers, he'd be in the Art Ross mix year in, year out.

hell yeah. ive been enamored with him for a while now. best defensive center in the league. and the offensive tools are there.
- stayinthefnnet

Yup. Doesn't seem to have any weaknesses. Never seems to take a shift off.

Good for Detroit? Yeah they got lucky with datsyuk/ zetterberg. Has Philly ever drafted like that? Just when actually have we drafted anyone decent outside round 1 lately? It soooo easy to say draft well but guess what other teams have that problem too. Using it as a model when you haven't drafted a single decent dman in the last 30 years doesn't give me confidence. It's like a drunk saying yeah I can have a beer I'll stop after just one when you know he can't. No trust at all
- Sms401

if you just want to rant then by all means. but when you say there is a simple mindset in there, i seriously cannot find it. because im very confused now. i had thought you were advocating tanking and building through elite talent at the top of the draft.

but now it seems like you are comparing the flyers drafting abilities to a recovering alcoholic. if you have such little trust in their ability to draft, then tanking would be catastrophic, because you would have awful seasons followed by an awful draft pick.

It's his thing. The irate, irrational "TRADE EVERYONE BECAUSE THEY AREN'T GRETZKY/LIDSTROM AND SOMEONE ELSE MAY BE" fan.
- jmatchett383

Do you think we can seriously contend and beat the top 7-10 teams in the nhl in a 7 game series thru 4 rounds to win a cup with this type team?

(frank) D.

I'll take an aggressive team over one that dulls me to sleep.

Crosby, Toews, Datsyuk.
- flyer_nutter

Wait I thought you said (frank) D

(frank) D.

I'll take an aggressive team over one that dulls me to sleep.

Crosby, Toews, Datsyuk.
- flyer_nutter

So many great centers in the League. Can't really go wrong with any of them.

200-ft beast... if he were on a team that didn't obsess half as much w/ playing it safe, and they gave him full seasons of Gaborik-level wingers, he'd be in the Art Ross mix year in, year out.
- Tomahawk

100 percent agree. but he is so team oriented that he doesnt care. the guy is so big and fast, the hands are there, vision.

he could be a selke guy putting up 35 goals and 60 assists every year.

I'll throw out the perfect argument I've heard about her that I heard between two other media members. "you can't whine and cry about being taken seriously as a journalist then spend 6 months promoting a calendar you're on in your underwear all over your (internet footprint)."
- mayorofangrytown

I've got nothing against her for doing an underwear calendar, personally. That said, I wouldn't use my journalist social media account to plug my underwear calendar. The boring fluff pieces are why I don't take her seriously.

Do you think we can seriously contend and beat the top 7-10 teams in the nhl in a 7 game series thru 4 rounds to win a cup with this type team?
- Sms401

With this team? No, but I think they can come within a series or 2.

With the team this one will become, if they kids are kept around? Absolutely.

Wait I thought you said (frank) D
- Giroux_Is_God

I am also getting mixed signals

Kopitar can't be that good. He wasn't even a top 10 pick.

I am also getting mixed signals
- BulliesPhan87

I would be getting mixed signals, but there's so many signals firing in my brain that it's clogging it up, and not letting me close a (frank)ing window

/still salty

i understand. but you guys have options. perhaps try and make a deal if the right one is there. or maybe you do find some quality in what you have developing.

but lord. maybe i read it wrong, but the prevailing mindset behind that post is why bother even having a franchise.
- stayinthefnnet

I got the same gist from it. The Flyers have managed to draft some pretty good forwards while also being a playoff team. I understand that it can be easier to lose for a bunch of years and get some high picks, but that's no guarantee either. The Flyers have to pay a price for not being successful at draftinv and developing D men.

i will address this more in depth in a second, but did you intentially not list giroux? because leaving out your premier front line center will make any team's summary of stars look a hell of a lot worse. hell, take lundqvist off the rangers summary, and you have 2/3 players that people want bought out.
- stayinthefnnet

You asked about the players we got in the trades. G wasn't a part of the trades.

I would be getting mixed signals, but there's so many signals firing in my brain that it's clogging it up, and not letting me close a (frank)ing window

/still salty
- Giroux_Is_God

I'm pretty sure you'll get another shot tomorrow. Hope springs eternal

Kopitar can't be that good. He wasn't even a top 10 pick.
- Feanor

I've got nothing against her for doing an underwear calendar, personally. That said, I wouldn't use my journalist social media account to plug my underwear calendar. The boring fluff pieces are why I don't take her seriously.
- BulliesPhan87

It depends. Where were the proceeds for the calendar going?

I'm pretty sure you'll get another shot tomorrow. Hope springs eternal
- BulliesPhan87

Where there's a will, there's a way!

Detriot seems to do ok drafting later in the round?
- J35Bacher

Yes most teams get lucky from time to time in the later rounds. Go look back over the last 7 drafts and tell how well there drafted ?

Do you think we can seriously contend and beat the top 7-10 teams in the nhl in a 7 game series thru 4 rounds to win a cup with this type team?
- Sms401

As constructed and with players playing at their current level? No. But if we are patient and don't just constantly recycle players and actually use patience with both our roster players and prospects, I believe we will have a team that may be able to compete in 2-3 years.

You asked about the players we got in the trades. G wasn't a part of the trades.
- Sms401

okay. so then shouldnt your evaluation of the other top four teams currently left have been limited to that of a single pair of transactions?

you wanted to show me that the flyers are gloom and doom and pale to compare to the other teams left currently. thats fine. it would bring joy to my curmudgeonly heart for that to be the case. but in your comparison, you list the other 4 teams star core. (regardless of how acquired).

then for the flyers, their star core placed forward for evaluation is limited solely to players culled from the two trades? i just think that is an unfair way to conduct any sort of analysis in which you are attempting to evaluate the flyers against other teams.

Look at top players in final four this year. Kopitar/doughty/quick. Toews/kAne/Keith. Price/subban. Lundquist/ mcdoughah/Nash/Richards. We have mason/ schenn/couts/jake. See the difference. All good players and I'm not saying they can't get a little better but their always going to be a notch or 2 below the elite. You do not win cups with good. You win with elite. The one thing phly has going for them is a lot of players that other teams would want. They have a lot of trade chips. But drafting in the middle of round 1 and getting Laughton ( although a nice good prospect) that projects as a 3rd line shutdown center with a little offensive is not going to push you into true contention with the elite teams.
- Sms401

Seems to me that you forgot one player. His name escapes me, but I know it begins with a "G". Also that Voracek kid is pretty good also.

Claude Giroux, Simon Gagne, Mike Richards, Justin Williams > JvR, Carter and Pitkanen

15-25 seems to be working OK.
- Tomahawk

G is the only elite player on that list. Can't win a cup with that

okay. so then shouldnt your evaluation of the other top four teams currently left have been limited to that of a single pair of transactions?

you wanted to show me that the flyers are gloom and doom and pale to compare to the other teams left currently. thats fine. it would bring joy to my curmudgeonly heart for that to be the case. but in your comparison, you list the other 4 teams star core. (regardless of how acquired).

then for the flyers, their star core placed forward for evaluation is limited solely to players culled from the two trades? i just think that is an unfair way to conduct any sort of analysis in which you are attempting to evaluate the flyers against other teams.
- stayinthefnnet

There's no way this is actually a word

Yes most teams get lucky from time to time in the later rounds. Go look back over the last 7 drafts and tell how well there drafted ?
- Sms401

Just fine...

Mrazek's the next great goalie, they got him in the 5th. Mantha had one of the most impressive goal-scoring post-draft seasons in recent memory. Nyquist is a boss, they got him in the 4th. Jurco, Pulkkinen, Sheahan, Tatar and Jarnkrok all look like future top-9 forwards.