sure, but you can see late in games Risto is out their against the top players, especially if the Flyers are up or tied. Also, Risto has taken a bigger role on the PK so again he is playing against the other team's top players. There is no doubt he is being sheltered a bit as his game gets aligned to what Torts and Shaw want, and so far Torts has been consistent in his happiness of Risto's play since he has come back from being benched.
- jd250

their pk isn't anything to brag about. When you look at the options of course he will get minutes there. Someone has to.

He is a sunk cost that is unmovable. Keep him in a limited 3rd pair role and live with it.

Not worth the risk. You move now or at the latest the summer. However they do not want to move him or others. Beyond comical at this point. They still think they can win with this group.
- hello it's me 2050

Well, that is a BIG problem if true. We'll see what the Flyers do at the deadline. JVR will be moved but who else? If no other players are moved than clearly the Flyers don't feel they need to rebuild. But the Flyers are also capped-out, so they can't sign a big free agent or two, so what are you left with? I think you are left with drafting in the middle of the first round each year and never having a good chance to draft and develop true top end talent, meaning the Flyers will perennially be stuck in the middle .. YUCK!

their pk isn't anything to brag about. When you look at the options of course he will get minutes there. Someone has to.

He is a sunk cost that is unmovable. Keep him in a limited 3rd pair role and live with it.
- hello it's me 2050

The Flyers have an 84% PK over the past month and lead the league in SH goals. That actually is something to brag about. No doubt I agree that Risto can improve, but will never live up to his current contract unless he gets to 30+ points year while playing well defensively in a top 4 role.

If the Flyers had a real GM here, Hayes, DeAngelo and JVR would be moved for picks at this deadline, and then Attard, Foerster and Lyksell would be moved up to fill their spots the rest of the season to continue their development and evaluation. The team would then lose more games and better their chances to pick higher in this draft and get a game changer. Its really a no-brainer for anyone who cares about the team more than themselves!
- jd250

TDA and KH would not have been acquired

There is no replacement for Provey currently, that is why the Flyers should not move him unless they are blown away with an offer. Hayes on the other hand I feel the Flyers have players that can fill that spot and fill it better than Hayes is.
- jd250

This is just another in a long line of examples of how your opinions conflict with one another. You believe that a team like the Flyers with a lack of talent, have players that can fill that spot better than Hayes is. Yet you believe teams like Boston are going to take the player and the remaining term in a trade.

But its not a couple of weeks, its been 40 games, ever since Risto came back from being scratched. His offense has come back since the past 16 games, but even before that he was playing well defensively, killing plays and putting is good minutes on the PK, and was starting to take risks offensively. Risto's contract will always be overpriced, but his play this year is the least of the Flyers' problems.
- jd250

No, he hasn't been playing well defensively. He has been just as bad as he has always been. It's why he was moved out of the top 4. Ristolainen is one of the biggest issues facing this team. A 3rd pair defenseman making 5M that they gave up top draft picks for. The trade, the player and the re-signing is a disaster.

Yes Hextall was fired ... isn't that interesting? The bottom line is both GMs Suck with a capital 'S'. Hextall deserved to be fired and Fletcher clearly was a bad hire that was completely due to this relationship with Clarke. I agree on one point, nothing will change unless the Flyers get a new set of senior advisors and remove Fletcher from the GM role.
- jd250

Everybody eventually gets fired. How many times has Tortorella been fired?

Yes so far. I think this is due to Shaw working with Risto to change his defensive game, so in these cases a player typically takes a step back to take a leap forward. I expect as the season moves on Risto will be playing more minutes, but right now he and Seeler are doing well together. Provey and York have also looked good together though it would be better if York was on the left side. The big problem right now is Sanhiem and DeAngelo, that pairing does not work, though I don't blame it all on DeAngelo; Sanheim is not very good either.
- jd250

The reason why Angelo is playing with Sanheim is because they don't like Ristolainen in the top 4. Ristolainen is not and has not changed his defensive game. The system has changed.

Well, that is a BIG problem if true. We'll see what the Flyers do at the deadline. JVR will be moved but who else? If no other players are moved than clearly the Flyers don't feel they need to rebuild. But the Flyers are also capped-out, so they can't sign a big free agent or two, so what are you left with? I think you are left with drafting in the middle of the first round each year and never having a good chance to draft and develop true top end talent, meaning the Flyers will perennially be stuck in the middle .. YUCK!
- jd250

If other players aren't moved, that does not show that clearly the Flyers don't feel they need to rebuild. It takes two teams to make a trade.

The Flyers have an 84% PK over the past month and lead the league in SH goals. That actually is something to brag about. No doubt I agree that Risto can improve, but will never live up to his current contract unless he gets to 30+ points year while playing well defensively in a top 4 role.
- jd250

The Flyers PK is at 77.3% for the year and is ranked 18th. Which is average. Nothing to brag about.