Great post!
- SuperSchennBros

That comment by bill is what I meant by I’ve noticed lately i tend to disagree with him a little more lately. Not calling bill a homer or anything but man o man come on. I always respected how bill would point out the whole 3/4 of the season compared to 1/4 of season of argument but maybe it’s just me but seems to have flipped. A little too much rose colored glasses imo

He is bust so far. That’s 100% fact. Get his Johnson out of your mouth. Drafted 6 years ago and has played what 10 games. If that isn’t a bust what is ? Let’s meet up for breakfast one day to discuss. My treat.

So yes I can say definitively as we sit here right now today he is a bust.
- daryl stanley

get my number off of joegrief

No offense but I find myself disagreeing with bill more and more lately. While I appreciate bill and his writing and articles are very well done and he’s an excellent writer I feel bill must be seeing things with rose colored glasses more and more. Saying ghost showed vast improvement in the d zone 2 seasons ago is just wrong imo. Maybe a slight improvement but expecting him to have a great array season last year was foolish. Ghost sucks in d zone. He is what he is. He’ll never be good. shattenkirk type at best. Not a bad pick in the 3rd round and has value is this league for sure because he can run a pp but he will never be more than a 5/6 dman that should be sheltered and a pp specialist. With us having provy Sanheim Myers York there’s 0 need for a ghost. Foolish to not trade him this season for assets
- SMS4016

1) I broke it down in a midseason blog during Ghost's 2017-18 season about how many good stick-on-puck plays he was making. He has always been good in the NZ but own-zone is a different story. That year, he was playing way better off-puck in his own zone (Hakstol even went on at length about it, and he and Gostisbehere hardly saw eye to eye for much of their time together). He'll never overpower anyone but he was playing the best all-around hockey of his career. He regressed last season defensively back to where he was in year 2.

2) York is not pro-ready this season and none among Sanheim (though the potential is there), Provorov nor Myers are currently NHL PP1 defensemen unless you go back to the old 3F/2D setup.

3) Name me 5 current NHL power play point D who are better at zone keeps than Gostisbehere. None of the Flyers other D are in his league at that particular (and underrated in importance to a PP) ability.

3) Hardly rose-colored glasses in this blog. It was as 50-50 as it gets. I wasn't happy with Ghost's season last year in pretty much any regard, including offensively.

4) Ghost has a very team-friendly contract. The Flyers still need that. And if he ultimately is traded around the expansion draft -- or is the player the Flyers lose -- they will cross that bridge when they get to it.

Bounceback seasons from Provorov (still an unsigned RFA) and Gostisbehere, the continued progression of Sanheim and veteran stability from newcomers Matt Niskanen and Justin Braun are the fulcrum of the Flyers' hopes for icing a more effective blueline corps this season. In each and every case, there should be plenty of motivation for each player to put his best foot forward.
- bmeltzer

With 8 d-men, unless there is a significant injury, I have to guess someone will be traded. Whether that happens in preseason or after New Years doesn’t seem as important as making the right call on who. It’s reasonable to expect that the coaches will need to have the opportunity to see each guy and work with them before making the call. Ghost has as good of chance as half of them to stay. It should be super competitive. Hopefully this means the defense will be much improved.

I’d like to say I won’t be unhappy with any of the trade options, but I truthfully have a soft spot for Morin. I am rooting for him to make the team.

Didn’t Devon setagucchi score 50 goals in a season one time? And was out of the league a couple seasons later? Because he sucked and just caught lightning in a bottle one season. That’ll be ghost and the delusional he’s a good dman 65 point season back in the day
- SMS4016

Cheechoo did something once also

Really bill? “In the first quarter of the season” and the sabres won 10 straight games last year and look at how bad they suck. Every team and player has hot/cold streaks in season and even years. What did ghost do the other 3/4 of season?
- SMS4016

Ummm... he had a career year. Was with Provorov the other 3/4 of the season after playing well with Hägg the first 1/4.

Ummm... he had a career year. Was with Provorov the other 3/4 of the season after playing well with Hägg the first 1/4.
- bmeltzer

Okay, what about the other three out of four seasons, that you don’t have to Dissect?

That comment by bill is what I meant by I’ve noticed lately i tend to disagree with him a little more lately. Not calling bill a homer or anything but man o man come on. I always respected how bill would point out the whole 3/4 of the season compared to 1/4 of season of argument but maybe it’s just me but seems to have flipped. A little too much rose colored glasses imo
- SMS4016

Again, not at all calling for a Gostisbehere trade but if I could get a redo of late June, I would have traded Ghost for Kadri without a second thought. This means, Ghost is traded for a playing making the same amount of money and we fill a hole. No ridiculous amount of money is being spent on Hayes. I never would have traded two draft picks for Braun. I would have traded Gudas for Niskanen but not taking any of Gudas’ salary back. I still would have bought out MacDonald. Also yes, I would have signed Simmonds to the deal he’s making right now.

My offseason

Okay, what about the other three out of four seasons, that you don’t have to Dissect?
- SuperSchennBros

Rookie season was outstanding offensively, and he was (deservingly) a Calder finalist despite him not playing the full season in the NHL and having off-puck issues. Year two was disappointing. Year three, which we already discussed, was a big leap forward. Year four, which is what the majority of yesterday's blog looked at, was a huge disappointment.

Okay, what about the other three out of four seasons, that you don’t have to Dissect?
- SuperSchennBros

He was a Calder finalist in 15/16, including setting a record for consecutive games scoring by a rookie D, and he only played about 2/3 of the season. And that was playing with guys like Manning and Schenn, not the most prolific puck movers.

So far, he's had 2 very good seasons and 2 disappointing ones. This season will be huge for him, and will decide his future.

Cheechoo did something once also
- 2Real

Cheechoo was a below-average skater at the time he was drafted but found ways to compensate and had outstanding chemistry with Thornton. Then Chechoo suffered bilateral hernias and his skating never got back even to its previous level. That, in a nutshell, was the No. 1 reason why his career fell off a cliff after his 56-goal and 37-goal seasons.

In Setoguchi's case, he had major off-ice issues that derailed him.

No offense but I find myself disagreeing with bill more and more lately. While I appreciate bill and his writing and articles are very well done and he’s an excellent writer I feel bill must be seeing things with rose colored glasses more and more. Saying ghost showed vast improvement in the d zone 2 seasons ago is just wrong imo. Maybe a slight improvement but expecting him to have a great array season last year was foolish. Ghost sucks in d zone. He is what he is. He’ll never be good. shattenkirk type at best. Not a bad pick in the 3rd round and has value is this league for sure because he can run a pp but he will never be more than a 5/6 dman that should be sheltered and a pp specialist. With us having provy Sanheim Myers York there’s 0 need for a ghost. Foolish to not trade him this season for assets
- SMS4016

It may be your opinion but that opinion is wrong in my opinion. Gostisbehere improved significantly in the defensive end 2 seasons ago. His positioning and stick work was solid and he wasn't hesitant in puck battles like he was last season. You say he'll never be more than a 5/6 defenseman but he has already been more than that in his career.

That comment by bill is what I meant by I’ve noticed lately i tend to disagree with him a little more lately. Not calling bill a homer or anything but man o man come on. I always respected how bill would point out the whole 3/4 of the season compared to 1/4 of season of argument but maybe it’s just me but seems to have flipped. A little too much rose colored glasses imo
- SMS4016

I love Bill's work, but he's not supernatural, either. He gives his take, you're allowed to disagree.

I've been saying for a while that I'm pretty confident we'll see a nice turnaround season from #53. I still don't like the log jam of defenseman as I think Morin is ready to step in and be a regular NHL contributor. He's got great mobility and range for his size and brings a nasty edge the Flyers sorely need with the departures of both Simmonds and Radko. I also can see Morin being a rock on the PK as he develops and rounds his game out.