always possible. I love the Morin but he still has a lot to prove, Myers also. You can always use a 3rd pair cheap contract D man. do I think it is more likely the Flyers trade him at some point? Yes. I think they have enough in the system and on the roster that they will. It might not be this year but 1-3 years I think he is moved on. Hagg still has a chance to come into camp and show more, things can change
- wcorvette

3rd pair dman are readily available on the scrap heap. Haag also has an expiring contract and will surely want a raise, how much who knows. Haag will play no major part in the success or failure of the flyers going forward. Now if he is the 6th dman fine no issue with that. Ideally you want your 3rd pair making 3.2 or less combined.

Would you take andy mac at haags salary?

Where would Puljujarvi fit in the Flyers lineup?
- MJL

Third line has an opening, Patrick and Lindblom are both decent 200 foot players i think well, not so sure about JP.

So there is no possibility that Haag can refine parts of his game and become a better bottom pair defender? Become a better penalty killer? Learn to move the puck more efficiently?
- MJL

always possible. You fail to acknowledge that there is also the possibility he doesnt improve.

he is young he has to improve is your motto it appears.

https://edmontonjournal.c...-develop-jesse-puljujarvi

Interesting take on Puljujarvi

https://edmontonjournal.c...-develop-jesse-puljujarvi

Interesting take on Puljujarvi
- MBFlyerfan

if you can acquire him for robert fn haag you do it all day every day. Even if he turns out to be a stiff. Potential Reward well worth the low risk of dealing a 6th dman

So there is no possibility that Haag can refine parts of his game and become a better bottom pair defender? Become a better penalty killer? Learn to move the puck more efficiently?
- MJL

Isn't that something you can literally say about any player in the history of the league? Of course it's possible, anything is possible, the difference is I don't see it happening. I think we've seen his ceiling, which I see as lesser value than seeing what JP can bring

Where would Puljujarvi fit in the Flyers lineup?
- MJL

I think that would have to sort itself during camp. Just as I believe there is a possibility that Farabee makes the team and can take the 3rd LW spot in the lineup, or perhaps him playing as the first line LW with G and Coots, I think there would be a possibility for JP to fit on the third line, maybe second line, maybe as a speedster with some offensive skill on the 4th line and move Laughton to the 3rd line.

But my answer would be that camp would dictate where he would fit in the case that we trade for him.

https://edmontonjournal.c...-develop-jesse-puljujarvi

Interesting take on Puljujarvi
- MBFlyerfan

That article is a year and half old and I'm not sure the kid has gotten much better.

I would take a flyer on him at that 3rd line spot we have open. Right now, he's just not a top 6 player. I'm not giving up a lot for him tho. The Oilers have zero leverage in asking for anything that substantial for him.

https://edmontonjournal.c...-develop-jesse-puljujarvi

Interesting take on Puljujarvi
- MBFlyerfan

Dave Staples is a joke.

A few years ago, long-time NHL scout gave the best description of Voracek's shot that I've ever heard, "Highly skilled, big and strong playmaker and passer but he's a below-average shooter. He doesn't shoot the puck, he shovels it." Voracek is good at scoring on the rush/ breakaways and has a good backhander but he isn't a major threat elsewhere to finish off chances.

That said, he's scored 20+ goals in six of the last seven seasons. He'll always be a much better setup winger than finisher, but as long as he gets his 20 goals and the neighborhood of 50+ assists, he's effective.
- bmeltzer

I’ve heard this before. There is a difference between a slap shot and a wrist shot. I can see the shoveling in his one timer or his slap shot. With this said, If he can pass the puck with Accuracy and even Saucer it, he should be able to wrist the puck at will.

If he's shooting to get pucks on net for rebounds (and a few where he gets a bonus and it goes in), perhaps. I think, pretty much, what you see is what you get in terms of his shooting ability. He'll never be a sniper even if he shoots more. He'll still get most of his goals by taking the puck to the net, in scrambles in front, and a few open backhanders from the hash marks.
- bmeltzer

A brief compliment.
We talk of the components which stock the Flyers, staff, coaches, players and management. Our expectations are that they ALL attempt to contribute and as that process is followed the team and the individuals ALL become 'better'.
I've read your material for decades (?) (Jeez, you're old!) and I'm a 'better' fan now, having raised my capacity to discern the dross from the tapestries.
You, sir, are a great weaver and your technique has become ever more masterly.
When you burst out of being 'merely' civil and crunch the bones to get the marrow of truth, more accomplished, precise renderings of what exists and thus revealed rarely pass my eyes.
Ever.
It's only sports but damn, you are awfully good at informing me and I thank you for wasting my time in this triviality. It never FEELS trivial and I may become the 'fan' I was meant to. Involved and ready for the puck drops.
It's a great interruption of the flow of BS that dominates so much of our news and lives.
Sincerely, thanks.

For those of you who have The Athletic. A glowing critique of the game of Shutdown Seanie.

Ill post relevant exerpts:

https://theathletic.com/1...overstate-for-the-flyers/

The result of Couturier’s unique ability to push the Flyers to acceptable differentials at 5-on-5 — in addition to his heavy minutes, usefulness on PP1 and solid penalty drawn/taken differential — is that he absolutely crushes it by value-based metrics. In 2018-19, Evolving-Hockey’s Goals Above Replacement stat ranked Couturier seventh in the NHL among skaters. The year before, it ranked him second. Over the past two seasons combined, no skater has provided more value to his team by the GAR metric than Couturier. That’s not a typo.

When alongside Giroux, Couturier has produced a stellar 2.31 points/60, which puts him 18th in the NHL over that period, between Leon Draisaitl and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Not too shabby. But it’s Giroux’s production that’s staggering. In 1,789 minutes together — about 500 more than an average Giroux season — the Philadelphia captain has averaged 2.98 points/60. Over the last three years, Connor McDavid’s league-leading points/60 is 2.95.

When playing with Couturier, Giroux has essentially scored like McDavid, over the sample size of about a season and a half. If that doesn’t confirm Couturier’s impact on his teammates, nothing will.

Charlie Manuel hired as new Phillies hitting coach.

Athletic-


just warms my heart

2019 NHL farm system rankings: No. 28 Pittsburgh Penguins

Charlie Manuel hired as new Phillies hitting coach.
- MBFlyerfan

I was just wondering the other night if they'd do this. Wondered if they'd bring in a real proven hitting coach with some stature. Hope it helps. (And I'm thinking he's not a 30 degreer.)

New Blob

for the love of all that is Orange, you guys

look up Jake's stats and stop telling me he's not a shooter

https://www.nhl.com/playe...8474161#&navid=nhl-search

Minimum 210 SOG in each of the last 6 seasons

Isn't that something you can literally say about any player in the history of the league? Of course it's possible, anything is possible, the difference is I don't see it happening. I think we've seen his ceiling, which I see as lesser value than seeing what JP can bring
- sjk540

If we measure each player against each other and how they've progressed to this point in their careers, Haag is a much better player at his position at the NHL level than Puljujarvi is. Interesting that you see Puljujarvi as having more to bring.

I think that would have to sort itself during camp. Just as I believe there is a possibility that Farabee makes the team and can take the 3rd LW spot in the lineup, or perhaps him playing as the first line LW with G and Coots, I think there would be a possibility for JP to fit on the third line, maybe second line, maybe as a speedster with some offensive skill on the 4th line and move Laughton to the 3rd line.

But my answer would be that camp would dictate where he would fit in the case that we trade for him.
- sjk540

I think that's pretty much dancing around the question. The odds of Puljjuarvi earning a spot in the top 6 in next to nil. He's not he kind of player you want on the 4th line. He's an offensive player who doesn't produce offensively. So the only theoretical open spot for him is 3rd line wing in reality. If he's not producing offensively, do you see Vigneault giving him ice time? If Patrick centers the 3rd line, do you want a player with a questionable work ethic and hockey sense playing with your young center who is also struggling to break out?

Bottom line is where is the fit?

If we measure each player against each other and how they've progressed to this point in their careers, Haag is a much better player at his position at the NHL level than Puljujarvi is. Interesting that you see Puljujarvi as having more to bring.
- MJL

OK, at this point in both of their stages of their careers, yes that is true. Is it possible in the history of the NHL that Player A may be further in their advancement at the current moment but Player B ended up eventually having the better career. I think you'd be able to say that has happened as often as it hasn't happened. This is just purely an ambiguous argument which is all based off of our opinions in the first place.

You are correct, at this stage Hagg is a more serviceable NHL player than JP. 100%. I believe JP has a higher ceiling and more to offer in the long run when he can be perhaps placed in a situation that would be different than the current one that he is in which has also not worked out for him. For that reason, trading Hagg is worth the risk for me. I know not for you, but for me it is.

I think that's pretty much dancing around the question. The odds of Puljjuarvi earning a spot in the top 6 in next to nil. He's not he kind of player you want on the 4th line. He's an offensive player who doesn't produce offensively. So the only theoretical open spot for him is 3rd line wing in reality. If he's not producing offensively, do you see Vigneault giving him ice time? If Patrick centers the 3rd line, do you want a player with a questionable work ethic and hockey sense playing with your young center who is also struggling to break out?

Bottom line is where is the fit?
- MJL

Two words, Patrick Sharp. Did anyone see Patrick Sharp turning into a first line player on a stacked Blackhawks team? Someone who had constant disagreements with coaches and management on his current team, someone who was viewed once as having an offensive flair to his game but seemingly never unlocking it until a change of scenery opened up things more than anyone could have anticipated?

Im not saying JP is the another Sharp, Im saying it has happened in the past, and if it has happened once, it can happen again.

OK, at this point in both of their stages of their careers, yes that is true. Is it possible in the history of the NHL that Player A may be further in their advancement at the current moment but Player B ended up eventually having the better career. I think you'd be able to say that has happened as often as it hasn't happened. This is just purely an ambiguous argument which is all based off of our opinions in the first place.

You are correct, at this stage Hagg is a more serviceable NHL player than JP. 100%. I believe JP has a higher ceiling and more to offer in the long run when he can be perhaps placed in a situation that would be different than the current one that he is in which has also not worked out for him. For that reason, trading Hagg is worth the risk for me. I know not for you, but for me it is.
- sjk540

The difference is that my outlook is based on something that is real, not just something that is in the realm of possibilities. In other words, what is there to this point that leads you to believe that Puljujarvi has more to offer? At this point where each player was drafted is irrelevant. A serviceable 3rd pair defenseman has more real value than an uber talented winger who was selected 3rd overall who hasn't established himself as an NHL player to this point. I understand being willing to take a gamble. I'm not saying youre wrong. I just think Haag is being undervalued.

Two words, Patrick Sharp. Did anyone see Patrick Sharp turning into a first line player on a stacked Blackhawks team? Someone who had constant disagreements with coaches and management on his current team, someone who was viewed once as having an offensive flair to his game but seemingly never unlocking it until a change of scenery opened up things more than anyone could have anticipated?

Im not saying JP is the another Sharp, Im saying it has happened in the past, and if it has happened once, it can happen again.
- sjk540

That's irrelevant. Each player is different. Again, you're dealing in what is theoretically possible and ignoring the reality. Look at the player. Look at he fit. Where is the fit on this team?