So why couldn't he have said something along the lines of, "We haven't been playing well enough to win, collectively. However, I've seen enough positives over this time that I believe that this group can get this turned around shortly."

Is that too much to ask?
- jmatchett383

He didn't use those exact words but that's the gist of what I got from his comments.

Honestly, that is what I got out of what he said. He just didn't say it that way for whatever reason. I have my own opinions on that as stated above.
- MBFlyerfan

He didn't use those exact words but that's the gist of what I got from his comments.
- Scoob

I agree, but at the same time, it's a much better (and more accurate, to me) way to say it. When a team is 0-9 and you say, "We're not playing poorly," there's really no way to paint it well.

To me the difference between "not playing poorly" and "not playing well enough to win" totally change the way you're interpreted.

I agree, but at the same time, it's a much better (and more accurate, to me) way to say it. When a team is 0-9 and you say, "We're not playing poorly," there's really no way to paint it well.
- jmatchett383

And hence, we are ALL talking about Hexy and his comments, and not talking about Hak, or the players.

pressure....off

Honestly I don't see what purpose the Hextall presser served....if you want to give a vote of confidence to both players and coach you don't have to do it through the media.

Honestly I don't see what purpose the Hextall presser served....if you want to give a vote of confidence to both players and coach you don't have to do it through the media.
- landros 2

IMO the purpose was to put the focus on him, and take some of it off the team and coach.

And hence, we are ALL talking about Hexy and his comments, and not talking about Hak, or the players.

pressure....off
- MBFlyerfan

Okay, that's great, the pressure is off of the players and coaches.

When will they start playing well enough to win consistently with the players and coaches they currently have? That's all I really care about.

Honestly I don't see what purpose the Hextall presser served....if you want to give a vote of confidence to both players and coach you don't have to do it through the media.
- landros 2

well I am not sure if anyone has said the name Brandon Manning today, so it is working somewhat

And hence, we are ALL talking about Hexy and his comments, and not talking about Hak, or the players.

pressure....off
- MBFlyerfan

shouldn't there be that pressure? isn't pressure a good thing ? winners handle pressure better then losers.

well I am not sure if anyone has said the name Brandon Manning today, so it is working somewhat
- YuenglingJagr

I have, twice. Then I got side tracked to spending money to buy pseudo money.

well I am not sure if anyone has said the name Brandon Manning today, so it is working somewhat
- YuenglingJagr

true...but that ain't gonna change what Brandon Manning is.

shouldn't there be that pressure? isn't pressure a good thing ? winners handle pressure better then losers.
- landros 2

Veterans also handle it better than rookies and younger players.

I have, twice. Then I got side tracked to spending money to buy pseudo money.
- jmatchett383

I was trying to take the focus off the Flyers

true...but that ain't gonna change what Brandon Manning is.
- landros 2

an elite tire fire

Okay, that's great, the pressure is off of the players.

When will they start playing well enough to win consistently with the players and coaches they currently have? That's all I really care about.
- jmatchett383

I don't know, why are you asking me? Stop acting as if I am Hexy.

And we care about the same thing. I want them to start playing well. I went in to this season with the expectation that the team would start off trying to feel their way and hopefully improve as the season went on and the kids got more acclimated.

I doubt, even with the exact same roster, that this will be the same team in March than it is now. Just my opinion.

shouldn't there be that pressure? isn't pressure a good thing ? winners handle pressure better then losers.
- landros 2

Veterans handle pressure better than youngsters too.

I don't know, why are you asking me? Stop acting as if I am Hexy.

And we care about the same thing. I want them to start playing well. I went in to this season with the expectation that the team would start off trying to feel their way and hopefully improve as the season went on and the kids got more acclimated.

I doubt, even with the exact same roster, that this will be the same team in March than it is now. Just my opinion.
- MBFlyerfan

Wait, you're not Hextall??

I believe he thinks they are playing better than their record indicated even stating that if they were .500 or close to it over that stretch it would make more sense. That statement told me what I needed to know about what he was really saying.

Hexy thinks they have been average and that a few breakdowns here and there are why they are winless in 9. It is what it is.

IMO he was trying to send a message to the team more so than the fans or the media.

The message was, IMO, we have been in all of these games, we have had leads and multiple goal leads in many of them. We need to clean up the undisciplined play, learn to play with a lead at the NHL level, and not get too down on ourselves personally or as a team.

Im sure the young kids appreciate hearing that.
- MBFlyerfan

They need to get in shape too...
This summer the whole team should be mandated to go work out with Provy.
Guy can do back to back 25 min games standing on his head.

Honestly I don't see what purpose the Hextall presser served....if you want to give a vote of confidence to both players and coach you don't have to do it through the media.
- landros 2

I think he was trying to calm people down. There were chants to fire the coach after all. But I think he unintentionally came off as complacent for a club with some pretty significant issues.

They need to get in shape too...
This summer the whole team should be mandated to go work out with Provy.
Guy can do back to back 25 min games standing on his head.
- Konalover

I don't think that is possible. Provy goes the Jammy Jagr school of working out. Mere mortals would collapse.

I think he was trying to calm people down. There were chants to fire the coach after all. But I think he unintentionally came off as complacent for a club with some pretty significant issues.
- hereticpride

We can probably debate whether it was unintentional. I think he knew exactly what he was doing. He even had that Hexy half smirk on his face while he was doing it.

Veterans also handle it better than rookies and younger players.
- jmatchett383

of course....that comes with experience. Sad but it's the rookies who probably will suffer the most from this. Hence why Hextall had stated he wanted the young guys to grow in a "winning environment". I guess they move on to plan "B".

Honestly I don't see what purpose the Hextall presser served....if you want to give a vote of confidence to both players and coach you don't have to do it through the media.
- landros 2

He wants the "coach is going to be fired" stuff to die down. (Not that it really is going to help because this team is awful.) Otherwise, everyone wants to know why there was a closed door meeting just after the game.

I don't think that is possible. Provy goes the Jammy Jagr school of working out. Mere mortals would collapse.

- MBFlyerfan

Natural selection will be our way to a cup then. We can only have a team of Machines!!!

At the start of the season, I felt that if all key players stayed healthy, Giroux was able to bounce back and the rest of the vets did what they usually do and the goaltending was at least marginally better than last year, that they would finish with 92-95 points and be a bubble team.

So, they already lost AMac for a month, Gudas for 10 games due to abject stupidity, Patrick for a few weeks, and Simmonds seems to be playing injured. So much for staying healthy. Add to that some other vets that are underperforming and Ghost regressing quickly after a fast start and this is what you are going to get. Honestly, if it wasn't for Provorov and Couturier, this team would be right down there with Buffalo and Arizona.

They had no wiggle room for injuries or any other miscues. At this point, I expect them to move some vets and finish with 82-87 points. They will be looking at a top 10 pick and possibly top 5 or even 3 with a little luck.

I can live with this. But next year is when I have to see some serious strides being made towards contention. This is the last year I'm willing to be patient.

I don't know, why are you asking me? Stop acting as if I am Hexy.

And we care about the same thing. I want them to start playing well. I went in to this season with the expectation that the team would start off trying to feel their way and hopefully improve as the season went on and the kids got more acclimated.

I doubt, even with the exact same roster, that this will be the same team in March than it is now. Just my opinion.
- MBFlyerfan

But that's my issue. I really don't care what Ron Hextall has to say, but it seems clear to me that this team, as constructed, is broken. Whether it's the coaches, players, a mix...something(s) is not working right now.

I totally understand why he said it. Really, I do. But there's no way that's how he feels in his heart, and that is why I don't think it even deserves being discussed.

For the record, I didn't start discussing it to any extent until you made the post about the difference about behind closed doors vs. in public.