There was one rush that stood out even more than the rest... Forget the kids names, but he BLEW by Schenn on the outside and created a breakaway from the blueline in. Mason was forced to make a very tough save.
- jak521

It was Bickell... and it was embarrassing.

Kimmo was the glue holding the house of cards together.
- Tomahawk

Damn straight. He sure was doing a lot of holding in his last two years.

Any trade the Flyers make right now would be a disaster. They are dealing from a position of complete weakness, and every team in the NHL knows it.
- jmatchett383

When are they ever not in that position

Puck. Moving. D-man.

**preferably not an overrated 4-5-6 guy with "potential"**
- jak521

At this point, I actually think that is not the way they should go. ONE dman is not going to take this team to the playoffs at this point. It may add a few wins, sure. But, really, meh.

They need to take steps for the next 2 or 3 years. Why add a dman now when you have Sanheim and Ghost in the wings for offensive dmen, and Hagg and Morin for the defensive side.

Their forward ranks are a mess. The whole is way less than the sum of the parts.

Read is farther along in age tho. I'd rather move him and keep Laughton or couturier. Besides Laughton or couts (now perhaps) could be those guys if you give them the chance.
- JoeRussomanno

I actually agree with this. Have to give up to get... I'd much rather deal Read than Laughton or Schenn or just about anyone younger.

I also agree with the sentiment that this ain't the time to be pulling the trigger on anything... unless Hexy likes being bent over that is.

Can we at least get ghost and manning out there for the third pair?!

Kane isnt playing to the best of his abilities. And hasn't for a while now it seems.

They have such a hole in their scoring depth thst they've had to again move Buff back to forward.

Their goalie is as pedestrian as they come.

Their team hasnt even sniffed the playoffs in god knows how long.

Outside of their core they are overall a very meh roster.


In two years if the Flyers hopes are to be the current Jets then the rebuild will have to be viewed as a failure.
- hereticpride

Why? The Flyers have been mired in mediocrity since the 2011 playoffs. They've gotten together by bandaiding their roster every year/TDL. The Jets/Thrashers tried the same thing, but didn't have the same appeal to players as the Flyers did. They finally wised up, and have a good collection of young players that they're beginning to incorporate into their team. Whether or not those players play to their best abilities (which I think has more to do with internal issues than on-ice issues) is a different story.

And as I said, the Flyers (and most teams) have a better starter.

When are they ever not in that position
- JoeRussomanno

In the offseason. At the draft. At the TDL. When another team suffers 1-2 crippling injuries. Any time they're not the 1-3-2.

It was Bickell... and it was embarrassing.
- Tomahawk

Also a good thing that Giroux stopped skating.

I actually agree with this. Have to give up to get... I'd much rather deal Read than Laughton or Schenn or just about anyone younger.

I also agree with the sentiment that this ain't the time to be pulling the trigger on anything... unless Hexy likes being bent over that is.
- Tomahawk

I bee a schenn supporter u til this year. Neither one does anything great or has seemed to improve in anything, I think they're stock plummets daily. Fire at will Ronnie

In the offseason. At the draft. At the TDL. When another team suffers 1-2 crippling injuries. Any time they're not the 1-3-2.
- jmatchett383

If we win tonight can we trade them?

In two years if the Flyers hopes are to be the current Jets then the rebuild will have to be viewed as a failure.
- hereticpride

Jets have two basic problems: 1) Pavelec, 2) Western Conference.

Otherwise, I'd much rather be them right now.

Can we at least get ghost and manning out there for the third pair?!
- JoeRussomanno

You know what? I'm not opposed to trying Manning or Alt right now. I mean, really, it can't hurt.

Good thing they sent Morin back down instead of giving him the 9 games. That's worked out well for all parties involved.

It was Bickell... and it was embarrassing.
- Tomahawk

Ahh, not that one.. I was talking about when Ben Smith blew past him... It was really terrifying.

Also a good thing that Giroux stopped skating.
- bradleyc4

Maybe if Schenn could hold a 7-step lead and good initial positioning over 1/3 of the ice, it wouldn't be an issue. I'm not sure why that's Giroux's fault.

Read is farther along in age tho. I'd rather move him and keep Laughton or couturier. Besides Laughton or couts (now perhaps) could be those guys if you give them the chance.
- JoeRussomanno

They need natural wingers. I'm not on the Schenn Sucks bandwagon yet because I really think they are playing him out of position. I vehemently disagree with the philosophy that we can take any old center and make him a winger. I have for years. Laughton and Couturier are both centers, pure and simple.

OK, so Holmgren thought Laughton was the best player available at the time. WRONG! by the way. I really wanted Maata, and how good would he have looked now. But if you are not drafting from a position of need, then you look at these guys as assets. And he might be your best asset.

At the airport, drinking has begun!

If we win tonight can we trade them?
- JoeRussomanno

Please tell me this is sarcasm.

Also, what do you realistically think the odds of that are after watching last night's game?

Why? The Flyers have been mired in mediocrity since the 2011 playoffs. They've gotten together by bandaiding their roster every year/TDL. The Jets/Thrashers tried the same thing, but didn't have the same appeal to players as the Flyers did. They finally wised up, and have a good collection of young players that they're beginning to incorporate into their team. Whether or not those players play to their best abilities (which I think has more to do with internal issues than on-ice issues) is a different story.

And as I said, the Flyers (and most teams) have a better starter.
- jmatchett383

With a backup and less than 100% starter The Flyers took the eventual Eastern Conference Champs to a game 7 last year. We are better than the Jets. I really don't know what else to say.

You know what? I'm not opposed to trying Manning or Alt right now. I mean, really, it can't hurt.

Good thing they sent Morin back down instead of giving him the 9 games. That's worked out well for all parties involved.
- jmatchett383

Yup... I just think the org has to look at what are the weakest links and can we at least improve on those... IMO the third pair is a disaster and even if you put them with other pairings u then weaken what you had. Time to at least try something different.

- bradleyc4

You can almost see him going "OK, it's one of their fat plugs, I can cut this guy off at the blue, he doesn't have the speed to burn me".... speed burst... "holy (frank), I knew I should have reviewed those scouting reports"

Read is farther along in age tho. I'd rather move him and keep Laughton or couturier. Besides Laughton or couts (now perhaps) could be those guys if you give them the chance.
- JoeRussomanno

That is what I am thinking. Read is a complimentary piece. I would rather Keep Couturier and Laughton. Couturier can be the 2nd line center moving forward if Laughton is our defensive 3rd line center. I build a package with guys like B. SChenn, Read, L.Schenn, Raffl, Grossmann, Del Zotto, Vinny are guys I would be ok moving

Fred Shero was a big believer in emotion: "Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion; you must first set yourself on fire". But he also had very talented teams and the best goalie in the world. Emotion and purpose will only take this team so far. If they fire on all cylinders they can beat mediocre teams and even good teams if they catch them flat footed. But that's a tall order in a long season. It's one thing to watch a young team or a newly formulated team go through going pains but knowing there will be a payoff when they jell. But with this group, I don't see it. In other words, IMHO by the time the Flyers are a serious Cup contender very few of the current members will be part of it.

With a backup and less than 100% starter The Flyers took the eventual Eastern Conference Champs to a game 7 last year. We are better than the Jets. I really don't know what else to say.
- hereticpride

Over a short interval, anything can happen. But in many cases it cannot be sustained. That is true of players and teams. Yes, we played well in that one series. Probably would have played the Penguins tough too. But I don't have any illusions that we would have gone much further last year. And this year too many teams moved forward, and we went backward (loss of Kimmo and Hartnell).

With a backup and less than 100% starter The Flyers took the eventual Eastern Conference Champs to a game 7 last year. We are better than the Jets. I really don't know what else to say.
- hereticpride

They almost won a playoff series. Plan the parade!