Why? It's huge in Canada....a 30 year Stanley Cup drought for Canadian teams. Even Calgary fans are cheering for Edmonton this year.
- TheFreak

because teams arent mostly made up of Canadians anymore, (Edmonton, actually is). They arent National teams, the team just happens to be located in Canda....So if a team with minimal Canadian players won the Cup but were located in Canada, people think a Canadian team won the Cup but a team comprised of mostly Canadians located in the states isnt celebrated...its stupid

It really is dead simple for the Flyers. Trading TK and Laughton are laughably easy decisions to make.

Instead, they have tied themselves into a knot over this culture nonsense.

It is both equal measure entertaining and maddening.
- StepfordSam

The Flyers culture is a culture of losing

Once he cuts communication, what do you want them to do? He won’t talk to you, a team legend, anybody. This also hurts your leverage in a trade.

You can’t just say “do something more gooderer” from afar when the guy literally will not answer his phone.

I have no problem ripping the brass for their bunglings. They’ve deserved plenty of grief over the years. I have a hard time nailing them on this scenario, though.

What can you do? A blanket ‘more’ isn’t an answer.
- Hesh_

Oh, make no mistake I don’t like how the kid, his parents and his agent treated the organization. But regardless….but in the end the Flyers no longer have the asset and the pieces they got back do not equate to Quitters value. I don’t blame the organization but the return is something I believe is something that can be debated.

It really is dead simple for the Flyers. Trading TK and Laughton are laughably easy decisions to make.

Instead, they have tied themselves into a knot over this culture nonsense.

It is both equal measure entertaining and maddening.
- StepfordSam

It is.


Here is my armchair gm moves which I think are easy.

Trade Konecny
Trade Laughton
Listen on Frost and Farabee but only for a great hockey trade
Send Desluariers to Lehigh
Send Atkinson to Lehigh(I get it. He is a nice guy. But i don't think he has a role anymore on this team)

Do not buyout anyone Let the money fall off next season

Look for possible projects(example Kaliyev in LA)

If you sign a FA, make sure he can be moved at TDL if needed.

It really is dead simple for the Flyers. Trading TK and Laughton are laughably easy decisions to make.

Instead, they have tied themselves into a knot over this culture nonsense.

It is both equal measure entertaining and maddening.
- StepfordSam

Ya it’s like they want to skip the painful part of a rebuild. It just doesn’t work that way.

I (frank)ing hate this consequence of the salary cap. But it is what it is.

I understand the right to have an opinion but I don't understand how people can keep posting stuff about unicorns to jusrtify opinion.

19 seasons since salary cap. 30+ teams during that span. So, 570 attempts to win during that span. And the teams that are winning doing it one way are way more prevalant than teams doing it any other way.

To paraphrase Bob,

how much data does a bro need
before it seeps in his brain?
The answer my friend
Is blowing in the wind,
hot from Tort's tongue.
- PT21

So only one team wins per year? Aren't the rest of the teams failing in there goal that year?

I believe you said a tanking team has won 11 of the 19 cups in the cap era. So that is just 11 of the 570 total opps to win the cup...right? That's more like a 2% success rate. Compared to a 1.5% chance if you do not tank. Doesn't seem to raise the odds much.

It was actually a great trade by Anaheim. They have Carlsson as their future 1C and McTavish as their likely future 2C. Gauthier’s projection has always been likely a 1LW or 2C. There’s less need to force him at center compared to Philly but long term he’s insurance on McTavish as the 2C. They had a few defensive prospects in addition to Drysdale showing promise. Then look at this years draft. After Celebrini there’s no forwards that are any better than Gauthier but there are several top defensemen. Knowing they were going to have a top pick they easily moved on from Drysdale as he’ll be replaced with their top pick this year.
- Schmojo

Oh, for Anaheim, certainly. They’re moving in the right direction, and quickly.

That’s why I think they make a fine trade partner for TK. He’s a winger that would slot in nicely there, and the timeline matches up for their potential rise.

Carlsson, Zegras, and MacTavish. I know you want strength through the gut, but one can go to help out Terry at wing (possibly Gauthier depending how he fits). It won’t be Leo.

It is.


Here is my armchair gm moves which I think are easy.

Trade Konecny
Trade Laughton
Listen on Frost and Farabee but only for a great hockey trade
Send Desluariers to Lehigh
Send Atkinson to Lehigh(I get it. He is a nice guy. But i don't think he has a role anymore on this team)

Do not buyout anyone Let the money fall off next season

Look for possible projects(example Kaliyev in LA)

If you sign a FA, make sure he can be moved at TDL if needed.
- J35Bacher

I like it

It is.


Here is my armchair gm moves which I think are easy.

Trade Konecny
Trade Laughton
Listen on Frost and Farabee but only for a great hockey trade
Send Desluariers to Lehigh
Send Atkinson to Lehigh(I get it. He is a nice guy. But i don't think he has a role anymore on this team)

Do not buyout anyone Let the money fall off next season

Look for possible projects(example Kaliyev in LA)

If you sign a FA, make sure he can be moved at TDL if needed.
- J35Bacher

I have no issue with Cam on the 4th line unless he shows he is totally cooked and they can play someone else. I think if he stays and plays he has a decent year. Remember he missed a ton of time as well.

ND retires and gets a job for life is more liekly....

Morin only 28 maybe he tries a comeback.

I have no issue with Cam on the 4th line unless he shows he is totally cooked and they can play someone else. I think if he stays and plays he has a decent year. Remember he missed a ton of time as well.

ND retires and gets a job for life is more liekly....

Morin only 28 maybe he tries a comeback.
- hello it's me 2050

I could live with something like Poehling centering Atkinson and Hathaway on a 4th line.

The flyers and their dumbFrank fans think they are too proud to tank. As you said you trade TK and Laughton. Get bad, and in a few years we might have some things sprouting up. It’s such a simple concept yet these morons that run the team wouldn’t know it if it smacked Torts in the face with a horses hoof .
- ClaudeFather

I’d be curious what the actual fan opinion breakdown would be. I wonder how many want the Homer approach, the Hextall approach, or the tank/rebuild. I think most fans are in favor of the first two approaches.

I’m honestly at the point where, do whatever you need to do to get whichever Dman the scouts think is the best. Don’t bring Michkov over until his KHL deal is done. Tank through 25/26 in order to try and get at least one of James Hagans & Gavin McKenna. You hopefully get your future #1D this draft. Then suck enough to get Hagans or a top C next year who is your future 1C or 2C and then hopefully get McKenna or another top C in ‘26 as your 1C or 2C. Bring Michkov over and you’ve got Hagans or McKenna paired with Michkov for a decade. In theory, you’d have all of York, Drysdale, Foerster, Tippett, Frost and a few others coming into their primes. You’ll know whether Ersson or another goalie is the legit 1G. And then you’ll be brining in Michkov, Bonk, maybe Barkey, your top 2024 & 2025 picks plus Havana/McKenna in on their ELCs. Flyers could be setup very well if all goes to plan.

Unfortunately, I think we all know they’ll never do this.

because teams arent mostly made up of Canadians anymore, (Edmonton, actually is). They arent National teams, the team just happens to be located in Canda....So if a team with minimal Canadian players won the Cup but were located in Canada, people think a Canadian team won the Cup but a team comprised of mostly Canadians located in the states isnt celebrated...its stupid
- THE BLACK HAND

I haven’t verified this yet, but I saw someone post on social media that the cup winners have always been the team with the most Canadian players on their roster every playoffs.

So only one team wins per year? Aren't the rest of the teams failing in there goal that year?

I believe you said a tanking team has won 11 of the 19 cups in the cap era. So that is just 11 of the 570 total opps to win the cup...right? That's more like a 2% success rate. Compared to a 1.5% chance if you do not tank. Doesn't seem to raise the odds much.
- mickel25

I am baffled why you have a question mark after that bolded statement ....


15 out of 19 cups won with tanking playing a key role. Exceptions Bos (tanked but irrelevant), Detroit (didn't tank but built team leveraging scouting ineffeciencies), Anaheim (tanked but irrelevant ) and VGK (expansion advantages).

So, of those 570 attempts, teams won because of tanking 15 times (I said 16 the original post but miscounted). Of those 570 attempts, team won without tanking 1 time. The 570 cancels out. There were 19 teams in first category and 11 in the second, leading to a relative success ratio of (15)*(11/19)=8.68.

So, one way yields almost 9 times the success as the other.

It is.


Here is my armchair gm moves which I think are easy.

Trade Konecny
Trade Laughton
Listen on Frost and Farabee but only for a great hockey trade
Send Desluariers to Lehigh
Send Atkinson to Lehigh(I get it. He is a nice guy. But i don't think he has a role anymore on this team)

Do not buyout anyone Let the money fall off next season

Look for possible projects(example Kaliyev in LA)

If you sign a FA, make sure he can be moved at TDL if needed.
- J35Bacher

I like Kaliyev, but this past year was disconcerting. Whether he pans remains to be seen. He still hasn’t taken that step. He’s been playing for 3 years, so he’s what, 22 maybe? There’s still time, but I haven’t seen a lot of progression, either. Took a nice step in year 2, but this last season wasn’t what you hope to see.

Now maybe that’s the Kings not giving him ice time or the proper tools around him. I won’t rule that out.

Wait a sec. This sounds familiar. Who could I be thinking of…

Moving on (?)

I think you have to curb any expectations for a reasonable return on Frost, though. He could be a solid middle 6er, but nobody is going to bowl you over for a deal. He’d likely be part of a package if anything.

Kaliyev and Frost might almost a wash. We could be saying the same things about him as we are Frosty in three years time.

I like him, but I don’t love him.

Once he cuts communication, what do you want them to do? He won’t talk to you, a team legend, anybody. This also hurts your leverage in a trade.

You can’t just say “do something more gooderer” from afar when the guy literally will not answer his phone.

I have no problem ripping the brass for their bunglings. They’ve deserved plenty of grief over the years. I have a hard time nailing them on this scenario, though.

What can you do? A blanket ‘more’ isn’t an answer.
- Hesh_

I think they share some blame. They probably should have done their homework and known he was such a sensitive kid. But I do put most of the blame on Gauthier. The unwillingness to hear anyone from the organization out on it just reeks of immaturity and frankly reflects poorly on his parents and representatives. If he had spoken to them and then still decided he was out, then it’d be a different story. Either way it sucks, let’s just hope Drysdale stays healthy and becomes a top Dman.

I haven’t verified this yet, but I saw someone post on social media that the cup winners have always been the team with the most Canadian players on their roster every playoffs.
- Schmojo

Can't possibly be true. Lets look at the back to back finals with WIngs and Pens, with 1 win apiece. Unless Hossa changed the balance, the rosters were largely the same. So, fraction of Canadian players can't be more for both teams.

In fact, wasn't the Wings team stacked with Swedes (+ Datsyuk+Hasek)?

I’d be curious what the actual fan opinion breakdown would be. I wonder how many want the Homer approach, the Hextall approach, or the tank/rebuild. I think most fans are in favor of the first two approaches.

I’m honestly at the point where, do whatever you need to do to get whichever Dman the scouts think is the best. Don’t bring Michkov over until his KHL deal is done. Tank through 25/26 in order to try and get at least one of James Hagans & Gavin McKenna. You hopefully get your future #1D this draft. Then suck enough to get Hagans or a top C next year who is your future 1C or 2C and then hopefully get McKenna or another top C in ‘26 as your 1C or 2C. Bring Michkov over and you’ve got Hagans or McKenna paired with Michkov for a decade. In theory, you’d have all of York, Drysdale, Foerster, Tippett, Frost and a few others coming into their primes. You’ll know whether Ersson or another goalie is the legit 1G. And then you’ll be brining in Michkov, Bonk, maybe Barkey, your top 2024 & 2025 picks plus Havana/McKenna in on their ELCs. Flyers could be setup very well if all goes to plan.

Unfortunately, I think we all know they’ll never do this.
- Schmojo

don't think anyone wants the Ronald approach at all.

I am baffled why you have a question mark after that bolded statement ....


15 out of 19 cups won with tanking playing a key role. Exceptions Bos (tanked but irrelevant), Detroit (didn't tank but built team leveraging scouting ineffeciencies), Anaheim (tanked but irrelevant ) and VGK (expansion advantages).

So, of those 570 attempts, teams won because of tanking 15 times (I said 16 the original post but miscounted). Of those 570 attempts, team won without tanking 1 time. The 570 cancels out. There were 19 teams in first category and 11 in the second, leading to a relative success ratio of (15)*(11/19)=8.68.

So, one way yields almost 9 times the success as the other.
- PT21

Not sure what happened with the bolding on the last post.

So 15 teams that were tanking have won the cup out of 570 total chances to win the cup since the salary cap was implemented? That is a 2.6% overall success rate. Doesn't seem like the be all-end all strategy you make it out to be.

It is.


Here is my armchair gm moves which I think are easy.

Trade Konecny
Trade Laughton
Listen on Frost and Farabee but only for a great hockey trade
Send Desluariers to Lehigh
Send Atkinson to Lehigh(I get it. He is a nice guy. But i don't think he has a role anymore on this team)

Do not buyout anyone Let the money fall off next season

Look for possible projects(example Kaliyev in LA)

If you sign a FA, make sure he can be moved at TDL if needed.
- J35Bacher

Backer for GM!
Solid plan. Makes a lot of sense.

Can't possibly be true. Lets look at the back to back finals with WIngs and Pens, with 1 win apiece. Unless Hossa changed the balance, the rosters were largely the same. So, fraction of Canadian players can't be more for both teams.

In fact, wasn't the Wings team stacked with Swedes (+ Datsyuk+Hasek)?
- PT21

And Russians during their run prior. Hell, they took the Red Army defects.

I (frank)ing hate this consequence of the salary cap. But it is what it is.

I understand the right to have an opinion but I don't understand how people can keep posting stuff about unicorns to jusrtify opinion.

19 seasons since salary cap. 30+ teams during that span. So, 570 attempts to win during that span. And the teams that are winning doing it one way are way more prevalant than teams doing it any other way.

To paraphrase Bob,

how much data does a bro need
before it seeps in his brain?
The answer my friend
Is blowing in the wind,
hot from Tort's tongue.
- PT21

It really is just gaslighting on their part.

I think they share some blame. They probably should have done their homework and known he was such a sensitive kid. But I do put most of the blame on Gauthier. The unwillingness to hear anyone from the organization out on it just reeks of immaturity and frankly reflects poorly on his parents and representatives. If he had spoken to them and then still decided he was out, then it’d be a different story. Either way it sucks, let’s just hope Drysdale stays healthy and becomes a top Dman.
- Schmojo

I’m not saying Danny did everything right. I’m sure he didn’t. I’m just saying they really got handcuffed.

don't think anyone wants the Ronald approach at all.
- hello it's me 2050

I was actually ok with his approach. Just don't think he went far enough. I think Snider did give him the ok to tear it down. I think there was an article that Snider said either build a winner while you had Giroux, Voracek and Simmonds or if not make sure your making good deals to rebuild it.

He could have pretty easily got great deals for Simmonds, Giroux and Voracek and totaly rebuilt the Flyers. But he kind of half assed it a little by trying to thread the needle.

Backer for GM!
Solid plan. Makes a lot of sense.
- mikeyo27

I’m fine with a just about all of it.

I do agree they should eat some of these deals and let the money come off the books naturally instead of finding a buyer who wants picks/assets in return. We just can’t let those go and hope to rebuild at the same time.

Take the hit. You did it to yourself. Own it. Eat it. Prepare for when the money becomes available. We won’t be competitive until that time anyways.

I was actually ok with his approach. Just don't think he went far enough. I think Snider did give him the ok to tear it down. I think there was an article that Snider said either build a winner while you had Giroux, Voracek and Simmonds or if not make sure your making good deals to rebuild it.

He could have pretty easily got great deals for Simmonds, Giroux and Voracek and totaly rebuilt the Flyers. But he kind of half assed it a little by trying to thread the needle.
- J35Bacher

what approach? draft and develop? not an approach to me. what every team does.

he had zero plan at the nhl level. he was terrible at the nhl level.