Bill Meltzer: Wrap: Flyers Down Ducks, 4-1

Just watched the highlights. A lot of one goal close game losses have preceded this 3 game win streak. Slowly but surely they are starting to deliver a better brand of hockey on a nightly basis

Bill do you see Ersson staying when Hart comes back ?

Bill do you see Ersson staying when Hart comes back ?
- Angus4444

He has earned an extended stay. But, at the same time, I don't see the goalie usage plan changing THAT much for the rest of this season. They don't want Ersson sitting for the long stretches that Sandström has. He needs to be playing. So I do think Ersson will go back to the Phantoms at some point.

All the Flyer have done so far is prove they are the best of the worst....hockey purgatory

All the Flyer have done so far is prove they are the best of the worst....hockey purgatory
- mr4tno

Its depressing. I've been watching Bedard like a Hawk. Seeing this organization piss away that opportunity for perpetual purgatory enrages me.

Its depressing. I've been watching Bedard like a Hawk. Seeing this organization piss away that opportunity for perpetual purgatory enrages me.
- MBFlyerfan

Finishing at the very bottom of the league only gives you an 18% chance of getting him anyway and you just know with the Flyers luck that they wouldn't get him. Besides, there is no way the Flyers are finishing below the Hawks and Ducks anyway(also the Blue Jackets). They shouldn't have brought in a coach like Torts if they were truly gonna tank. Again, call it the usual mismanagement, but from a fan standpoint I'm glad to watch some real hockey versus the crap of the past few seasons where they would quit in many games.

All the Flyer have done so far is prove they are the best of the worst....hockey purgatory
- mr4tno

It's funny to say this, but they have lost lots of very close games. If they had a full roster I believe they very well would be in a playoff spot right now or at least very close to one.

The Flyers are tanking at tanking! Figures....

Ersson rebound after injury last season has been amazing. Goaltending is the Flyers biggest strength. Go Sam, go!

Its depressing. I've been watching Bedard like a Hawk. Seeing this organization piss away that opportunity for perpetual purgatory enrages me.
- MBFlyerfan

What should they do? Send York back to the Phantoms? Keep Hart on IR for the rest of the season and return Ersson to the Phantoms? Healthy scratch Konecny the rest of the year? Bench Tippett, recall Bellows and install him instead near the top of the lineup? Go back to giving Frost 10 mins of ice time a game and very few o-zone starts with two among Mac, Deslauriers or Bellows as his linemates again? Tell Hayes "you know what? We've been rethinking that expectation about two-way play. No need!" Rebreak JVR's fingers?

And THEN what happens if the roughly 80 percent odds of NOT getting Bedard even if you have the worst record in the league plays out as the odds strongly favor?

Ersson rebound after injury last season has been amazing. Goaltending is the Flyers biggest strength. Go Sam, go!
- NC Flyers Fan

Ersson has been very good. In the next few years, him and Hart will make a strong duo.

Finishing at the very bottom of the league only gives you an 18% chance of getting him anyway and you just know with the Flyers luck that they wouldn't get him. Besides, there is no way the Flyers are finishing below the Hawks and Ducks anyway(also the Blue Jackets). They shouldn't have brought in a coach like Torts if they were truly gonna tank. Again, call it the usual mismanagement, but from a fan standpoint I'm glad to watch some real hockey versus the crap of the past few seasons where they would quit in many games.
- Phillywhiteout

And finishing 8th from the bottom gives you virtually NO chance. Year after effing year. In perpetuity.

What should they do? Send York back to the Phantoms? Keep Hart on IR for the rest of the season and return Ersson to the Phantoms? Healthy scratch Konecny the rest of the year? Bench Tippett, recall Bellows and install him instead near the top of the lineup? Go back to giving Frost 10 mins of ice time a game and very few o-zone starts with two among Mac, Deslauriers or Bellows as his linemates again? Tell Hayes "you know what? We've been rethinking that expectation about two-way play. No need!" Rebreak JVR's fingers?

And THEN what happens if the roughly 80 percent odds of NOT getting Bedard even if you have the worst record in the league plays out as the odds strongly favor?
- bmeltzer

We know what they ARE doing. Guaranteeing they finish in the bottom 10 for the foreseeable future.

We know what they ARE doing. Guaranteeing they finish in the bottom 10 for the foreseeable future.
- MBFlyerfan

This team going into the season was never going to hit the bottom. Chicago, Arizona and Anaheim were set to be bottom 3. Blue jackets had some bad luck and have just hit the skids. This isn't the tank year for Flyers. Management has to actively work at it. Like Chicago moving guys at the draft last summer.

Its depressing. I've been watching Bedard like a Hawk. Seeing this organization piss away that opportunity for perpetual purgatory enrages me.
-MBFlyersFan

Amen! But the real truth is this Flyers team does not even need Bedard to get out of purgatory. Sure Bedard is a dream to get but even if the Flyers get Fantilli or Leo Carlsson I think this current team would get a huge boost. Especially when you consider Gauthier and Andrea will be here next year also.

I agree with what Jason Myrtetus said yesterday, I want the Flyers to finish with a top 5 pick, but not at the expense of seeing TK, or Hart, or York failing. I want the best of the both worlds here. I want to see TK and Laughton continue to be the leaders of this team and I want to see Frost, Tippet, York, Cates etc. continue to develop. I believe we can have both, good player development and a team that finishes in the bottom 5 of the league. The way that happens is the Flyers need to trade as many veteran players as they can immediately and send Ersson back the the Phantoms. Bring up more young players and continue to develop them the rest of the way. Torts and his staff are doing a great job IMO, and I would like whomever is drafted this year to come in here and have a solid & young team to play with. I think that can happen if Flyers management acts soon!

What should they do? Send York back to the Phantoms? Keep Hart on IR for the rest of the season and return Ersson to the Phantoms? Healthy scratch Konecny the rest of the year? Bench Tippett, recall Bellows and install him instead near the top of the lineup? Go back to giving Frost 10 mins of ice time a game and very few o-zone starts with two among Mac, Deslauriers or Bellows as his linemates again? Tell Hayes "you know what? We've been rethinking that expectation about two-way play. No need!" Rebreak JVR's fingers?

And THEN what happens if the roughly 80 percent odds of NOT getting Bedard even if you have the worst record in the league plays out as the odds strongly favor?
- bmeltzer

The Flyers management hasn’t done anything wrong that caused them to win these last three games. They were the better team in each game.

They wouldn’t finish last even if they tried. Some teams have been trying all year and have a head start. The lottery will be what it is.

I do think like you said Ersson goes back to the Phantoms where hopefully he can compete in the AHL playoffs. I don’t think they should be rushing anyone back from injury. And hopefully, they can make some trades for draft capital before the deadline. Maybe they do give Bellows or others a look.

What should they do? Send York back to the Phantoms? Keep Hart on IR for the rest of the season and return Ersson to the Phantoms? Healthy scratch Konecny the rest of the year? Bench Tippett, recall Bellows and install him instead near the top of the lineup? Go back to giving Frost 10 mins of ice time a game and very few o-zone starts with two among Mac, Deslauriers or Bellows as his linemates again? Tell Hayes "you know what? We've been rethinking that expectation about two-way play. No need!" Rebreak JVR's fingers?

And THEN what happens if the roughly 80 percent odds of NOT getting Bedard even if you have the worst record in the league plays out as the odds strongly favor?
- bmeltzer

Finally the obvious is stated . The tanking talk everyday is getting old.

We know what they ARE doing. Guaranteeing they finish in the bottom 10 for the foreseeable future.
- MBFlyerfan

Haha, they are a disgrace

Finishing at the very bottom of the league only gives you an 18% chance of getting him anyway and you just know with the Flyers luck that they wouldn't get him. Besides, there is no way the Flyers are finishing below the Hawks and Ducks anyway(also the Blue Jackets). They shouldn't have brought in a coach like Torts if they were truly gonna tank. Again, call it the usual mismanagement, but from a fan standpoint I'm glad to watch some real hockey versus the crap of the past few seasons where they would quit in many games.
- Phillywhiteout

The Flyers don't need to be the worst team in the league, just finish in the bottom 5. Bedard is great but there are several really good top-end players at the top of this year's draft that I feel can play in the NHL right away. Just get into that top 5 mix and anything can happen. I would even take trading a player like Provorov to get a 2nd top 10 pick in this year's draft, then you have Gauthier, Andrea, and two top-end players coming in here next year to augment this core group of players plus the potential of a healthy Couturier. I'm telling you this can be turned around very quickly if Flyers' management acts now!

What should they do? Send York back to the Phantoms? Keep Hart on IR for the rest of the season and return Ersson to the Phantoms? Healthy scratch Konecny the rest of the year? Bench Tippett, recall Bellows and install him instead near the top of the lineup? Go back to giving Frost 10 mins of ice time a game and very few o-zone starts with two among Mac, Deslauriers or Bellows as his linemates again? Tell Hayes "you know what? We've been rethinking that expectation about two-way play. No need!" Rebreak JVR's fingers?

And THEN what happens if the roughly 80 percent odds of NOT getting Bedard even if you have the worst record in the league plays out as the odds strongly favor?
- bmeltzer

They should have traded one of Sanheim/Provy in the off-season or more specifically Sanheim last trade deadline before that enormous contract. That would have been the most beneficial thing to the tank. They also didn’t need to bring in TDA.

We know what they ARE doing. Guaranteeing they finish in the bottom 10 for the foreseeable future.
- MBFlyerfan

The problem is they are not that bad, personnel wise. If you watched that game last night, I saw one team play a structured physical game. The other team resembled last years Flyers team… the Ducks have some young talent for sure, but in that setting they are absolutely brutal. Chicago has sold off assets, our GM thought it was too tough to do those things. Columbus is bad and like the Flyers have big injuries….we saw SJ the other night, just not a very deep team….add in Arizona and I see 5 teams the Flyers are better then….after that it’s a crap shoot….I see them finishing right around 25-26….the GOOD news is after the top 3 guys talent wise there are 5-6 other guys that could be really, really good pieces….or maybe just maybe the Flyers hit on that 6.5 % chance and get Bedard.

We know what they ARE doing. Guaranteeing they finish in the bottom 10 for the foreseeable future.
- MBFlyerfan

No. What they ARE doing is trying to determine who can/should be pieces of the puzzle moving forward. Yes, they need a superstar. Yes, their cap situation is a mess. No, while they have some decent prospects in the pipeline, there isn't a franchise player.

As far as the draft lottery goes, it is what is it. If you are building from absolute scratch, you can draft Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, have them become everything they were hyped to be, and still be far from a Cup contender. This is year 8 of McDavid's career. It's year 9 for Draisaitl. Both are bonafide superstars. The Oilers are currently barely clinging to the lower wildcard spot near the midpoint of the season. Colorado, with all of their injuries, has a higher points percentage and is one point behind with two games in hand.

This season MAY be the final (12th straight, 14th in the last 16) season where Buffalo finishes out of the playoffs before becoming a playoff club again. That's after years and years of drafting at or near the top.

Worry about building a team -- the Flyers still have a long way to go -- and not pining just for a guy who could win Art Ross Trophies on otherwise rotten to middling clubs. Whatever direction they go in, the Flyers will need no small amount of good luck, too.

They should have traded one of Sanheim/Provy in the off-season or more specifically Sanheim last trade deadline before that enormous contract. That would have been the most beneficial thing to the tank. They also didn’t need to bring in TDA.
- ClaudeFather

That’s not the plan Fletcher had. Never has been, or your right, they should have moved one of those guys or better yet not signed Risto and moved him at the deadline.

What should they do? Send York back to the Phantoms? Keep Hart on IR for the rest of the season and return Ersson to the Phantoms? Healthy scratch Konecny the rest of the year? Bench Tippett, recall Bellows and install him instead near the top of the lineup? Go back to giving Frost 10 mins of ice time a game and very few o-zone starts with two among Mac, Deslauriers or Bellows as his linemates again? Tell Hayes "you know what? We've been rethinking that expectation about two-way play. No need!" Rebreak JVR's fingers?

And THEN what happens if the roughly 80 percent odds of NOT getting Bedard even if you have the worst record in the league plays out as the odds strongly favor?
- bmeltzer

Bill, I listened to an explanation by Craig Button on how the draft lottery works this year. Teams 14, 15, and 16 are in the lottery but cannot win it. If one of them does, the pick defaults to the worst team in the league and the order is then arranged with the 14,15,16 team that wins picking second. Therefore, the worst team in the league has an 18.5% chance plus the 7% total chance from each of those teams combined which means the worst team actually has a 25.5% chance. It sounds weird but the explanation made sense.

That said, I like your sarcasm.