Bill Meltzer: Quick

Bill,

The online team merch link does not work. At least not for me.

Bill,
Thank you for all your great work. What do you think Allison's chances are to crack the line up. I think adding him along with Oskars return and a healthy NoPa would be HUGE for moving the needle forward.
Any ideas as to weather we get an AHL season or Not?

Don’t agree it’s giving him or players of his ilk 2 year deals as imo it isnt warranted. Many vets will be available and look at internal options.

Now if management doesn’t think any internal options can get the job done hen that changes things; that can’t be as the prior gm was draft genius..

Don’t agree it’s giving him or players of his ilk 2 year deals as imo it isnt warranted. Many vets will be available and look at internal options.

Now if management doesn’t think any internal options can get the job done hen that changes things; that can’t be as the prior gm was draft genius..
- login

A two-year contract makes him eligible for waiver draft exposure and, at the level of cap hit, he may alternately be movable as a secondary piece of an in-season 2021-22 trade if a younger player steps up internally.

Bill,

The online team merch link does not work. At least not for me.
- bsw31usa

Works for me now but I had to tweak the HTML. Try it again.

Bill,
Thank you for all your great work. What do you think Allison's chances are to crack the line up. I think adding him along with Oskars return and a healthy NoPa

A would be HUGE for moving the needle forward.
Any ideas as to weather we get an AHL season or Not?
- jaws1955

I will write about Allison tomorrow. He's a total wildcard right now. He needs to play hockey. Only playing 48 games in the last (nearly) two-and-a-half seasons and playing just 70 in the last three seasons combined makes it hard to pencil him directly into an NHL lineup.

The AHL is up in the air right now; the odds of a season at all are generously 50-50. Can teams cross the border without quarantines? How would testing work? As a league, the AHL cannot afford testing on the scale that the NHL does. How would revenues work if fans aren't allowed to attend? Unlike the NHL, the AHL has no national TV deal and teams are almost exclusively gate-driven. If the season is delayed until after the NHL starts, what becomes of players who aren't on loan to European teams and are not NHL-ready? Isaac Ratcliffe would be one example.

I asked Chuck Fletcher about the AHL season and its NHL ramifications and he didn't know yet, either. Collectively, NHL teams are waiting for some guidance and direction on these issues.

I like Pitlick, especially the way he played in the post season. If he can bring it consistently every night I would welcome him back next year. He is about the only FA I would sign from the current Flyers however, I was not impressed with Braun, and I think Elliott is just getting older and thus I would like to see what other options are available, though I think another year to give Hart a veteran voice would be helpful.

The more important area I would like to see the Flyers address is the amount of cap space they have tied up in 4 players: Giroux, Voracek, JVR and Ghost. The Flyers have $24M tied up into these 4 players currently and I think they have to get rid of at least two of these players. I think the likeliest two are JVR and Ghost, but Fletcher is going to have to think outside the box to make this happen.

I hope he stays. Perfect 4th liner. Never seems to take a shift off.

I don't think we can ignore the trade "window" we have right now with Jake. According to Bill's excellent reporting, his contract is somewhat "trade friendly" in 20-21 and we have to look beyond next season but what will he bring in the final years of his deal. I think Jake goes before JVR.

Not saying I would or would not deal Jake. We just can't ignore it.

A two-year contract makes him eligible for waiver draft exposure and, at the level of cap hit, he may alternately be movable as a secondary piece of an in-season 2021-22 trade if a younger player steps up internally.
- bmeltzer

Don't agree. Guys like him are available all the time. Give young guy a shot then address it if need be. Signing him for 2 years because of the waiver draft is silly to me. Flyers will have players they can expose. Time to move on as roster is full as is currently.

Bill Meltzer: Quick
- bmeltzer

I don’t think Pitlick is horrible but I think we could do better with basically anyone in the bottom six.

I admit, I’ve been spoiled as a Flyers fan. Raffl and Pitlick are really good fourth line grinders but none of these guys will ever compare to the likes of Blair Betts, Ian Laperriere, Darrol Powe. Obviously these guys were on a great team, so I’ll take it further. Jimmy Dowd, Claude Lapointe, Paul Ranheim, Kent Manderville, Matt Read even at his worst. I feel like we had fourth lines of the past that were the back bone of this team. I haven’t felt this way since prior to 2012.

I'd like to NHL to make an exception clause to the CBA to allow teams to carry more than 23 players on an "inactive roster" kind of like the playoffs. So you still have a 23-man roster, and any moves from/to that roster would still have to fit the cap and waivers would still be enacted if applicable, and any 2-way contracts would be given their AHL pay if they're not on the active roster. That way, the players are still able to practice/get paid, even if there is no league.

I'd like to NHL to make an exception clause to the CBA to allow teams to carry more than 23 players on an "inactive roster" kind of like the playoffs. So you still have a 23-man roster, and any moves from/to that roster would still have to fit the cap and waivers would still be enacted if applicable, and any 2-way contracts would be given their AHL pay if they're not on the active roster. That way, the players are still able to practice/get paid, even if there is no league.
- jmatchett383

Something is going to need to be done. Just don't know how they make it fit with the cap.

Don't agree. Guys like him are available all the time. Give young guy a shot then address it if need be. Signing him for 2 years because of the waiver draft is silly to me. Flyers will have players they can expose. Time to move on as roster is full as is currently.
- login

Players with the size/mobility combo who are good on the forecheck, play physical without taking penalties, and can get you 20+ points on your bottom six aren't irreplaceable but they're also not as readily available at the snap of a GM's fingers as you suggest.

Among Pitlick, Laczynski and Sandin, it's Pitlick who is the best skater, for example.

I don’t think Pitlick is horrible but I think we could do better with basically anyone in the bottom six.

I admit, I’ve been spoiled as a Flyers fan. Raffl and Pitlick are really good fourth line grinders but none of these guys will ever compare to the likes of Blair Betts, Ian Laperriere, Darrol Powe. Obviously these guys were on a great team, so I’ll take it further. Jimmy Dowd, Claude Lapointe, Paul Ranheim, Kent Manderville, Matt Read even at his worst. I feel like we had fourth lines of the past that were the back bone of this team. I haven’t felt this way since prior to 2012.
- SuperSchennBros

I was never a big fan of Lapointe or Ranheim (forgot he actually played here for 3 years). Betts was great until his shoulder fell apart. Lappy was great for his 1 year. Powe was fun because you could just yell "POW" whenever he hit someone. Manderville was good but went like 200 games without a goal, which is unheard of. Dowd and elder Read were good, but didn't stand out.

There aren't any more Lappy/Betts types, and the game has generally phased them out where you have to be able to do more than just play good defense without a transition game, for better or worse.

A lot might come down on if they trade Gostisbehere and what the return is for but the Flyers might very well find themselves hoping that Patrick can return for next season. There could be a bargain available late in free agency that they can pick up on a team friendly deal but that's not a guarantee either.

Players with the size/mobility combo who are good on the forecheck, play physical without taking penalties, and can get you 20+ points on your bottom six aren't irreplaceable but they're also not as readily available at the snap of a GM's fiu sengers as you suggest.

Among Pitlick, Laczynski and Sandin, it's Pitlick who is the best skater, for example.
- bmeltzer

it isnt a knock on pitlick at all. He is solid. Just too many players knocking on the door who have more upside; granted pitlick right now is a legit nhl player those prospects are not. I just go in another direction. If the Flyers sign him its not a bad thing.

As far as him being a quality 4th line players like those mentioned by SSB, him and raffle are imo better than some of those mentioned.

A lot might come down on if they trade Gostisbehere and what the return is for but the Flyers might very well find themselves hoping that Patrick can return for next season. There could be a bargain available late in free agency that they can pick up on a team friendly deal but that's not a guarantee either.
- MJL

If the Flyers need a 3C stopgap, is a guy like Colin Wilson a possibility? He only played 9 games this past season, don't know if it was an injury. After him, I mean....Grant is really the best option amongst UFAs.

If the Flyers need a 3C stopgap, is a guy like Colin Wilson a possibility? He only played 9 games this past season, don't know if it was an injury. After him, I mean....Grant is really the best option amongst UFAs.
- jmatchett383

If Grant is the best possibility, I disagree, then your better off have an internal competition for that spot imo.

If Grant is the best possibility, I disagree, then your better off have an internal competition for that spot imo.
- login

But they tried that with guys like Vorobyov, Weal, and Cousins, just hoping that one could stick. Cousins HAS stuck, but not until he was years removed from the Flyers.

I'd rather go with a guy who's a legit NHL player (at a modest salary) rather than hope that a guy with little to no experience is ready for 82 games of NHL hockey.

If Rubstov wasn't injured last season, he would have been a very viable candidate. But looking at their system now, Frost is the only one I think can make the jump.

I really haven’t done my homework like I usually do for the draft. Is it a deep one? Does anyone think the Flyers will dangle our 1st to either move up or any chance we dangle it along with JVR or Ghost?

I truly believe Patrick will be back and ready to play. He was practicing with the team and by many accounts would have been in the lineup towards the end of the season to get ready for the playoffs.

The Flyers made the right decision choosing to wait until next season rather than trying to put him in playoff hockey after not playing for an entire year and then some.

As a migraine sufferer, I feel for the kid. But it can and will be overcome. Its not like he is in his 30's. He is 22 years old.

Those talking as if his career over are ignorant.

11 returning vets at forward and the possibility of 2 or more from:
Patrick
Frost
Sandin
Laczysnki
Bunny

No need to waste cap dollars on bottom 6 vets unless current players are dealt

But they tried that with guys like Vorobyov, Weal, and Cousins, just hoping that one could stick. Cousins HAS stuck, but not until he was years removed from the Flyers.

I'd rather go with a guy who's a legit NHL player (at a modest salary) rather than hope that a guy with little to no experience is ready for 82 games of NHL hockey.

If Rubstov wasn't injured last season, he would have been a very viable candidate. But looking at their system now, Frost is the only one I think can make the jump.
- jmatchett383

Those guys you mentioned have nothing to do with the current situation. None were/are 3rd line centers and neither is Grant imo. Cousins is an excellent 4th line guy

Even Rubstov not sure what he is at this point. Frost has to be given a legit shot. His upside trumps Grant by miles.

If they want a stopgap who can produce they are going to have to pay a little; if they look outside. Grant does nothing to help this team. Depends if they want to go f/a or trade route.