terrible attitude, mdl
- -davies-

last year was a drag and nothing has really changed except our d may be worse, but im okay with it because you have to go thru bad to get to good

also, im sick and tired of the rinaldo's, there useless.....nothing but a dissapointing sideshow that i was hoping hextall will clear out of here, not resign for 2 more years of watching this idiot take the ice, setoguchi and a couple other guys who can actually play the game would have been better to add imo

anyone else think hextall is trying to tank for mcdavid?
- aightwebang17

it wont be hard with this roster

http://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/570661

it wont be hard with this roster
- mydoglicks

You have to assume that none of the players on this roster will improve this season to believe this team will not be almost or just as good as last season.

I frankly don't understand why so many think we will be so much worse this year. They will have a full training camp with Berube. Despite what some believe the Umberger/Hartnell trade was a wash. Timonen will be missed, but he is 39.

B. Schenn, Couturier, Voracek, Giroux, Read, Simmonds, L Schenn, and Raffl are all on the upside of their careers, so it is not out of the realm of possibility to not only assume, but to EXPECT that they will all be better players this season than last. I think Del Zotto will surprise some.

The negativity is mind blowing.

You have to assume that none of the players on this roster will improve this season to believe this team will not be almost or just as good as last season.

I frankly don't understand why so many think we will be so much worse this year. They will have a full training camp with Berube. Despite what some believe the Umberger/Hartnell trade was a wash. Timonen will be missed, but he is 39.

B. Schenn, Couturier, Voracek, Giroux, Read, Simmonds, L Schenn, and Raffl are all on the upside of their careers, so it is not out of the realm of possibility to not only assume, but to EXPECT that they will all be better players this season than last. I think Del Zotto will surprise some.

The negativity is mind blowing.
- MBFlyerfan

They won't ALL be better, there's bound to be some who improve and some who regress/stagnate. But that group should improve overall.

They won't ALL be better, there's bound to be some who improve and some who regress/stagnate. But that group should improve overall.
- jmatchett383

No probably not, but it still should be expected. And even if one or two stagnate, that leaves many more improving. I especially expect improvement from Couturier and Voracek. And if Couturier improves, that will be felt throughout the lineup more so than any other player.

http://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/570661


- Tomahawk

No more Hartnell. No more Timonen?

No probably not, but it still should be expected. And even if one or two stagnate, that leaves many more improving. I especially expect improvement from Couturier and Voracek. And if Couturier improves, that will be felt throughout the lineup more so than any other player.
- MBFlyerfan

I think that Couturier and Schenn will improve, to a degree. I don't see Simmonds really improving drastically more. Voracek has room to improve, a bit. Read may take a step back, depends on Couturier. If Giroux stays healthy and keeps away from cop ass, he may put up 90-95 points, a small improvement...just as likely he "regresses" to 80 points. Raffl is a wild card.

No more Hartnell. No more Timonen?
- steelydan

Streit and Schenn will need to carry the torch

No more Hartnell. No more Timonen?
- steelydan

Yeah, when was that written? Though I think if they put Couturier or Schenn in Hartnell's spot, and MDZ or Streit in Timonens spot it will still give you the same feel. Especially because the key is and will always be Giroux and Simmonds.

Streit and Schenn will need to carry the torch
- Just5

No more Hartnell. No more Timonen?
- steelydan

No more Hartnell. No more Timonen?
- steelydan

Just a celebration of how they did last year.

Personally, I feel like Schenn or Vinny could easily replace Hartsy in the high slot. Kimmo will be missed more, but you have to figure one of MDZ or Streit should be up to the task.

It's not like we have to replace one of Simmer or G.

http://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/570661


- Tomahawk

Great stuff. I think Streit will have no problem filling Timonen's role on the 1st pp unit and I would give B Schenn a shot at filling Hartnell's.

I also think, especially if you can cut his minutes on the PK, that they can play Giroux and Simmonds for nearly the entire PP. It certainly isn't unheard of, many star players around the league do it.

First Unit
Schenn-Giroux-Simmonds
Streit-Voracek

Second Unit
Couturier-Giroux-Simmonds
MDZ-VLC

Late on the PP, if they don't score, you can replace Giroux with Read and Simmonds with Umberger. Couturier and VLC can flip spots as well when time starts running out, or Vinnie can come off and be replaced by AMac.

No more Hartnell. No more Timonen?
- steelydan

Hartnell and Timonen out, Rinaldo, and Grossmann in. Boom! Well oiled machine.

They won't ALL be better, there's bound to be some who improve and some who regress/stagnate. But that group should improve overall.
- jmatchett383

I think most of the under 30 crowd will either plateau or improve. My bigger concerns are:
Can VLC contribute, and can they find a place for him to fit in
Can Grossmann stay healthy
Can Umberger play better than he did last year
Will Emery's hip hold up
Will age start to slow Streit down

When it comes to the younger guys, I'd be pretty surprised if both Couturier and Schenn didn't continue to develop and I also expect Laughton to be on the roster no later than early January. While I think with Simmonds and Read, what you see is what you get; I do think that there is a little more in the tank in regards to Voracek and a 30 goal, 75 point season is not out of the realm of possibility.

You have to assume that none of the players on this roster will improve this season to believe this team will not be almost or just as good as last season.

I frankly don't understand why so many think we will be so much worse this year. They will have a full training camp with Berube. Despite what some believe the Umberger/Hartnell trade was a wash. Timonen will be missed, but he is 39.

B. Schenn, Couturier, Voracek, Giroux, Read, Simmonds, L Schenn, and Raffl are all on the upside of their careers, so it is not out of the realm of possibility to not only assume, but to EXPECT that they will all be better players this season than last. I think Del Zotto will surprise some.

The negativity is mind blowing.
- MBFlyerfan

I think the biggest hurdle is that other divisional teams have improved while the Flyers, IMO, made lateral moves for the immediate future that will pay off in a year or two.

Long term the Flyers are in good shape, just this year I think they will be in a fight for a wild card

I think most of the under 30 crowd will either plateau or improve. My bigger concerns are:
Can VLC contribute, and can they find a place for him to fit in
Can Grossmann stay healthy
Can Umberger play better than he did last year
Will Emery's hip hold up
Will age start to slow Streit down

When it comes to the younger guys, I'd be pretty surprised if both Couturier and Schenn didn't continue to develop and I also expect Laughton to be on the roster no later than early January. While I think with Simmonds and Read, what you see is what you get; I do think that there is a little more in the tank in regards to Voracek and a 30 goal, 75 point season is not out of the realm of possibility.
- BiggE

Are you implying that Streit is not already slow (litrilly)?

This also illustrates why in my own mind I switch Simmonds and Voracek on G's wing.

Schenn G Simmonds
? VLC Voracek
Read Couturier ?
? ? ?

?=Umberger, Raffle, Bella, Akeson et al.

I just think Simmonds will score a ton with G, and I think Vinny will score more with Voracek's speed and passing ability creating room.

I think the biggest hurdle is that other divisional teams have improved while the Flyers, IMO, made lateral moves for the immediate future that will pay off in a year or two.

Long term the Flyers are in good shape, just this year I think they will be in a fight for a wild card
- Jsaquella

The Flyers didn't make many on-paper improvements, but they have a fairly young group of players that could account for other teams' improvements via acquisitions.

This also illustrates why in my own mind I switch Simmonds and Voracek on G's wing.

Schenn G Simmonds
? VLC Voracek
Read Couturier ?
? ? ?

?=Umberger, Raffle, Bella, Akeson et al.

I just think Simmonds will score a ton with G, and I think Vinny will score more with Voracek's speed and passing ability creating room.
- MBFlyerfan

I liked Berube's (either him or Hextall) idea about keeping duos together and building around them. Giroux/Voracek and Couturier/Read have great chemistry with each other and I'd hate to toy with that to see "what if?"

Are you implying that Streit is not already slow (litrilly)?
- jmatchett383

Well, he's no Bobby Orr, thats for sure!
My concern was more will age and/or injury start to effect his output or cause him to miss games. While he's not very fast, he still provides very good offensive production. In fact, when you consider that he got no time on the first pp unit, his numbers last year were very good. With Timonen gone, he is now a critical player, especially when it comes to the pp. With MDZ still really a question mark when it comes to what we can expect from him, Streit is their only dman who can reliably provide any offense

Are you implying that Streit is not already slow (litrilly)?
- jmatchett383

The Flyers didn't make many on-paper improvements, but they have a fairly young group of players that could account for other teams' improvements via acquisitions.
- jmatchett383

True, and I'm not sure how much some really improved

I don't think the Pens or Rangers got any better.

On paper Columbus improved, but it's a moot point if they don't get Johansen signed by opening day.

The Isles improved a lot in goal, but they still have holes on D and depth issues

The Devils are counting on significant offense from some very old players.

The Hurricanes suck

The Caps are an enigma. They could finish anywhere from 75-105 points and I wouldn't really be surprised. It most likely comes down to does Ovie buy into Trotz's system. If yes, they will a good team, if no, they could quickly become a train wreck.