He had 3 assists in 21 games with St. Louis. I get that his minutes probably weren't that high but… count me out.
- eayost

I agree. I'd rather a younger (cheaper) player fill whatever role they want Ott to fill.

I think MacDonald started out well, but I think the jury is out on how much of an upgrade he really is.
- ManCity

He definitely struggled in the playoffs. I think it's clear he can't be relied upon to do a lot of heavy lifting. I hope they don't go into next season expecting to pair him with Coburn.

I think MacDonald started out well, but I think the jury is out on how much of an upgrade he really is.
- ManCity

I think the ability he has is obvious.

I agree. I'd rather a younger (cheaper) player fill whatever role they want Ott to fill.
- johndewar

For the same price, they can probably grab a guy like Kulemin or Pouliot. These guys are younger, faster, more naturally gifted and are natural wingers.

He definitely struggled in the playoffs. I think it's clear he can't be relied upon to do a lot of heavy lifting. I hope they don't go into next season expecting to pair him with Coburn.
- PhillySportsGuy

I was really down on him after the playoffs but Bill mentioned he was banged up. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and see how next year starts out. I was pretty pleased with him until the last 2 weeks of the season or so

He definitely struggled in the playoffs. I think it's clear he can't be relied upon to do a lot of heavy lifting. I hope they don't go into next season expecting to pair him with Coburn.
- PhillySportsGuy

I think almost all our d were subpar in the playoffs except schenn. I thought he played well. I am not going to go out and say he can't handle more minutes because of one playoff series where most out team d wasn't that great.

It's not age discrimination because the cap issues have nothing to do with the player. A player can retire anytime he wants.
- MJL

Yes they can retire anytime they want.
But not without a penalty to the team. Their employers are penalized for the players injury. NHL logic at its best

the cap issues are solely based on a players age at time of signing their contract so they do have something to do with the player and when he was born in the space time continuum.

Otherwise Pronger could have retired gracefully two years ago and not be on LTIR for 5 years till the contract ends

I consider anything that penalizes a team for a player retiring due to a real injury (not a New Jersey Lou L stretching the rules )to be age discrimination.

I was really down on him after the playoffs but Bill mentioned he was banged up. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and see how next year starts out. I was pretty pleased with him until the last 2 weeks of the season or so
- eayost

He adds several things to the team they desperately need. He doesn't handle the puck like its a grenade and he can skate from one place to another without needing to hit a rest stop.

He just needs to improve on the opposing team's zone entries. He has the natural ability to get better in that area. He just needs to recognize it and make the adjustment.

The Flyers can't expect him to be anything more than a 4/5 defenseman. He needs to be sheltered a bit. If they role him out against top lines in all situations, he'll get eaten alive like he did with the Islanders.

Yes they can retire anytime they want.
But not without a penalty to the team
the cap issues are solely based on a players age at time of signing their contract so they do have something to do with the player.

Otherwise Pronger could have retired gracefully two years ago and not be on LTIR for 5 years till the contract ends
- Steelmanpa

There's no discrimination agains the player there. The penalty of a 35+ contract is to the team, not the player. If a player retires he doesn't get paid. I honestly don't see what the problem is, or how Pronger is affected by being placed on LTIR. I'm sure he's suffering when getting those big checks in the mail.

There's one legitimate criticism that really no one can argue against with the Flyers and defense. And that's their failure to draft and develop defenseman.
- MJL

I disagree.

I think almost all our d were subpar in the playoffs except schenn. I thought he played well. I am not going to go out and say he can't handle more minutes because of one playoff series where most out team d wasn't that great.
- J35Bacher

Streit, Grossmann and Schenn played well. Coburn was up and down, but solid for the most part. Timonen and MacDonald both really struggled.

Edit: You have to take everything into account though. Timo-Coburn saw much more difficult match ups than the others.

He adds several things to the team they desperately need. He doesn't handle the puck like its a grenade and he can skate from one place to another without needing to hit a rest stop.

He just needs to improve on the opposing team's zone entries. He has the natural ability to get better in that area. He just needs to recognize it and make the adjustment.

The Flyers can't expect him to be anything more than a 4/5 defenseman. He needs to be sheltered a bit. If they role him out against top lines in all situations, he'll get eaten alive like he did with the Islanders.
- PhillySportsGuy

He can matchup some of the time, but I agree, he's not a player that should be playing well over 20 minutes a game against top lines shift after shift. He's overmatched in that situation.

I disagree.
- PLindbergh31

Streit, Grossmann and Schenn played well. Coburn was up and down, but solid for the most part. Timonen and MacDonald both really struggled.
- PhillySportsGuy

Timonen at 2 million opposed to 6 this year makes the struggles a lot more palatable.

He adds several things to the team they desperately need. He doesn't handle the puck like its a grenade and he can skate from one place to another without needing to hit a rest stop.

He just needs to improve on the opposing team's zone entries. He has the natural ability to get better in that area. He just needs to recognize it and make the adjustment.

The Flyers can't expect him to be anything more than a 4/5 defenseman. He needs to be sheltered a bit. If they role him out against top lines in all situations, he'll get eaten alive like he did with the Islanders.
- PhillySportsGuy

Not sure he's that effective in the d-zone either... blocks shots, yes, but coverage down low is spotty and he gets out-muscled by just about any forward bigger than Jason Akeson.

I think his main value to the club is with gathering back the puck in the d-zone and making that first solid pass. Outside of that, he's about average as average can get across the board.

He can matchup some of the time, but I agree, he's not a player that should be playing well over 20 minutes a game against top lines shift after shift. He's overmatched in that situation.
- MJL

If our defense remained the same I would like to see

Coburn-Grossman
Kimmo-Schenn
Streit-Mac

I feel all three of these pairings have produced good results in the past. That being said, I wouldn't mind seeing some adjustments this summer to that group.

For the same price, they can probably grab a guy like Kulemin or Pouliot. These guys are younger, faster, more naturally gifted and are natural wingers.
- PhillySportsGuy

I know people will think it is crazy, but I think Pouliot would be perfect with Giroux and Voracheck.

- MJL

The defense as a whole while there is some redundancy, should be more than adequate. At the very least there is no one that resembles a Lilja, Gervais, Parent, Bartulis etc in the current 6. We would all love that top pairing stud, but it's very hard to obtain.

Timonen at 2 million opposed to 6 this year makes the struggles a lot more palatable.
- PLindbergh31

He really shouldn't be playing those types of minutes. He's forced to.

He really shouldn't be playing those types of minutes. He's forced to.
- PhillySportsGuy

Agreed. I would also start giving first unit PP time to Streit.

Not sure he's that effective in the d-zone either... blocks shots, yes, but coverage down low is spotty and he gets out-muscled by just about any forward bigger than Jason Akeson.

I think his main value to the club is with gathering back the puck in the d-zone and making that first solid pass. Outside of that, he's about average as average can get across the board.
- Tomahawk

That is a HUGE thing with this team though. I'm not saying he's worth $5M, but thats an element this team has been missing for years.

Timonen at 2 million opposed to 6 this year makes the struggles a lot more palatable.
- PLindbergh31

More palatable but I'm not looking forward to Timonen allowing easy access to the zone because he's concerned he doesn't have the foot speed to chase if he loses a challenge... It just about broke my heart everytime I saw him let opposing forwards skate into our zone like it was a walk in the park. We do need to limit his minutes and give him better match-ups.
Something I think we all know and why the D is such a haeavy focus of conversation.

SBNation mock draft... Flyers select:

http://www.broadstreethoc...lyers-nhl-mock-draft-2014
- Tomahawk

Surprising that Honka went at 11 and Fleury is still undrafted.

Agreed. I would also start giving first unit PP time to Streit.
- PLindbergh31

I'm fine either way, but I would like them to decide before the season starts and allow Streit to get acclimated to the top unit.

More palatable but I'm not looking forward to Timonen allowing easy access to the zone because he's concerned he doesn't have the foot speed to chase if he loses a challenge... It just about broke my heart everytime I saw him let opposing forwards skate into our zone like it was a walk in the park. We do need to limit his minutes and give him better match-ups.
Something I think we all know and why the D is such a haeavy focus of conversation.
- FlyersGrace

Absolutely. I think with less hard minutes (PK and against opposing top lines) Timonen can still be an effective player. He's really been a warrior for this franchise. I think he's very loyal. He could have probably gotten more than 2 million with a contending team.