I think an exception would be made for an NHL-ready potential top six forward who was himself a first-round pick and is coming off a strong junior season and spectacular senior season at the collegiate level.
- bmeltzer

I wonder what this kid thinks of the flyers organization? could be an attractive destination if they can sell him Giroux as his center

Power rankings, especially in the off season, are meaningless. But it is tough to argue that the Flyers have gotten better this offseason. They have pretty much stayed the same.
- bmeltzer

I generally agree regarding power rankings, and not just offseason. Even in-season PR are subjective and often skewed by other factors.

But I think the reasoning is sound, and the opinions of someone like Burnside have a least some legitimacy to them as well. He has the Flyers ranked 24th, which I think is a little pessimistic. This puts the Senators and Islanders, among others, above the Flyers.

But realistically Bill, do you think the Flyers right now are in the top 8 in the East? I'm not so sure they are.

I wonder what this kid thinks of the flyers organization? could be an attractive destination if they can sell him Giroux as his center
- vejim

No idea but worth a shot.

I generally agree regarding power rankings, and not just offseason. Even in-season PR are subjective and often skewed by other factors.

But I think the reasoning is sound, and the opinions of someone like Burnside have a least some legitimacy to them as well. He has the Flyers ranked 24th, which I think is a little pessimistic. This puts the Senators and Islanders, among others, above the Flyers.

But realistically Bill, do you think the Flyers right now are in the top 8 in the East? I'm not so sure they are.
- TheGreat28

On the bubble. they could finish second or third in the metro or also miss the playoffs as a wildcard candidate that falls short.. We will see.

Actually, it is exactly what he wants. The money will be the same anywhere he goes because of the ELC rules. The reason he is resisting signing with Chicago is the lack of opportunity with all the depth that they have. he wants to play in the NHL next season. he also supposedly would rather stay on the East Coast. That does not necessarily mean he is set on playing in his hometown or playing with his brother. Those would just be bonuses.
- bmeltzer

Actually, the consideration that worries me most is family and friends. I think there is a legit chance he signs with Calgary or Florida to play with Johnny Hockey or his brother Jimmy, respectively.

Other factors often seem to play into consideration with unsigned or undrafted FA, like DeKeyser's decision to sign with his hometown team.

Actually, the consideration that worries me most is family and friends. I think there is a legit chance he signs with Calgary or Florida to play with Johnny Hockey or his brother Jimmy, respectively.

Other factors often seem to play into consideration with unsigned or undrafted FA, like DeKeyser's decision to sign with his hometown team.
- TheGreat28

The Bruins are really deep at forward like the Hawks. He won't play on Bergeron's line because he's used against other team's top lines and he'd have to beat out some pretty good wingers to get onto the Lucic-Krejci line.

On the bubble. they could finish second or third in the metro or also miss the playoffs as a wildcard candidate that falls short.. We will see.
- bmeltzer

So much of the team's success next year will depend on Couts and Schenn.

If they continue to gradually get better, the Flyers will probably be in a similar spot.

If they stagnate, the Flyers will probably be fighting for a playoff spot up until the last week.

If one or both of them make a big jump, this team could be pretty damn good.

Actually, the consideration that worries me most is family and friends. I think there is a legit chance he signs with Calgary or Florida to play with Johnny Hockey or his brother Jimmy, respectively.

Other factors often seem to play into consideration with unsigned or undrafted FA, like DeKeyser's decision to sign with his hometown team.
- TheGreat28

I could see him signing with the panthers... no media pressure, family, warm winters and nice beaches

1) The Flyers can absolutely take on another entry level salary. You are forgetting that they can make a paper move to send the contract to the AHL and then immediately we call him as soon as pronger goes on LTIR.

2) A second round pick in 2016 plus another asset is something north of the compensation Chicago will receive if he walks. The only difference is the 2nd round pick is one year further removed.
- bmeltzer

They also don't need a single cent of cap space to acquire the player in a trade.

The Bruins are really deep at forward like the Hawks. He won't play on Bergeron's line because he's used against other team's top lines and he'd have to beat out some pretty good wingers to get onto the Lucic-Krejci line.
- PhillySportsGuy

True. But his best friend in the world is Johnny Gaudreau, who was drafted by Calgary. If you read Haye's twitter feed he has a real bromance going with Johnny Hockey. So pros - same amount of money, plays with best friend and former linemate with whom he was successful, chance for top-6 role. Cons...it's Calgary.

His brother Jimmy is on the Panthers. Kinda the same pros/cons as the Calgary situation, but the Panthers are more of an up-and-coming team that should have more success in the short-term than Calgary.

Each of these offer more to him than the Flyers.

Bill Meltzer: Flyers Farm System Review: 2014 Off-Season
- bmeltzer

Am I wrong for not being overly excited about Raffl returning and the possiblity of Akenson and Bellmares making the team? Am I wrong for not viewing these guys as apart of the long term future of this team, if any future at all? Am I wrong for viewing these guys as non NHLers who are just filling in space? Am I wrong for believing non of them will pan out like Matt Read and might simply may be a waste of time?

I could see him signing with the panthers... no media pressure, family, warm winters and nice beaches
- vejim

No fans, though. People in Miami don't care much about hockey. They don't care much about any sports really. Most hockey fans in Florida are migrants of the Northeast and cheer for their original team.

So much of the team's success next year will depend on Couts and Schenn.

If they continue to gradually get better, the Flyers will probably be in a similar spot.

If they stagnate, the Flyers will probably be fighting for a playoff spot up until the last week.

If one or both of them make a big jump, this team could be pretty damn good.
- PhillySportsGuy

I think their success is highly dependent upon their linemates. Couts might be a better situation than Schenn, in that he has chemistry with Read and might get a more offensively-capable winger next year in Umberger (and to a lesser extent Raffl).

I don't think the Flyers have put Schenn in the best position to succeed. He really has never been with wingers that would play to his strengths, in my opinion. Next year doesn't look any better in my mind.

Power rankings, especially in the off season, are meaningless. But it is tough to argue that the Flyers have gotten better this offseason. They have pretty much stayed the same.
- bmeltzer

They were not a bad team last year, or even in the lockout year. I would argue they played under the wrong system. The team is much better suited to the current system.

I would also argue the flyers could have easily went to the finals this year had they beaten New York. I stated at the start of the playoffs, as long as the Canadians beat the lighting in round one, the winner of the flyers rangers series was probably going to be in the finals. This years matchups and flyers roster had the potential to have a run like 2010 all over again.

There are issues with this team, and I don't know how far we will go in the post season, but east is much weaker the the west...and honestly the rangers are the only team in the metro who really made a noticeable improvement over the offseason.

I see no reason why we can't make it to the post season this year, and thanks to the new format make a deep run.

True. But his best friend in the world is Johnny Gaudreau, who was drafted by Calgary. If you read Haye's twitter feed he has a real bromance going with Johnny Hockey. So pros - same amount of money, plays with best friend and former linemate with whom he was successful, chance for top-6 role. Cons...it's Calgary.

His brother Jimmy is on the Panthers. Kinda the same pros/cons as the Calgary situation, but the Panthers are more of an up-and-coming team that should have more success in the short-term than Calgary.

Each of these offer more to him than the Flyers.
- TheGreat28

They offer more in terms of providing less pressure and giving him some familiarity. Are those the best career paths though?

While I agree that having young NHL forwards is a great situation, the lack of prospect depth at forward is a tremendous problem. There are two principle issues with this. The first is readily apparent - the Flyers have no legitimate top-line left wing, and acquiring one through a trade or FA is costly (though not as bad a acquiring a 1-2 defenseman. You need to have a pipeline of skilled forwards, just as you do young defensemen.

The second issue is more on an organizational level. These young guys need to gain confidence and learn to win. Look at the last Calder champions on the Phantoms. Richards, Carter, Umberger, Sharp, Nitti, Eager, Seidenberg, and others I'm missing. They learned to win together, gained confidence and went on to successful NHL careers. And having a staple of young forward prospects wouldn't immediately help the top line LW issue.

As Bill points out in his blog, Straka and Cousins really didn't show anything last year. Part of this of course is that it was their first year at the pro level. But another part of that is that the organization fielded a team that might not have beaten the Edmonton Oil Kings last year. Maybe Straka would have done better with an offensively skilled center. Maybe Cousins would have done better playing on the 2nd line where he wasn't counted on to provide as much offense.

For this reason, regardless of how he does I would start Laughton at LV this year. You need to see what offense he can bring at the pro level or if, as Bill says, he is destined to be a 3rd line defensive forward. He needs top line minutes with more skilled forwards in order for the organization to make this determination. You also need to see if he can make players like Straka and Leier better (I think Leier is at LV this year, right?).

I think Hexy at least recgonizes the importance of having a more successful minor-league franchise, as he has brought in 3 or 4 career minor leaguers with offensive pop. I think the worst thing for Ghost, Haag and Stolarz is to get into a situation like last year's Phantoms. Confidence is too big a part of a young players path to success.
- TheGreat28

It's simply not a trememdous problem. The pipeline of young forward prospects can be added to in a few years, and a couple of drafts, just as they did with defense prospects. And having a good number of young forwards, along with a player like Laughton, buys them some time to be able to do that.
The Flyers signed a number of veteran AHL players to help make the Phantoms a better team, and a better environment for young players to play there. So there are other ways of doing that than just having a big staple of prospects at that level.

I could see him signing with the panthers... no media pressure, family, warm winters and nice beaches
- vejim

Plus some major babe-age to score lol

Plus some major babe-age to score lol
- TheGreat28

latino and Haitian mommas

A couple of the offseason power rankings have the Flyers not making the playoffs this year, or barely getting in. It's a legitimate concern right now.
- TheGreat28

That's really meaningless. The same things were said last year. Flyers have a solid team that I believe will be a playoff team.

True. But his best friend in the world is Johnny Gaudreau, who was drafted by Calgary. If you read Haye's twitter feed he has a real bromance going with Johnny Hockey. So pros - same amount of money, plays with best friend and former linemate with whom he was successful, chance for top-6 role. Cons...it's Calgary.

His brother Jimmy is on the Panthers. Kinda the same pros/cons as the Calgary situation, but the Panthers are more of an up-and-coming team that should have more success in the short-term than Calgary.

Each of these offer more to him than the Flyers.
- TheGreat28

Unless his objective is to play for a potential playoff team -- possibly even with a path to play on a line with a Hart Trophy finalist and play for an org where he could make a more favorable bridge contract after his ELC

Power rankings, especially in the off season, are meaningless. But it is tough to argue that the Flyers have gotten better this offseason. They have pretty much stayed the same.
- bmeltzer

Where the Flyers can get better is by the growth of players such as B Schenn, Raffl, and Couturier. Voracek could also take a step into an all star player.

It's simply not a trememdous problem. The pipeline of young forward prospects can be added two in a few years, and a couple of drafts, just as they did with defense prospects. And having a good number of young forwards, along with a player like Laughton, buys them some time to be able to do that.
The Flyers signed a number of veteran AHL players to help make the Phantoms a better team, and a better environment for young players to play there. So there are other ways of doing that than just having a big staple of prospects at that level.
- MJL

I am just happy they are addressing the issue, I read a few articles about how much of a black hole glens falls became over the years the phantoms were there. it was also one of the fist issues hexy addressed when we first became agm.

It's simply not a trememdous problem. The pipeline of young forward prospects can be added two in a few years, and a couple of drafts, just as they did with defense prospects. And having a good number of young forwards, along with a player like Laughton, buys them some time to be able to do that.
The Flyers signed a number of veteran AHL players to help make the Phantoms a better team, and a better environment for young players to play there. So there are other ways of doing that than just having a big staple of prospects at that level.
- MJL

Well, then we'll agree to disagree.

Several years ago we had this same exact debate regarding the dearth of defensive prospects, and we disagreed then too

I think their success is highly dependent upon their linemates. Couts might be a better situation than Schenn, in that he has chemistry with Read and might get a more offensively-capable winger next year in Umberger (and to a lesser extent Raffl).

I don't think the Flyers have put Schenn in the best position to succeed. He really has never been with wingers that would play to his strengths, in my opinion. Next year doesn't look any better in my mind.
- TheGreat28

I agree. I was hoping the Flyers could find someone to play with G and bump Jake down. I'm not talking about some 50 goal scorer. A guy like Mueller may have the ability to keep up with G.

Trading Hartnell makes that difficult now. If they bumped Jake down to Schenn's line, they'd be looking for two new linemates to play with G.

Schenn's numbers away from Briere and VL over the past two years are pretty decent. Giroux is the top line center and Couts is the checking line center. It seems like Schenn is always left with the guys who aren't good enough to play on the top line, but aren't good enough at defense to play on the third line. He's forced to play with what's left. Most of the time, they aren't the right pieces.

Well, then we'll agree to disagree.

Several years ago we had this same exact debate regarding the dearth of defensive prospects, and we disagreed then too
- TheGreat28

And look what happened with the stable of defense prospects in that couple of years? Makes my point.