Yikes. Pretty much in denial there. It will be interesting to see if he can hold onto this gig all year
- Just5

Its sound bites like this that must drive GMs mad. How delusional do you have to be to try to pass off 4 goals per game as good defensive hockey?

I wonder if he knows he's a lame duck...
- hereticpride

'Lame' is right.

Gudbranson and kulikov have played on some awful Florida teams as young pros. They seem to look just fine now. What makes you think keeping this group of dmen is going to do something else besides losing? Are they not losing now? Is it not a hot mess of veteran dmen on the back end? Are we going to wave a magic wand this summer and have them better next year?

At some point, they need to integrate young players. For next year I would bet ghost and maybe morin would see a majority of NHL games
- Just5

Same as waving a magic wand will give us 4 second round picks, for 4 highly paid, lower rung D men.
Or was anyone expecting a 1st rounder for anyone?

I do agree getting a few picks for some guys, but warm bodies are needed next season, I don't expect Ghost, & Morin, to save this ship, not right away.

Morin has not looked that good IMO. He is a seventh Dman and I just don't see him being NHL ready next year if he can't even crack the starting lineup of 20 year olds. It may take him a couple years...unless his injury has really set him back.
- 3flyerkids

Morin has looked fine when given the opportunity, but the weird politics of Team Canada have an ineffective smurf in Hicketts playing ahead of him because he's from Assistant coach Dave Lowry's team. Morin's game is much better suited to the NHL than it is to Junior hockey, and I think he'll be on the Flyers next season. Maybe not right out of camp, but after getting some time in the AHL like Scott Laughton did.

i had to look up his numbers but i was surprised he commanded a first.
- hogweed

Sellers market, Pittsburgh needed him in the worst way.
I'm intrigued to see his numbers in the 2nd half, playing with Sydney, or Gino.

I'd fire him now, replace him with a clear interim tasked w/ strict developmental goals, then go through the process of finding a real replacement in the summer.
- Tomahawk

Make Holmgren coach out the rest of the season. That would be as interim as it gets. And also fair punishment for his mistakes in putting together most of this roster.

Make Holmgren coach out the rest of the season. That would be as interim as it gets. And also fair punishment for his mistakes in putting together most of this roster.
- Feanor

Same as waving a magic wand will give us 4 second round picks, for 4 highly paid, lower rung D men.
Or was anyone expecting a 1st rounder for anyone?

I do agree getting a few picks for some guys, but warm bodies are needed next season, I don't expect Ghost, & Morin, to save this ship, not right away.
- puckhead17

i think the idea is flexibility. possibly compiling picks that may be packaged in order to move up; or just having more picks in a deep draft. i don't think hextall should hesitate because he's worried there won't be guys to complete the roster next year. pretty sure a d corps can be cobbled together, if necessary, that would be as "good" as the current group

Gudbranson and kulikov have played on some awful Florida teams as young pros. They seem to look just fine now. What makes you think keeping this group of dmen is going to do something else besides losing? Are they not losing now? Is it not a hot mess of veteran dmen on the back end? Are we going to wave a magic wand this summer and have them better next year?

At some point, they need to integrate young players. For next year I would bet ghost and maybe morin would see a majority of NHL games
- Just5

Yeah, key is to put the kids in an environment where they're playing a ton of minutes, in all situations, and you don't give a (frank) about the screw ups. The FLA guys are a good example. Keith/Seabrook, Suter/Weber, on down the line.

Not a situation where the kids come in and feel like they're perpetually one mistake away from eating popcorn or back to riding buss.

Pretty awesome that Capgeek was as useful was it was to the point that the Hockey News reported on it.

http://www.thehockeynews....ek-com-ceases-operations/

Make Holmgren coach out the rest of the season. That would be as interim as it gets. And also fair punishment for his mistakes in putting together most of this roster.
- Feanor

Haha, you're evil.

i think the idea is flexibility. possibly compiling picks that may be packaged in order to move up; or just having more picks in a deep draft. i don't think hextall should hesitate because he's worried there won't be guys to complete the roster next year. pretty sure a d corps can be cobbled together, if necessary, that would be as "good" as the current group
- hogweed

I do agree moving a few guys, naturally they would hesitate moving Luke, (because of what they gave up), for him, I'd assume.
They do need more picks, no question.
I'm just hesitant throwing young guys in that aren't ready, playing without the puck, (as a young D man), shouldn't be learned at the top level.
Especially when the team needs you to play 20 minutes.

Just finished back reading. I was in support of signing Schultz on here yesterday but if Bill is correct and 3 - 3.5 is the going rate, no way.

I'd still like to see some combination of Macdonald, Coburn, Grossmann, Schenn traded by the deadline. Trade 2, bring up Manning and you have 7 day for the rest of the year.

Hopefully they can get some takers on Vinny this summer and if we hit the jackpot, Umberger. I'd be willing to eat some salary in trading either, just not willing to deal picks with them.

I'm not in a rush to trade Read unless it upgrades the team. Yeah, it's been a bad year but I can't believe he fell of the cliff that quickly.

Looking forward to the off-season.

And if Berube thinks they are playing good D, he is delusional and needs to canned now.

Just finished back reading. I was in support of signing Schultz on here yesterday but if Bill is correct and 3 - 3.5 is the going rate, no way.

I'd still like to see some combination of Macdonald, Coburn, Grossmann, Schenn traded by the deadline. Trade 2, bring up Manning and you have 7 day for the rest of the year.

Hopefully they can get some takers on Vinny this summer and if we hit the jackpot, Umberger. I'd be willing to eat some salary in trading either, just not willing to deal picks with them.

I'm not in a rush to trade Read unless it upgrades the team. Yeah, it's been a bad year but I can't believe he fell of the cliff that quickly.

Looking forward to the off-season.

And if Berube thinks they are playing good D, he is delusional and needs to canned now.
- FlyerFan16

Nice avatar!

That going rate will be about $3M to $3.5M, absolutely for two seasons and possibly for a third. I don't like the cost but that's the reality because the market on defensemen is way out of whack.
- bmeltzer

Then you have to walk -- if you got Schultz for 1.25, then someone else will be out there. Can't just overpay Nick Schultz, not with Schenn, et al, on the roster

Yeah, key is to put the kids in an environment where they're playing a ton of minutes, in all situations, and you don't give a (frank) about the screw ups. The FLA guys are a good example. Keith/Seabrook, Suter/Weber, on down the line.

Not a situation where the kids come in and feel like they're perpetually one mistake away from eating popcorn or back to riding buss.
- Tomahawk

Right, because that's never screwed up a young defenseman.

Haha. Wow that was bad on my part. Thanks
- Just5

Right, because that's never screwed up a young defenseman.
- puckhead17

This kind of mentorship will be invaluable

We can't be afraid to deal these guys.

What exactly are we clinging onto here? We just got rocked by freaking Carolina and nj. That's not being shortsighted. Changes need to be made for the sake of acquiring picks/prospects.
- Just5

Exactly -- you're getting railed with them. No way do you bring back the same people so you get railed with them again

Get worked with a couple new guys, if that is the case

This kind of mentorship will be invaluable


- Jsaquella

Everyone but Mason: on your ass. Stat!

The other issue is, if the season ended today, the Flyers would pick 6th overall, and then have nothing to do until the 75th pick.

So right now, a team that is almost bottom 5, with a farm system regarded as maybe bottom ten in the league, has 1 pick in the top 74 of a good, deep draft. That's not a good thing for the Flyers. They need to start getting picks.
- Jsaquella

If Meszaros got a 3rd, then Schultz should be worth a 2nd and Coburn should return a 1st at the deadline. That still leaves you with Streit, MacDonald, LSchenn, Grossmann, MDZ and Colaiacovo as top six to finish out March & April.

Make Holmgren coach out the rest of the season. That would be as interim as it gets. And also fair punishment for his mistakes in putting together most of this roster.
- Feanor

I like and thoroughly endorse this idea!

i think the idea is flexibility. possibly compiling picks that may be packaged in order to move up; or just having more picks in a deep draft. i don't think hextall should hesitate because he's worried there won't be guys to complete the roster next year. pretty sure a d corps can be cobbled together, if necessary, that would be as "good" as the current group
- hogweed

That is the real issue; you're already bleeding goals with the current roster -- it's not all on the defense, but some of it is. Just because you can't fix everything doesn't mean you don't address anything

This kind of mentorship will be invaluable


- Jsaquella

Intoxicating.

Nice avatar!
- puckhead17

Thanks. Big fan of Hextall the goalie. Waiting to make a decision on Hextall the GM.