Interesting things in this blog. Glad for it as July rolls on.

My thing with Sanheim last year was this: I understood why Hakstol was reticent to play him at times. It's one thing to be a rookie. It's another thing entirely to play soft, which I saw at times. There were good things about Sanheim last year, to be certain. He's a physically gifted player who we all want to do well -- hell, we need him to be a Top 4 defender, a difference maker.

I think the coach will attempt to give him a longer leash this year. I believe that. But it's also up to the player to be consistent and tough defensively -- not dirty, or blindly looking for hits. But making sure you don't lose your man off the wall, behind the net, in the slot. Not getting beaten to the front of the net.

That's the stuff I saw from Sanheim that he needed to improve upon. Got to be tougher in his own zone
- AllInForFlyers

At every level, Sanheim has had trouble getting his confidence. to get his feet under him. He really didn't settle down until, the same thing happened that settled down Ghost and Provy before him: he was paired with AMac.

Sorry you can't read. The Flyers are more than capable of playing regular season hockey and finishing mid pack in goals for and against 5v5 (can't find any stats that suggest they were an elite 5v5 team). The bright spot would seem to be PP1. The Flyers were 10th in PPG during 17-18. Unless you factor in SHGA, and rank NET goals. Then they drop to 17th. See, SHG still count. Either way, another mid pack stat.

I like to think of myself as the Bill Clement of posters. Nobody thinks he is any good, so they replace him will Mel Bridgman who is clearly "better". And you never win a cup again and you don;t know why it didn't work to replace a 200ft center with a "scorer".
- hockeyal

You mean the Flyers biggest cheerleader? Yeah, that's real close.

More like Lappy. Maybe you didn't something useful once but no one knows what the (frank) you're doing now.

Hockeyal is starting to make me miss 145 year old Joe.

FFS, no wonder guys like JSaq and Tangentman don’t come around anymore. The idiocy is breathtaking.

Ghost sucks, Morin’s a bust at 22, Laughton is horrible yet he’s worth a 2nd in a trade, the Flyers can’t play D but were one of the best ES teams in the league last year. JFC, get a life!

Congrats Al, you are officially the Doug Crossman of posters. Leon Stickle sees the game more clearly than you.
- BiggE

I understand that I would be on other people's list for it, and I still wish this site had blocking or muting

It really needs it. People can pretend otherwise, but this site really needs it

No, most of us expect the Flyers young defenseman such as Sanheim, Myers, Morin and maybe a few others to continue to develop and make the Flyers defense corps better. Pretty basic stuff.

It's well known that the Flyers are building through the draft.
- MJL

So the best way to get young defenders to develop is to play them with other young defenders? Can you give me an example of when that has worked? I am thinking Buffalo and Colorado.

Had another kid this morning
- YuenglingJagr

!!!!!

I go to the shore for the day and you people are all up in here procreating.

Seriously, though, congratulations! Being a parent rules! Easily the best job that I do.

Nah, you're more like Bryz. You think you're pretty smart, but nobody knows WTF you're going on about, and we're all laughing at you, not with you.

(Jagr would totally get up if you tried to sit next to him)
- Tomahawk

Well said. 🤣👍

Things must have been getting spicy at the YuenglingJagr household last October
- Mordecai

I totally forgot to congratulate him on the sex.

So the best way to get young defenders to develop is to play them with other young defenders? Can you give me an example of when that has worked? I am thinking Buffalo and Colorado.
- hockeyal

Duncan Keith - Brent Seabrook
Ryan Suter - Shea Weber
Wade Redden - Zdeno Chara

1-3-1 formation tends to be susceptible to high turnovers leading to odd-man chances -- Jake and G make a lot of risky passes, and Ghost is the only guy back if things go wrong.

Also, the Flyers goalies had the 5th-worst SV% on the PP. Like .867%.

So dumb to blame Ghost for all those SHGs.
- Tomahawk

Nah, you're more like Bryz. You think you're pretty smart, but nobody knows WTF you're going on about, and we're all laughing at you, not with you.

(Jagr would totally get up if you tried to sit next to him)
- Tomahawk

LMFAO!!

I swear, every time I see a report that a team is considering eating Ryan Callahan's contract, it amazes me. It truly does

This dude is now a 12/13 forward making 5.25 large for the next two seasons -- there's nothing, nothing at all, you can think of that is a better use of that cap space? NOTHING? There's nothing else?

Man, if I was an owner and paid attention to the sport, I would seriously consider replacing my management team if they can't figure out how to spend 5.25 large on players who can actually play

My instinct is to just say no, but it depends on how well some of the prospects mature. Definitely NOT in the next three years. If you think that Ghost and Provy should be the Flyers top pairing on defense, there is no point in talking. Teams that win, pair their defensemen in ways that maximize their strengths. Playing away from Ghost, Provorov is a great two-way defenseman. Playing with him, he trys to stay back and cover. Its a waste of the Flyer's 1st or 2nd best defenseman. I think the Flyers have three good puck movers (although Sanheim is still learning) who need to be paired with defensive guys to maximize their potential, and who have to take some responsibility for playing defense in system. In THEORY, the Flyers have three guys who can play the stay at home role: AMac, Hagg, and Gudas. If they are half of your three pairings, can you make up pairings that you think are good enough to win playoff hockey? Or do you think balance doesn't matter? 7-0, 5-1, 5-0, says it does. I WANT Myers to be ready, and he might be by the All Star Break, but the defensive side of the game takes time to master, and I don't expect him or Hagg or Sanheim to be playoff ready until at least April 2020, and then, there's some wishful thinking there. I worry about Hagg.

And then there is the issue of centers. I think that at the end of the season, Patrick was showing that he is ready to be a solid 3rd line center in the NHL for years. And maybe a fixture of PP2. And of course there is Coots. There are a lot of guys I would love to have on my AHL team playing center: Frost, Vecchione, Rubtsov, Vorobyov, Lehtera, Laczynski, Warren, and most of those guys I would personally play before I played Laughton. But setting my unpopular opinion of the "Little Engine Who Could" that people seem to love, can you see any of these guys being a top 6 center NOW? I like Vecchione and Vorobyov as possible 3/4 centers (but they were pretty close to neutral in +/- in the AHL), and I think that if Frost can crack 190 lbs and get closer to 195 without losing quickness, he could be a 2/3 center. In 2019 or 2020. Coots was +34 last season, and Patrick was +1. That's a pretty big drop off between #1 and #2. Sure the kid will be better, but will his defense be THAT much better? Maybe in a year or two.

Do the Flyers have a goaltender that can stand on his head, night after night and make one impossible save after another to make up for facing a fusillade? I like Lyon and Hart, and maybe one of them (or Sandstrom) could be that good. In a year or two or three.

So there you see the reasons for my negativity. Can you win a Stanley Cup with just elite offense? Ask the Capitals. That's what they improved. In the playoffs, they and Vegas were near the top of that stat. I bet you can guess who had the worst GA/G.
- hockeyal

Patrick is going to be a 3C in this league? Seriously? Patrick has already shown that he plays a 200 foot game and will be a solid 2nd line center for the Flyers this season and will likely develop into a 1C player in the NHL.

You haven't done anything to dispel the label of being negative here.

The Flyers are a developing team and are not a finished product.

Duncan Keith - Brent Seabrook
Ryan Suter - Shea Weber
Wade Redden - Zdeno Chara
- Tomahawk

The thing is that a roster crunch is only a thing if you either have no cap room or you make it a thing. If Myers is ready, would anybody be sad if the Flyers sent the lowest performing defender through waivers? Even if it is Folin or Gudas? Even if somebody decided to claim Gudas's contract? If the Flyers had any vets on D that were worth what they are being paid, I'd agree, but it might be hard to move Gudas, and the Flyers would miss AMac more than casual fans can appreciate. I know I am in a minority, but what I have seen in the AHL is AHL forwards skating past Morin, seeing him out of position, seeing a heavy but inaccurate shot, seeing him take bad penalties. Everybody wants him to be Pronger-esque, but he hasn't shown anything to make me believe he will be. He has watched Hagg, Sanheim and Myers pass him on the depth chart. He is the defensive Laughton. Everybody REALLY WANTS him to be good. Homer spent a #1 on him so he should be good. If we squint really hard we can see good play. But both of them are borderline NHL players. Question: If we offered to trade Laughton for Nick Cousins, would Arizona bite? If we offered to trade Morin for someone like Sustr or even Luke Schenn would Anaheim bite? Maybe the second one, but without knowing if a player will fully recover from their meniscus tear, I doubt it.
- hockeyal

All reports coming out on Morin including from the coaches, front office talent evaluators and people who cover the team was that Morin was making solid and steady progress and getting better and better. Why does your opinion differ so much from the consensus?

At every level, Sanheim has had trouble getting his confidence. to get his feet under him. He really didn't settle down until, the same thing happened that settled down Ghost and Provy before him: he was paired with AMac.
- hockeyal

At every level Sanheim has gotten better and better.

So the best way to get young defenders to develop is to play them with other young defenders? Can you give me an example of when that has worked? I am thinking Buffalo and Colorado.
- hockeyal

Show me where exactly I said that. Now you're making crap up. Gostisbehere and Provorov are veterans now. The Flyers also have Gudas and MacDonald, both veteran players.

I swear, every time I see a report that a team is considering eating Ryan Callahan's contract, it amazes me. It truly does

This dude is now a 12/13 forward making 5.25 large for the next two seasons -- there's nothing, nothing at all, you can think of that is a better use of that cap space? NOTHING? There's nothing else?

Man, if I was an owner and paid attention to the sport, I would seriously consider replacing my management team if they can't figure out how to spend 5.25 large on players who can actually play
- AllInForFlyers

A team taking on Callahan would be doing so to get another quality asset along with taking him on.

Why don't we let mjl handle this chuckle(frank)

Why don't we let mjl handle this chuckle(frank)
- Giroux_Is_God

He’s the people’s champion. I’ve always said that.

hockeyal, don’t let the haters bring you down. You bring up some really good points that no one else has the guts to do! Really sock it to these morons.

Alright guys. I’m done here. See you next year.

LMFAO!!


- johndewar

hockeyal, don’t let the haters bring you down. You bring up some really good points that no one else has the guts to do! Really sock it to these morons.

Alright guys. I’m done here. See you next year.
- Mononoke

wait

hockeyal, don’t let the haters bring you down. You bring up some really good points that no one else has the guts to do! Really sock it to these morons.

Alright guys. I’m done here. See you next year.
- Mononoke

It's been real
It's been fun
But it hasn't been real fun

What the (frank) are you talking about?

- 7th best ES GA/60 in the league,
- 3rd best ES GA/60 in the league on the road.


That's with pretty mediocre goaltending and a defense-corps that had Brandon Manning playing top-4 minutes.

They played pretty good team-D over the course of the season.
- Tomahawk

The Flyers led the league in overtime losses and were deep in the bottom half in losing 1 goal games. Not a sign of a solid defensive team to give up so many critical goals. They were also 7th in total GA/60, so I guess the shortys and PK were awesome too? Guess what you don't find in the bottom tier of teams for losing close games? Teams that win in the playoffs. Also, the Flyers were 7th in fewest TKa and 10th worst hit differential. But what takeaways and hits have to do with defense?

Interesting fact: Washington was near the bottom in 5v5 GA/60. So I guess that means they can't play 5v5? What a bunch of losers. Someone needs to tell them that.

wait
- Mordecai

I only come here to read hockeyal’s insightful posts. Get lost, buddy.