So overall, including defensively, you think they were all good last night? Who cost the Flyers the game? Jones? Mayhew?
- MJL

I am not your typical "woe is me" flyers fan. i look for good things.

I watched the phantoms players, was i blown away, no but I saw them competing.

The stats I posted are decent, not great.

So again, a team with 1/3 of it players from the ahl and that has 8 starters injured, i saw a competitive game.

The only team I know that can afford to lose 4 or 5 centers and survive is Pitt.

Nice to see Patrick with a goal and assist. He could be the next and I believe certainly not the last ex-flyer to win a Stanley Cup after being booted out

I can't say I disagree at this point. I like Fletcher and I know life can be unfair sometimes, but this is a results oriented business and this team/franchise within 3 years has completely imploded. The product on the ice is unwatchable, you have senior advisors spewing their discourse publicly, our future players are not developing, etc. I mean, I can't see any GM of as an historic and important franchise as the Flyers surviving this. Maybe Fletcher and Yeo finish out the season, but they need to both go at the end of the season and new leadership be brought in right away. Again, I like and support Fletcher but no person should be able to keep his job with this level of disfunction and malaise that has beset this franchise over the past two years. Sorry Chuck, I sincerely wished for it to be different, but it is what it is and now we have to drastically change course.
- jd250

3 days ago, youre plan was to elevate Fletch
everything you stated existed 3 days ago, now drastic course change

And negotiated the Andrew Macdonald deal…not to pile on…
- landros 2

Oh ... that's right .. I forgot about that one! God Hextall sucked!

Hart is an NHL goalie. Wasnt referencing him.

Sandstrum looks like a backup to me; which is fine. The others have not proven anything yet in any way. Need to do it in NA. Will Fedotov ever even come over? "Usti" is not a legit NHL prospect.

Best of the bunch may be the 19 year old Russian they just drafted.
- hello it's me 2050

Is your assessment of him based on what he has proved in NA?

Hextall failed because he tried to rebuild and compete at the same time which is a flawed plan. It’s not just that the players picked in the middle of the 1st round are typically not as good as the ones at the top but that they usually require more developmental time. That pushes the timeline further into the future and also pushes the currently players on the roster out of their prime years. Add to his over reliance on AHL seasoning instead of giving young guys significant minutes at the NHL level to hasten the learning curve and you have a long rebuild.

The other issue with the compete a little rebuild a little rebuild is believing the rest of the league remains static. In reality by the time the teams in front in the standings start to decline, teams worse than the Flyers at the start of the rebuild end up surpassing them because they are choosing higher quality players at the top of the draft and at the top of each subsequent round. Toronto and Hextall’s Flyers started their rebuild the same year. Yes Toronto hasn’t won a playoff series with that group yet but what team would you rather buy a ticket to see? Carolina and Florida were two other teams below the Flyers when Hextall took over.

Hextall’s plan was flawed to begin with. Add a big bust rate of draft picks and that’s why the Flyers are in the dumpster. A proper rebuild however shouldn’t take 10 years to put an exciting product on the ice. The Flyers have enough middle of the roster talent already. They just need top line players. A quick drop to the bottom over the next two to three seasons and this could be turned around if they pick the right players.
- psuhockey

1. HEAR HEAR.
2. Wow! Someone who uses reasoning to back up his perspective. Even if someone disagrees with perspective, One can at least appreciate the thought that has gone behind the position.
3. As in 2.

3 days ago, youre plan was to elevate Fletch
everything you stated existed 3 days ago, now drastic course change
- THE BLACK HAND

UNSHUN

Hey the office clown is back ... sending his laughing faces to everyone!

Listen Clown, I advocated Chuck KEEPING his current job as President of Hockey Ops and for the Flyers to hire a new GM (I recommended Stacey Roest from Tampa). Never did I advocate Chuck getting promoted .... you simpleton!

RESHUN!

Oh ... that's right .. I forgot about that one! God Hextall sucked!
- jd250

Well, he is paying for all that suckiness by being out of the league and unemployed. Oh, wait, that’s right …

Really? I had a difficult time staying awake during the game.

Shot attempts during the game were 52 -29 Isles. Scoring chances were 27-13 favor Isles. High danger chances were 10-4 favor Isles. As has been said, the Flyers went over 12 minutes without a shot on goal at one point. Seems competitive to me.
- MJL

While it's easy to blame the Flyers for this, most likely old age is just setting in.

I do believe a team will take him, and if not he should be bought out. The problem with the JVR signing is the team didn't need him at that time, they were not ready, and he was the wrong player to spend that kind of money on. He was a liability from day one, and Toronto knew this which is why they let him walk.
- jd250

The problem was paying him 7 million with term. I’m not sure which is worse…Hayes or JVR? The Flyers seem to reach or over pay in FA signings. These blunders hurt.

Is your assessment of him based on what he has proved in NA?
- iamscore2day

Well he wasn't a Saint Ronnie pick so I get your silly response.

Well, he is paying for all that suckiness by being out of the league and unemployed. Oh, wait, that’s right …
- iamscore2day

Ok, but lets be factual, is Hextall running the show in Pittsburgh like he did here in Philly? And if not, why not?

The problem was paying him 7 million with term. I’m not sure which is worse…Hayes or JVR? The Flyers seem to reach or over pay in FA signings. These blunders hurt.
- landros 2

Hayes has been hurt for the past 2 seasons, however even at the time of the signing I was really upset that the Flyers signed a mediocre and slow footed player like Hayes to $7M x 7 deal. I mean, come on, really? Fletcher could not find a 2C that was just as good or potentially better than Hayes for less money? Couldn't make a hockey trade? This was a huge mistake by Fletcher and I think his real mistake behind this was trying to appease AV.

Well, he is paying for all that suckiness by being out of the league and unemployed. Oh, wait, that’s right …
- iamscore2day

If Peter Chiarelli can get a second chance then Hextall deserves one as well.

If Peter Chiarelli can get a second chance then Hextall deserves one as well.
- landros 2

Equating he did a good job here to getting another job is just silly. Coaches and GM's, even below average ones are pretty much always given multiple chances after they are fired.

Hayes has been hurt for the past 2 seasons, however even at the time of the signing I was really upset that the Flyers signed a mediocre and slow footed player like Hayes to $7M x 7 deal. I mean, come on, really? Fletcher could not find a 2C that was just as good or potentially better than Hayes for less money? Couldn't make a hockey trade? This was a huge mistake by Fletcher and I think his real mistake behind this was trying to appease AV.
- jd250

What ever reason for the Hayes signing….I didn’t like it at the time…and it’s only gotten worse. These mistakes are hard to recover from.

Equating he did a good job here to getting another job is just silly. Coaches and GM's, even below average ones are pretty much always given multiple chances after they are fired.
- hello it's me 2050

That was my point.

I do believe a team will take him, and if not he should be bought out. The problem with the JVR signing is the team didn't need him at that time, they were not ready, and he was the wrong player to spend that kind of money on. He was a liability from day one, and Toronto knew this which is why they let him walk.
- jd250

He was not a liability from day 1. That is false. Toronto had cap issues.

Yet Ronnie's core isn't good enough. Not even close to good enough.
- hello it's me 2050

Gosh, if only he realized the team wasn't competetive enough yet! Maybe then he would've tried to resist the desperation move to rush Carter Hart into this mess.

UNSHUN

Hey the office clown is back ... sending his laughing faces to everyone!

Listen Clown, I advocated Chuck KEEPING his current job as President of Hockey Ops and for the Flyers to hire a new GM (I recommended Stacey Roest from Tampa). Never did I advocate Chuck getting promoted .... you simpleton!

RESHUN!
- jd250

Being the Boss of the GM is elevation for (frank) sake. you dont even understand what you write

I just stated MacEwen "was a waiver wire pickup that is a 4th line energy guy that adds a physical element to a team". Now take your time, think about it hard, and explain to me how I just overrated Zac MacEwen??? I'll wait ...
- jd250

When you state that he has made a major impact. Let me guess, you didn't say that either.

You all keep blaming this GM or that GM, Bad trade this bad pick that.
What difference does it make.
We suck today.

How about solutions rather then continuing to look up a dead dogs A$$ about past GMs and a wiener measuring contest to who comes up with the best evidence that
someone is great or not great.

Fans don't want to accept that it takes a lot of time to recover from the situation that Hextall was put into. It took over 3 years to build up the prospect base and clean up the cap. Stating that Hextall was not able to draft good players is simply false. It wasn't a rebuild on the fly. It was a refusal to tank. Frost doesn't stink. Here we are 8+ years since Hextall was hired. We're still waiting! What don't fans get?
- MJL

If this was the case and he knew that, he would have traded off the jakes and Simmers immediately for assets. There is no way to justify picking around #15-20 and signing a guy like JVR when rebuilding. This tells me he thought the team was beginning to take the next steps. He sucked, Fletcher sucks worse, and the organization is the worst of them all.

I am not your typical "woe is me" flyers fan. i look for good things.

I watched the phantoms players, was i blown away, no but I saw them competing.

The stats I posted are decent, not great.

So again, a team with 1/3 of it players from the ahl and that has 8 starters injured, i saw a competitive game.

The only team I know that can afford to lose 4 or 5 centers and survive is Pitt.
- WhiskeyMan

Clearly the numbers show without any ambiguity that it was not a competitive game. It was overall a shellacking.

When you state that he has made a major impact. Let me guess, you didn't say that either.
- MJL

If Frost skated with half the intensity of Macewen,
I think he would have scored more point then he has to date.