I just can’t watch and hope they lose. It’s already clear to me that they’ll finish bottom 5 in the league and will draft high for sure. I’d love to Fast forward to the draft.

Of note, I’m not sure that this team will surpass 06 07 point Total of 56. If you had told me that in October I would have laughed at you.
- Hextall271

I can’t cheer for them to lose either….I don’t get upset anymore when they lose though. I feel bad for guys like Bill who are going on 2 plus years of having to write about this team and try and find positives. It’s like a journalistic PTSD.

Im not in any way defending how this team has been built. But the fact is no GM or team depth could overcome the amount of injuries to top players this team has. They just don't have the horses. And there are no deals out there to get better players to save this season.

female doging about the lineup is somewhat silly. Anyone who thinks this team, as it is iced currently, should be winning any games is delusional. And as much as I dislike what Comcast and Fletch has done, there is NO GM that could overcome what has happened injury wise.

And don't give me the "all teams have injuries" BS. They all do. And they all suffer from it. Any team that is without its top 5 centers, top 6 wing, 1st and 2nd pair dman, and icing the bottom two lines full of AHL callups is not going to win.

Its been dragging down the level of debate in here for months. Its become a game of gotcha and trying to one up the cleverness of the insults.

If most of you are like this is real life its no wonder the world is going to poop.
- MBFlyerfan

100% spot on.

Stop. Name another team missing their top 5 centers, top line wing, and top pair dman. You cant.
- MBFlyerfan

didnt Crosby and malkin start the year injured?

What 5 centers are you talking about? A top pair dman who the never had.

Bottom line is it is excuse making. Don't want to hear it. They are not good enough if healthy. This team when healthy isn't talented enough. I am sure you disagree which is just fine. This team is soft in every aspect and has been for a years. Any adversity they crumble.

Im not in any way defending how this team has been built. But the fact is no GM or team depth could overcome the amount of injuries to top players this team has. They just don't have the horses. And there are no deals out there to get better players to save this season.

female doging about the lineup is somewhat silly. Anyone who thinks this team, as it is iced currently, should be winning any games is delusional. And as much as I dislike what Comcast and Fletch has done, there is NO GM that could overcome what has happened injury wise.

And don't give me the "all teams have injuries" BS. They all do. And they all suffer from it. Any team that is without its top 5 centers, top 6 wing, 1st and 2nd pair dman, and icing the bottom two lines full of AHL callups is not going to win.

Its been dragging down the level of debate in here for months. Its become a game of gotcha and trying to one up the cleverness of the insults.

If most of you are like this is real life its no wonder the world is going to poop.
- MBFlyerfan

100%, some people just come on to argue everyday. Injuries for sure played a part in this disaster, and coaching, and level of compete throughout the season. But complaining that we have some people that shouldnt be in the NHL.... we have had a ton of injuries, even looking at lyczynski. He wouldve had a ton of ice this year, but he was hurt right from the start. Not that he is awesome, but would've given him valuable experience.

didnt Crosby and malkin start the year injured?

What 5 centers are you talking about? A top pair dman who the never had.

Bottom line is it is excuse making. Don't want to hear it. They are not good enough if healthy. This team when healthy isn't talented enough. I am sure you disagree which is just fine. This team is soft in every aspect and has been for a years. Any adversity they crumble.
- hello it's me 2050

I think we wouldve been a playoff team if fully healthy, but also agree we are way too soft,,,, and have been for years. Need a couple physical D and 1 or 2 forwards going into next year.

Im not in any way defending how this team has been built. But the fact is no GM or team depth could overcome the amount of injuries to top players this team has. They just don't have the horses. And there are no deals out there to get better players to save this season.

female doging about the lineup is somewhat silly. Anyone who thinks this team, as it is iced currently, should be winning any games is delusional. And as much as I dislike what Comcast and Fletch has done, there is NO GM that could overcome what has happened injury wise.

And don't give me the "all teams have injuries" BS. They all do. And they all suffer from it. Any team that is without its top 5 centers, top 6 wing, 1st and 2nd pair dman, and icing the bottom two lines full of AHL callups is not going to win.

Its been dragging down the level of debate in here for months. Its become a game of gotcha and trying to one up the cleverness of the insults.

If most of you are like this is real life its no wonder the world is going to poop.
- MBFlyerfan

All of that is 100% true. My issue is about what I think is going to happen in the future. The team thinks they have a good team that was derailed by injuries. I say they had a playoff bubble team. Because of that thinking by the team, they're going to double down on the strategy of team building that they have been using. That is not going to get them to where I want them to get to. It's far more likely to put blocks in place for the future than to build a legit cup contender.

Stop. Name another team missing their top 5 centers, top line wing, and top pair dman. You cant.
- MBFlyerfan

Why are the Flyers the only team dealing with this amount of injuries to key players?
Bad luck and coincidence right? Has nothing to do with players repeatedly returning from injury and being injured the first game back. Or Fletcher trading for a glass chandelier on the north side of 30? Or a training/medical staff who continue to embarrass themselves.

This franchise is in this situation due to incompetence and dysfunction. Nothing more, nothing less.

I think we wouldve been a playoff team if fully healthy, but also agree we are way too soft,,,, and have been for years. Need a couple physical D and 1 or 2 forwards going into next year.
- bradster

I dont htink they would have been a playoff team. Who are they passing in the playoff race if healthy?

Ex selke-hayes-brassard. That was your 3 centers. Not good enough. Rank that 3 against the others in the division. The D also isnt good enough clearly. Even with Ellis.

The team lacks talent and depth. They are just not good enough. Borderline playoff team.

This team is soft mentally as well.

100%, some people just come on to argue everyday. Injuries for sure played a part in this disaster, and coaching, and level of compete throughout the season. But complaining that we have some people that shouldnt be in the NHL.... we have had a ton of injuries, even looking at lyczynski. He wouldve had a ton of ice this year, but he was hurt right from the start. Not that he is awesome, but would've given him valuable experience.
- bradster

How so?

All of that is 100% true. My issue is about what I think is going to happen in the future. The team thinks they have a good team that was derailed by injuries. I say they had a playoff bubble team. Because of that thinking by the team, they're going to double down on the strategy of team building that they have been using. That is not going to get them to where I want them to get to. It's far more likely to put blocks in place for the future than to build a legit cup contender.
- MJL

The Flyers already have a good core group. Hart, Provorov, Ellis, Couts, Hayes, Atkinson and Farabee. These players are not going anywhere and honestly, they are a good group of players, if .. IF .. they can actually all get healthy at the same time. The Flyers also have a good group of prospects in their pipeline, players like Brink, Attard, O'Brien, York, Zamula, Frost and so on. Now its about augmenting this core group with more speed and talent in any way you can, whether that be promoting one of your prospects, drafting a stud in the top 5, signing a big free agent or making a hockey trade. All of these options should be on the table. I don't want the Flyers to continue trading away picks to free up cap space because they need to correct past mistakes any more than you do. But I do want and expect Fletcher to use any avenue necessary to get this team back to prominence, because the Flyers do have a good starting point. I think we all have to remain positive and see how it plays out. I like Fletcher, I like his staff and I like his message, now I am waiting to see if and how he follows through.

No, the Flyers don't suck. They didn't just play hard last night, they played well. Their defensive structure was excellent, their skating was excellent, their forecheck and neutral play was excellent. If the Flyers play this way they can play with anyone, even with the depleted lineup. They obviously lost the game in gut-wrenching fashion and clearly the team is lacking confidence in closing games out, but make no mistake, this team does not suck. If you want to watch Suck, watch a Montreal Canadiens game.
- jd250

Do you watch the games?

Why are the Flyers the only team dealing with this amount of injuries to key players?
Bad luck and coincidence right? Has nothing to do with players repeatedly returning from injury and being injured the first game back. Or Fletcher trading for a glass chandelier on the north side of 30? Or a training/medical staff who continue to embarrass themselves.

This franchise is in this situation due to incompetence and dysfunction. Nothing more, nothing less.
- PLindbergh31

No it’s just the hockey gods haven’t been with us

The Flyers already have a good core group. Hart, Provorov, Ellis, Couts, Hayes, Atkinson and Farabee. These players are not going anywhere and honestly, they are a good group of players, if .. IF .. they can actually all get healthy at the same time. The Flyers also have a good group of prospects in their pipeline, players like Brink, Attard, O'Brien, York, Zamula, Frost and so on. Now its about augmenting this core group with more speed and talent in any way you can, whether that be promoting one of your prospects, drafting a stud in the top 5, signing a big free agent or making a hockey trade. All of these options should be on the table. I don't want the Flyers to continue trading away picks to free up cap space because they need to correct past mistakes any more than you do. But I do want and expect Fletcher to use any avenue necessary to get this team back to prominence, because the Flyers do have a good starting point. I think we all have to remain positive and see how it plays out. I like Fletcher, I like his staff and I like his message, now I am waiting to see if and how he follows through.
- jd250

Not to mention jvr and risto once we get a long term deal in place for him. I really like how things are shakin out too

The Flyers already have a good core group. Hart, Provorov, Ellis, Couts, Hayes, Atkinson and Farabee. These players are not going anywhere and honestly, they are a good group of players, if .. IF .. they can actually all get healthy at the same time. The Flyers also have a good group of prospects in their pipeline, players like Brink, Attard, O'Brien, York, Zamula, Frost and so on. Now its about augmenting this core group with more speed and talent in any way you can, whether that be promoting one of your prospects, drafting a stud in the top 5, signing a big free agent or making a hockey trade. All of these options should be on the table. I don't want the Flyers to continue trading away picks to free up cap space because they need to correct past mistakes any more than you do. But I do want and expect Fletcher to use any avenue necessary to get this team back to prominence, because the Flyers do have a good starting point. I think we all have to remain positive and see how it plays out. I like Fletcher, I like his staff and I like his message, now I am waiting to see if and how he follows through.
- jd250

The Flyers should stay out of any major UFA deals and only make youth for youth trades or veteran trades for quality future assets.
I have zero faith in Fletcher or the entire Flyers management staff. The best thing that could happen would be for Fletcher to be removed and the Flyers bring in a GM who knows how to approach building a team in the today's NHL

I dont htink they would have been a playoff team. Who are they passing in the playoff race if healthy?

Ex selke-hayes-brassard. That was your 3 centers. Not good enough. Rank that 3 against the others in the division. The D also isnt good enough clearly. Even with Ellis.

The team lacks talent and depth. They are just not good enough. Borderline playoff team.

This team is soft mentally as well.
- hello it's me 2050

Really?

So Couturier, Hayes and Brassard couldnt match lets say Minnesota's Ryan Hartman (35 points), Eriksson Ek (26 points) and F.Gaudreau (19 points)?

Why are the Flyers the only team dealing with this amount of injuries to key players?
Bad luck and coincidence right? Has nothing to do with players repeatedly returning from injury and being injured the first game back. Or Fletcher trading for a glass chandelier on the north side of 30? Or a training/medical staff who continue to embarrass themselves.

This franchise is in this situation due to incompetence and dysfunction. Nothing more, nothing less.
- PLindbergh31

Yup, we'll just keep dwelling on the negative. But wait .. what about all the players that are not injured and play game in and game out, you know, players like G, Hart, Sanheim, Provorov, Atkinson, Laughton, TK, Yandle and so on. It seems weird that these players have not been impacted by the "embarrassing" training/medical staff. Hmmm ... maybe there is another reason for this. Nah, its a red herring, we need to get back to focusing on the injured players like Couturier, out for the year with a bad back, those wretched Flyers medical people!!! Arrrgghhh!! But wait, I look at Couturier before this year and I see he played about 95% of the games in 6 out of his 11 seasons with the Flyers, and this being the very first year in his career that he has had a season ending injury. Hmmmm ... so it can't be that "embarrassing" medical staff, because I would think this would have been recurring in his career ... so it must be something else also. Gee, that bad luck excuse is starting to become more relevant than I thought.

Oh well, forget all this medical nonsense, let's beat up on Fletcher for trading away two stiffs to get a top pairing RHS defenseman, something this team desperately needed, albeit there was concern over past injuries. How could he trade away these two lovely and high performing players for a player that could possibly be injured?? What a wretched GM Fletcher is ... Arrrggghhh! But wait, Ellis never had any injury like this in his career, and no one could have possibly foreseen this happening, and he is when healthy one of the best defenseman in the league, and we really gave up nothing more than the equivalent of two bags of used cat liter for him, so rationally I think this was a good trade and worth the risk. Hmmm ... so then why did this have to happen to our best defenseman?? Yup, there is bad luck excuse coming back again.

Carry on ....

Yup, we'll just keep dwelling on the negative. But wait .. what about all the players that are not injured and play game in and game out, you know, players like G, Hart, Sanheim, Provorov, Atkinson, Laughton, TK, Yandle and so on. It seems weird that these players have not been impacted by the "embarrassing" training/medical staff. Hmmm ... maybe there is another reason for this. Nah, its a red herring, we need to get back to focusing on the injured players like Couturier, out for the year with a bad back, those wretched Flyers medical people!!! Arrrgghhh!! But wait, I look at Couturier before this year and I see he played about 95% of the games in 6 out of his 11 seasons with the Flyers, and this being the very first year in his career that he has had a season ending injury. Hmmmm ... so it can't be that "embarrassing" medical staff, because I would think this would have been recurring in his career ... so it must be something else also. Gee, that bad luck excuse is starting to become more relevant than I thought.

Oh well, forget all this medical nonsense, let's beat up on Fletcher for trading away two stiffs to get a top pairing RHS defenseman, something this team desperately needed, albeit there was concern over past injuries. How could he trade away these two lovely and high performing players for a player that could possibly be injured?? What a wretched GM Fletcher is ... Arrrggghhh! But wait, Ellis never had any injury like this in his career, and no one could have possibly foreseen this happening, and he is when healthy one of the best defenseman in the league, and we really gave up nothing more than the equivalent of two bags of used cat liter for him, so rationally I think this was a good trade and worth the risk. Hmmm ... so then why did this have to happen to our best defenseman?? Yup, there is bad luck excuse coming back again.

Carry on ....
- jd250[/quote]

There are none so blind as those who will not see. If you can't attribute any of this meltdown to structural problems (poor leadership, poor player and coaching development & the "stay the course" mentality) that have dogged this organization since the late 80s, then you should gird up for 57 more years of futility.

The Flyers should stay out of any major UFA deals and only make youth for youth trades or veteran trades for quality future assets.
I have zero faith in Fletcher or the entire Flyers management staff. The best thing that could happen would be for Fletcher to be removed and the Flyers bring in a GM who knows how to approach building a team in the today's NHL
- MJL

I understand that you have no faith in Fletcher and his staff, but there is no rational reason to remove Fletcher at this point. He is going to have the rest of this season and the off season to get this team back on track. You might as well root for him and hope to God you are wrong about him, because the alternative is we are back here again next year, only if so I will be 100% agreeing with you that Fletcher must go. I just hope when things do turn around you will give me the same courtesy.

Not to mention jvr and risto once we get a long term deal in place for him. I really like how things are shakin out too
- Just5

RR will be gone by the deadline and JVR most likely in the off season. Mark it down.

Do you watch the games?
- corduroy

Every minute of every game.

I can’t cheer for them to lose either….I don’t get upset anymore when they lose though. I feel bad for guys like Bill who are going on 2 plus years of having to write about this team and try and find positives. It’s like a journalistic PTSD.
- landros 2

I no longer get upset either -- I just laugh a lot now at their suckiness

Every minute of every game.
- jd250

If you say that this team does not suck than you are either lying to yourself or you have no concept of what a good hockey team looks like

Yup, we'll just keep dwelling on the negative. But wait .. what about all the players that are not injured and play game in and game out, you know, players like G, Hart, Sanheim, Provorov, Atkinson, Laughton, TK, Yandle and so on. It seems weird that these players have not been impacted by the "embarrassing" training/medical staff. Hmmm ... maybe there is another reason for this. Nah, its a red herring, we need to get back to focusing on the injured players like Couturier, out for the year with a bad back, those wretched Flyers medical people!!! Arrrgghhh!! But wait, I look at Couturier before this year and I see he played about 95% of the games in 6 out of his 11 seasons with the Flyers, and this being the very first year in his career that he has had a season ending injury. Hmmmm ... so it can't be that "embarrassing" medical staff, because I would think this would have been recurring in his career ... so it must be something else also. Gee, that bad luck excuse is starting to become more relevant than I thought.

Oh well, forget all this medical nonsense, let's beat up on Fletcher for trading away two stiffs to get a top pairing RHS defenseman, something this team desperately needed, albeit there was concern over past injuries. How could he trade away these two lovely and high performing players for a player that could possibly be injured?? What a wretched GM Fletcher is ... Arrrggghhh! But wait, Ellis never had any injury like this in his career, and no one could have possibly foreseen this happening, and he is when healthy one of the best defenseman in the league, and we really gave up nothing more than the equivalent of two bags of used cat liter for him, so rationally I think this was a good trade and worth the risk. Hmmm ... so then why did this have to happen to our best defenseman?? Yup, there is bad luck excuse coming back again.

Carry on ....
- jd250

The proof is the results. The standings blow your entire company yes man argument to smithereens. When they lose to Carolina on Monday they are half way to their third double digit losing streak of the season. It's comical how pathetic this season is on the heels of allowing 6+ goals 11 times in 56 games last season.

I can’t cheer for them to lose either….I don’t get upset anymore when they lose though. I feel bad for guys like Bill who are going on 2 plus years of having to write about this team and try and find positives. It’s like a journalistic PTSD.
- landros 2

I do. Lustily.😀

No it’s just the hockey gods haven’t been with us
- Just5

HA!