With the Phillies, Eagles, and Penn St., I told my wife I'm a Flyers poopty season away from a stint in Betty Ford.

i have no problem with the vinny signing at this current time period he's better than schenn or couturier
- 2Real

I think the failure though is not giving him the kind of winger he really needs to be successful. I love Matt Read, but ideally sometime even more dynamic would be great to have.

Here's a general question to you guys...what young winger would you make a play for, assuming trading someone like Laughton? I still like Paajarvi - boatloads of talent but hasn't reached it. I think he is much better suited for an attacking system, and would love to try a second line with Simmons, Vinnie and MPS.

Of course, now that he has a coach who just LOVES to put all his faith in young guys and give them tons of responsibility he's bound to blossom....oh wait, he's got Hitchcock...he's screwed.

when you trade 2 cornerstone pieces for younger guys (4 of them), & give them 1 & 1/2 seasons to elevate & mature their games) then hand Vinny (sorry, his contract is still biting me) 5 years to play the role of 2 of the guys you were building on/with.

I think the plan changes ever time Snider blows out candles
- puckhead17

haha...great line!!

I think the 2011-12 team was much better balanced with Jagr and JVR occupying 2 of the top 6. Long-term I still think they regret the JVR trade. Schenn's a nice piece but still not sure if he is a 2 or a 3, and JVR has all-star potential and is seemingly starting to reach it.
- TheGreat28

they had to make that trade regardless, if JVR gets hurt again, then it's oh good ya see?

They have worried far too much in the last several years of forwards forwards forwards & not giving a damn about the defense.
Look alone at the trading of Carter & Richards & getting 4 pieces back, 4 more forwards
those deals should have netted something for the back end somehow.
They don't have the patience for a young forward to mature, they have less patience in even drafting or acquiring a young D man

Bill Meltzer: Flyers Gameday: 10/6/13 @ Carolina; Loss in Montreal; Phantoms
- bmeltzer

Equally disturbing was the fact that the mostly undersized Habs won the majority of the battles on the walls

so if they loose today with poor defense and no even strength goals how long till this team makes a change

I'd like to see them recall Raffl or McGinn for the third line, play Talbot on the 4th line and then you have 4 lines that can play a regular shift.

Now with Rosehill dressing every night, you have a 4th line that is a liability and can't be used extensively.

Also, to be honest, in the preseason games I saw, Vinny looked good with Simmonds, and both goals the team has scored have come from the Schenn/Vinny combo.
- Jsaquella

ty, i was just about to ask am i nuts, because it looks to me like vinny and simmonds are the only two with chemistry

the totally invisible top line in two straight games is a concern to me

Like they say... its not about having the best players.. its about having the right players.

We also bought into the hype that B. Schenn was some kind of 2nd coming of Richards. It could be that Schenn and Coots really aren't anything special.
- Flyersgod

Coots has shown to be able to score and play well defensively at this level. He should only get better if he's place in a situation that will best allow him to develop.

BSchenn concerns me. After a terrific junior career, rated the number one Futures Prospect by the Hockey News a few years back while with LA, he put up nice numbers while in the AHL, none of which has translated yet into the NHL.

Though still young and may yet find his stride, I'm not yet convinced. All the hype that surrounded him earlier, plus that he was traded for Richards, proclaimed by some to be the next Richards, placed expectations pretty high.

The thing that bothers me most about this team is that they are just no fun to watch. Of course I want them to win, but I've been a Philly sports fan long enough to know I can't expect that. What I do expect is an entertaining team. The Flyers have been pretty good about that for a lot of years. They may not always win but it's usually a fun ride. I'm just not feeling the excitement this year. This year's past-his-prime additions arent quite as thrilling as Pronger or Jagr or Forsberg were. The young guys aren't having the same impact as Richards or Carter did. Our star player isn't dominating. Our top defenseman are slow and old. We don't have a game-changer goalie. There's no team chemistry, no sense of direction or identity. The coaches system doesn't seem to fit the team that the manager has assembled. It's tough to find something to like so far this year.

he's played 16 years? & here's a check for 5 more?
- puckhead17

so? there are many players that are older that can still contribute to the NHL

Coots has shown to be able to score and play well defensively at this level. He should only get better if he's place in a situation that will best allow him to develop.

BSchenn concerns me. After a terrific junior career, rated the number one Futures Prospect by the Hockey News a few years back while with LA, he put up nice numbers while in the AHL, none of which has translated yet into the NHL.

Though still young and may yet find his stride, I'm not yet convinced. All the hype that surrounded him earlier, plus that he was traded for Richards, proclaimed by some to be the next Richards, placed expectations pretty high.
- 77rams

coots has shown offensive ability? really? when? i haven't seen anything from him

The thing that bothers me most about this team is that they are just no fun to watch. Of course I want them to win, but I've been a Philly sports fan long enough to know I can't expect that. What I do expect is an entertaining team. The Flyers have been pretty good about that for a lot of years. They may not always win but it's usually a fun ride. I'm just not feeling the excitement this year. This year's past-his-prime additions arent quite as thrilling as Pronger or Jagr or Forsberg were. The young guys aren't having the same impact as Richards or Carter did. Our star player isn't dominating. Our top defenseman are slow and old. We don't have a game-changer goalie. There's no team chemistry, no sense of direction or identity. The coaches system doesn't seem to fit the team that the manager has assembled. It's tough to find something to like so far this year.
- Dkos

ouch.

The Flyers continue their quest to win the 2009-10 Stanley Cup, rather than accept that the league, clubs, and systems have changed.
- Moose_15

Interesting. Last night I was thinking that "G has been trying way too hard. He needs to stop trying to be Toews and start playing more like Kane, which is a lot closer to what he should be doing." I'mnot sure if that will make much sense to anyone but fact is G ccan't do it all.

All these surrounding players have their best year on a line with G but can't seem to do much else elsewhere.

ouch.
- -davies-

...just sayin'

G has looked so out of place so far maybe it was a shortened camp due to injury but he looks like he is trying to hard trying to do to much .....

since the system is not working something has to give either the system needs to adapt or... the coach needs to be changed.... it is an unfortunate reality that lavy is on a short leash... he needs to get this team playing responsible hockey or be shown the door...

in last nights game there was a lot of times this team looked like they had cement on their feet slow skating no rush ....no urgency...

passes have to be better crisper and to the intended target... poor poor play so far and it looked like it got worse from game 1 to game 2

so if they loose today with poor defense and no even strength goals how long till this team makes a change
- flyer186

They just might get rolled today -- early start on the back-to-back, travel from Montreal to Carolina, chasing the game all game last night, Carolina did not play yesterday.

If they get rolled and don't score at even strength -- and I can easily see both of those things happening -- what, exactly, would you be waiting for to make a move?

You won one game in the preseason -- a split-squad, shootout victory, I might add -- and in every single game you have dressed your regulars from the preseason and these two games, you have led for maybe 20 minutes.

I said it last week: That's the stench of a bad team. It is. That is the telltale stench of a team with not enough talent, backed by too many people who overrate the talent you do have AND THEN compound the baseline error by telling themselves that there's a switch to flip or a system change or coaching change, whatever, is going to help this team.

It won't. They can't score because they don't have enough talent to create sustained offensive pressure to score, over multiple lines, by moving the puck up the ice.

I am not surprised at all that the two guys who are proven offensive players -- Lecavalier and Streit -- have been the Flyers' two best offensive weapons, their catalysts. I'm surprised that Giroux and Voracek haven't done anything.

We need more offense, folks. We need more people who know how to think offense, who know how to create offense, who understand when to pass and when to shoot, who shoot accurately and pass accurately.

We need more SKILL.

Try winning a game 5-4 instead of not losing a game 2-1. Then worry about fixing the guys who gave up the four goals instead of trying to squeeze blood from a stone and hope you score three goals.

A hockey game shouldn't be over if the other team scores two goals -- and every single one of us knew that game was over last night when it was 2-0.

Every single one of us.

coots has shown offensive ability? really? when? i haven't seen anything from him
- 2Real

Rookie year. 14 minutes average ice time. 13 goals, 14 assists. Plus 18.

Hat trick against the Pens in the PO's.

Vanek, Gaborik, Heatly, Sedins all scheduled to be FAs at the end of the year. I've got to assume the majority get re-signed. Really need to target whatever one makes it to the open market. We need to add a legit offensive threat. Not overly crazy about Heatly or the Sedins but anything is better than guys that rely solely on Giroux to tee them up for all of their points.

They just might get rolled today -- early start on the back-to-back, travel from Montreal to Carolina, chasing the game all game last night, Carolina did not play yesterday.

If they get rolled and don't score at even strength -- and I can easily see both of those things happening -- what, exactly, would you be waiting for to make a move?

You won one game in the preseason -- a split-squad, shootout victory, I might add -- and in every single game you have dressed your regulars from the preseason and these two games, you have led for maybe 20 minutes.

I said it last week: That's the stench of a bad team. It is. That is the telltale stench of a team with not enough talent, backed by too many people who overrate the talent you do have AND THEN compound the baseline error by telling themselves that there's a switch to flip or a system change or coaching change, whatever, is going to help this team.

It won't. They can't score because they don't have enough talent to create sustained offensive pressure to score, over multiple lines, by moving the puck up the ice.

I am not surprised at all that the two guys who are proven offensive players -- Lecavalier and Streit -- have been the Flyers' two best offensive weapons, their catalysts. I'm surprised that Giroux and Voracek haven't done anything.

We need more offense, folks. We need more people who know how to think offense, who know how to create offense, who understand when to pass and when to shoot, who shoot accurately and pass accurately.

We need more SKILL.

Try winning a game 5-4 instead of not losing a game 2-1. Then worry about fixing the guys who gave up the four goals instead of trying to squeeze blood from a stone and hope you score three goals.

A hockey game shouldn't be over if the other team scores two goals -- and every single one of us knew that game was over last night when it was 2-0.

Every single one of us.
- AllInForFlyers

well said and absolutely right!!!!!

Rookie year. 14 minutes average ice time. 13 goals, 14 assists. Plus 18.

Hat trick against the Pens in the PO's.
- 77rams

so one year and he's a stud? it's been proven to be a fluke

in bold, acquiring Vinny was a move in completely different direction.
If Schenn broke out as a top 6 scoring player with solid 2 way play last season, do they hand Vinny 5 years?
They change the plan way too much
- puckhead17

Totally agree. To think this could be one of our top line drives me insane...

JVR RICHIE CARTS

What I want is a head coach who is capable of adapting his system/style to what he has on hand, has a track record of winning at some level, and a record of instilling discipline. Not necessarily discipline to avoid penalties, but disciplined play within a system.

Poor discipline murders the Flyers. Poor gap control, forcing low percentage plays, overaggressive forechecking and getting caught and having it open up odd man rushes.
- Jsaquella

Who is out there that can coach with a proven track record and known to get the offense rolling?? Marc Crawford probably stays retired? Any other suggestions.

Totally agree. To think this could be one of our top line drives me insane...

JVR RICHIE CARTS
- FlyerLifer

makes you a little sick doesn't it

Who is out there that can coach with a proven track record and known to get the offense rolling?? Marc Crawford probably stays retired? Any other suggestions.
- flyerdude17

Keenan

Totally agree. To think this could be one of our top line drives me insane...

JVR RICHIE CARTS
- FlyerLifer

Like I said

The plan changes every time snider blows out candles