Bill Meltzer: Quick Hits and Musings: Tortorella, Captaincy, Coach-Media Relationship

Scott Laughton 🤮

There is no leader on this roster

Scott Laughton 🤮

There is no leader on this roster
- Fopa21

Wrong. But the puke emoji really added a lot to the discussion.

I still find it odd that one of the biggest conversations about the Flyers now is about their heart, passion, leadership and work ethic....

This was clearly an issue easily 5-6 years ago and has been since, I guess denial is strong in this organization. I know I have been saying this for a long time and I know I have seen others see it too. So I feel like all this talk is just ANOTHER facade and we will be talking about it again this time next year as well.

Wrong. But the puke emoji really added a lot to the discussion.
- bmeltzer

I think Laughton would be the best choice the Flyers have. Plus I think losing Raffl took a hit on the leadership group.

Coots or Laughton or Hayes or Cam... is it really gonna make a difference at the end of the day? Just pick somebody and move on, no need to over-analyze.

Coots or Laughton or Hayes or Cam... is it really gonna make a difference at the end of the day? Just pick somebody and move on, no need to over-analyze.
- Tomahawk

No issue with any of those guys with the exception of Hayes. The captain should not be some goofball, all three of the other guys take pride in their effort on the ice and play an honest game. Hayes does some real dumb stuff out there, don’t need him wearing the C.

Coots or Laughton or Hayes or Cam... is it really gonna make a difference at the end of the day? Just pick somebody and move on, no need to over-analyze.
- Tomahawk

It's about a leadership group, not exclusively the C. So who has the C and who the alternates are doesn't make a huge difference. That said, there is a message sent by who wears the C and why.

I gave the Jason Smith example. Coming off the disaster that was 2006-07, with a need to restore a more competitive personality as a team, Smith was a good choice as captain even though he was only here for one season.

It would be appropriate if the NHL's 31st best team at scoring goals named a captain with a career high of 32 points. Laughton is a solid 3rd liner and a good guy by all accounts, but he would be the least skilled captain in the entire league.

No issue with any of those guys with the exception of Hayes. The captain should not be some goofball, all three of the other guys take pride in their effort on the ice and play an honest game. Hayes does some real dumb stuff out there, don’t need him wearing the C.
- ClaudeFather

agree 100%.

It's about a leadership group, not exclusively the C. So who has the C and who the alternates are doesn't make a huge difference. That said, there is a message sent by who wears the C and why.

I gave the Jason Smith example. Coming off the disaster that was 2006-07, with a need to restore a more competitive personality as a team, Smith was a good choice as captain even though he was only here for one season.
- bmeltzer

I’d like to see Coot’s…

It would be appropriate if the NHL's 31st best team at scoring goals named a captain with a career high of 32 points. Laughton is a solid 3rd liner and a good guy by all accounts, but he would be the least skilled captain in the entire league.
- Feanor

Maybe the Flyers should have a team skill competition to find a new captain because that will definitely find the best for the role.

It's about a leadership group, not exclusively the C. So who has the C and who the alternates are doesn't make a huge difference. That said, there is a message sent by who wears the C and why.

I gave the Jason Smith example. Coming off the disaster that was 2006-07, with a need to restore a more competitive personality as a team, Smith was a good choice as captain even though he was only here for one season.
- bmeltzer

Torts should just name himself the captain lol. That would send a message.

Well York and Frost were 1st picks, those other 2 were not. Tippet also a 1st. So they should have higher potential.

Rather acquire someone from the outside be the Captain. Nothing these leftover slugs can do or say at this time that will be any different than the previous x amount of years. Step right up Foligno brothers......

It would be appropriate if the NHL's 31st best team at scoring goals named a captain with a career high of 32 points. Laughton is a solid 3rd liner and a good guy by all accounts, but he would be the least skilled captain in the entire league.
- Feanor

It's not about points. It's about leadership. The Blackhawks had much higher scorers than Dirk Graham but he was a fine captain. Neither Tim Kerr nor Brian Propp were better suited for the Flyers captaincy than Dave Poulin.

The Hakstol incident getting huffy with the reporter had to be over Jori Lehtera. Looked at the (long) roster on 2006-2007 and Petr Nedved strikes me as the kind of guy to laugh after a big loss.

It's about a leadership group, not exclusively the C. So who has the C and who the alternates are doesn't make a huge difference. That said, there is a message sent by who wears the C and why.

I gave the Jason Smith example. Coming off the disaster that was 2006-07, with a need to restore a more competitive personality as a team, Smith was a good choice as captain even though he was only here for one season.
- bmeltzer

Right now, I dont give a rat's ass about the C, the letters im most concerned with are G and M

It would be appropriate if the NHL's 31st best team at scoring goals named a captain with a career high of 32 points. Laughton is a solid 3rd liner and a good guy by all accounts, but he would be the least skilled captain in the entire league.
- Feanor

These are absolutely different skill sets, that are neither mutually inclusive or exclusive.

Flyers were also at the end of the ranking for GAA. Should we look for captaincy among defensemen and goalies?

Right now, I dont give a rat's ass about the C, the letters im most concerned with are G and M
- THE BLACK HAND

These are absolutely different skill sets, that are neither mutually inclusive or exclusive.

Flyers were also at the end of the ranking for GAA. Should we look for captaincy among defensemen and goalies?
- missingmike

Since points and skill apparently don't matter and it's fine for the Flyers to have the least skilled captain in the entire league, why not make Nick Seeler captain? According to Torts, the Flyers brass are all super impressed with his fight against Deslauriers.

It's not about points. It's about leadership. The Blackhawks had much higher scorers than Dirk Graham but he was a fine captain. Neither Tim Kerr nor Brian Propp were better suited for the Flyers captaincy than Dave Poulin.
- bmeltzer

Laughton does seem to have a good relationship with media…he also has a maturity about him that eludes a lot of pro athletes. He’s well respected by his team mates and has become a good pro. He might be C pick because I don’t think it would effect his play. Coots, my choice, may be impacted by the weight of the “C”. Some guys can handle it …some can’t. You don’t know until it happens.

Since points and skill apparently don't matter and it's fine for the Flyers to have the least skilled captain in the entire league, why not make Nick Seeler captain? According to Torts, the Flyers brass are all super impressed with his fight against Deslauriers.
- Feanor

Mind boggling to even bring that up. Tells me Seeler may very well be the #6 dman. Probably go after Deslauriers as well.

It's not about points. It's about leadership. The Blackhawks had much higher scorers than Dirk Graham but he was a fine captain. Neither Tim Kerr nor Brian Propp were better suited for the Flyers captaincy than Dave Poulin.
- bmeltzer

In the five full seasons Poulin was captain, he was 3rd on the team in scoring with 299 P in 364 games.

https://www.nhl.com/stats...ssists&page=0&pageSize=50

In Laughton's past four seasons where he has been a 3rd liner, he is 7th in scoring with 109 P in 251 games. There's a huge gap between Laughton and Poulin as players.

https://www.nhl.com/stats...ssists&page=0&pageSize=50

There was some speculation among this group that TK and Provy will not do well under Torts. Who can say? They might thrive with more accountability and a strong coach and leadership group. Provy hasn't seemed to respond well to criticism in public, but who knows.

I think the C and the leadership group will be key. Adding a few pieces along the way is a must.

Is it telling that TK and Provy were NOT mentioned as candidates for the C?

Big trade coming.

The Hakstol incident getting huffy with the reporter had to be over Jori Lehtera. Looked at the (long) roster on 2006-2007 and Petr Nedved strikes me as the kind of guy to laugh after a big loss.
- backfire

It was over Val Filppula.... but which player it was isn't really relevant to the blog. It was really about a coach overreacting to being pressed in the moment and then apologizing the next day.

Gagne didn't name names but I think Nedved had already been dispatched by that point. Unfortunately, there were multiple players with the wrong attitude... for different reasons Mike, Mike York, Kyle Calder and Geoff Sanderson all fit the description of players who had to be moved out.