This is what you hope happens. It is not set in stone in any way. Keep in mind flyers have game sin hand over other teams. 4 over the Caps. 4 points (23-19) separate the flyers and devils.

It would be a typical flyers move to extend TK for 8 years 8 million+. I fully expect it to happen. Which is the wrong move.

Remains to be seen if Cutter and MM will be stars. MM is very great chance.
- hello it's me 2050

MM for sure, but I also think Cutter will be a very, very good player, along the lines of Jeff Carter only much more physical. This does not have to be a long rebuild! TK and Hart fit just fine in the timeframe, so unless the Flyers are blown away with an offer, I would keep them both.

With New Jersey coming up and being a smaller, faster team, I think it's a perfect time to sit Deslauriers so the Flyers can match the speed of New Jersey.
- jd250

But what if one of the Devils take advantage of no Deslauriers and is really mean to one of the Flyers? Some younger players never recover from an opponent being mean to them.

Check-in with my 4 Bold Predictions for this year's Flyers:

1. The Flyers will finish with 82-84 points. The Flyers are on pace to finish with 90 points.
2. The Flyers will score over 240 goals this year. The Flyers are on pace to score 246 goals,
3. The Flyers PK will be over 80%. The Flyers PK is currently 83.58%.
4. The Flyers will lose less than 7 games in OT. The Flyers are on pace to lose 3-4 games in OT.
- jd250

who gives a schitt about pace.

The front office loves fans like you. They give themselves a pat on the back when they see post like yours

MM for sure, but I also think Cutter will be a very, very good player, along the lines of Jeff Carter only much more physical. This does not have to be a long rebuild! TK and Hart fit just fine in the timeframe, so unless the Flyers are blown away with an offer, I would keep them both.
- jd250

I do not have a feeling on what Cutter will be. I do believe he will be a productive player not convinced a star or elite. Said before the goals he scores in college I will wait to see if they beat nhl level goalies.

Their Defense is far away from cup contention. There is nothing in house that is going to expedite that.

TK will be 28 when his new contract starts. With 10 years of mileage. all he knows is losing. No thanks.

Hart I do not commit big bucks/term too as goalies way to volatile.

Staal is not going to play every game, Zamula will be in for him, or when the eventual injury occurs. Zamula is not going anywhere, he will get his playing time.
- jd250

has the coach given any indication that staal will be a healthy scratch?

Coming off an injury with back to back games was the perfect time to sit him. He choose not to.

Torts is not playing head games, he is fixing the culture that was in place. I am sure by next season their will be a player wearing a C and some As, but right now Torts wants to make sure there is no hierarchy in the room, so that every player feels like they can speak up and take accountability for the team's performance. This is EXACTLY what Torts needs to do, especially given what he walked into, which according to Atkinson was a "country club" atmosphere. Torts is setting a new Standard!
- jd250

no hierarchy in the room, good stuff. Guess that's why he got rid of hayes and Tony d.

Second time in 2 weeks the Eagles opponent had an uncontested game winning TD pass not connect. The Eagles, despite their record, can not keep relying on their opponents to shoot themselves in the foot it they want to make it back to and win the SB.

I think the Bills were 6/6 on 3rd down 7+ yds to go at one point.

As it is, i am thankful they have the 2 game cushion for the 1st round bye and hopefully Lane Johnson is back for next week. As bad as the Eagles play has been at times this season, they are the definition of win ugly with the emphasis on WIN.
- Flyers_01

I'm not sure how you spend all that draft capital on defense and still have a bad defense. Maybe Howie isn't the drafting wizard everyone thinks he is. He sure as hell can get you the draft picks, but it feels like a lot of them are wasted.

I think the Flyers right now are a better team than the Islanders. I also think they are better than the Caps and Pittsburgh and obviously Columbus. The Flyers are a playoff bubble team whose odds of making the playoffs rise everyday they sit in the top 4 of the Metro division. And the Flyers are only going to get better as their younger players develop and stars like Gauthier and eventually Michkov join the lineup. If I were Briere, I would seriously consider extending TK and making him the captain of the team. He has 'C' written all over himself.
- jd250

I would disagree that the Flyers are better than the Caps and have doubts about the Pens also. Realistically, the Flyers sit 5th in the Metro. Isles are ahead of them. Points percentage is the more realistic indicator. The Devils now that they got Hischier and Hughes back, are going to pass the Flyers.

Staal is not going to play every game, Zamula will be in for him, or when the eventual injury occurs. Zamula is not going anywhere, he will get his playing time.
- jd250

I'll believe it when I see it.

This is what you hope happens. It is not set in stone in any way. Keep in mind flyers have game sin hand over other teams. 4 over the Caps. 4 points (23-19) separate the flyers and devils.

It would be a typical flyers move to extend TK for 8 years 8 million+. I fully expect it to happen. Which is the wrong move.

Remains to be seen if Cutter and MM will be stars. MM is very great chance.
- hello it's me 2050

Actually, the other teams have games in hand over the Flyers.

With New Jersey coming up and being a smaller, faster team, I think it's a perfect time to sit Deslauriers so the Flyers can match the speed of New Jersey.
- jd250

If only removing Deslauriers could do that!

I think the Flyers right now are a better team than the Islanders. I also think they are better than the Caps and Pittsburgh and obviously Columbus. The Flyers are a playoff bubble team whose odds of making the playoffs rise everyday they sit in the top 4 of the Metro division. And the Flyers are only going to get better as their younger players develop and stars like Gauthier and eventually Michkov join the lineup. If I were Briere, I would seriously consider extending TK and making him the captain of the team. He has 'C' written all over himself.
- jd250

I'm not sure that you can say that the Flyers are better than the Caps and Pens just yet. The truth is though that if the Flyers actually had a half decent PP they could have 3 more wins than they have now. I agree with TK being captain material. I've been saying this for awhile now. I still don't know how I feel about extending him and Hart though. That's a toughie!

With New Jersey coming up and being a smaller, faster team, I think it's a perfect time to sit Deslauriers so the Flyers can match the speed of New Jersey.
- jd250

Removing one slug isn't going to allow the Flyers to match the Devils speed.

Torts is not playing head games, he is fixing the culture that was in place. I am sure by next season their will be a player wearing a C and some As, but right now Torts wants to make sure there is no hierarchy in the room, so that every player feels like they can speak up and take accountability for the team's performance. This is EXACTLY what Torts needs to do, especially given what he walked into, which according to Atkinson was a "country club" atmosphere. Torts is setting a new Standard!
- jd250

One of these days, you might realize that buzzwords like culture, accountability and standard are a bunch of nonsense. It is the used car salesman pitch that Tortorella preaches and relies on because of his inadequacies in other coaching areas.

One of these days, you might realize that buzzwords like culture, accountability and standard are a bunch of nonsense. It is the used car salesman pitch that Tortorella preaches and relies on because of his inadequacies in other coaching areas.
- MJL

It really isn't total nonsense as you portray. The fact is that this was a country club. Torts got rid of the bad apples (Hayes, Angelo and Provy) and this team really seems to be having fun for the most part. They work hard every night and enjoy playing for each other. It's called team unity that the Flyers apparently lacked before Torts showed up. You like to sell him short constantly. Did you see the smile on Tort's face when Foerster scored the winner? He's not the devil...just a cranky old man at times.

Nice to see Cates back in his best position. The Flyers are oh so close to an ideal lineup given the roster; they just need to finally acknowledge that Nic D is nowhere near being an every game player. His ES goals for-against record as a Flyer is now at a calamitous 20-37.

Farabee-Couturier-Konecny
Tippett-Frost-Atkinson
Foerster-Laughton-Brink
Cates-Poehling-Hathaway

I do not have a feeling on what Cutter will be. I do believe he will be a productive player not convinced a star or elite. Said before the goals he scores in college I will wait to see if they beat nhl level goalies.

Their Defense is far away from cup contention. There is nothing in house that is going to expedite that.

TK will be 28 when his new contract starts. With 10 years of mileage. all he knows is losing. No thanks.

Hart I do not commit big bucks/term too as goalies way to volatile.
- hello it's me 2050

the Flyers are not close to cup contention with this defense, but they are not that far off either. Just getting one legit top pairing defenseman slots everyone else down and all of sudden this is a much better defense.

I do not have a feeling on what Cutter will be. I do believe he will be a productive player not convinced a star or elite. Said before the goals he scores in college I will wait to see if they beat nhl level goalies.

Their Defense is far away from cup contention. There is nothing in house that is going to expedite that.

TK will be 28 when his new contract starts. With 10 years of mileage. all he knows is losing. No thanks.

Hart I do not commit big bucks/term too as goalies way to volatile.
- hello it's me 2050

the Flyers are not close to cup contention with this defense, but they are not that far off either. Just getting one legit top pairing defenseman slots everyone else down and all of sudden this is a much better defense.

MM for sure, but I also think Cutter will be a very, very good player, along the lines of Jeff Carter only much more physical. This does not have to be a long rebuild! TK and Hart fit just fine in the timeframe, so unless the Flyers are blown away with an offer, I would keep them both.
- jd250

What about the defense? In order for the Flyers to become a true contending team, they need to add no less than 4 all star to elite level players. 2-3 forwards and 2 defenseman. Forward wise, maybe Gauthier and Michkov can become two of those needed players. The Flyers need an elite center. If Gauthier plays center in the NHL, do you think he is going to step in at that level in the NHL? To get there, if he even does, is 2-3 years, possibly longer. Michkov is still 2+ years from getting here. Defense wise, there are no current prospects projected to be that level on defense in the system. That means that they still have to draft, trade, or sign for those players. The most likely avenue is drafting. That's conservatively 5 years away for those players to make that impact. Your dream of it not being a long rebuild, is a pipe dream.

One of these days, you might realize that buzzwords like culture, accountability and standard are a bunch of nonsense. It is the used car salesman pitch that Tortorella preaches and relies on because of his inadequacies in other coaching areas.
- MJL

This is a new era of Orange ... we are bringing back the burnt orange in the jerseys, and double Flyers logo is back at center ice .. Van Halen playing from the rafters (funny but I don't recall when Van Halen was ever playing before this), seats are being filled, a new era of optimism is taking shape and a new Standard is being built!!

Torts is not playing head games, he is fixing the culture that was in place. I am sure by next season their will be a player wearing a C and some As, but right now Torts wants to make sure there is no hierarchy in the room, so that every player feels like they can speak up and take accountability for the team's performance. This is EXACTLY what Torts needs to do, especially given what he walked into, which according to Atkinson was a "country club" atmosphere. Torts is setting a new Standard!
- jd250

Accountability is fine but your logic makes no sense. If the idea was that everyone is equal (with no letters meaning no one is intimidated by a chain of command type scenario) and everyone can speak up to hold others accountable then why give an a to Laughton? Just have no letters.

A good captain would help increase accountability by at least leading by example which a guy like coots does.

MM for sure, but I also think Cutter will be a very, very good player, along the lines of Jeff Carter only much more physical
- jd250

What about Gauthier makes you think he's a physical player?

I'm going to throw this reminder out yet again... in his peak season Carter was 2nd in the NHL in goals with 46, trailing only Ovechkin. Counting on Cutter to be 2nd in the NHL in goal scoring for even one season in his mid 20s, is a very high bar.

https://www.nhl.com/stats...=goals&page=0&pageSize=50

It really isn't total nonsense as you portray. The fact is that this was a country club. Torts got rid of the bad apples (Hayes, Angelo and Provy) and this team really seems to be having fun for the most part. They work hard every night and enjoy playing for each other. It's called team unity that the Flyers apparently lacked before Torts showed up. You like to sell him short constantly. Did you see the smile on Tort's face when Foerster scored the winner? He's not the devil...just a cranky old man at times.
- Phillywhiteout

The Flyers issues have never been about work ethic, team unity or any of that nonsense. It's about talent, skill and speed. Develop that and coach it well, and all of that stuff takes care of itself. You're focused on Tortorella smiling. Tortorella and the Flyers have you right where they want you as a fan.

Actually, the other teams have games in hand over the Flyers.
- Phillywhiteout

right was a typo

Staal is not going to play every game, Zamula will be in for him, or when the eventual injury occurs. Zamula is not going anywhere, he will get his playing time.
- jd250

Staal has played in every game so far except for when he was on IR and ineligible to play.

The next time Torts healthy scratches Staal, will be the first time.