please please be right, that would be awesome for the Leafs
- Zezel

A not so good for the Flyers.I am sure they can challenge for the Play-Offs even if in the end they will not make it in 2015/2016
But as long as they can sort out Umberger/Lecavalier and MacDonald contract wise
it should be fine + 2 prospects doing in minimum 40 games

slightly improved, still a bottom 10 team.

I see them rebuilding. Some young talent in the pipes and some good forwards at the NHL level. New coach new system I see them somewhere between 15th-24th in the final standings. But with another shiny new lottery pick and another year of taking a step forward they are building a foundation to compete with islanders and Columbus for years in the metro. Yes that's weird to say but those 3 teams are set up the best for continued success in the next 10 years.

I see them rebuilding. Some young talent in the pipes and some good forwards at the NHL level. New coach new system I see them somewhere between 15th-24th in the final standings. But with another shiny new lottery pick and another year of taking a step forward they are building a foundation to compete with islanders and Columbus for years in the metro. Yes that's weird to say but those 3 teams are set up the best for continued success in the next 10 years.
- Tfaehner

How can you predict success for the next 10 years. 5? Maybe. 10? Way too many variables.

I see them rebuilding. Some young talent in the pipes and some good forwards at the NHL level. New coach new system I see them somewhere between 15th-24th in the final standings. But with another shiny new lottery pick and another year of taking a step forward they are building a foundation to compete with islanders and Columbus for years in the metro. Yes that's weird to say but those 3 teams are set up the best for continued success in the next 10 years.
- Tfaehner

As long as they finish out of the playoffs and do not get a high draft pick all is well. My only concern with the Flyers this year is whether the Pens can play better against them.

"And yet we all see them as vastly improved and exciting to watch with a great new coach, dynamic forwards, much better than average goaltending and huge potential on the blueline moving forward. "

#FLYERBUZZ...wow

Where are the "vast" improvements over last year - there are no real changes to their roster...unless you assume Provorov and Konecky make the team out of camp, and even then, who do they displace? Their forwards remain largely unchanged from 2014-2015

On the goaltending front, you got a new backup - congrats, but how does that make a team that allowed the 10th most goals in the NHL "better than average" in net? Yes, Mason was quite good in the 51 games played last year, with a very solid save % and GAA, but he is also that goalie that can turn on a dime season-to-season, it's not like you have Lundquist, Price, Quick, Rinne etc in net.

My 2015/2016 predictions

-Atlantic-
Tampa Bay
Montreal
Ottawa

-Metro-
Pittsburgh
Washington
NYR

-Wild Cards-
NYI
Columbus

----------------
Detriot
Florida
Philly
Boston
Buffalo
New Jersey
Carolina
Toronto
- Erik6Karlsson5

if I can on TV

"And yet we all see them as vastly improved and exciting to watch with a great new coach, dynamic forwards, much better than average goaltending and huge potential on the blueline moving forward. "

#FLYERBUZZ...wow

Where are the "vast" improvements over last year - there are no real changes to their roster...unless you assume Provorov and Konecky make the team out of camp, and even then, who do they displace? Their forwards remain largely unchanged from 2014-2015

On the goaltending front, you got a new backup - congrats, but how does that make a team that allowed the 10th most goals in the NHL "better than average" in net? Yes, Mason was quite good in the 51 games played last year, with a very solid save % and GAA, but he is also that goalie that can turn on a dime season-to-season, it's not like you have Lundquist, Price, Quick, Rinne etc in net.
- rmull905

I agree, the Flyers did not make any vast improvements. Only change up front is they added Gagner.

Goaltending got slightly better with Neuvirth as their back up. I think Mason can have another good season.

It's a question mark whether Medvedev can transition well enough to make an impact. I think adding Gudas to the blueline improves the line up from last year.

"And yet we all see them as vastly improved and exciting to watch with a great new coach, dynamic forwards, much better than average goaltending and huge potential on the blueline moving forward. "

#FLYERBUZZ...wow

Where are the "vast" improvements over last year - there are no real changes to their roster...unless you assume Provorov and Konecky make the team out of camp, and even then, who do they displace? Their forwards remain largely unchanged from 2014-2015

On the goaltending front, you got a new backup - congrats, but how does that make a team that allowed the 10th most goals in the NHL "better than average" in net? Yes, Mason was quite good in the 51 games played last year, with a very solid save % and GAA, but he is also that goalie that can turn on a dime season-to-season, it's not like you have Lundquist, Price, Quick, Rinne etc in net.
- rmull905

I love this part...

Lets play a statistics game. This is over the previous two seasons:

Goalie A:
.916 sv%
2.13 GAA

Goalie B:
.923 sv%
2.36 GAA

Goalie C:
.925 sv%
2.17 GAA

Goalie D:
.921 sv%
2.31 GAA

Goalie E:
.917 sv%
2.47 GAA

Which goalie is which:
Rask, Lundqvist, Mason, Quick, Rinne

I agree, the Flyers did not make any vast improvements. Only change up front is they added Gagner.

Goaltending got slightly better with Neuvirth as their back up. I think Mason can have another good season.

It's a question mark whether Medvedev can transition well enough to make an impact. I think adding Gudas to the blueline improves the line up from last year.
- Streit2ThePoint

Big if true

Big if true
- eichiefs9

They are closer than they have ever been to something.

"And yet we all see them as vastly improved and exciting to watch with a great new coach, dynamic forwards, much better than average goaltending and huge potential on the blueline moving forward. "

#FLYERBUZZ...wow

Where are the "vast" improvements over last year - there are no real changes to their roster...unless you assume Provorov and Konecky make the team out of camp, and even then, who do they displace? Their forwards remain largely unchanged from 2014-2015

On the goaltending front, you got a new backup - congrats, but how does that make a team that allowed the 10th most goals in the NHL "better than average" in net? Yes, Mason was quite good in the 51 games played last year, with a very solid save % and GAA, but he is also that goalie that can turn on a dime season-to-season, it's not like you have Lundquist, Price, Quick, Rinne etc in net.
- rmull905

vast improvents? not likely. Ridding ourselves of grossman gives us more speed on the backend and maybe gagne can emerge on a good team and start producing. To me that is a big determining factor on where this team goes.
on mason im not sure what your watching but mason is prolly the most consistant player we have had in a few years. Hes normally in the top rankings in goaltening and if he had any sort of d infront of him he would be in the top 5 in numbers easy. The flyers are not far at all from being a very very good team. Just need a year or two for the prospects to emerge.

two of Detroit, NYI, and Ottawa will miss playoffs (last years playoff teams) and Columbus and Philadelphia will make it

two of Detroit, NYI, and Ottawa will miss playoffs (last years playoff teams) and Columbus and Philadelphia will make it
- MrPerfect316

NYI will not miss the playoffs.. they are just starting to break out.
Detroit and Ottawa are as unpredictable as the Flyers.

NYI will not miss the playoffs.. they are just starting to break out.
Detroit and Ottawa are as unpredictable as the Flyers.
- jak521

Only way Isles miss the playoffs is if Halak poops the bed for the entire season.

I love this part...

Lets play a statistics game. This is over the previous two seasons:

Goalie A:
.916 sv%
2.13 GAA

Goalie B:
.923 sv%
2.36 GAA

Goalie C:
.925 sv%
2.17 GAA

Goalie D:
.921 sv%
2.31 GAA

Goalie E:
.917 sv%
2.47 GAA

Which goalie is which:
Rask, Lundqvist, Mason, Quick, Rinne
- jak521

I love this game too - because those stats are wrong...

Rask - 2.18 GAA, .926 save%
Quick - 2.17 GAA, .917 save%
Lundquist - 2.31 GAA .921 save%
Mason - 2.38 GAA, .922 save%
Rinne - 2.33 GAA, .917 save%
Price - who was excluded from the list - 2.13 GAA, .93 save %

I also always find dislike in comparing short time spans and labelling that as a be-all, end-all comparison - because Mason's previous 4 seasons in Columbus were horrendous, and a 2.50 GAA in 2013/2014 is nothing to write home about either - he had a very good 2014/2015 season, there is no denying that, however, you cannot honestly say that you can "expect" that from his this year, as his history suggests otherwise - that said, nothing to say he can't, but he is an enigma from year to year, so he could be great, he could be at or below league average, or, as in his seasons in Columbus, he could be terrible between the pipes.

At the heart of the matter, if you had to take one of the 6 goalies listed above on your team, who would you take, because for me, it would look like:

Price
Lundquist
Quick
Rinne
Rask
Mason

And there are several goalies left out of the conversation as well, including Crawford, Fleury (who may be the most relevant comp to Mason as far as season to season change), Varlamov, Luongo, Schneider, Bishop, Bobrovsky, Miller...

vast improvents? not likely. Ridding ourselves of grossman gives us more speed on the backend and maybe gagne can emerge on a good team and start producing. To me that is a big determining factor on where this team goes.
on mason im not sure what your watching but mason is prolly the most consistant player we have had in a few years. Hes normally in the top rankings in goaltening and if he had any sort of d infront of him he would be in the top 5 in numbers easy. The flyers are not far at all from being a very very good team. Just need a year or two for the prospects to emerge.
- jmdodgeser4

Refer to my last post, I am not suggesting Mason can't be a very good goalie, but he is hardly consistent. There is no "normal" for him as yet in his career - he was awful in Columbus, did well as a backup in 2012/2013 in Philly, played decent, but unspectacular in 2013/2014 and had a very good 2014/2015 season - a goalie on the rise? I would agree with that, but until he strings together a couple of big seasons in a row like his 14/15 season, you can't place him in that "much better than league average" territory.

Look, it's not that the Flyers can't be good, hell, my Flames played way above expectation and were an unconventional team to say the least last year, but you have a rookie coach, an uncertain blueline (though I hope Morin gets a chance there this year, that kid could be a beast!!), and a forward lineup that remains largely unchanged - throughout all of this, my issue is really that Ek can't help but to put his homerism on full display at times, and those statements are often rife with hyperbole, as this article basically was.

#FLYERBUZZ

I love this game too - because those stats are wrong...

Rask - 2.18 GAA, .926 save%
Quick - 2.17 GAA, .917 save%
Lundquist - 2.31 GAA .921 save%
Mason - 2.38 GAA, .922 save%
Rinne - 2.33 GAA, .917 save%
Price - who was excluded from the list - 2.13 GAA, .93 save %

I also always find dislike in comparing short time spans and labelling that as a be-all, end-all comparison - because Mason's previous 4 seasons in Columbus were horrendous, and a 2.50 GAA in 2013/2014 is nothing to write home about either - he had a very good 2014/2015 season, there is no denying that, however, you cannot honestly say that you can "expect" that from his this year, as his history suggests otherwise - that said, nothing to say he can't, but he is an enigma from year to year, so he could be great, he could be at or below league average, or, as in his seasons in Columbus, he could be terrible between the pipes.

At the heart of the matter, if you had to take one of the 6 goalies listed above on your team, who would you take, because for me, it would look like:

Price
Lundquist
Quick
Rinne
Rask
Mason

And there are several goalies left out of the conversation as well, including Crawford, Fleury (who may be the most relevant comp to Mason as far as season to season change), Varlamov, Luongo, Schneider, Bishop, Bobrovsky, Miller...
- rmull905

You along with many others dont look at Mason very objectively. Mason has had 4 out of 6 seasons that were pretty damn good and one of them being a top 3 netminder (last season). He was on a pretty horrible team in CBJ and was streaky. His rookie year he was a Vezina finalist. The last 3 years he has been amazing for the Flyers. He has better numbers than a vast majority of starting goalies on a team that is horrible defensively. Theres a guy called Bobrovsky who was shipped out of Philly for falling short of expectations and now everyone loves him but he has been on par with Mason since changing teams. So give the man some credit. He has just entered his prime.

You along with many others dont look at Mason very objectively. Mason has had 4 out of 6 seasons that were pretty damn good and one of them being a top 3 netminder (last season). He was on a pretty horrible team in CBJ and was streaky. His rookie year he was a Vezina finalist. The last 3 years he has been amazing for the Flyers. He has better numbers than a vast majority of starting goalies on a team that is horrible defensively. Theres a guy called Bobrovsky who was shipped out of Philly for falling short of expectations and now everyone loves him but he has been on par with Mason since changing teams. So give the man some credit. He has just entered his prime.
- GOA88

I have no vested interest in determining whether or not Mason should be considered alongside guys like Price, Rinne etc.

A) He has had 1 very good season in Philly, 1 so-so season and 1 season where he played in 7 games - if you want to judge a full season based on 7 games, be my guest, but in terms of objectivity, that's less than a sub-par backup would expect to play - I will grant you this, he was stellar in those 7 games, but so was Ortio last year and I would never judge things based on that small of a sample size

B) Bobrovsky is playing for the Jackets now, and has undeniably carried that team at times - and I would say that there is nowhere the talent in the forward ranks there as Philly has today - my only point was that he was excluded from our stats comparison conversation before - he would be on par with Mason in my books

C) Mason, in his time in Columbus, was on his way out of the NHL, but has resurrected his career in Philly, no doubt about it, but if you want to annoint him as elite today based on 110 games played at a mid-high level, be my guest, but a lot of goalies have runs like that, it's whether he can sustain it like the elite guys do that will determine whether or not he belongs in that class or not.

I strongly believe that I am not holding back on praise for Mason, he had a fantastic year last year - top 3 is going a little far when you look at Rinne, Lundquist, Holtby Quick, Dubnyk, but he is right there in the top 5. Objectively, he had a great season, for him to be considered "well above average" he needs to sustain that moving forward, that's all. He can enter that territory with another strong showing this year, and perhaps even the elite in the game if he repeats last season, but right now, there is not a large enough sample size in my opinion to make that call.