Myers and Sanheim SUCK!
- jd250

Sanheim has actually been pretty awesome lately.

As for Myers, he's halfway through his second season. Mr. Dependable Matty Niskanen made a ton of mistakes early in his career too. That's actually putting it kindly, he was a hot risky mess. It wasn't until his 5th or 6th season that he really got in his groove.

If the Flyers are patient enough to ride out all the growing pains they'll have a top notch performer in Myers for years to come. If not, have fun watching him blossom and probably win Stanley Cups with another team.

The stats are bogus lol and secondly you said Couts is not a Center to build a SC winning team around based on your list and I pointed out several that are not listed who lead their teams to a cup.

Another thing is the list has players that arent even #1 Cs.

Dylan Strome at #22 is currently 3rd line RW
Kuznetsov at #12 is 2nd line C
Yanni Gourde at #31 is a 3rd line C
William Karlsson at #26 is 2nd line C

Then you also ignore that players on this list also play for the same teams

Crosby/Malkin
McDavid/Draisaitl
Matthews/Tavares
Point\Stamkos

This means your claim that Couts is not a 1st line C on many teams is actually incorrect as 8 of those top players play on the same 4 teams meaning that the list of teams with Cs better than Couturier gets smaller.,
- xShoot4WarAmpsx

I am bolding your strange post and addressing the bolded points in order.

The only flaw a stat can have is that it is stems from an inaccurate sample set. This is clearly not such a case. It measures current performance, and ranks them, over a large # of games and large # of players.

1. To say a stat is bogus is a lot like saying the temperature is bogus. The temperature is what it is, but the speaker may not be what he thinks he is.

2. I did not know Strome has moved to wing. Fine, add him to list of exclusions.

3. There are many not on that list who have taken their teams to cup. But they are on the downside of their career. As such, on current form, which is what the list measures, they are not included. At the time they were leading their teams to the cup, their form was different. Then, they would have been included.

4. I don't see what a guy on that list who is playing 2C has to do with it, with the same club or otherwise.

5. Technically, you are correct. Note however though, by the same token, he might be 3C on some of these clubs (Pitt, ED, Toronto) and so on average, across the 8 clubs, he would not be 1C.

My larger point (of which the stat was a supporting example) is that Couts is on external opinion, and on stats, not a top tier center. Therefore, he is not the type of center who leads you to a cup with this club.

Could Tampa win a cup with him as their 1c if point goes down? Sure they could, though their chances would be a lot less.

Yes, my hyperbole knows no bounds it seems ...
- jd250

Between you and SSB, we have enough hot takes to last us a lifetime.

Ok...so your not a fan. I have the rat faced bastard in my pool this year, so maybe I’m being a little easy on him. As Bill suggests though the guy is lights out a fantastic all around hockey player.
- landros 2

In my little amateur study of impact playoff performers, Marchand was the top ranked left wing in 3 of the last 4 years and ranked #2 in the other year. Best all-round left winger, from the 3rd round too.

So what’s the thought. Do we actually trade Scott raffl Haag or any at the deadline?
- Peter Richards

Yes at the end of the day we are going to need some extra cap space.

Laughtons likely going to need a raise and as much as I like him in our bottom 6 I dont think signing him is going to be in our best interest moving forward.

Raffl is sort of the same thing. Love him on our 4th line but probably time to move on unless his cap hits gonna drop.

Hagg is a bottom pair\7th D. Can be replaced

Sanheim has actually been pretty awesome lately.

As for Myers, he's halfway through his second season. Mr. Dependable Matty Niskanen made a ton of mistakes early in his career too. That's actually putting it kindly, he was a hot risky mess. It wasn't until his 5th or 6th season that he really got in his groove.

If the Flyers are patient enough to ride out all the growing pains they'll have a top notch performer in Myers for years to come. If not, have fun watching him blossom and probably win Stanley Cups with another team.
- Tomahawk

I know Sanheim scored that OT goal the other night, but last night he walked in all alone on the Bruins goalie in the 2nd period and shot the puck 5 feet over the net! Its that type of missed opportunity in conjunction with his continued defensive mistakes that are killing this team. Myers too, just awful turnover after awful turnover, and very little in the way of offense. Maybe they both become decent and steady defenders in the years to come, but right now they are a train wreck to watch IMO.

Just my opinion, but I think the doom and gloom on Hart is really premature. He is super young to be a starting goalie in the NHL and, if we're being honest with ourselves, the team is poop. Everything points to him working through his growing pains. He supposedly works his butt off and takes the sport and his job like a maniac. I have a feeling (hope) that he will still be a stud for us for years to come.
- daddytc

I agree...it’s a blip in what will be a great career in Philly. All young goalies have struggles at some point. From all reports he’s all hockey all the time. With his talent and work ethic I trust he can get the ship righted.

Ok...so your not a fan. I have the rat faced bastard in my pool this year, so maybe I’m being a little easy on him. As Bill suggests though the guy is lights out a fantastic all around hockey player.
- landros 2

Not so much! No doubt he has a lot of skill and he has the advantage of playing with one of the best centers in the league, however what bothers me the most about him is all the extracurricular BS he gets away with that no one takes him to task for and the refs let him get away with it.

But Couturier has way more upside at this stage in his career than Claud Giroux or Jake V, why would I pay G $6M/year when I can pay Couts $8M/year and get a much better player for several more years? Look at how well Bergeron is playing his this stage of his career. Why couldn't Couts do the same thing? Bergeron is not on your list that I saw, but you are telling me you wouldn't want him anchoring the centers on your team? I say resign Couts to a team friendly deal, jettison G, Jake and JVR and build around Couts with better veterans and good young players.
- jd250

These are good questions, and I will provide my opinions as honestly as I can.

1. Because of the extra term on Couts and to a lesser extent, the extra $. And frankly, because it represents a change in outlook: you are accepting that this team is growing/rebuilding. You accept therefore that where you pick in the draft is a very important part of the equation.

2. Look at Bergeron's career #s. There trajectory goes up a lot when he started centering Marchand and Pasta. We do not have wingers of that caliber.

3. We could go that way, but here is the rub. Remember you are committed to Hayes. 4 odd years later, you will likely find yourself in exactly the same position as now, with Couts your Giroux (good but not worth contract) and Hayes your Voracek (ditto). And then, you wouldn't have high draft picks either.

I covered it, Bill covered it and shared a similar thought process , you can think what you want
- ClaudeFather

You can think what you want. Doesn't change anything. In my opinion it was a saveable shot.

I'm retired so I always get to everything late unless it's an appointment.
Nobody has commented on the officiating? Did I miss that comment?
Anyway, it sucked. it sucked when they called penalties and when they DIDN'T.
If all of the calls were made I suspect we never would have been at 5v5 and we would have had the advantage.
The call on Morin was a result of what infraction? Playing hockey?
That the lil' SOB named Marchand was allowed to live AGAIN is a travesty and should have been remedied by now.
I want him savagely beaten by somebody near his size. Beaten for being him.
I like when the players finally get retribution and pummel jerks. Even when they are members of this team.
I hate jerks and cheap shotters. That defines Marchand.
- Pompous

The officiating was terrible, but they are never held accountable, so what can we do? Boo them and tell them they suck at home games? I doubt that helps the cause!

Totally agreed on the Marchand needs an a$$ whooping comments. I would personally like to volunteer my services to remedy that situation

So are you saying that on breakaways, the shooter should always score? In the shootout, what is the top scorer's shooting percentage? How about on breakaway's in games. What is the average SV%?
- MJL

another example of how everyone here knows you've never played and have no clue what you are talking about

I know Sanheim scored that OT goal the other night, but last night he walked in all alone on the Bruins goalie in the 2nd period and shot the puck 5 feet over the net! Its that type of missed opportunity in conjunction with his continued defensive mistakes that are killing this team. Myers too, just awful turnover after awful turnover, and very little in the way of offense. Maybe they both become decent and steady defenders in the years to come, but right now they are a train wreck to watch IMO.
- jd250

I'm sure Mattiajesus Ekholm made plenty of mistakes in his first couple of seasons. I'd venture to even say he might have missed the net a few times, too.

Young players make mistakes. Shooters miss the net sometimes. Lessons are learned. Life goes on.

Its nuts that Aho is not in this list. Did you noice that Dougie Hamilton did not make it to the top 10 or mentions list among the Dmen? I suspect there were no Carolina personnel among those polled.
- PT21

Didn't fully back read, so sorry if this was already pointed out. But Jacob Slavin was on the top 10 Dman list & Svechnikov was on the top 10 wingers list.

How many goalies does Marchand get to bite on the fake, though? A lot.

A specific example: He got Bobrovsky with it at least 4-5 times, including 3 in one season. I remember NHL Network doing a breakdown segment on a Boston vs. Columbus game and they showed he beat Bob several times that season on the same move he beat Hart on last night.
- bmeltzer

I would say the same thing. Don't bite on the fake. It was much too easy for Marchand. Goalies get beat all the time on shots they should've stopped. That doesn't change that it was a saveable shot.

You can think what you want. Doesn't change anything. In my opinion it was a saveable shot.
- MJL

Because it was savable, could have been and needed to be saved. There wasn't anything routine or pedestrian about it, but that's a back breaker!

Just my opinion, but I think the doom and gloom on Hart is really premature. He is super young to be a starting goalie in the NHL and, if we're being honest with ourselves, the team is poop. Everything points to him working through his growing pains. He supposedly works his butt off and takes the sport and his job like a maniac. I have a feeling (hope) that he will still be a stud for us for years to come.
- daddytc

He deserves criticism. He's been bad. No doubt he's very young and a hard worker. He could bounce back. He could also self destruct. I've been a Flyer's fan for a LONG time. I've earned the right to be pessimistic.

Sanheim has actually been pretty awesome lately.

As for Myers, he's halfway through his second season. Mr. Dependable Matty Niskanen made a ton of mistakes early in his career too. That's actually putting it kindly, he was a hot risky mess. It wasn't until his 5th or 6th season that he really got in his groove.

If the Flyers are patient enough to ride out all the growing pains they'll have a top notch performer in Myers for years to come. If not, have fun watching him blossom and probably win Stanley Cups with another team.
- Tomahawk

I fall somewhere in the middle. I don’t think they suck...although they have not had very good years and have regressed from their play last year. I’m also not watching the same game as you if you think Sanheim has been awesome. I have seen him improve his play of late from abysmal to decent. I do like him jumping into the play and using his above average speed. When he’s not doing this he’s not nearly as effective. Myers is all tied up within himself...if ever a young d man needs to do a little reset it’s him. I still think he has the potential, but right now I see a kid fighting it.

Wow, you are thick sometimes! I never posted Niskanen would not have helped. Read my post again. I labeled Niskanen as a solid and steady partner that would cover for Provorov's myriad of mistakes. I also posted that he would help but not enough to make the Flyers this year a playoff team. I believe Ekholm would provide even better value to the Flyers if they were to obtain him, but I also previously posted more than once that Ekholm alone would not propel this team into the playoffs, but would be a nice step in the right direction. And BTW, the reason that Niskanen nor Ekholm would propel this team into the playoffs is frankly, Myers and Sanheim SUCK!
- jd250

You posted that it's being overblown and that it wouldn't make much of a difference. This is after clamoring for weeks that the Flyers HAD to make a move. HAD to go after Ekblom. You repeatedly stated that adding Ekholm makes the Flyers a playoff team. Doubling down on absurd hyperbole will not help your cause.

Between you and SSB, we have enough hot takes to last us a lifetime.
- Tomahawk

I understand that they are the number #1 and #2 leading contributors to global war... I mean climate change.

Didn't fully back read, so sorry if this was already pointed out. But Jacob Slavin was on the top 10 Dman list & Svechnikov was on the top 10 wingers list.
- Big_E_88

Yeah, point well taken. That, esp Slavin, refutes my speculation of Carolina underrepresented. Svechnikov of course should be there in any list.

So the brad sh goal is on hart?
- Peter Richards

On just Hart? No.

Dear Chuck,

Sell.

Thank you.

On just Hart? No.
- MJL

clown emoji

Coaches that win games have jobs. Putting Jake on the point is not how to win games against the best PK in the league anchored by two of the best players in the league. My God, look at what happened, look where Jake ended up, look who was defending a 2 on 1. Are you that close minded?
- jd250

You're completely wrong on this. It was a defenseman defending a 2 on 1.