He was part of the problem is all I am saying
- login

Yeah I can agree on that.

Speaking of which, did I see the likes of Lindblom and Raffl out there when they pulled the Hart the first time?

Stop with injuries as that is a crock to me. Give. The other team credit ; sometimes there isn’t am excuse and you just lose

This is a huge offseason for the gm imo.
- login

Saying there was injuries is just a statement, it takes nothing from the Islanders who are a very good team. It was never going to be pretty if we had won.

I agree about Fletcher having a very important offseason.

I’ve personally reached the point where (save for some earth shattering trade) I just don’t t see this team getting any further with G and Voracek as your two big investments up front. They are pretty much non factors when it comes to the playoffs. This team needs high end offensive zone/PP talent in a bad way.

They’ve gotta get rid of JVR and use that cap space wisely. And they’ve either got to decide to ride with Ghost or move him. He’s making way too much to not be playing.
- hereticpride

Imagine saying that 5 years ago.

Imagine saying that 5 years ago.
- JoeRussomanno

People were saying that five years ago haha

Thanks for all the work from this season bill. Best detailed writer in the business.

The players couldn't overcome OUR coaching and Trotz's.
Since I am a simpleton, I am prone to breaking everything down to cores so the fringes don't distract me. I'm easily confused but have determined an outlook anyway, so here it is.
I recall no (supposedly good) team ever being this inept for so long about a couple of things that appear basic.
PP? What PP? Other teams score by accident more often than we try to do on purpose. Time to drain that poisoned well and see what is at the bottom of it. Flush thoroughly and see what bodies emerge.
I'm positive none of them are alive.
Lack of actual scorers. The guys who raaaaaise you out of your seat, the ones that verify the worthiness of your fandom. The ones that make you scream like the really good hookers.
Paid for play means you gotta play.
That's it.
Awaiting random chance at 73 to reward me with a FLyers Stanley Cup outcome is not how I thought this would go. Heck, I've lived in Tampa Bay since '77 and kept waving the banners and wearing the 'right' togs to the amusement of my children.
They go to Stanley Cup Parades.
'I'ma disappoint.' is a phrase my lady uses. So should we.
(BTW, I propose no action plans to MAKE the team better. If Hextall couldn't after beating the fanbase down, holding us hostage, what else is available by way of tools to remedy OUR situation? Mediocrity, mixed with statistics in a blender of no more money, it might be drinkable but unlikely to be 'Smoothie of the Year'.
We are DOOMED! DOOMED I tell ya!)

People were saying that five years ago haha
- stayinthefnnet

Who?!

Hart
Lindblom
Myers

Hindsight is 20-20. Datsyuk and zetterberg were discussed for years as steals. The above I wouldn’t classify as studs. But where they went in the draft will be discussed. Just like they used to talk about how g didn’t go higher on the draft.

One thing the flyers have been good at is drafting well in the latter parts of the first round.

Saying there was injuries is just a statement, it takes nothing from the Islanders who are a very good team. It was never going to be pretty if we had won.

I agree about Fletcher having a very important offseason.
- NC Flyers Fan

Not you though many say so and so must be hurt because he hasn’t played well. Just rube me wrong !!!

Going to be interesting to see what route the gm takes

Hart
Lindblom
Myers

Hindsight is 20-20. Datsyuk and zetterberg were discussed for years as steals. The above I wouldn’t classify as studs. But where they went in the draft will be discussed. Just like they used to talk about how g didn’t go higher on the draft.

One thing the flyers have been good at is drafting well in the latter parts of the first round.
- Peter Richards

Job and Rubtsov disagree as of this post

Imagine saying that 5 years ago.
- JoeRussomanno

I think ghost will be dealt which sucks cause we’ll be selling low. If I’m I’d be looking at dealing jvr for another similar salaried player underachieving to see if we can mix up the Stagnant chemistry here With the core. Jvr similarly but I’d say we could only swim fb now of those.

How many other teams have jvr and ghost types they also want to move ??? Could be a flooded market

Job and Rubtsov disagree as of this post
- login

O’Brien may have been a reach. German was interesting as the entire Russian team had issues that year. He was also sidetrack with multiple injuries now.

We selected frost the year we took jay as well I think.

I'm hearing that Patrick Laine may be available this off season. Go get him if at all possible! I've been screaming for years that this team needs a true sniper! A selfish guy that thinks shoot first all the time! This team is littered with playmakers that refuse to shoot the puck! A 22 yr old scoring winger.....give me some of that! I think he is only signed for one more year and would probably be looking for a big ticket salary after this season, so that may be the first issue.

Stamos out i guess. Still plenty of highend guys to yardsale salaries, because of that low FL tax. That is a cap circumvention KILLER in these FLAT cap days.
- Landsbergfan

Very interesting point. Never thought of it that way.

The team came a long way this year. For the first time in a LONG time, we have very good goaltending. The problem is...and I respected Ed Snider, but locking Giroux and Voracek to ridiculous contracts with NMCs included, set the franchise back. That was Homer's doing as well, and was done incompetently. I'm hoping that Fletcher has a chat with both Giroux and Giroux, and one decides to waive their NMC. We need more cap room. Then, we can more quickly get another sniper, a couple of physical players up front, and on the defensive side. Not only were the Islanders looking like the veterab team in this series, they were faster and more physical when they wanted to be. The only one that brought this series to Game 7, was Hart. This team is getting there, but we're still not that close.

What a disappointment, I thought they’d come out with their best game of the series and they just whimper away like old farts. This group had a great year but they need major changes to their core group if they’re gonna find success in the playoffs.

Giroux & Voracek looked old and slow, they had very little answer to a team that plays their system very well. Speed is one thing that’ll crack a tight defensive team, something we sorely lack.

My bad.

Patrick and frost same year.

Next year was farabee and O’Brien.

Here we go. Carter Hart has the potential to be great. Hopefully we can get/keep a good back up. Defense will be fine or even great next year. Braun and Nisky were solid but fell apart in the playoffs for some reason. Both should be back (Braun just because of the investment in him). And Myers and Sanheim have some valuable tape to watch and learn from. The forwards need a bit of a shake up. I’d be fine with Jake and JVR going away. G isn’t going anywhere. Just stop with that. Maybe Ghost or Voracek can recoup that 2nd from the Braun trade. So roll something like..

G Coots TK
Frost Hayes Lindblom
Farabee Laughton Pitlick
Raffl Thompson Aube-Kubel

Provy Nisky
Myers Sanheim
Braun Hagg -insert Ghost if Braun or Hagg are moved

Hart
Elliot -or another past his prime vet who could steal a few games.

Taylor Hall and Matt Hoffman are UFA too. With some money saved from Jake/JVR we can throw Hall on line 1 and move G next to Laughton and have some fun. Next year will be fun. We got some great experience and got further than we were supposed to in my eyes. Let’s go Flyers!

There is that silver lining I guess and there was some overtime thrown in, so hopefully the Isles will be tired.

I really wanted to see a Lightning-Flyers series. Now, I get boring-ass Islanders. Outside of Barzal, they are a snooze to watch. And no Gritty.
- GalacticStone

They are a well coached team playing very cohesively.

Often you see guys like Barzal, who has tremendous gifts, and very young, not buy in to a system like Trotz. But that is not the case here. Dude is not hovering around his blue-line looking for high flying breakaways. He is down low, selling his body out in a way that would do a 4th line grunt proud.

Iotw, the team defensively is not too dissimilar from teams that have given you trouble in the past. They are almost as good defensively as the Jackets, and much better in breakaways.

TB will be heavily favored, but I won't take them lightly at all. They are not like the Flyers. They are for real.

Hart
Lindblom
Myers

Hindsight is 20-20. Datsyuk and zetterberg were discussed for years as steals. The above I wouldn’t classify as studs. But where they went in the draft will be discussed. Just like they used to talk about how g didn’t go higher on the draft.

One thing the flyers have been good at is drafting well in the latter parts of the first round.
- Peter Richards

Good relative to average value at that positiob, but honestly, no game changers on F or D.

I dont think coaching was a huge issue in the series. AV did some questionable things that didnt help but at the same time, the coach isnt responsible for the fact that the team was dominated for 40 of 60 mins every game and looked slower than the other team.

One of the biggest issues in recent years is us getting hemmed in our zone. It is like when the pressure is on everyone forgets how to play and they skate like chickens with their heads cut off in the defensive end. Another issue I saw was slow decision making. When you watch other teams, they dont hesitate to make a play. I see the Flyers hesitate constantly

The things I would blame coaching for is powerless PP and lack of adjustment to getting pucks on net. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. That is what I saw with the Flyers and why most their shots ended up blocked.

Speaking of which, did I see the likes of Lindblom and Raffl out there when they pulled the Hart the first time?
- Pelle31Forever

Lindblom probably came the closest to scoring in that sequence, in that goal line scramble.

What happened to Nolan Patrick? Did he miss this whole season because of a concussion?