I think the flyers should sign a 4c if lecavalier is moved. If he isn't I'd like to see vinny at 4c. So I think it doesn't affect Laughton much. I'd really like the flyers not move Laughton to the wing. I say start him in the A.
- Just5

Vinny at 4th line center is a nightmare......

I could see him being one of the nine best forwards out of camp.
With a log jam at center he could still be slotted into the 4th line C and pick up some mintes on the PK.

I don't think that role, if he is getting 12-13+ minutes a game hurts his development at all.

I am also OK with him starting in the AHL this year.
But the way the roster looks now I think he is the best option for the 4th line C.
At least the way I want to see their 4th line constructed.
A line of plus skaters that are effective 2 way players capable of 10-12 mintes a game including tight one goal games.
- Marc D

I agree but he only gets that many minutes playing fourth line if the fourth line is more then goons that provide a spark (aka what our fourth line has been used for in the past). Last year those players played in the 7-8minute range. I am all for a fourth line that plays 10-12 minutes a game to alleviate the hard lifting. First step is to get the right personnel. I don't trust Rinaldo and Rosehill for those minutes. Winnik is about all I see left that could aid I'm that department. A line of belle-Laughton-Winnik might be able to handle it.

Vinny at 4th line center is a nightmare......
- GOA88

For him sure, but for the team why?

There is a very real/easy scenario where Laughton and Vinny both end up on the big club.

My assumption at this point is that the centers, if laughton sticks, are G-Vinny-Cout-Laughton, with Schenn at wing. you have a bunch of 600K guys on 2 way contracts to be the 13th forward and end up with about 1M in cap space after LTIR.

depending on how game situations unfold and how he is used, I could see him getting 7-10 minutes a game. No, that isn't the 15+ he gets in the A, but it is a decent scenario to get him eased into the big club.

EDIT: also assuming that rosehill/rinaldo are sent down/waived

I think the flyers should sign a 4c if lecavalier is moved. If he isn't I'd like to see vinny at 4c. So I think it doesn't affect Laughton much. I'd really like the flyers not move Laughton to the wing. I say start him in the A.
- Just5

Lecavalier being played at 4th line Center, which I think is a horrendous idea, doesn't have an effect on Laughton, who is a potential candidate as a 4th line center, making the team?

Boston beat Fluto Shinzawa on why the parade of ex-NHL players moving into management needs to end:

In the NHL, hiring an executive like Dubas is the definition of untraditional. Each June, decision-makers and scouts from 30 teams convene on the floor of an NHL rink for the annual draft. It is a sea of similarity: ex-players slapping each other’s backs, growling about character and compete levels.

It can be a dangerous example of groupthink. Players are rarely encouraged to freelance and think creatively. Coaches love structure and expect their charges to fall in line. Players know two things: when their next shift will be and when the bus leaves the rink. They know not to miss either one.

When they retire and shift to scouting or management, their preferences may lean toward the players who succeeded in their playing days: dump-and-chasers, defensive defensemen, enforcers, conservative bottom-six penalty killers.

This is why teams repeat mistakes at the draft table, in trades, and on the free market. There are too many people who think about hockey the same way and don’t challenge each other to see the game differently.

There are no women. There aren’t many people of color. There are few who’ve worked in different sports, to say nothing of other industries. There are even fewer who haven’t played in the NHL. On-ice experience is just about a requirement for clubhouse entry.

This is nonsense.

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, didn’t sweat on the iPhone assembly line. Alan Mulally, a longtime Boeing employee, had zero automotive experience before climbing behind Ford’s wheel as CEO. Don Thompson didn’t work the fry machine before becoming president and CEO of McDonald’s.

Top executives aren’t necessarily down-and-dirty experts in the business segments they lead. Their strengths center on thinking globally. They recognize market trends. They hire the best people to work on their specific widgets, be they WiFi antennas, truck suspensions, or milkshake makers.

http://www.bostonglobe.co...nz6eD7vrzsBQiP/story.html

Boston beat Fluto Shinzawa on why the parade of ex-NHL players moving into management needs to end:






http://www.bostonglobe.co...nz6eD7vrzsBQiP/story.html
- Tomahawk

Heresy

For him sure, but for the team why?
- coffee junkie

What good is he playing with enforcers and checkers when he isnt a checking line center himself with limited defensive ability?

Boston beat Fluto Shinzawa on why the parade of ex-NHL players moving into management needs to end:






http://www.bostonglobe.co...nz6eD7vrzsBQiP/story.html
- Tomahawk

Horrible premise, and really a bad article. How about all the successful ex NHL players who went on to be successful NHL GM's and executives? Even in business there are successful people from all walks of life. Some come into a completely new field. Some have a long background and level of experience in the field that they moved up the ladder in.

What good is he playing with enforcers and checkers when he isnt a checking line center himself with limited defensive ability?
- GOA88

Well, the enforcers/checkers situation on the 4th-line can be improved upon... and our 4th hasn't been used defensively since... hmmm... Betts/Powe?

For him sure, but for the team why?
- coffee junkie

Not putting the player in the best position to succeed can't be good for the team.

Well, the enforcers/checkers situation on the 4th-line can be improved upon... and our 4th hasn't been used defensively since... hmmm... Betts/Powe?
- Tomahawk

Well it should... If i recall.... Vinny played 4th line in the playoffs and that line was awful.

Not putting the player in the best position to succeed can't be good for the team.
- MJL

thank you

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, didn’t sweat on the iPhone assembly line. Alan Mulally, a longtime Boeing employee, had zero automotive experience before climbing behind Ford’s wheel as CEO. Don Thompson didn’t work the fry machine before becoming president and CEO of McDonald’s.





http://www.bostonglobe.co...nz6eD7vrzsBQiP/story.html
- Tomahawk

Interesting article, and likely it would be good to step outside the box once in a while.

But to be fair, regarding the Apple, Ford, McDonald's examples, there's almost always a certain type of person with a certain type of pedigree filling the top positions in industry and on Wall St. MBAs, Ivy League schools, etc.

Not putting the player in the best position to succeed can't be good for the team.
- MJL

Do you imagine for some reason Berube's goal isn't to play the best team possible?

Well it should... If i recall.... Vinny played 4th line in the playoffs and that line was awful.
- GOA88

That was pretty much a trend, whichever line Lecavalier ended up on saw it's play dip. If he can't be an effective all around player anymore, whether it's decline or injury or simply being a poor fit for the team's system, they have to put him where he will do the least harm.

Do you imagine for some reason Berube's goal isn't to play the best team possible?
- wolfhounds

My guess is that Vinny just doesn't fit the style that Chief wants to run. Ultimately, the best thing to do would be move him, but no one wants his salary.
so they have to find a place to play him.
He probably should be the 2C, but Berube might view him as a liability there because he can't do what they want him to. so then he ends up at 4c, which really doesn't help because we all know that isn't the player that he is.

I think my big question about Vinny is, how would he have bit better in Lava's system that made him worth signing?

Interesting article, and likely it would be good to step outside the box once in a while.

But to be fair, regarding the Apple, Ford, McDonald's examples, there's almost always a certain type of person with a certain type of pedigree filling the top positions in industry and on Wall St. MBAs, Ivy League schools, etc.
- wolfhounds

Yea, I don't know how much "new thinking" really comes into these established companies either. Considering guys like Gates and Jobs did indeed at one time build computers in garages… I don't think the analogy is very good. The key is just finding great minds… where they come from doesn't really matter IMO

That was pretty much a trend, whichever line Lecavalier ended up on saw it's play dip. If he can't be an effective all around player anymore, whether it's decline or injury or simply being a poor fit for the team's system, they have to put him where he will do the least harm.
- Jsaquella

It worked in the regular season, but not surprising it fell apart in the PO's where most teams are 4-lines deep after the TDL adds. I think it could work again if the wingers are of better quality... for example, I could see a trio like Raffl/Vinny/Akeson consistently driving play against other team's poorer lines.

Do you imagine for some reason Berube's goal isn't to play the best team possible?
- wolfhounds

Of course it is. By I envision the best team possible as Lecavalier playing center on a scoring line producing offense. Which is the best quality he can provide for a team in my opinion. I don't think that would happen with Lecavalier playing on the 4th line. If he's not capable of producing offense on a scoring line. Then I think the best course of action is to trade him. I think having a more solid 2 way player who can play well defensively in a checking role would make the best team. But of course, I understand that they might not be able to move Lecavalier.

Yea, I don't know how much "new thinking" really comes into these established companies either. Considering guys like Gates and Jobs did indeed at one time build computers in garages… I don't think the analogy is very good. The key is just finding great minds… where they come from doesn't really matter IMO
- eayost

Gates founded Microsoft, but Ballmer was the hands-on company manager... he wasn't a computer guy.

I think my big question about Vinny is, how would he have bit better in Lava's system that made him worth signing?
- nails

With the injury, probably not a whole lot better.

My guess is that Vinny just doesn't fit the style that Chief wants to run. Ultimately, the best thing to do would be move him, but no one wants his salary.
so they have to find a place to play him.
He probably should be the 2C, but Berube might view him as a liability there because he can't do what they want him to. so then he ends up at 4c, which really doesn't help because we all know that isn't the player that he is.

I think my big question about Vinny is, how would he have bit better in Lava's system that made him worth signing?
- nails

I think Laviolette saw him being a Jagr replacement, where his lack of speed & deficiencies in his two way game could be mitigated, by playing him with guys who were faster & could get him the puck where he can do damage.

Berube seems to want more skating & 200 foot commitment

Gates founded Microsoft, but Ballmer was the hands-on company manager... he wasn't a computer guy.
- Tomahawk

You don't have to have a background in the product to be a CEO of a major company.

Yea, I don't know how much "new thinking" really comes into these established companies either. Considering guys like Gates and Jobs did indeed at one time build computers in garages… I don't think the analogy is very good. The key is just finding great minds… where they come from doesn't really matter IMO
- eayost