I get all of that.

My issue is with him dismissing the fans at last night's game.

My issue is with him claiming they have been playing well. you dont play well for 9 games and somehow lose them all.

He came across as tone deaf last night, as out of touch. he totally dismissed the fans as not understanding what they are seeing.
- ggunky

Hate to say it, but GMs don't give a rats ass about the fans unless they stop buying tickets and merchandise. Until that happens, the opinions of the fans are meaningless.

I agree.

He came off as out of touch with what is truly being seen by the fans. Hextall doesn't only have a responsibility to the Team, management and coaches. He also has a responsibility to the fans.

This doesnt mean we need to know everything, but sometimes you need to placate to the fan base. Show that you get their concern or passion or whatever.

Last night he basically told the fan base that we don't see what we see and what is playing out before us isnt reality.
- ggunky

He acts like a man whose job isn't threatened. Just cause snider isn't around doesn't mean jobs are safe. We still have owners and the owners care less about a philosophy or 10 year rebuild they want one thing: money. If fans stop showing up and stop spending and keep booing. Things will get messy fast.

Lets be perfectly honest here. Had Holmgren been responsible for hiring Hakstol it would be a lot easier for Hextall to fire him..... But Hextall is responsible for this hire. He went out on the limb and hired a guy with no professional experience to help with this rebuild...opp's retool and we are now seeing a coach that appears to have no answers. Hak's probably wondering why Hextall can't or won't try to help this years team if even a little bit.
- landros 2

The dealings for other teams trash has to stop. They have accumulated enough depth coming up in the organization with all the mid level picks. If the flyers are a bottom 10 team come deadline, simmonds needs to be dealt for what ek was saying. A 1st and a solid prospect minimal. It’s a crystal clear picture actually

Hate to say it, but GMs don't give a rats ass about the fans unless they stop buying tickets and merchandise. Until that happens, the opinions of the fans are meaningless.
- BiggE

Ticket sales are tanking they were offering 10$ seats last night from the flyers. I remember when I paid 450 to sit in the last row in the stadium for a playoff game.

Hate to say it, but GMs don't give a rats ass about the fans unless they stop buying tickets and merchandise. Until that happens, the opinions of the fans are meaningless.
- BiggE

So true!

Last night i was shouting at my monitor to the fans:

STOP BOOING! LEAVE INSTEAD! EMPTY THE BUILDING!!!

The dealings for other teams trash has to stop. They have accumulated enough depth coming up in the organization with all the mid level picks. If the flyers are a bottom 10 team come deadline, simmonds needs to be dealt for what ek was saying. A 1st and a solid prospect minimal. It’s a crystal clear picture actually
- Just5

I don't deal him when his value is lowest. I also give him the start of next year and all of this year to see how he rebounds. And I definitely don't trade our most vocal leader while we are insanely fragile. He can be a next year in season trade if need be.

So true!

Last night i was shouting at my monitor to the fans:

STOP BOOING! LEAVE INSTEAD! EMPTY THE BUILDING!!!
- ggunky

Wasn't very full to begin with. Attendance was something like 72%. Problem is so many people bought tickets well ahead of time so ticket sales still show upper 90s

I don't think Hextall will have any problem firing Hak at seasons end if this team doesn't at least show some reasonable improvement. GM's fire coaches they've hired all the time. Clarke did it to Keenan, Murray, Cashman, Neilson (sort of), Ramsey, and Barber. Holmgren did the same to Stevens and Lavi.

It's the nature of the business. However, once he brings in his 2nd coach, the pressure on him will ratchet up a few notches. With Snyder gone, this team is more of a business than ever. Back to back years without playoffs plus having to pay a new coach and the last 2 years of Hakstol's deal will not make ownership happy. Hextall will be under enormous pressure to get this team into the playoffs in 18-19.
- BiggE

Clarke had a set. Say what you want about the Flyers under Clarke or Holmgren but at least they made it to the cup finals were competitive and there was always accountability ...Ronnie strikes me as having "the smartest guy in the room" syndrome. I guess we will see if he plan works over the next two three years. I hope people do realize that most rebuilds are failures. Look at how well Edmonton's is going? This franchise runs the risk of becoming a bottom dweller for years to come.

I have liked Ronnie's patient approach but even that has it's limits. All these prospects can't possibly make the Flyers. I mean this years it's Morin....next year it will be more youth that there simply won't be room for. These kids are only controllable for so long. Morin becomes waiver eligible next year....then what?

I mean even Bill has said Hextall wanted these kids to be brought into a winning environment. On that level he's failed.

Wasn't very full to begin with. Attendance was something like 72%. Problem is so many people bought tickets well ahead of time so ticket sales still show upper 90s
- Tfaehner

I did enjoy the Fire Hakstol chants.

If Hak is the coach come the next game, i think the chants should start pre-game.

This is beyond acceptable. This team has more talent then to not have a win for 9 straight games.

Someone said this earlier in the thread. The Flyers need to make on of those little moves, not the big dramatic face lifts. They need another glue guy. They need a forward who is a legit top 9 who can play 18 minutes, kill penalties, chip in the odd goal.

My personal preference would be to jettison Gudas, but they don't have a right handed blue liner without him.

Neither goalie has been the problem or the answer. How much the Stolarz injury is effecting Hextall's long term thinking or even short term is also a question.

Morin will be on the team next year, just like Laughton is on the team this year.

I don't deal him when his value is lowest. I also give him the start of next year and all of this year to see how he rebounds. And I definitely don't trade our most vocal leader while we are insanely fragile. He can be a next year in season trade if need be.
- Tfaehner

Expect him to rebound from his current play. He will be more valuable at the deadline this year with the cap number he has next year. If the flyers are a bottom 10 team come deadline, trade him. They have much more to gain going forward. Simmonds is a declining player

I did enjoy the Fire Hakstol chants.

If Hak is the coach come the next game, i think the chants should start pre-game.

This is beyond acceptable. This team has more talent then to not win 9 straight games.
- ggunky

Hasktol now has a worse winning percentage than Berube. Who had more talent?

That being said I really don't care who finishes this season as coach. At this point I see we are nowhere near contender status. There's 3 guys I really love in this draft. I'd take a top 3 pick right about now.

Someone said this earlier in the thread. The Flyers need to make on of those little moves, not the big dramatic face lifts. They need another glue guy. They need a forward who is a legit top 9 who can play 18 minutes, kill penalties, chip in the odd goal.

My personal preference would be to jettison Gudas, but they don't have a right handed blue liner without him.

Neither goalie has been the problem or the answer. How much the Stolarz injury is effecting Hextall's long term thinking or even short term is also a question.
- wbon22

I totally disagree. The Goalies dont stop the bleeding. WIN A FREAKING GAME FOR ONCE!!!

I don't get the fans accepting mediocre goaltending.

Morin will be up once Gudas is traded which will likely occur at or near the deadline. By that time, they will be pretty much out of playoff contention and Manning, who is in the last year of his deal and probably not part of the plan going forward, will go back to being the 7th Dman. Hopefully Ghost will be playing better by then and Morin will have a better partner to work with as well.
- BiggE

What, bench Saint Manning??? The team has some off obsession with playing him.

When we had multiple injuries, he stepped his game up and it was appreciated. But under no circumstances should he be playing the minutes he has recently. He's averaging 20+ minutes per game this month, slightly less than Hagg and more than both Ghost and Sanheim. I can get Ghost when protecting a lead, but the dude needs his minutes cut drastically.

So true!

Last night i was shouting at my monitor to the fans:

STOP BOOING! LEAVE INSTEAD! EMPTY THE BUILDING!!!
- ggunky

As much money as the tickets cost, I'm pretty cool with fans voicing their disapproval however they see fit within the bounds of decent human behavior.

I'm sorry if the players and front office had their feelings hurt with the booing*.

* - This is what a non-apology apology looks like

Morin will be on the team next year, just like Laughton is on the team this year.
- Feanor

And probabky vecchione and lindblom as well

The coach does need to try something new, so yeah, I guess it's time to break up the top line. I'd also keep Martel up and give him more ice time and some pp time on the 2nd unit too. Major changes should be tried on the PK as well.

G-Coots-TK
Martel-Patrick-Voracek
Weal-Laughton-Simmonds
Leier-Filppula-Raffl

Lehtera and Weise can go back to munching popcorn

The D is what it is as long as Gudas is out. But I might think hard about sitting Ghost, waiving Weise to make a roster spot and bringing Morin back up for couple more games. Ghost has been a dumpster fire defensively in recent games. However I doubt they will even consider doing that.

With Ghost staying in, I'd leave the top pp unit alone. My new second unit would be:
Provorov and Sanheim on the points, with Patrick, Martel and Tk down low. It doesn't give you a real net front presence, but it does give you 5 guys with good skills that all can move the puck both rapidly and accurately and it gives a lot of guys that can shoot the puck well too.

Re the PK, I'd roll with the following forward pair rotation:

Coots-Giroux, if you win the faceoff and get a quick clear, Simmonds can come on for Giroux
Laughton-Leier
Coots-Simmonds or Weal, I'd like to see Weal get a shot at PK
Then you finish it with Laughton paired with Leier or Filppula if a D zone faceoff is involved

On D during the Pk, roll with
Provorov-AMac
Provorov-Hagg, I'd have Provorov out there for at least the first 1:30 if he can handle it, I'd then replace him with Manning for the last few seconds. However in a crucial situation, like a 3rd period PK while holding a one goal lead or tied, I'd just rotate the top 3 guys.

Got to change something because what you've been doing certainly isn't working.

Wasn't very full to begin with. Attendance was something like 72%. Problem is so many people bought tickets well ahead of time so ticket sales still show upper 90s
- Tfaehner

And the GM knows this. Which means, as long as the team starts to play well at some point this season and/or he can make people believe that next years squad is a playoff team, the tickets will continue to be sold and the merch bought. That is all the post Snyder ownership likely cares about.

Right now he looks like a spare part.

Would you do something like Weal for Maroon? Just throwing a name out there. But he would add size and he does have good skill.

Out of a lot of guys on the roster I think he is easiest to move other then something big like Simmonds.

But my first option is to fire Lappy.
- J35Bacher

I disagree he is not a spare part. No I would not trade Weal for Maroon. Why?

Clarke had a set. Say what you want about the Flyers under Clarke or Holmgren but at least they made it to the cup finals were competitive and there was always accountability ...Ronnie strikes me as having "the smartest guy in the room" syndrome. I guess we will see if he plan works over the next two three years. I hope people do realize that most rebuilds are failures. Look at how well Edmonton's is going? This franchise runs the risk of becoming a bottom dweller for years to come.

I have liked Ronnie's patient approach but even that has it's limits. All these prospects can't possibly make the Flyers. I mean this years it's Morin....next year it will be more youth that there simply won't be room for. These kids are only controllable for so long. Morin becomes waiver eligible next year....then what?

I mean even Bill has said Hextall wanted these kids to be brought into a winning environment. On that level he's failed.
- landros 2

That last part is true. He could not have envisioned this. To me it seems like he’s putting a lot of the struggles on amac being out and possibly gudas being out

I have not heard one comment from hak or hex scrutinizing gudas for his piss poor play this year and dumb suspension. Hard to like how hex/hak have handles this

Someone said this earlier in the thread. The Flyers need to make on of those little moves, not the big dramatic face lifts. They need another glue guy. They need a forward who is a legit top 9 who can play 18 minutes, kill penalties, chip in the odd goal.

My personal preference would be to jettison Gudas, but they don't have a right handed blue liner without him.

Neither goalie has been the problem or the answer. How much the Stolarz injury is effecting Hextall's long term thinking or even short term is also a question.
- wbon22

If having a RH defenseman is really that critical, we could always sign Nate Guenin.

As much money as the tickets cost, I'm pretty cool with fans voicing their disapproval however they see fit within the bounds of decent human behavior.

I'm sorry if the players and front office had their feelings hurt with the booing*.

* - This is what a non-apology apology looks like
- johndewar

Don't misunderstand me. I was perfectly fine with the booing and the chanting.

My point was you would have a bigger impact if the building was empty\don't show up then simply booing\chanting.

And the GM knows this. Which means, as long as the team starts to play well at some point this season and/or he can make people believe that next years squad is a playoff team, the tickets will continue to be sold and the merch bought. That is all the post Snyder ownership likely cares about.
- BiggE

I cancelled my season tickets 2 years ago. I get a phone call every month asking me to come back. My same seats are still available in the lower bowl. They are hurting.

I would need to see significant moves made for me to believe were a playoff team. Sign tavares. Trade sanheim for oel. Draft svechnikov. Trade Elliot and simmer to Minnesota for dubnyk and a 1st rounder. All in one off season type stuff to make me believe we are a playoff team.

I disagree he is not a spare part. No I would not trade Weal for Maroon. Why?
- MJL

I'm with you here. Cheap controlled weal coming back from injury gets traded for idiot maroon who takes 30 penalties a night but has sand paper to him. Weal goes on to pot 40 next to mcdavid and draisalt.