And if he doesn't, you're cool with having your 13th forward sitting nightly making $1.75M?
- jmatchett383

sorry, not following you here

who is getting 1.75 to sit as the #13?

The 4th line had quite a few legit scoring chances, almost exclusively because of Raffl.
- wolfhounds

he makes the 4th line an actual line worth playing

rather have downie than rinaldo by a country mile
- -davies-

Depends on what Downie and Rinaldo we are talking about.

I thought Rinaldo had a pretty damn good weekend.

rather have downie than rinaldo by a country mile
- -davies-

Rinaldo comes cheaper and only plays 4th line minutes. He can be easily taken out of the lineup if they need to. Downie would be a more integral part of the team.

I like Raffl, but I don't think he's the ideal choice for 82 games of second-line duty.
- jmatchett383

I think he looked good on the first line when he was playing with them. Our second line is not nearly as quick and I think he puck possession style would go great with Simmonds and Schenn.

sorry, not following you here

who is getting 1.75 to sit as the #13?
- Marc D

i think he meant downie

I thought Hall and Rinaldo were OK, though -- Hall more than Rinaldo, but not because I thought Rinaldo played badly. I thought they were fairly solid all weekend.

Raffl did make one bad turnover, but you know what? It's a game of mistakes. That stuff happens.
- AllInForFlyers

Rinaldo, was an overall positive this week. He drew more penalties than he took, had some big hits, and wasn't a big factor on either side of the puck. That's basically his game. I was really expecting a brawl when he put that hit on Maata late on Saturday.

Ditching Downie is just one step towards fixing the team's overall discipline problem. I'm tired of being near the bottom of the league in minor penalties.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/te...alties&viewName=penalties

13-14: 29th
12-13: 30th
11-12: 30th
10-11: 22nd
09-10: 30th
08-09: 30th
07-08: 29th
06-07: 19th
05-06: 8th

And if he doesn't, you're cool with having your 13th forward sitting nightly making $1.75M?
- jmatchett383

Right now, there aren't 12 better NHL forwards currently in the Flyers system better than Steve Downie.

That's just a fact. If Laughton comes in, you still don't have 12 -- Steve Downie's a better hockey player than Zac Rinaldo. That's just a fact. Zac Rinaldo can't do anything better than Downie other than hit -- and again, for the record, while there is some value in physical play, when the only thing you do is hit, that means you do not have the puck.

Depends on what Downie and Rinaldo we are talking about.

I thought Rinaldo had a pretty damn good weekend.
- jak521

Rinaldo was fine. He even drew a penalty on Malkin. His hits were clean and he didn't put himself in a bad situation all weekend. Didn't even give the ref a chance to whistle him.

sorry, not following you here

who is getting 1.75 to sit as the #13?
- Marc D

He said to resign Downie and battle it out for playing time at training camp (i.e. Raffl, Rinaldo, Downie, Laughton battling for 2-3 spots).

As much as I like the guy, I'd be fine if they traded Grossmann if they needed to make room to resign MacDonald. He's not the answer, but I can see him as a part of the solution.
- jmatchett383

Someone on the current D roster is likely going to be traded

It surprises me when Bill Meltzer thinks it is going to be LSchenn because he is more tradable.

I wouldn't bet against Bill, but I will be surprised if that happens.

Of course I would have bet money on them not trading frick and frack too.

was downie in the box for both shorties?
- -davies-

Mac for the first
Downie for the second

He said to resign Downie and battle it out for playing time at training camp (i.e. Raffl, Rinaldo, Downie, Laughton battling for 2-3 spots).
- jmatchett383

If they can afford it is a good problem to have.
But I think they will be in a numbers crunch if the cap only goes to 68 vs 71M mentioned earlier.

Ah, think he'll get a bit more than that if he finishes around 25-30 points... in line with guys like Soderberg, Atkinson, Kruger and Letestu:

http://www.capgeek.com/co...ayer_id=1954&year_id=2014
- Tomahawk

Years of service in the Pro game is also a factor. Raffle has played one Season of Pro Hockey.

Mac for the first
Downie for the second
- PhillySportsGuy

nice

Ditching Downie is just one step towards fixing the team's overall discipline problem. I'm tired of being near the bottom of the league in minor penalties.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/te...alties&viewName=penalties

13-14: 29th
12-13: 30th
11-12: 30th
10-11: 22nd
09-10: 30th
08-09: 30th
07-08: 29th
06-07: 19th
05-06: 8th
- Feanor

Staggering numbers.

If they can afford it is a good problem to have.
But I think they will be in a numbers crunch if the cap only goes to 68 vs 71M mentioned earlier.
- Marc D

canada need to get its poop together

nice
- -davies-

But if the Pens score on Downie's penalty, it ties the game.

Right now, there aren't 12 better NHL forwards currently in the Flyers system better than Steve Downie.

That's just a fact. If Laughton comes in, you still don't have 12 -- Steve Downie's a better hockey player than Zac Rinaldo. That's just a fact. Zac Rinaldo can't do anything better than Downie other than hit -- and again, for the record, while there is some value in physical play, when the only thing you do is hit, that means you do not have the puck.
- AllInForFlyers

That's assuming there are no FA signings, which could happen. I just wouldn't do anything over $1.1M, if anything at all. Also, Rinaldo usually takes someone with him when he takes a penalty (over the last 2 months or so, right before his injury, has been much better about it) where as Downie's a liability to do something stupid at any given moment.

canada need to get its poop together
- -davies-

There were rumors that it won't effect the cap as significantly as first reported. We may be looking at 69.5 or 70M

macdonald has impressed me so far

he has his faults but overall I think he is very solid, positionally sound, and makes a great first pass

replaces some of the skill they have missed since Carle left

doesn't fix the need for a top two way guy, and will certainly get a ton of $ as all UFA D who can play get, but I don't care. He makes the team better.
- Marc D

I agree. He's not the playmaker that Carle was from the backend. But he essentially is a nice replacement for Carle. Definitely makes them better.

But if the Pens score on Downie's penalty, it ties the game.
- PhillySportsGuy

psssh they couldn't hit the side of a barn

He said to resign Downie and battle it out for playing time at training camp (i.e. Raffl, Rinaldo, Downie, Laughton battling for 2-3 spots).
- jmatchett383

TBH, that's exactly what I'd like to see. Don't know if the cash would fit, and don't know if Downie's gonna come in at the number that would make it work, but yeah, I'd absolutely like to see those four guys battle for 2-3 spots.

Ditching Downie is just one step towards fixing the team's overall discipline problem. I'm tired of being near the bottom of the league in minor penalties.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/te...alties&viewName=penalties

13-14: 29th
12-13: 30th
11-12: 30th
10-11: 22nd
09-10: 30th
08-09: 30th
07-08: 29th
06-07: 19th
05-06: 8th
- Feanor

Gotta be good at somethin.