Bill Meltzer: Meltzer's Musings: Raffl and Gagne

Me.

and that's all.

Would love to see Gags back, I think this team is going to have just the right amount of veteran and young ones on the team.

Thanks, Bill, even if Raffl has an impressive camp I'd want him to cut his teeth on the North American game in the AHL. I'd rather not let preseason glee obscure his true level of play (like we saw with Pyorala or even Jon Sim in years past) only to see him demoted because the preseason was a fluke.

The worst part, to me, is that the Flyers are going to be parting with a defenseman I like, no matter if it's Coburn, Grossmann, or Meszaros. I'm going to go ahead and assume it will be Grossmann since I just received his jersey as a gift last season.

What about Straka do you see him in the same situation at camp as Raffl or do you see him mostly a Phantoms player to start

Thanks, Bill, even if Raffl has an impressive camp I'd want him to cut his teeth on the North American game in the AHL. I'd rather not let preseason glee obscure his true level of play (like we saw with Pyorala or even Jon Sim in years past) only to see him demoted because the preseason was a fluke.

The worst part, to me, is that the Flyers are going to be parting with a defenseman I like, no matter if it's Coburn, Grossmann, or Meszaros. I'm going to go ahead and assume it will be Grossmann since I just received his jersey as a gift last season.


- Flyskippy

uh oh, the jersey curse!

for me the gagne question comes down to scott laughton: does gagne definitely bring more to the table at this stage of his career? or would the team be better off letting the kid get his first real cracks at the nhl?

i'm sure the flyers (hopefully ) have a better sense right now, but i don't feel like i'll know the answer until at least training camp starts and we get to see laughton on the ice. so i'd lean toward giving the kid a chance, and adding a third line winger further down the road if necessary

unless, of course, a regular press-box seat next to rosehill for rinaldo is an option. then maybe you can fit gagne and have rino fight it out with laughton. i'd be surprised if things went that way though

uh oh, the jersey curse!
- Don'tForgetTocchet

seriously... and this time right now's gotta be the worst. knowing it might happen any day

my last new one is still richie and i'm trying to decide which way to go. i think i may go with jake

What about Straka do you see him in the same situation at camp as Raffl or do you see him mostly a Phantoms player to start
- flyeredup77

Coming in tomorrow's blog... if Straka was as well-rounded as Raffl or if Raffl had Straka's hands, you'd be talking about an immediate NHLer. As it is, Straka is an AHL player right noe with a chance to work his way up.

I hope to see Gags back, but there is the cost and his injury history. Can his body withstand a full season? He showed last year that he still has it, not his prime but still good.

From what I've seen of Raffl, ill be surprised if he makes the Flyers. He definitely looks like he'll need some AHL time.

I like him though. I think there's offense there. He's really good postionally and has scored goals just from being in the right spot when he needed to be there. Will probably never be a big scorer, but there's some untapped potential there IMO.

Watching the hawks flyers series on nhl network and o boy did Bettman just love giving the hawks the cup in philly

Gagne at a paycut is a good player to have on the team for the respect and 2-way veteran leadership he brings. I hope he gets signed.

seriously... and this time right now's gotta be the worst. knowing it might happen any day

my last new one is still richie and i'm trying to decide which way to go. i think i may go with jake
- FlyerMike18

love jake, nice choice

crim put up a video of all his points last season, i'll repost here

made me itch for hockey to just freaking start already

Bill Meltzer: Meltzer's Musings: Raffl and Gagne
- bmeltzer

Matt Reads, Damien Brunners and Viktor Fasths are complete outliers, yet it's almost comical to see NHL teams falling over themselves, taking sudden interest in fringe college programs, secondary/tertiary European pro leagues, and combing around for older, unsigned goalies -- somebody needs to tell them that the diamond's already been plucked out of the rough.

I'm glad the Flyers were ahead of the curve on Read... however, if they really expect Raffl to have a shot at replicating what Brunner was able to pull off last season, they're in for a big surprise.

Gagne at a paycut is a good player to have on the team for the respect and 2-way veteran leadership he brings. I hope he gets signed.
- wolfhounds

Behooves them to wait until after rosters are finalized to sign Gagne, no matter what the $ is they've agreed to, in order to max the LTIR exemption from Pronger and Wellwood.

Gagne at a paycut is a good player to have on the team for the respect and 2-way veteran leadership he brings. I hope he gets signed.
- wolfhounds

i want them to keep gagne, he can play on any line and you just know there will be injuries, the kids can get their chances then imo

Behooves them to wait until after rosters are finalized to sign Gagne, no matter what the $ is they've agreed to, in order to max the LTIR exemption from Pronger and Wellwood.
- Tomahawk

that's fine by me, as long as it doesn't turn into a jagr situation and we get stuck with raffl instead

that's fine by me, as long as it doesn't turn into a jagr situation and we get stuck with raffl instead
- Don'tForgetTocchet

There's a lot of quality, young-ish forwards still available on the market... I don't think the market for Gagne is too expansive. His best bet at finding an NHL gig might have been to go into a camp on a PTO anyway...

There's a lot of quality, young-ish forwards still available on the market... I don't think the market for Gagne is too expansive. His best bet at finding an NHL gig might have been to go into a camp on a PTO anyway...
- Tomahawk

but will these quality young forwards sign as cheaply as gagne?

i'll survive if they don't but my personal preference is to keep him

i'd rather not see tye mcginn on the top line again

Hey Bill,
It appears Fredric Larsson is coming over to play in the USHL. How would you compare the USHL to the European juniors? Would this be a step down in competition for him?

but will these quality young forwards sign as cheaply as gagne?

i'll survive if they don't but my personal preference is to keep him

i'd rather not see tye mcginn on the top line again
- Don'tForgetTocchet

I think you'll see just about everybody signing cheaply from this point forward... nobody wants to have the music stop and be left w/o a chair.

As for the vid above, my favorite part is:

RAFF MEH

RAFF MEH
- Just5

Gone. Yay.