A trade for a surplus forward with a smaller contract seems more likely to me, e.g. Moulson.
- Feanor

a team like buffalo doesn't want to take on that deal as they will have to pay some peeps in the next few years...they are better off letting moulsons deal expire.

A trade for a surplus forward with a smaller contract seems more likely to me, e.g. Moulson.
- Feanor

Moulson is what, 5 million per?

How many more years is his deal?

a team like buffalo doesn't want to take on that deal as they will have to play some peeps in the next few years...they are better off letting moulsons deal expire.
- rinaldo

They might have some interest, they've said that they are still looking for a veteran LH shooting Dman who can play in all situations.

Throw Amac a right handed stick and tell Chiarelli we need Eberle.

MDZ, Streit and Schultz only have one year left on their contracts. Manning is still unsigned. Hakstol used MacDonald more than Schultz and Manning after he was recalled. So I really have no idea why you'd expect MacDonald to be in the minors for four more years.
- Feanor

Never said he would be in the minors for four more years. But if it is getting a 2.5 million savings or 900k, I would retain the money.

I think the odds of Hextall being willing to retain $2.5m for four years on MacDonald are about the same that Hextall was willing to offer Ryan White two years at $1.5m. Zero, in other words.
- Feanor

So people around here are more happy to have Dale Weise and Boyd Gordon both over Ryan White? I really liked White. I thought he showed character on the ice by stirring the pot. Far from perfect but he worked hard, one of our more gritty players on last season's roster and his offensive ability seemed to heavily overshow what Bellemare and Vandevelde could bring offensively.

AMac was fine after his call up. Saving 900k aside, I don't think an AHL assignment out of camp is a good use of the player. Unlike Weal, who needs quality minutes. Also AMac as 5-7 on the Flyers is a fine albeit expensive role.

The big question mark is Provorov. If he makes the team, you have 8 defensemen. Assuming Morin or Hagg, etc. don't.

I don't see the coaching staff evaluating Provorov, Morin, etc. again AMac or Manning. From what Hexstall says they will play if they are ready, otherwise be sent down.

If any of them are ready, I think that is when you see Hexstall maybe thinking retaining 2.5 mil isn't such a bad idea.

MacDonald at $5 million for four more is pretty simple: He's here until the Flyers eat some cash. No clue whether they will or not. I can see arguments for both

It's very true that people hate the contract more than the player. No way he takes the heat that he does on here if he were making half the money.

That said, on the ice he is so soft. It drives me nuts. Whatever. What's been done has been done. He's not exactly the worst this team has ever had, but I do wish Hextall could work some of his magic to do something.

So people around here are more happy to have Dale Weise and Boyd Gordon both over Ryan White? I really liked White. I thought he showed character on the ice by stirring the pot. Far from perfect but he worked hard, one of our more gritty players on last season's roster and his offensive ability seemed to heavily overshow what Bellemare and Vandevelde could bring offensively.
- roenick97

I would rather have Dale Weise than Ryan White, yes

Paul Holmgren did not just "stick" Ron Hextall with the contract. Hextall, who was named GM shortly afterwards, was very much involved in the negotiation and was agreed to the deal. If there is blame to be assigned for what has turned into an unfavorable deal for the Flyers, it is a shared one.

Great point. I think Hextall receives the benefit of the doubt way too often and I have not been all that impressed with all of his moves.

I think Hextall has drafted extremely well and give him full credit there. All according to what I've read - I've never seen any of the guys actually play...

Getting rid of the Lecavalier & Pronger contracts I thought were good moves, especially in that we got Gagner with the Pronger one. The Schenn deal was whatever. And he's been able to plug some D-man holes with some serviceable and cheap options.

But...he was part of the team in LA when the Richards deal went down, so I think we all can agree the Flyers got the better end of that one. I thought at the time the Hartnell deal was awful and not worth the 1 year (?) that the contract would earlier end.

So while I don't think Hextall is awful, I also don't think he's as good as everybody thinks he is. Other than his drafting, I feel every other aspect is kind of underwhelming.

So people around here are more happy to have Dale Weise and Boyd Gordon both over Ryan White? I really liked White. I thought he showed character on the ice by stirring the pot. Far from perfect but he worked hard, one of our more gritty players on last season's roster and his offensive ability seemed to heavily overshow what Bellemare and Vandevelde could bring offensively.
- roenick97

All the things you just described about White are things you're going to like about the upgraded version in Weise.

So people around here are more happy to have Dale Weise and Boyd Gordon both over Ryan White? I really liked White. I thought he showed character on the ice by stirring the pot. Far from perfect but he worked hard, one of our more gritty players on last season's roster and his offensive ability seemed to heavily overshow what Bellemare and Vandevelde could bring offensively.
- roenick97

I liked him too, but he's one of those guys who if he stayed cool, if not, oh well.

Throw Amac a right handed stick and tell Chiarelli we need Eberle.
- SimmerDown17

I would look at Vancouver. They need help on the back end and he could probably slide into the 4-5 range for them.

Could you add a pick(3rd rounder) and maybe get a player like Brendan Gaunce?

Looking at the Vancouver do though he could fit there.

I think the odds of Hextall being willing to retain $2.5m for four years on MacDonald are about the same that Hextall was willing to offer Ryan White two years at $1.5m. Zero, in other words.
- Feanor

That's 4 years of +2.5 million on the books, so it isn't really a bad move, especially with all the prospects on the way set to play on ELCs. Unless the plan is to hold onto AMac for a few more seasons in the hope someone will take his $5mm contract when he's that much older.

No way. He's Homer's mistake. Hextall is perfect.

So people around here are more happy to have Dale Weise and Boyd Gordon both over Ryan White? I really liked White. I thought he showed character on the ice by stirring the pot. Far from perfect but he worked hard, one of our more gritty players on last season's roster and his offensive ability seemed to heavily overshow what Bellemare and Vandevelde could bring offensively.
- roenick97

I am.

Gordon is excellent on faceoffs and a much PKer than White and Weise is just a better all around player than White in pretty much every aspect of the game.

I do believe Macdonald's name will be next to Ghost on Day 1 of camp. That pairing gained Hakstol's trust down the stretch and Ghost clearly looked comfortable playing with him, even after both suffered injury. Macdonald had a terrible camp last year and deserved to start in the minors. It will be up to him to start strong and solidify his spot this season.

MDZ-Gudas
Macdonald-Ghost
Provorov-Streit
Schultz
Manning

I cant see andy mac getting taken in any expansion draft unless he really plays well. There will be better and cheaper options available imo.

they need to forget how much he makes as it is a sunk cost. Put him in a position to succeed and go from there. if that is the bottom pair then so be it.
- rinaldo

This is how I feel. Like Bill mentioned in the blog, he was regarded as all-situations type d-man who played against top lines. They're not asking him to do that anymore. Most of us would be fine if he was a serviceable #4/#5 guy who can step up when a guy is injured. At the end of the day, I'd rather not have a 2.5 dead cap for 4 years (or 3 years for that matter). It's simply poor cap management.

AMac is a sunk cost. He had potential. It's not as if he's dealing with injuries, so the potential should still be there. Sure it's easy to pile on the overpaid, under-producing player. We all love to play the cap game, myself included. But at some point, ranting about AMac starts to become an indictment on the fan and their lack of education. A player's cap hit shouldn't come into play when you watch them during a game. They either play their assigned role or they don't.

All the things you just described about White are things you're going to like about the upgraded version in Weise.
- Baxter27

Considering Weise is signed for 4 times as long and 3 times as expensive as White, I hope it's a hell of an upgrade!

Weise is payed at the level of a third line player, not a 4th line grinder. Comparing White and Weise is silly. The more appropriate comparison would be White and Gordon. White obviously is a far superior player to Gordon. This is another mistake by Hextall

I do believe Macdonald's name will be next to Ghost on Day 1 of camp. That pairing gained Hakstol's trust down the stretch and Ghost clearly looked comfortable playing with him, even after both suffered injury. Macdonald had a terrible camp last year and deserved to start in the minors. It will be up to him to start strong and solidify his spot this season.

MDZ-Gudas
Macdonald-Ghost
Provorov-Streit
Schultz
Manning
- Baxter27

That top 6 is a pretty undersized group, and only Gudas brings any physical play whatsoever. They could succeed at ES and certainly on the PP, but the PK could be ugly.

Considering Weise is signed for 4 times as long and 3 times as expensive as White, I hope it's a hell of an upgrade!

Weise is payed at the level of a third line player, not a 4th line grinder. Comparing White and Weise is silly. The more appropriate comparison would be White and Gordon. White obviously is a far superior player to Gordon. This is another mistake by Hextall
- acd513

I'm not sure that White is a "far superior" player than anyone in the NHL, and I'd rather have Gordon. His ability to win D zone and PK faceoffs to me is worth much more than anything White brings to the table and that's without factoring in that it will also allow Giroux to start more shifts in the O zone.

This is how I feel. Like Bill mentioned in the blog, he was regarded as all-situations type d-man who played against top lines. They're not asking him to do that anymore. Most of us would be fine if he was a serviceable #4/#5 guy who can step up when a guy is injured. At the end of the day, I'd rather not have a 2.5 dead cap for 4 years (or 3 years for that matter). It's simply poor cap management.

AMac is a sunk cost. He had potential. It's not as if he's dealing with injuries, so the potential should still be there. Sure it's easy to pile on the overpaid, under-producing player. We all love to play the cap game, myself included. But at some point, ranting about AMac starts to become an indictment on the fan and their lack of education. A player's cap hit shouldn't come into play when you watch them during a game. They either play their assigned role or they don't.
- steelydan

MacDonald is what he is. He's an average top 4 defenseman, who is decent all around but not great in any one area. He is capable of playing solid minutes, in a lot of situations. He plays a cautious style, that some don't like. I understand that. We all agree that he is overpaid. For now, in my opinion, the best thing the Flyers can do is put him in the lineup and play him.

That's 4 years of +2.5 million on the books, so it isn't really a bad move, especially with all the prospects on the way set to play on ELCs. Unless the plan is to hold onto AMac for a few more seasons in the hope someone will take his $5mm contract when he's that much older.
- wolfhounds

I don't get why people are so apt to advocate this type of move. AMac is young enough where he could still fix an aspect or two of his game. I'm not sayign that we hold onto him because he could be our next MDZ. But if this team continues to improve on the blue line with prospects, then AMac should start to look more comfortable out there and start to build his value back up. I find it hard to believe that there wouldn't be any takers at all.

MacDonald is what he is. He's an average top 4 defenseman, who is decent all around but not great in anyone area. He is capable of playing solid minutes, in a lot of situations. He plays a cautious style, that some don't like. I understand that. We all agree that he is overpaid. For now, in my opinion, the best thing the Flyers can do is put him in the lineup and play him.
- MJL

I'm not necessarily disagreeing, but if any of Provorov, Morin or Hagg makes the team, they will have to do something.

Gudas, MDZ, Streit, and Ghost are locks to be in the lineup, and Schultz, due to his value on the PK, is a near lock as well. If a kid takes the 6th spot, do you carry AMac as a 7th and waive Manning, carry 8 D, waive AMac or retain what you need to retain in order to trade him?