In this sample, you can see that he would be playing with skilled offensive players:

Farabee-Couturier-Voracek
Laughton-Hayes-TK
JVR-Giroux-Lindblom
Raffl-Bunnaman-NAK
- NC Flyers Fan

a very average speed lineup...

In this sample, you can see that he would be playing with skilled offensive players:

Farabee-Couturier-Voracek
Laughton-Hayes-TK
JVR-Giroux-Lindblom
Raffl-Bunnaman-NAK
- NC Flyers Fan

On the top lines. Giroux belongs in the top 6 among the leaders in team ice time. In my opinion, Giroux back at center should only be a short term stop gap measure.

In this sample, you can see that he would be playing with skilled offensive players:

Farabee-Couturier-Voracek
Laughton-Hayes-TK
JVR-Giroux-Lindblom
Raffl-Bunnaman-NAK
- NC Flyers Fan

Don't short sell Lacynski for 3rd line duty either. Watched him at least 15 times and over that span he played both Center and wing depending on where OSU needed him at that moment. That may make me biased but I see a younger Raffl in him with better play making skills

I'm Morgan Frost superfan numero uno, and I actually think he acquitted himself very well in his cups of coffee, but yeah... he had no business being thrown into the deep end. PO hockey is on a completely different level.
- Tomahawk

He's going to be a very good player but all in due time.

a very average speed lineup...
- wcorvette

Excellent passing, effective breakouts and pinching defense can also produce speed of play.

Excellent passing, effective breakouts and pinching defense can also produce speed of play.
- NC Flyers Fan

Foot speed is seriously the most overrated thing after size.

Don't short sell Lacynski for 3rd line duty either. Watched him at least 15 times and over that span he played both Center and wing depending on where OSU needed him at that moment. That may make me biased but I see a younger Raffl in him with better play making skills
- juiced

Oh, I don’t...it should be good competition.

Excellent passing, effective breakouts and pinching defense can also produce speed of play.
- NC Flyers Fan

No question.

Excellent passing, effective breakouts and pinching defense can also produce speed of play.
- NC Flyers Fan

completely agree but you put that against a team like Tampa, Vegas and even the Isles and you can see why the Flyers will struggle. The Isles showed up with a nice blend of size, speed and skill. The Flyers need some speed or the D has to be better at breaking it out. I do think Chuck went after Gus trying to fill that need. I am in the minority but I am ok giving a Gus a shot next to provy. Gus plays the right side and I think Provy might be ready to carry/elevate the first pair.

Foot speed is seriously the most overrated thing after size.
- Tomahawk

it is if the edge work is not equally as good but having both makes for the better player and a better team.

I'm Morgan Frost superfan numero uno, and I actually think he acquitted himself very well in his cups of coffee, but yeah... he had no business being thrown into the deep end. PO hockey is on a completely different level.
- Tomahawk

From the sample of Frost we have in the NHL we know that:

He can produce. He produced at 2nd line level at 5v5 over his span there.
He can forecheck. He was fantastic there.
He is one of our fastest skaters.

BUT:

He struggled physically at times. Especially in 1v1 battles.
As a result he was poor defensively. He got in position well usually... but then got beat. Deserved an opportunity but didn't get to "earn" it while others handed playing time despite doing nothing.

On the top lines. Giroux belongs in the top 6 among the leaders in team ice time. In my opinion, Giroux back at center should only be a short term stop gap measure.
- MJL

In overall ice time, he would be in the top 6. If the top 3 lines receive AVs short shifts in about equal time, add in power play and extra time for faceoffs...The top 3 centers would have the highest total ice time as they can all PP and PK.

Even if it is a “stop gap,” if they want to go with it in the playoffs, the players deserve the chance to build chemistry with it in the regular season.

completely agree but you put that against a team like Tampa, Vegas and even the Isles and you can see why the Flyers will struggle. The Isles showed up with a nice blend of size, speed and skill. The Flyers need some speed or the D has to be better at breaking it out. I do think Chuck went after Gus trying to fill that need. I am in the minority but I am ok giving a Gus a shot next to provy. Gus plays the right side and I think Provy might be ready to carry/elevate the first pair.
- wcorvette

It might happen. I guess we’ll see. I would love to see what a Hagg - Gus pairing looked like. It is possible they could be really balanced if they have good chemistry. Gus getting PP time and Hagg PK time.

In overall ice time, he would be in the top 6. If the top 3 lines receive AVs short shifts in about equal time, add in power play and extra time for faceoffs...The top 3 centers would have the highest total ice time as they can all PP and PK.

Even if it is a “stop gap,” if they want to go with it in the playoffs, the players deserve the chance to build chemistry with it in the regular season.
- NC Flyers Fan

ES ice time and I don't want ice time being used for D zone faceoffs to make up any difference.

it is if the edge work is not equally as good but having both makes for the better player and a better team.
- wcorvette

Most of the Flyers players have good enough edges and acceleration to get where they need to go. There are no slugs on the team.

We know top-end speed is lacking, but really how often do players even get into their top couple of gears in game situations? It's all starts, stops and turning on a dime.

I look at teams like LA, Boston and STL who won the Cups semi-recently with the same level of mobility as the 2020 Flyers and I'm not worried at all. Moving around the ice as a team and moving the puck quickly is so much more important than having a bunch of pure burners on the roster.

ES ice time and I don't want ice time being used for D zone faceoffs to make up any difference.
- MJL

I don’t really think it is going to come to this, but if it does, Giroux is a selfless as they come to give the team the best chance at success.

I only mentioned this 4th option of Giroux because I like it better than I like spending on a forward addition before the season starts.

IMO first options Patrick, Frost and Laczynski then Giroux then Laughton to start. You said Laughts before Giroux but would you rather add a FA like Haula as insurance?

My main point is that I don’t think they should add insurance, it is built in.

From the sample of Frost we have in the NHL we know that:

He can produce. He produced at 2nd line level at 5v5 over his span there.
He can forecheck. He was fantastic there.
He is one of our fastest skaters.

BUT:

He struggled physically at times. Especially in 1v1 battles.
As a result he was poor defensively. He got in position well usually... but then got beat. Deserved an opportunity but didn't get to "earn" it while others handed playing time despite doing nothing.
- Striiker

They were handling him with kid gloves, which is 100% the right move considering it was his first pro year and he's not a turnkey NHL player.

If he had more experience and he didn't get a chance to earn a way into the lineup, then I'd agree with your take. But we're talking about a first year pro here.

I don’t really think it is going to come to this, but if it does, Giroux is a selfless as they come to give the team the best chance at success.

I only mentioned this 4th option of Giroux because I like it better than I like spending on a forward addition before the season starts.

IMO first options Patrick, Frost and Laczynski then Giroux then Laughton to start. You said Laughts before Giroux but would you rather add a FA like Haula as insurance?

My main point is that I don’t think they should add insurance, it is built in.
- NC Flyers Fan

Laughton's the kind of guy you should really sell high on, even though I like him quite a bit.

He just had a year he'll almost certainly never replicate, thanks to an insanely high shooting percentage, and when he's not scoring he's nothing special as far as puck possession or defense goes. So relying on the luck to continue and giving him a brand new contract is a great way to end up in trouble.

If he were strictly going to play on the 4th line, then fine, but that's not the case and he's likely going to be paid too much for that anyways. On top of all that, we need room for other guys who have much higher potential and need playing time, especially if Patrick comes back.

It's not a good idea to get too attached to bottom six guys when you have the depth and prospects we have.

Most of the Flyers players have good enough edges and acceleration to get where they need to go. There are no slugs on the team.

We know top-end speed is lacking, but really how often do players even get into their top couple of gears in game situations? It's all starts, stops and turning on a dime.

I look at teams like LA, Boston and STL who won the Cups semi-recently with the same level of mobility as the 2020 Flyers and I'm not worried at all. Moving around the ice as a team and moving the puck quickly is so much more important than having a bunch of pure burners on the roster.
- Tomahawk

We saw that clearly from the team that played in the regular season versus the team in the playoffs. They played slower as a team. The speed issue due to the Isles series is being completely overblown in my opinion.

Most of the Flyers players have good enough edges and acceleration to get where they need to go. There are no slugs on the team.

We know top-end speed is lacking, but really how often do players even get into their top couple of gears in game situations? It's all starts, stops and turning on a dime.

I look at teams like LA, Boston and STL who won the Cups semi-recently with the same level of mobility as the 2020 Flyers and I'm not worried at all. Moving around the ice as a team and moving the puck quickly is so much more important than having a bunch of pure burners on the roster.
- Tomahawk

I hope you are right but I do think they are step slow when you talk about being a top team and having a chance. If the O does not change much then the D will have to be much improved on retrieving and breaking out. I agree with the Blues but the talent and speed is just getting better. You look at the Habs and how they have the Flyers fits. They are a team that should not have made the playoffs. Do I think the D can improve? yes. I actually thought they should have kept Ghost in the lineup. He tends to be aggressive at the blue line, has good anticipation and uses his edges to create break outs.

I don’t really think it is going to come to this, but if it does, Giroux is a selfless as they come to give the team the best chance at success.

I only mentioned this 4th option of Giroux because I like it better than I like spending on a forward addition before the season starts.

IMO first options Patrick, Frost and Laczynski then Giroux then Laughton to start. You said Laughts before Giroux but would you rather add a FA like Haula as insurance?

My main point is that I don’t think they should add insurance, it is built in.
- NC Flyers Fan

No, I don't think the Flyers should add a center via free agency. Laughton is the first and best option if Patrick can't play in my opinion. I think Frost is better off starting out at wing.

Laughton's the kind of guy you should really sell high on, even though I like him quite a bit.

He just had a year he'll almost certainly never replicate, thanks to an insanely high shooting percentage, and when he's not scoring he's nothing special as far as puck possession or defense goes. So relying on the luck to continue and giving him a brand new contract is a great way to end up in trouble.

If he were strictly going to play on the 4th line, then fine, but that's not the case and he's likely going to be paid too much for that anyways. On top of all that, we need room for other guys who have much higher potential and need playing time, especially if Patrick comes back.

It's not a good idea to get too attached to bottom six guys when you have the depth and prospects we have.
- Striiker

I’ve always viewed Laughts as a permanent support piece and the Raffl replacement. As he is only 26, I think they would be selling low. That assumes he is re-signed for a fair amount especially with flat cap considerations of course. I wonder if Raffl would stay on the cheap as a 13th forward on his next contract. He could no doubt get better 4th line options on other teams but it would be cool to have a 13th guy no one would dislike (no one smart anyway ).

I’ve always viewed Laughts as a permanent support piece and the Raffl replacement. As he is only 26, I think they would be selling low. That assumes he is re-signed for a fair amount especially with flat cap considerations of course. I wonder if Raffl would stay on the cheap as a 13th forward on his next contract. He could no doubt get better 4th line options on other teams but it would be cool to have a 13th guy no one would dislike (no one smart anyway ).
- NC Flyers Fan

moving assets now is not a good idea. You would have to find a team who had a desperate need to win or breakeven on the trade.

No, I don't think the Flyers should add a center via free agency. Laughton is the first and best option if Patrick can't play in my opinion. I think Frost is better off starting out at wing.
- MJL

If Patrick plays, Frost probably plays some on wing. I still would rather Frost be at center even if Hayes needs to shift to wing. I could see Hayes on his right wing being a real advantage for his development. It would be nice if he had two big wingers, but I don’t believe JVR would be a good fit there.

watching Sandin, he can skate and goes to the net, never know.