Remember when we had a guy named Max Talbot? Another character guy who did his job well in a 3rd/4th line role. He made a cool 1.1 M and we made a horrific trade.
We could have had him ,then maybe Hextall would have thought twice about getting a return on Zombieburger and his4.6M to be that defensive forward.
- 3flyerkids

I thought Talbot was fine on the fourth line. The problem is that they were trying to play him on the third too much, to me

More minutes did not work for the Flyers, with Talbot.

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Remember when we had a guy named Max Talbot? Another character guy who did his job well in a 3rd/4th line role. He made a cool 1.1 M and we made a horrific trade.
We could have had him ,then maybe Hextall would have thought twice about getting a return on Zombieburger and his4.6M to be that defensive forward.
- 3flyerkids

People seem to forget, that until he got hurt, Steve Downie gave the Flyers a real shot in the arm. Unfortunately he had concussion issues, but prior to that he was a very effective guy for the Flyers and formed a good line with Couturier and Read

People seem to forget, that until he got hurt, Steve Downie gave the Flyers a real shot in the arm. Unfortunately he had concussion issues, but prior to that he was a very effective guy for the Flyers and formed a good line with Couturier and Read
- Jsaquella

Played a great 11 or so games. Almost as good as David Laliberte was.

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- Jsaquella

This has to be the post of the decade!!!

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- Jsaquella

I honestly cant see Laughton ever being more than a 3C and Couts ever becoming a consistant scoring threat.
- GOA88

Exactly right. Laughton and Couts are redundant. Long-term either one gets moved out of position, which is half of the problem with this team. Or, Laughton ends up centering the 4th line, which is a waste of his talent. Or, we go with G-Couts-Laughton and have no one to really take consistent pressure off of the G line.

Or...

We trade one of Laughton or Couts. I would just as soon package Laughton in a larger deal for a top-tier asset.

Played a great 11 or so games. Almost as good as David Laliberte was.
- jmatchett383

Nobody was as good as David Laliberte

People seem to forget, that until he got hurt, Steve Downie gave the Flyers a real shot in the arm. Unfortunately he had concussion issues, but prior to that he was a very effective guy for the Flyers and formed a good line with Couturier and Read
- Jsaquella

I remember him having a couple solid games with that line, aside from that I wouldn't have traded Talbot for him. Downie had a history of injuries and bad penalties.

People seem to forget, that until he got hurt, Steve Downie gave the Flyers a real shot in the arm. Unfortunately he had concussion issues, but prior to that he was a very effective guy for the Flyers and formed a good line with Couturier and Read
- Jsaquella

I was one who hated that trade from the get go. Not as much from a perspective of losing Talbot, even though he was perfect for his role on the team. It was because of the attitude that Downie was gonna bring a lot of offense to the team.

Downie is not the kind of player the team needs. He's what they have...gritty, above average players who can score close-in goals, greasy goals or sometimes get in position to score if someone can give them the puck.

It was more of a continuation of the "Flyers" mindsight that ticked me off.

I love that future down the middle. Couturier already scored at a 2nd line level at ES last season. When you consider his deployment and the prohibitive situations he plays in, to scoring, pretty strong.
- MJL

Well we'll agree to disagree.

Oh, and you're wrong.

Exactly right. Laughton and Couts are redundant. Long-term either one gets moved out of position, which is half of the problem with this team. Or, Laughton ends up centering the 4th line, which is a waste of his talent. Or, we go with G-Couts-Laughton and have no one to really take consistent pressure off of the G line.

Or...

We trade one of Laughton or Couts. I would just as soon package Laughton in a larger deal for a top-tier asset.
- TheGreat28

I'm open to trading Laughton. I cant see his value ever being higher than it is now. But you know as soon as we trade him he will be the next great 2-way forward and captain multiple stanley cup teams.

I remember him having a couple solid games with that line, aside from that I wouldn't have traded Talbot for him. Downie had a history of injuries and bad penalties.
- 3flyerkids

I didn't mind it at the time, or afterward. Raffl and now Bellemare, have replaced what Talbot brought, and Downie was pretty effective for most of November and that line was really solid for the Flyers, until Downie had to miss time. Then Vinny got plopped there and they lost effectiveness.

Talbot's $1.75mm cap hit wasn't bad, but he's not especially missed. The Flyers miss what Adam hall brought more, especially on the PK

I thought Talbot was fine on the fourth line. The problem is that they were trying to play him on the third too much, to me

More minutes did not work for the Flyers, with Talbot.
- AllInForFlyers

Didn't like Talbot, happy we dumped another overinflated contract.

Listen guys we suck, but we have to keep clearing out contracts.

Talbot and Hartnell deals all go into that bucket. Are we really a Contender anyway hanging onto these guys?

Let Hexy execute his plan. Patience, patience, patience we're going to suck for a little while

I'm open to trading Laughton. I cant see his value ever being higher than it is now. But you know as soon as we trade him he will be the next great 2-way forward and captain multiple stanley cup teams.
- GOA88

Oh, of course. That's a given

Seriously though, like everyone else I wouldn't trade him for a short-term fix. It would have to be a young forward for a team that needs a gritty center who can chip in 15-20 goals. I would just make it a bigger deal with someone like Coburn to get a stud winger and maybe a pick back.

Flyers just need to suck it up until Raffl gets back -- trades don't appear to be a real answer and I have no problem with Laughton and the other young guys learning on the farm

I want them to make the playoffs, think they can. Think they wiil, somehow. But some of these guys need to play better, and I don't know that all of them are capable. Some can, but I have doubts about some others

Coburn has been god awful so far in the games he has played.

Its pretty obvious that we can win games without him.
- GOA88

He hasn't played very well. The PK has been comically bad. Putrid.

I was one who hated that trade from the get go. Not as much from a perspective of losing Talbot, even though he was perfect for his role on the team. It was because of the attitude that Downie was gonna bring a lot of offense to the team.

Downie is not the kind of player the team needs. He's what they have...gritty, above average players who can score close-in goals, greasy goals or sometimes get in position to score if someone can give them the puck.

It was more of a continuation of the "Flyers" mindsight that ticked me off.
- TheGreat28

I think he brought grit and toughness to the line with Couturier and Read. He did good work with those two, unfortunately, after he came back around New Year's he wasn't the same player.

I don't mind losing Talbot that much. He was a good role player, but I wouldn't trade Raffl or Bellemare for him

Didn't like Talbot, happy we dumped another overinflated contract.

Listen guys we suck, but we have to keep clearing out contracts.

Talbot and Hartnell deals all go into that bucket. Are we really a Contender anyway hanging onto these guys?

Let Hexy execute his plan. Patience, patience, patience we're going to suck for a little while
- Just5

You wanna buy all my season tix for the next 3 seasons?

Exactly right. Laughton and Couts are redundant. Long-term either one gets moved out of position, which is half of the problem with this team. Or, Laughton ends up centering the 4th line, which is a waste of his talent. Or, we go with G-Couts-Laughton and have no one to really take consistent pressure off of the G line.

Or...

We trade one of Laughton or Couts. I would just as soon package Laughton in a larger deal for a top-tier asset.
- TheGreat28

As long as we know 20 pro games into Laughton's career exactly what his career ceiling is. I thought we were trying this whole "patience" and "development" thing though.

Didn't like Talbot, happy we dumped another overinflated contract.

Listen guys we suck, but we have to keep clearing out contracts.

Talbot and Hartnell deals all go into that bucket. Are we really a Contender anyway hanging onto these guys?

Let Hexy execute his plan. Patience, patience, patience we're going to suck for a little while
- Just5

Don't want them to suck, do want at least two contracts addressed, know one of them will be

I didn't mind it at the time, or afterward. Raffl and now Bellemare, have replaced what Talbot brought, and Downie was pretty effective for most of November and that line was really solid for the Flyers, until Downie had to miss time. Then Vinny got plopped there and they lost effectiveness.

Talbot's $1.75mm cap hit wasn't bad, but he's not especially missed. The Flyers miss what Adam hall brought more, especially on the PK
- Jsaquella

Hall is missed as he was also a good face off man. I was just thinking If Talbot was still on this team maybe just maybe Hextall would have looked for a better deal than what he received for Hartnell. Talbot also worked well on PK and we were told that Zombie would bring a solid D game and unfortunately he just has not even shown up to the state of PA.

Don't want them to suck, do want at least two contracts addressed, know one of them will be
- AllInForFlyers

Which one is that, and how will it be addressed?

Didn't like Talbot, happy we dumped another overinflated contract.

Listen guys we suck, but we have to keep clearing out contracts.

Talbot and Hartnell deals all go into that bucket. Are we really a Contender anyway hanging onto these guys?

Let Hexy execute his plan. Patience, patience, patience we're going to suck for a little while
- Just5

You are probably right, the 40 year cup drought weighs heavy on this franchise, and the fan base. I think Hextall does have a plan, it's easier to sit through a semi-rebuild when there has been a recent championship, but always chasing last year's Cup winner is one of the reasons why they are currently in this situation.

The cupboard isn't totally barren by any means. I'm fairly confident that Hextall can build a solid nucleus around Giroux and Voracek while they are still in their primes.

Played a great 11 or so games. Almost as good as David Laliberte was.
- jmatchett383

Fact: David Laliberte's last name can be translated from the French into "The Liberty".

You're welcome.