Bill Meltzer: Flyers Gameday: 3/26/17 @ PIT, Wrap: Blue Jackets Blank Flyers, 1-0

That's one ugly lineup for the Pens, I actually think, though it's hard to believe, that the Flyers are actually icing the more talented lineup tonight. That being said, I'm pretty sure the Pens will be pretty fired up to not lose their 3rd straight game, and to defeat a rival who embarrassed them thoroughly the last time they met.

Either way its Flyers/Pens, so at least it should be fun.

It would be nice if we could get the farm team playing the same system hak employs. Much like how the baby pens mirror the big club even with a bunch of echl callups.

Hell I'd take berube coaching the phantoms. They look like the disjointed lava team at the end of his run

You look at the injuries on the Pens D and you have to give them so much credit( even though I franking hate them) for being in the position they are in. Of course it does help that their best players continue to be consistent , which is not the case in Flyer land.

It would be nice if we could get the farm team playing the same system hak employs. Much like how the baby pens mirror the big club even with a bunch of echl callups.

Hell I'd take berube coaching the phantoms. They look like the disjointed lava team at the end of his run
- Just5

Having seen the Phantoms a few times this year, it's really shocking to me how "old school" and totally unlike Hak's system their style of play is. I would think every NHL team would want their top minor league affiliate to play the same system and style of the parent club. I understand that Gordon is an experienced coach and they may feel that he can do a good job of teaching the kids how to be pros and maybe some basics that Hexy feels they need to learn, but the on ice system is a dinosaur. From what I've seen, they win games on sheer talent alone and often lose to lesser talented, but more disciplined and better prepared clubs.

I really can't comment on Cote or Samuelsson as assistants, I don't know what or how much responsibility is given to them by Gordon. But I would be thrilled to see Gordon replaced after this year with a younger, more dynamic and progressive coach and I would hope that they would give the new coach some input into the hiring of assistants. I also think that Hak's input should be taken into consideration when hiring the new coach and that the two teams systems are in sync.

Also, in regards to the Flyers coaching staff, I will be very disappointed if, at the very least, Lappy isn't replaced as the primary PK coach.

You look at the injuries on the Pens D and you have to give them so much credit( even though I franking hate them) for being in the position they are in. Of course it does help that their best players continue to be consistent , which is not the case in Flyer land.
- 3flyerkids

Of course it doesnt hurt that they have one of the best players ever and currently two of the top players in the world....

Who is the equivalent of that on the Flyers? Yes there were a season or two where G was in the race with them but to put G and Jake on the level of Crosby and Malkin is ridiculous in every way.

Of course it doesnt hurt that they have one of the best players ever and currently two of the top players in the world....

Who is the equivalent of that on the Flyers? Yes there were a season or two where G was in the race with them but to put G and Jake on the level of Crosby and Malkin is ridiculous in every way.
- opeth_pa

Just asking for more from our top players. I think that is fair.

Just asking for more from our top players. I think that is fair.
- 3flyerkids

I'm asking for more top players, period! From what I've seen from G and Jake this year, I'm starting to think that a just turned 20 year old defenseman is, by far, our best player.

It would be nice if we could get the farm team playing the same system hak employs. Much like how the baby pens mirror the big club even with a bunch of echl callups.

Hell I'd take berube coaching the phantoms. They look like the disjointed lava team at the end of his run
- Just5

Lot of firepower on the Phantoms but they are undersized at forward and not a real good defensive club (more the forwards than the D-men).

I'm asking for more top players, period! From what I've seen from G and Jake this year, I'm starting to think that a just turned 20 year old defenseman is, by far, our best player.
- BiggE

Agree, and in a way that is a shame when you have a top payroll team..

Lot of firepower on the Phantoms but they are undersized at forward and not a real good defensive club (more the forwards than the D-men).
- bmeltzer

In other words more depth is needed in the system

With the season basically over, I thought I'd give out my grades for the individual players for 2016-17

I'll start with the forwards, grades are based on performance and on expectations heading into the season:

Giroux D+
Up to a few weeks ago, this would have been a D- as he really played poorly and way below expectations this season. Recently he seems to be more engaged and skating better so hopefully he can have a better season next year

Voracek C-
The talent is there, but too often he spends way too much time on the perimeter and he often just looks uninspired.

Simmonds A-
Would like to see a bit more at ES, but overall, he's had a very good season. One of the few players on this team that plays with heart every night.

Couturier B-
Another guy who has really picked it up the last few weeks and, at ES, he's is there top pivot. Would like to see more fire from him and more consistency, especially on the offensive side, but Coots is a player that every team would want in their lineup

Schenn C
Puts up great pp numbers, but is a black hole at ES. He has looked better since being put on a line with Couturier, but then again everyone looks better playing with Coots.

Read D+
Good start, decent last couple of weeks, but pretty much invisible in between and that is just not good enough

Filpulla (incomplete)
Has looked meh to mediocre but it's too small a sample size for a grade

Konecny B+
Has done a very good job for a teenage rookie. If he can get a bit a stronger and continues to work on his all around game, he has potential to be an impact player. He's one of the few guys on this team that is a threat at ES.

Raffl C-
Just doesn't put up enough consistent offense to grade any hire and seems to be getting injury prone as he ages

Weise F
Yeah, he's played ok the last 2 weeks, but he was just god awful for most of the season. When the guy you signed to a 4 year, 9.4 million dollar deal is getting consistently scratched, that tells you all you need to know

Bellemare C
He is what he is: a serviceable 4th line center who can kill penalties. To expect more is pointless and I certainly can't question his effort

Vandevelde C-
He'll score a few points in spurts, then completely disappear. He's a generic 12/13 forward who's spot in the lineup needs upgrading

Cousins C-
Doesn't get a lot of playing time, but, for a guy who isn't great defensively and doesn't kill penalties, he needs to contribute offense on a more consistent basis

Lyubimov C
Almost went with incomplete for the Russian rookie. Would have liked to seen him get more of a chance, especially now that they are out of the playoff hunt. He had a few games where he looked like he could be a decent bottom 6 forward.

Weal (incomplete)
He's looked pretty good in the few games that he's played, but I've seen guys come up and do that too many times to base any real judgement on it. He will come into camp needing to earn a spot.

Gordon F
The signing was no big deal, but Gordon was basically useless. Oh well, win some, lose some.

Next up, the D and goalies

Don't know if anyone has been watching the college hockey tournament but its been great hockey. 4 Flyers prospects (granted Tomek hasn't played much all season for North Dakota) is now down to one. Madsen for Harvard advanced to the Frozen 4. He made a great save in the final seconds to beat Air Force 3-2. really been fun hockey to watch

Lot of firepower on the Phantoms but they are undersized at forward and not a real good defensive club (more the forwards than the D-men).
- bmeltzer

That's a cop out. I think there were a couple pens playing their first ahl game last night. They are night and day on the ice. Pens forwards come back and support the breakout. The passing is crisp and they preyed on the phantoms all night for counterattacks Bc the phantoms were going to turn it over. Whether it was from long stretch pass attempts or a phantom player attempting to skate end to end. They were playing into the pens hands.

I'd much rather have Berube behind the bench down there. At least he gave support to the breakout even if they weren't very good at it. The pens own the phantoms and it is because of coaching.

I do realize that the pens are the cream of the crop rather than the phantoms being an outlier down at that level. But imo hextall needs to strive to find better coaching down there that is cohesive with what the flyers do. I think it's paramount given how he wants to build this thing

I found it interesting that Giroux FINALLY admitted that he was laboring from his hip surgery...and that's when his game improved....or, did we become less critical because we knew he was laboring?

Either way...what we learned is that this team CAN NOT run through Giroux alone and expect to survive. 5 on 5 is a train wreck.

IMHO, play Lyubimov. When he played more than two games in a row he settled into a nice groove. He was could develop into a second 3-9 forward who can add 30 - 40 points and play honest 200 foot hockey.

And now, grades for the D and goalies:

Provorov A+
What he's done as a teenage rookie is amazing. There is no doubt in my mind that he's one half of this team top D pair for the next decade or more. His innate hockey sense and poise under pressure cannot be taught.

Gudas B
Yeah he makes some mistakes and takes some bad penalties, but he's another of the few guys on this team that shows up with heart every night. Would like to see him paired with Provorov next year as I think he's a better fit for a top pair than AMac

MacDonald C+
AMac is, as he has been for much of his career, a serviceable all around Dman being asked to do way to much. Overall he's been solid and much better than the last couple of years. However, if they can find a way to unload him and his bloated contract, no one will be shedding any tears

Del Zotto D
Sure he's been injured a lot, but so much more was expected from MDZ this season. He's one of this years big disappointments and certainly has done himself any favors going into his next contract. When you are sitting in favor of Nick Schultz, you are having a pretty bad season

Gostisbehere C-
He has clearly struggled for much of this year, but seems to be playing better recently. Hopefully it was just the dreaded "sophomore slump" and he has a bounce back season in 17-18. He'll never be a top pair guy, but he has the potential to be an elite offensive defenseman and a first rate PP QB

Manning C
Started strong, than regressed to what he is which is a 6/7 NHL defenseman. At least he plays with heart and stands up for teammates which is not seen a lot on this club.

Schultz C-
A fading vet, he gives all he can. He's lost a step though, and was never that skilled to begin with so, it is what it is

Streit C-
Another guy who battled injury, he showed some flashes of his old self, but too often he was invisible in the O zone and lousy in the D zone. Probably should retire at the end of this season

Mason D
Way too much inconsistency and soft goals to grade any higher. Especially when he's shown in the past that he can be much better. Another guy who didn't do himself any favors heading into a new contract negotiation.

Neuvirth D-
He was just awful too many nights to grade any higher. He looked good last night and his career body of work shows that he can and should be much better next year. However, he is injury prone and too count on him to be your #1 is a huge risk.

The Coaching staff C-
As I've said many times, I like Hak's overall system and the team still plays hard for him most nights. I can even, for the most part, understand the scratchings of the kids here and there. What I can't understand is the overuse of inadequate personnel on the PK, having Konecny playing on the 4th line at this point in the season, and the continued mediocrity of the PK overall. It's also troubling when so many players are having off years and I think his handling of the goaltending rotation has been flat out poor. In his defense, he just lacks enough talent to work with to succeed on a consistent basis, so I'm fine with him going forward as head coach in 2017-2018, but, at the very least, Lappy needs to go.

In other words more depth is needed in the system
- ob18

For sure

Don't know if anyone has been watching the college hockey tournament but its been great hockey. 4 Flyers prospects (granted Tomek hasn't played much all season for North Dakota) is now down to one. Madsen for Harvard advanced to the Frozen 4. He made a great save in the final seconds to beat Air Force 3-2. really been fun hockey to watch
- nastyflyergirl

Yay double post

With the season basically over, I thought I'd give out my grades for the individual players for 2016-17

I'll start with the forwards, grades are based on performance and on expectations heading into the season:

Giroux D+
Up to a few weeks ago, this would have been a D- as he really played poorly and way below expectations this season. Recently he seems to be more engaged and skating better so hopefully he can have a better season next year

Voracek C-
The talent is there, but too often he spends way too much time on the perimeter and he often just looks uninspired.

Simmonds A-
Would like to see a bit more at ES, but overall, he's had a very good season. One of the few players on this team that plays with heart every night.

Couturier B-
Another guy who has really picked it up the last few weeks and, at ES, he's is there top pivot. Would like to see more fire from him and more consistency, especially on the offensive side, but Coots is a player that every team would want in their lineup

Schenn C
Puts up great pp numbers, but is a black hole at ES. He has looked better since being put on a line with Couturier, but then again everyone looks better playing with Coots.

Read D+
Good start, decent last couple of weeks, but pretty much invisible in between and that is just not good enough

Filpulla (incomplete)
Has looked meh to mediocre but it's too small a sample size for a grade

Konecny B+
Has done a very good job for a teenage rookie. If he can get a bit a stronger and continues to work on his all around game, he has potential to be an impact player. He's one of the few guys on this team that is a threat at ES.

Raffl C-
Just doesn't put up enough consistent offense to grade any hire and seems to be getting injury prone as he ages

Weise F
Yeah, he's played ok the last 2 weeks, but he was just god awful for most of the season. When the guy you signed to a 4 year, 9.4 million dollar deal is getting consistently scratched, that tells you all you need to know

Bellemare C
He is what he is: a serviceable 4th line center who can kill penalties. To expect more is pointless and I certainly can't question his effort

Vandevelde C-
He'll score a few points in spurts, then completely disappear. He's a generic 12/13 forward who's spot in the lineup needs upgrading

Cousins C-
Doesn't get a lot of playing time, but, for a guy who isn't great defensively and doesn't kill penalties, he needs to contribute offense on a more consistent basis

Lyubimov C
Almost went with incomplete for the Russian rookie. Would have liked to seen him get more of a chance, especially now that they are out of the playoff hunt. He had a few games where he looked like he could be a decent bottom 6 forward.

Weal (incomplete)
He's looked pretty good in the few games that he's played, but I've seen guys come up and do that too many times to base any real judgement on it. He will come into camp needing to earn a spot.

Gordon F
The signing was no big deal, but Gordon was basically useless. Oh well, win some, lose some.

Next up, the D and goalies
- BiggE

I get what you are saying about being engaged but:

Voracek 74 GP 18-38-56 -25 14-22-36 even strength
Simmonds 74 GP 29-20-49 -22 14-12-26 even strength

I found it interesting that Giroux FINALLY admitted that he was laboring from his hip surgery...and that's when his game improved....or, did we become less critical because we knew he was laboring?

Either way...what we learned is that this team CAN NOT run through Giroux alone and expect to survive. 5 on 5 is a train wreck.

IMHO, play Lyubimov. When he played more than two games in a row he settled into a nice groove. He was could develop into a second 3-9 forward who can add 30 - 40 points and play honest 200 foot hockey.
- wbon22

Not sure that Lyubimov has the hands to ever put up 30-40 points, but he should, at the least, be taking Vandevelde's spot right now and getting his PK minutes as well. He could be a 4th line upgrade that this team could certainly use and, more realistically, put up around 15-20 points in that role.

I get what you are saying about being engaged but:

Voracek 74 GP 18-38-56 -25 14-22-36 even strength
Simmonds 74 GP 29-20-49 -22 14-12-26 even strength
- nastyflyergirl

It's about expectations as well, not just on ice performance. Jake is being paid to be a 1st line RW, so he's barely putting up the numbers he needs to put up and he disappears for too many long stretches for my liking.

Simmonds, OTOH, is being paid to be a 2nd line RW and PP beast and he seems to be doing his job on a much more consistent basis. Plus he brings intangibles (heart & guts) to the equation that I rarely see from Jake.

Of course it doesnt hurt that they have one of the best players ever and currently two of the top players in the world....

Who is the equivalent of that on the Flyers? Yes there were a season or two where G was in the race with them but to put G and Jake on the level of Crosby and Malkin is ridiculous in every way.
- opeth_pa

To pay them like Crosby and Malkin is equally ridiculous!

To pay them like Crosby and Malkin is equally ridiculous!
- PLindbergh31

first of all when Giroux signed that deal he had the most points over a 5 year or whatever it was period of time. Secondly players heading into their UFA years have all the leverage. there was no reason to believe it was in the best interest of the team to trade those players at the time and you aren't going to risk heading into UFA and have the players walk. it was easier in the days when players weren't UFAs until 32.

Seriously your post show every single negative or iffy move the organization has made and never point out the positives at all. its tiring. I get close to just passing over every post of yours because I know there will be no objectivity to it. I don't believe everything is perfect and the organization is perfect but my god, they have done some good things too and I believe they are heading in the right direction.

It's about expectations as well, not just on ice performance. Jake is being paid to be a 1st line RW, so he's barely putting up the numbers he needs to put up and he disappears for too many long stretches for my liking.

Simmonds, OTOH, is being paid to be a 2nd line RW and PP beast and he seems to be doing his job on a much more consistent basis. Plus he brings intangibles (heart & guts) to the equation that I rarely see from Jake.
- BiggE

I know what you are saying and I agree Voracek needs to be MUCH better. just pointing out the numbers. and remember Simmonds has been on the top line a good portion of the season as well. I love what Simmonds brings. he was that Hartnell for me at one point where when on he looked great but when not he looked terrible. you don't see that from him anymore. he brings it consistently