Slow and steady stupid wins the race?
- PhillySportsGuy

Ftfy

How long of a rope does Hextall intend to give Berube?
Does anyone in the organization recognize and or admit to the poor makeup of this team? The lack of natural wingers and natural left wings in particular?

Homer really left a mess that is going to take YEARS to clean up.
- wbon22

Being a GM of the Flyers before was not unlike a spoiled 17 yoa girl being handed a bunch of plastic. Head out to the mall and just rack up the spending. Mommy and Daddy will bail me out. Mommy and Daddy warned the 17 yoa girl in 2004 about her spending and placed a limit on her spending. The spending continued in a roundabout way. She tricked her parents into being allowed to spend more than her limit by getting good grades in school. In 2012 her Mom and Dad offered to pay down 2 of her most expensive credit cards in an attempt to save her from her issues. What did the spoiled girl do? She took out yet another credit card behind her parents back.

The girl then married some rich wiener that's bailing her out of all her problems, and the parents are still left battered in poor credit rating.

What's the lesson? The girl is a spoiled brat but the parents were the vehicle of the problems.

...But they're taking fewer penalties per game.
- jmatchett383

Thats the problem. Not enough practice for the PK

It actually may be possible to do a move like that, but we'd have to give either B-grade prospects or 2nd/3rd round picks in addition. Then again, Colorado is in serious need of scoring, and it may be possible to pass Vinny off as a sniper who isn't getting chances to due to linemates.
- jmatchett383

I seriously doubt that with the way that Lecavalier is playing right now, that any team is going to take on 3 more years of Lecavalier just to gain a 2/3 pick or a B prospect.

A little short-term pain for a lot of long-term gain.

I can live with that, but the again I'm not a STH.
- Tomahawk

We 'bout to Hinkie this motha(frank)a

The turnaround last year was fueled by G/Jake/Hartsy recovering from awful Oct/Nov starts and really catching fire in the stretch run.

Even if they start to get the expected levels of secondary scoring from Coots, Read and Vinny moving forward, I'm not sure the marginal gains from that would make much of a difference in terms of moving up in the standings. They'd still be one of the worst teams in the league at ES, still have glaring weak links throughout the chain, and still have to over-rely on the PP and top-line to see them through.

They got really lucky last year, even in pushing the Rangers to 7. They often got away with playing badly and still winning... we all knew that kind of hockey was unsustainable.
- Tomahawk

This is an excellent point. Add to it the fact that at some point G and Jake are likely to cool off a little, and those marginal gains become neutralized...or worse.

A little short-term pain for a lot of long-term gain.

I can live with that, but the again I'm not a STH.
- Tomahawk

I'm cancelling mine after this season. I was hesitant about renewing, and now I know why.

I seriously doubt that with the way that Lecavalier is playing right now, that any team is going to take on 3 more years of Lecavalier just to gain a 2/3 pick or a B prospect.
- MJL

Oh come on, and healthy VLC is a lock for at least 20-25 goals. No reason to expect anything else, and without any evidence of chronic injuries and nothing apparently physically wrong with his health, he's a steal.

We 'bout to Hinkie this motha(frank)a
- PhillySportsGuy

At least the Eagles had a huge win on Thanksgiving!!!
- NickTheKid87

Funny thing is i think they lose the next too now. The way the ebb and flow of schedules go I think they lose to Seattle and then Dallas. If they lost on Thanksgiving i think they beat Seattle and Dallas for a two game winning streak

We 'bout to Hinkie this motha(frank)a
- PhillySportsGuy

Yeah....that's working really well for them. They've got a reigning ROY who can't make a shot and refuses to hustle. A coach who thinks they're playing kickball. One of their major young players averaging like 3 points a game and gets muscled off the ball. And a rookie who is crippled.

2016 NBA Champions. If 30 or so teams fold.

Funny thing is i think they lose the next too now. The way the ebb and flow of schedules go I think they lose to Seattle and then Dallas. If they lost on Thanksgiving i think they beat Seattle and Dallas for a two game winning streak
- J35Bacher

#americanfootballbuzz

I seriously doubt that with the way that Lecavalier is playing right now, that any team is going to take on 3 more years of Lecavalier just to gain a 2/3 pick or a B prospect.
- MJL

Need to rig him up one of these:

This is an excellent point. Add to it the fact that at some point G and Jake are likely to cool off a little, and those marginal gains become neutralized...or worse.
- TheGreat28

If other players on this team start scoring, and just as importantly, start creating more chances and more offensive attack time, those gains will not be marginal. They will be huge for this team.

Have we fired Stevens and traded Carter yet?

Asking for a friend.

Right now, the only guys too valuable to move are Giroux and Voracek.

They have to avoid making a desperation trade. I'd rather see them make a few tweaks in the line up(split up Giroux and Voracek), bury the players who are anchors & slide up Bellemare to the top 9, split the defensive load carried by Couturier & Read between the top 3 lines, re-emphasize the focus on simple, smart play and see where they are in another month or two.

Splitting Giroux and Voracek should give them two lines that can be dangerous. Taking the defensive onus off Couturier and giving him more opportunity and perhaps a guy like Voracek on his wing should help his confidence while at the same time seeing how Laughton handles more responsibility. Rework the 2nd PP unit and PK units giving more responsibility to guys who are part of the future.

Shifting the focus back to simple, solid fundamentals will help a lot. Work on the outlet passing and focus on moving the puck smartly. Stop the weak blue line play both on offense and defense. Far too many dump ins when the Flyers have the puck and the blue line is given up far too easily when they don't.

What it boils down too is, there are things that can be changed, internally, before risking a trade where the other team either knows the Flyers are dealing from a position of weakness or is another team trying to shake up their situation.
- Jsaquella

I agree with your first two paragraphs, but wasn't what you discussed in your third paragraph supposed to be addressed during camp/preseason? The focus on the outlet pass, shortening the gap between the forwards and defense , and conditioning were all "supposed" to be Berube's main concerns, yes we haven't seen anything different....in fact, they got worse.

I was excited to give Berube a chance to lead this Flyers team as we turned the lavy page, but I don't think he knows how to handle certain personnel situations and maybe, just maybe he doesn't possess the technical knowledge we would have liked him to have.

We 'bout to Hinkie this motha(frank)a
- PhillySportsGuy

Not to that extent, but they should definitely not be afraid to be sellers at the TDL, even if they are within 5-10 points of the playoffs.

I wouldn't make any trades now unless it is a no brainer to help now and future. I also wait untill the deadline when playoff teams need depth and defenseman to unload any players. Guys like Read, Coburn, Grossmann and even Del Zotto, MacDonald and Simmonds if someone offered me a ransom.

I try to shed some money while bringing in some picks and prospects and then hope to end up in the top 2 of the draft. This is all contingent on being out of the playoff race at the TDL.

I think Morin will be ready for the big club next year and possibly Alt and maybe Gostisbere. Snaheim could be ready sooner then later if he can add some bulk like Morin did. If you can end up in top two of draft and get McDavid and Eichel they could slide to wing in the begining. Then you could still keep groiux with voracek and then maybe they rookie could play wing for Couturier to provide him a better offensive winger.

Bill or anyone, do you think hextall had a hand in the macdonald contract? do you think he had any input? He was the GM in waiting and I would think that he did. just looking for your thoughts.

Funny thing is i think they lose the next too now. The way the ebb and flow of schedules go I think they lose to Seattle and then Dallas. If they lost on Thanksgiving i think they beat Seattle and Dallas for a two game winning streak
- J35Bacher

Dallas has no shot winning here in a Sunday Night Game

I agree with your first two paragraphs, but wasn't what you discussed in your third paragraph supposed to be addressed during camp/preseason? The focus on the outlet pass, shortening the gap between the forwards and defense , and conditioning were all "supposed" to be Berube's main concerns, yes we haven't seen anything different....in fact, they got worse.

I was excited to give Berube a chance to lead this Flyers team as we turned the lavy page, but I don't think he knows how to handle certain personnel situations and maybe, just maybe he doesn't possess the technical knowledge we would have liked him to have.
- Fast_Eddie_1

It doesn't matter when or if it was addressed. Right now it's a massive issue and it needs to be the main focus of their work and attention. Until the fundamental play improves, very little else matters.

Start exiting the zone better, maintain control of the puck and you don't waste effort chasing the puck. If you move the puck smartly, it can mitigate a lot of potential issues, including weak defense, team speed and it can help to provide secondary scoring.

Dallas has no shot winning here in a Sunday Night Game
- KINGKENZO

I would normally think that but I also think playing indoor helps the birds. They can play faster. Also it is harder to sweep teams. When i saw the line was 3 from vegas i knew Birds would win. I'll be curious to see the line.

I agree with your first two paragraphs, but wasn't what you discussed in your third paragraph supposed to be addressed during camp/preseason? The focus on the outlet pass, shortening the gap between the forwards and defense , and conditioning were all "supposed" to be Berube's main concerns, yes we haven't seen anything different....in fact, they got worse.

I was excited to give Berube a chance to lead this Flyers team as we turned the lavy page, but I don't think he knows how to handle certain personnel situations and maybe, just maybe he doesn't possess the technical knowledge we would have liked him to have.
- Fast_Eddie_1

I don't question Berube's technical knowledge of the game. That's sound. Right now, the only questions I have are why can't this team start playing like a team? why can't they do the simple things like execute a 20 foot pass, or trap a 20 foot pass. Why can't they cover a point? And a whole host of other issues.

Anyone can watch the last Rangers game and see the technical issues. How the Rangers ran a simple quick up breakout shift after shift leading to a free skate, and easy zone entry. A pee wee coach can recognize that and formulate a neutral zone chcking scheme to combat it. The players have to get it done. It's a catch 22, because if the players aren't getting it done, then that ultimately falls on the coach.

The amazing thing is, going into that 5 day break they had, this team had won 6 of 8 games, and 3 in a row before that break. They come out of the break, and have been completely inept losing 7 of 8. How does that happen? It's mind boggling.

The amazing thing is, going into that 5 day break they had, this team had won 6 of 8 games, and 3 in a row before that break. They come out of the break, and have been completely inept losing 7 of 8. How does that happen? It's mind boggling.
- MJL

I definitely question the heart and desire from about 3/4 of this team. There might be issues behind the scenes we dont know about.

If this team gave it all they had every game, Im sure they would get a lot more respect. Win or lose.