Bill Meltzer: Meltzer's Musings: Tuesday Quick Hits

GGUNK

Bill,

Are there any names out there of maybe low risk/high reward type d or forwards you think the Flyers could target. I have been advocating for the Flyers to look at Del Zotto if he were to be available by trade or maybe as a free agentif he doesn't receive and QO. Do you have any ideas?

I know this is off topic but thinking back to the Frozen Four & seeing Gostisbehere I'm wondering if he can actually play defense at the NHL level. His offensive skills are great but he seemed to get lost in his own zone at times. Would it be crazy to try him on the wing? He would bring great speed to the lineup & showed a great shot.

Former Flyers defenseman Erik Gustafsson...
- bmeltzer

Still not used to seeing that...

I know this is off topic but thinking back to the Frozen Four & seeing Gostisbehere I'm wondering if he can actually play defense at the NHL level. His offensive skills are great but he seemed to get lost in his own zone at times. Would it be crazy to try him on the wing? He would bring great speed to the lineup & showed a great shot.
- iladel90

yes

So if I'm looking at this right for the offseason we need:
4 forwards
3 defensemen
1 back-up goalie

That's just to replace our UFA or un-signed RFA (*cough* Schenn *cough*) at a minimum.
Sound about right?

yes
- PhillySportsGuy

Luca Sbisa agrees.

I know this is off topic but thinking back to the Frozen Four & seeing Gostisbehere I'm wondering if he can actually play defense at the NHL level. His offensive skills are great but he seemed to get lost in his own zone at times. Would it be crazy to try him on the wing? He would bring great speed to the lineup & showed a great shot.
- iladel90

It is not that easy to just throw an offensive dman and make him a forward. The reason he does the things he does is because he is a dman. If he were to move to forward it would limit some of the things he does.

So if I'm looking at this right for the offseason we need:
4 forwards
3 defensemen
1 back-up goalie

That's just to replace our UFA or un-signed RFA (*cough* Schenn *cough*) at a minimum.
Sound about right?
- FlyersGrace

Assuming they re-sign Schenn and Akeson, they will have 12 forwards signed for next season. That includes Rosehill and Rinaldo. They will likely have Laughton as well. That gives them 13.

Not including Kimmo, they have 5 defenseman for next season. This does not include the young guys who may make an impact.

Luca Sbisa agrees.
- Tomahawk

Where would he be if the Flyers never rushed him?

So if I'm looking at this right for the offseason we need:
4 forwards
3 defensemen
1 back-up goalie

That's just to replace our UFA or un-signed RFA (*cough* Schenn *cough*) at a minimum.
Sound about right?
- FlyersGrace

Yep -- that's about right. The problem with the forwards is that, if we really want to talk playoffs, we need a couple of those guys to actually be, well, good

We could probably fake it with the defense we have, but those forward slots...we really will need production from those

It is not that easy to just throw an offensive dman and make him a forward. The reason he does the things he does is because he is a dman. If he were to move to forward it would limit some of the things he does.
- J35Bacher

I'm just putting the idea out there. I also think he was left to roam a little by the coaches there since he was the best player they had. He could just do whatever he wanted. I just hope he didn't pick up bad habits.

I wouldnt mind having Benoit Pouliot replace Steve Downie on that 3rd line.. but I suspect Pouliot is going to get a substantial raise over the 1.3 mil he made this year.

Assuming they re-sign Schenn and Akeson, they will have 12 forwards signed for next season. That includes Rosehill and Rinaldo. They will likely have Laughton as well. That gives them 13.

Not including Kimmo, they have 5 defenseman for next season. This does not include the young guys who may make an impact.
- PhillySportsGuy

So assuming Laughton is truly ready they need 1 more forward at least and I don't think McGinn is it.
And they'll need 2 defensemen at least which could be Kimmo and one of the young guns. I love Timonen but he's lost so much speed I'm not sure I want him back.

So assuming Laughton is truly ready they need 1 more forward at least and I don't think McGinn is it.
And they'll need 2 defensemen at least which could be Kimmo and one of the young guns. I love Timonen but he's lost so much speed I'm not sure I want him back.
- FlyersGrace

See, my hope is that you don't go into a season with Rinaldo and Rosehill both. I don't mind toughness, but man, Hextall has to start finding "functional toughness" -- guys who can actually play 8-10 minutes of shifts without taking penalties while still being physical

I'm just putting the idea out there. I also think he was left to roam a little by the coaches there since he was the best player they had. He could just do whatever he wanted. I just hope he didn't pick up bad habits.
- iladel90

Union actually played a fairly conservative style of hockey. Ghost was a strong defensive player for them throughout the season. He was regarded as the best defenseman in college hockey. They don't say that about one-way players. People never mistake Erik Karlsson for the best defenseman in hockey.

Where would he be if the Flyers never rushed him?
- PhillySportsGuy

You know, I really never understood why he was so highly regarded before the draft. So yeah, even though the Flyers did him no favors, I'm still not sure he would have amounted to much more than he is right now.

I'm just putting the idea out there. I also think he was left to roam a little by the coaches there since he was the best player they had. He could just do whatever he wanted. I just hope he didn't pick up bad habits.
- iladel90

I thought there was a lot of talk from his coaches about them focusing on his defensive game his junior year and he got much better at it. That doesn't mean he's great defensively, but that he did maybe improve. I agree that he was probably OKed by coaches to go for it and do whatever he could to help win that championship game. Let your best players play. The end result was promising

See, my hope is that you don't go into a season with Rinaldo and Rosehill both. I don't mind toughness, but man, Hextall has to start finding "functional toughness" -- guys who can actually play 8-10 minutes of shifts without taking penalties while still being physical
- AllInForFlyers

Yeah if they re-sign both Schenn and Akeson then Rosehill is sitting... Which is why I'd want at least 1 more forward so Rinaldo can join him.

EDIT: That also assumes VL is playing.

I'm just putting the idea out there. I also think he was left to roam a little by the coaches there since he was the best player they had. He could just do whatever he wanted. I just hope he didn't pick up bad habits.
- iladel90

I know. But he gets that room because he is coming from the defense. Forwards have to pick him up and sometime forwards aren't great at d so he gets space. Plus he has a cannon from the point so we might finally have someone who can get a shot through to create rebounds.

Union actually played a fairly conservative style of hockey. Ghost was a strong defensive player for them throughout the season. He was regarded as the best defenseman in college hockey. They don't say that about one-way players. People never mistake Erik Karlsson for the best defenseman in hockey.
- PhillySportsGuy

I only saw the two games from the Frozen four that Union played... and they certainly did not play anything like a conservative style of hockey. The best representation of what they did would be to say that they played with 3 forwards and 2 offencemen.

I can't count the number of times during those two games where the puck was cycled back to one of the points and no defenseman was home because he'd pinched in and joined the attack

Yeah if they re-sign both Schenn and Akeson then Rosehill is sitting... Which is why I'd want at least 1 more forward so Rinaldo can join him.

EDIT: That also assume VL is playing.
- FlyersGrace

As much as it's been debated, hey, it is entirely possible VL will be here.

I'm just putting the idea out there. I also think he was left to roam a little by the coaches there since he was the best player they had. He could just do whatever he wanted. I just hope he didn't pick up bad habits.
- iladel90

Think every college/junior star gets away with a bit of ad hoc/improv that they wouldn't be able to get away with at the next levels. On the other hand, I'd love to see more kids be encouraged to keep most of that swagger/creativity, instead of so many NHL coaches focusing in on drumming it out of them... like what Carlyle & Co are trying to do to Gardiner.

So assuming Laughton is truly ready they need 1 more forward at least and I don't think McGinn is it.
And they'll need 2 defensemen at least which could be Kimmo and one of the young guns. I love Timonen but he's lost so much speed I'm not sure I want him back.
- FlyersGrace

Ideally, the team would move VL and bring in a less expensive, top 9 winger.

I'm not sure what the plan is on defense. I'm thinking they re-sign Kimmo then look to switch Grossmann or Schenn out for someone a little more mobile.

I think Rosehill is fine as a 13th forward. You don't want to use a young guy in that role. You want someone who won't be hurt long-term by not playing everyday. Rosehill fits the bill.

In the event of a long-term injury, I imagine the team would look to Cousins, Leier or Straka.