No, I'm not asking you to do anything. I'm explaining to you what actually challenging a statement is. What you did was not challenging a statement but putting the onus on someone else. Tell me why I'm wrong, then you would be actually challenging and then we can discuss. If you have the time.
- MJL

I think you are wrong because the Flyers have drafted and developed much better over the past few seasons. They have made smart trades to obtain draft capital and young prospects, and have been discplined with cap space management as they try to get out from under several bad contracts Fletcher initiated. As a result, the Flyers have an elite talent in Michkov, 6 picks in the first two rounds on this draft and will realize significant cap relief after this season.

1) Bringing Michkov over early could accelerate the rebuild.

2) Leaving him in Russia for another year helps with the tank this year and essentially extends his cheap ELC an extra year, as the Flyers are unlikely to compete for a Cup in the next few years.

3) The constantly shifting political landscape in Russia leads to concerns that players could be blocked from coming over at some point. So, better to get him over ASAP.

All valid points. #3 supersedes the other two for me. While I’m on Team Tank, no way I would have left him in Russia for another year. Another league/country? Different story.
- Quetzalcoatl

His cheap ELC means nothing, they were never going to be a competitive playoff team in that timeline. If they get good again, if they ever do, it’s still 4-5 years away so that point is completely irrelevant

I think you are wrong because the Flyers have drafted and developed much better over the past few seasons. They have made smart trades to obtain draft capital and young prospects, and have been discplined with cap space management as they try to get out from under several bad contracts Fletcher initiated. As a result, the Flyers have an elite talent in Michkov, 6 picks in the first two rounds on this draft and will realize significant cap relief after this season.
- jd250

It wasn't that long ago that you were praising Fletcher in all fairness.

The 6 picks this year is not all that and people need to realize this draft is not that good outside of the top 4-5. The chance of them getting elite talent in this year's draft is pretty low. Their drafting has been "okay" but there are no surefire top line players waiting in the wings to take someone's spot.

They passed on a potential #1 dman. Jett will be a good player but his ceiling certainly looks like a middle six center.

I think you are wrong because the Flyers have drafted and developed much better over the past few seasons. They have made smart trades to obtain draft capital and young prospects, and have been discplined with cap space management as they try to get out from under several bad contracts Fletcher initiated. As a result, the Flyers have an elite talent in Michkov, 6 picks in the first two rounds on this draft and will realize significant cap relief after this season.
- jd250

How have the Flyers drafted and developed much better the last few years? They lucked into Michkov and again, where they wound up in the draft was not by plan, it was due to incompetence. They were trying to compete and make the playoffs. Provorov wanted out and they tried to resign Walker. Most of the Flyers young players are struggling. They're trying to compete and make the playoffs, yet they sit with the fewest RW's in the league. Teams like Columbus, SJ, Anaheim and Chicago have already surpassed them in acquiring potential future elite players. The Flyers screwed up the Gauthier situation and passed on Buium for Luchanko. As soon as they get cap space, they will undoubtedly spend it. I see bright futures for those other teams while the Flyers keep on doing the same thing over and over. We can start at the top and look at their ridiculous front office structure and the head coach, who is really running the show. They havent been disciplined with cap space. They re-signed Seeler, Konecny, Hathaway and Tippett to an 8 year deal.

i don't think it's fair to say there was nothing to worry about with getting michkov here. sure it hadn't been an issue in the past but:

1) there was no war with Ukraine, obviously. not directly related..
2) weren't they banned from the olympics? ok, now we are getting closer to it involving sports...
3) the whole fedotov thing was wild. almost spiteful since he was "russia's goalie". did not see that coming... arrested for draft dodging? can't make it up.
4)MM's dad. the circumstances around that are fuzzy to put it lightly.

i don't think the fact it never happened before was much of reason not to be worried about it - at the end of the day we had never been through anything like this so there was no way of knowing how it would play out.

i don't think it's fair to say there was nothing to worry about with getting michkov here. sure it hadn't been an issue in the past but:

1) there was no war with Ukraine, obviously. not directly related..
2) weren't they banned from the olympics? ok, now we are getting closer to it involving sports...
3) the whole fedotov thing was wild. almost spiteful since he was "russia's goalie". did not see that coming... arrested for draft dodging? can't make it up.
4)MM's dad. the circumstances around that are fuzzy to put it lightly.

i don't think the fact it never happened before was much of reason not to be worried about it - at the end of the day we had never been through anything like this so there was no way of knowing how it would play out.
- gritty_committee

None of that was in any way a factor in the Michkov situation.

Hmm .. well let's compare it to the Bruins front office. They just grossly overpaid for an unproven goalie, after they traded away a Vezina winning goalie. And what's worse, they made the contract negotiations public further alienating the team from that goalie. The Bruins have one of the lowest rated farm systems in the entire league and no real draft capital coming to rebuild it. They just fired a head coach after a little over two seasons who was a Jack Adams award winner and lead the team to the best regular season in NHL history, after they could not extend him and made him a lame duck coach. That same coach got hired 5 days later by St Louis! And we can always go back to the last time the Bruins actually had draft picks, which was the 2015 draft, the Bruins squandered 3 first round picks on Jakub Zboril, Jake DeBrusk, and Zachary Senyshyn while all star level players like Barzel, Connor, TK, Boeser and Chabot were all on the board.

So yes, it can get a lot worse.
- jd250

Are you seriously putting the Flyers on par with the perennial cup contending Bruins? They won the Cup in 2011 and they went to the finals two more times since.

Come on man.

None of that was in any way a factor in the Michkov situation.
- MJL

well i'm glad we got to the bottom of that!

How have the Flyers drafted and developed much better the last few years? They lucked into Michkov and again, where they wound up in the draft was not by plan, it was due to incompetence. They were trying to compete and make the playoffs. Provorov wanted out and they tried to resign Walker. Most of the Flyers young players are struggling. They're trying to compete and make the playoffs, yet they sit with the fewest RW's in the league. Teams like Columbus, SJ, Anaheim and Chicago have already surpassed them in acquiring potential future elite players. The Flyers screwed up the Gauthier situation and passed on Buium for Luchanko. As soon as they get cap space, they will undoubtedly spend it. I see bright futures for those other teams while the Flyers keep on doing the same thing over and over. We can start at the top and look at their ridiculous front office structure and the head coach, who is really running the show. They havent been disciplined with cap space. They re-signed Seeler, Konecny, Hathaway and Tippett to an 8 year deal.
- MJL

You can absolutely bank on them spending their way into contention

Are you seriously putting the Flyers on par with the perennial cup contending Bruins? They won the Cup in 2011 and they went to the finals two more times since.

Come on man.
- mickel25

I need to start smoking whatever jd has...

Hmm .. well let's compare it to the Bruins front office. They just grossly overpaid for an unproven goalie, after they traded away a Vezina winning goalie. And what's worse, they made the contract negotiations public further alienating the team from that goalie. The Bruins have one of the lowest rated farm systems in the entire league and no real draft capital coming to rebuild it. They just fired a head coach after a little over two seasons who was a Jack Adams award winner and lead the team to the best regular season in NHL history, after they could not extend him and made him a lame duck coach. That same coach got hired 5 days later by St Louis! And we can always go back to the last time the Bruins actually had draft picks, which was the 2015 draft, the Bruins squandered 3 first round picks on Jakub Zboril, Jake DeBrusk, and Zachary Senyshyn while all star level players like Barzel, Connor, TK, Boeser and Chabot were all on the board.

So yes, it can get a lot worse.
- jd250

How many rings/final appearances do the Bruins have?

Probably not the best team to try and use as an example. Good teams that have sustained success usually have a lower than average farm team due to draft order. Florida is the same way - are they bad too?

I think you are wrong because the Flyers have drafted and developed much better over the past few seasons. They have made smart trades to obtain draft capital and young prospects, and have been discplined with cap space management as they try to get out from under several bad contracts Fletcher initiated. As a result, the Flyers have an elite talent in Michkov, 6 picks in the first two rounds on this draft and will realize significant cap relief after this season.
- jd250

They have in no way been disciplined with cap space. One need only look at the weird deals they have been handing out to players like Deslauriers, Hathaway, Seeler, Fedotov. Its not disciplined to not spend money that doesn't exist. If they had you can be sure they would be using it. And please stop talking about 6 picks in one round as some magic elixir that will save the franchise. They will be lucky to get ONE elite player in this upcoming draft and probably not any. 6 more middle six players to add to the huge stable of middle and bottom 6 players they seem to love to draft over and over again.

We all know what happens in two years, they overpay for aging UFA's to huge contracts that quickly age badly and artificially shorten whatever window they have because they have no young elite talent to build on.

Successful teams draft their elite talent and sign the support. The Flyers are going to do it ass backwards. Drafting the support and signing the talent. It has never worked and wont work this time.

They have in no way been disciplined with cap space. One need only look at the weird deals they have been handing out to players like Deslauriers, Hathaway, Seeler, Fedotov. Its not disciplined to not spend money that doesn't exist. If they had you can be sure they would be using it. And please stop talking about 6 picks in one round as some magic elixir that will save the franchise. They will be lucky to get ONE elite player in this upcoming draft and probably not any. 6 more middle six players to add to the huge stable of middle and bottom 6 players they seem to love to draft over and over again.

We all know what happens in two years, they overpay for aging UFA's to huge contracts that quickly age badly and artificially shorten whatever window they have because they have no young elite talent to build on.

Successful teams draft their elite talent and sign the support. The Flyers are going to do it ass backwards. Drafting the support and signing the talent. It has never worked and wont work this time.
- MBFlyerfan

Great post - exactly my thinking as well.

How have the Flyers drafted and developed much better the last few years? They lucked into Michkov and again, where they wound up in the draft was not by plan, it was due to incompetence. They were trying to compete and make the playoffs. Provorov wanted out and they tried to resign Walker. Most of the Flyers young players are struggling. They're trying to compete and make the playoffs, yet they sit with the fewest RW's in the league. Teams like Columbus, SJ, Anaheim and Chicago have already surpassed them in acquiring potential future elite players. The Flyers screwed up the Gauthier situation and passed on Buium for Luchanko. As soon as they get cap space, they will undoubtedly spend it. I see bright futures for those other teams while the Flyers keep on doing the same thing over and over. We can start at the top and look at their ridiculous front office structure and the head coach, who is really running the show. They havent been disciplined with cap space. They re-signed Seeler, Konecny, Hathaway and Tippett to an 8 year deal.
- MJL

Drafting Michkov was not luck. The Flyers took a chance on drafting a potential elite talent who was falling on the board because of the geopolitical situation. Then they worked their tails off to get him out of his current KHL contract and bring him the NHL in only 1 season. They deserve a lot of credit for this.

Provorov never developed into the number 1 defenseman they had hoped he would be when you guy Hextall drafted him at #7, one spot ahead of Zak Werenski, who BTW credits Torts with a lot of the success he is having now. The fact that the Flyers got a 1st round pick, 2 2nd round picks, Walker and Grans in return was a homerun. The Flyers then flipped Walker for another 1st round pick, making the deal even more of a landslide for the Flyers.

Gauthier is a quitter and a toolbag that is doing nothing in Anaheim. The fact that the Flyers were able to salvage anything out of this situation was an accomplishment. Drysdale has to develop, but the tools are there for him to be a high scoring defenseman in this league. Time will tell who won that trade ultimately.

Luchanko has already shown he will be a top 6 center in the NHL. We'll see with Buium ultimately becomes, but I highly doubt he will develop into a top pairing defenseman. Again, time will tell who was right.

TK and Tippet were great deals for the Flyers. TK is leading the team once again in scoring, while Tippet is developing into a player that can score 35-40 goals per season. Seeler and Hathaway are inconsequential. Their deals represent a very small percentage of the cap, and both are solid veterans that can help the younger players on the team develop.

They have in no way been disciplined with cap space. One need only look at the weird deals they have been handing out to players like Deslauriers, Hathaway, Seeler, Fedotov. Its not disciplined to not spend money that doesn't exist. If they had you can be sure they would be using it. And please stop talking about 6 picks in one round as some magic elixir that will save the franchise. They will be lucky to get ONE elite player in this upcoming draft and probably not any. 6 more middle six players to add to the huge stable of middle and bottom 6 players they seem to love to draft over and over again.

We all know what happens in two years, they overpay for aging UFA's to huge contracts that quickly age badly and artificially shorten whatever window they have because they have no young elite talent to build on.

Successful teams draft their elite talent and sign the support. The Flyers are going to do it ass backwards. Drafting the support and signing the talent. It has never worked and wont work this time.
- MBFlyerfan

Deslauriers was signed by Fletcher, not Briere. Slightly overpaying for Fedotov was what they had to do to get him over here. You don't think the Flyers paid a king's ransom behind the scenes to get Michkov out of his KHL contract?

Sorry, tanking doesn't work either. Ask the Buffalo Sabres.

Drafting Michkov was not luck. The Flyers took a chance on drafting a potential elite talent who was falling on the board because of the geopolitical situation. Then they worked their tails off to get him out of his current KHL contract and bring him the NHL in only 1 season. They deserve a lot of credit for this.

Provorov never developed into the number 1 defenseman they had hoped he would be when you guy Hextall drafted him at #7, one spot ahead of Zak Werenski, who BTW credits Torts with a lot of the success he is having now. The fact that the Flyers got a 1st round pick, 2 2nd round picks, Walker and Grans in return was a homerun. The Flyers then flipped Walker for another 1st round pick, making the deal even more of a landslide for the Flyers.

Gauthier is a quitter and a toolbag that is doing nothing in Anaheim. The fact that the Flyers were able to salvage anything out of this situation was an accomplishment. Drysdale has to develop, but the tools are there for him to be a high scoring defenseman in this league. Time will tell who won that trade ultimately.

Luchanko has already shown he will be a top 6 center in the NHL. We'll see with Buium ultimately becomes, but I highly doubt he will develop into a top pairing defenseman. Again, time will tell who was right.

TK and Tippet were great deals for the Flyers. TK is leading the team once again in scoring, while Tippet is developing into a player that can score 35-40 goals per season. Seeler and Hathaway are inconsequential. Their deals represent a very small percentage of the cap, and both are solid veterans that can help the younger players on the team develop.
- jd250

There is so much wrong w this post I don't even know where to begin. One thing stood out - How TF did Jett already become a top 6 center? If that were the case he would be playing in the NHL now. He has a chance to become a middle 6 center but saying he is there now is just ridiculous.

TK isn't even in his new deal yet. Yes, he is a very good player but the argument was always how that contract aged.

And yes, the Flyers 100% lucked into MM39. The triumvirate kicked the can down the road this year. All they are doing is waiting for the cap relief so they can spend it in FA.

I still think DB makes a marginal trade at some point but I am not expecting him to sell at the TDL...

Deslauriers was signed by Fletcher, not Briere. Slightly overpaying for Fedotov was what they had to do to get him over here. You don't think the Flyers paid a king's ransom behind the scenes to get Michkov out of his KHL contract?

Sorry, tanking doesn't work either. Ask the Buffalo Sabres.
- jd250

really doesn't matter who signed him. He should not even be on a NHL roster.

Drafting Michkov was not luck. The Flyers took a chance on drafting a potential elite talent who was falling on the board because of the geopolitical situation. Then they worked their tails off to get him out of his current KHL contract and bring him the NHL in only 1 season. They deserve a lot of credit for this.

Provorov never developed into the number 1 defenseman they had hoped he would be when you guy Hextall drafted him at #7, one spot ahead of Zak Werenski, who BTW credits Torts with a lot of the success he is having now. The fact that the Flyers got a 1st round pick, 2 2nd round picks, Walker and Grans in return was a homerun. The Flyers then flipped Walker for another 1st round pick, making the deal even more of a landslide for the Flyers.

Gauthier is a quitter and a toolbag that is doing nothing in Anaheim. The fact that the Flyers were able to salvage anything out of this situation was an accomplishment. Drysdale has to develop, but the tools are there for him to be a high scoring defenseman in this league. Time will tell who won that trade ultimately.

Luchanko has already shown he will be a top 6 center in the NHL. We'll see with Buium ultimately becomes, but I highly doubt he will develop into a top pairing defenseman. Again, time will tell who was right.

TK and Tippet were great deals for the Flyers. TK is leading the team once again in scoring, while Tippet is developing into a player that can score 35-40 goals per season. Seeler and Hathaway are inconsequential. Their deals represent a very small percentage of the cap, and both are solid veterans that can help the younger players on the team develop.
- jd250

a very entertaining post. Needed that during this dreary day. bold is comical

can we still trade TK?

How have the Flyers drafted and developed much better the last few years? They lucked into Michkov and again, where they wound up in the draft was not by plan, it was due to incompetence. They were trying to compete and make the playoffs. Provorov wanted out and they tried to resign Walker. Most of the Flyers young players are struggling. They're trying to compete and make the playoffs, yet they sit with the fewest RW's in the league. Teams like Columbus, SJ, Anaheim and Chicago have already surpassed them in acquiring potential future elite players. The Flyers screwed up the Gauthier situation and passed on Buium for Luchanko. As soon as they get cap space, they will undoubtedly spend it. I see bright futures for those other teams while the Flyers keep on doing the same thing over and over. We can start at the top and look at their ridiculous front office structure and the head coach, who is really running the show. They havent been disciplined with cap space. They re-signed Seeler, Konecny, Hathaway and Tippett to an 8 year deal.
- MJL

No mention of your Sabres? Is Columbus your new favorite this season? I'm sure you are as excited as a kid on Christmas Eve anticipating a Columbus win tonight. Go BJs!

can we still trade TK?
- gritty_committee

You can. New contract has not kicked in yet.

No mention of your Sabres? Is Columbus your new favorite this season? I'm sure you are as excited as a kid on Christmas Eve anticipating a Columbus win tonight. Go BJs!
- Don Nachbaur

the flyer are the buffalo version of not tanking. Buffalo who by the way has more wins than the flyers the last few seasons combined.

cracks me up when people's go to is the sabre's.

can we still trade TK?
- gritty_committee

Eventually

Drafting Michkov was not luck. The Flyers took a chance on drafting a potential elite talent who was falling on the board because of the geopolitical situation. Then they worked their tails off to get him out of his current KHL contract and bring him the NHL in only 1 season. They deserve a lot of credit for this.

Provorov never developed into the number 1 defenseman they had hoped he would be when you guy Hextall drafted him at #7, one spot ahead of Zak Werenski, who BTW credits Torts with a lot of the success he is having now. The fact that the Flyers got a 1st round pick, 2 2nd round picks, Walker and Grans in return was a homerun. The Flyers then flipped Walker for another 1st round pick, making the deal even more of a landslide for the Flyers.

Gauthier is a quitter and a toolbag that is doing nothing in Anaheim. The fact that the Flyers were able to salvage anything out of this situation was an accomplishment. Drysdale has to develop, but the tools are there for him to be a high scoring defenseman in this league. Time will tell who won that trade ultimately.

Luchanko has already shown he will be a top 6 center in the NHL. We'll see with Buium ultimately becomes, but I highly doubt he will develop into a top pairing defenseman. Again, time will tell who was right.

TK and Tippet were great deals for the Flyers. TK is leading the team once again in scoring, while Tippet is developing into a player that can score 35-40 goals per season. Seeler and Hathaway are inconsequential. Their deals represent a very small percentage of the cap, and both are solid veterans that can help the younger players on the team develop.
- jd250

You are delusional. You leave out key parts of information..like the $10 million in contracts they took on in those trades. They didn't obtain 6 picks, 2 were already theirs. Love how Tippet hasn't scored 30 yet, but some feel he has shown he is a 40 goal scorer. Etc, etc.

I really want to read what you say when Cutter becomes the stud that he is expected to be. You don't like his decision to not sign with Philly...that doesn't mean he can't play the game..he is a rookie with under 30 games to his career. Let's see where he is at in a few years.

You are delusional.
- TheFreak

😂😂