I don't agree. I think, on the balance of the season overall and not segments here and there, goaltending has been the single biggest issue.
- bmeltzer

Fair enough. Nothing seems to be going right with most guys on the squad. I think Stolie and Elliott have kept them in some games they had no business staying in however.

Agreed. If they had been getting quality goaltending from the start of the season, they’d likely be quite a bit higher in the standings right now.
- BiggE

Team would feel different

Still remember getting mocked when I said that the goaltending could ruin this season after Mr. Glass got hurt

I wish I had been wrong

I don't agree. I think, on the balance of the season overall and not segments here and there, goaltending has been the single biggest issue.
- bmeltzer

I agree but I think poor goaltending was the first domino to fall which led to all the others falling. We look so apathetic after a bad goal. Add our power play performance and we're lucky to have the points we do.

I agree but I think poor goaltending was the first domino to fall which led to all the others falling. We look so apathetic after a bad goal. Add our power play performance and we're lucky to have the points we do.
- cdearth23

When you're not getting enough saves, nothing looks right. It doesn't excuse poor efforts and execution, but when pucks go in that probably shouldn't, it's a lot harder on everyone

When I look at Anaheim, I see a team in transition, working in young players but still with fairly decent veterans, some injured

But they're in playoff position because 9 times out of 10, John Gibson gives them elite goaltending

The Flyers have as much, if not more, talent than Anaheim. But they're just not getting the saves

I don't agree. I think, on the balance of the season overall and not segments here and there, goaltending has been the single biggest issue.
- bmeltzer

I know Hextall is gone, but don't you think this is an issue that should have been better addressed during the summer. How was going into the season with Elliott and Neuvirth ever going to work out well.

Guys I’m not moving:
Provorov
Sanheim
Myers
Patrick
Konecny
Giroux
Couturier
Frost
Farabee
Hart
2019s 1st

Guys I don’t want to move, but would in the right deal:
Ghost
Morin
Lindblom
Laughton
Ratcliffe
O’Brien
Allison
Lacyzinski
Sandstrom
Stolarz
Any future 1st round picks

Pretty much everyone and everything else is fair game.
- BiggE

Ghost and future 1sts are the only real pieces that are worth much of anything at this point from that second list.

My 100% no-move list is pretty short: Frost, Myers, Ghost, TK and Hart.

The rest are just varying degrees of reluctance.

Bill, very random question. Does the guy who does the intermission report for the Flyers on the radio(his name is escaping me right now) do any other sort of media coverage for the Flyers? Along with yourself he seems like one of the more knowledgeable hockey guys in the town.
- hereticpride

Brian Smith? He works for the Flyers as director of media services. My co-host on FlyerBuzz.

Ghost and future 1sts are the only real pieces that are worth much of anything at this point from that second list.

My 100% no-move list is pretty short: Frost, Myers, Ghost, TK and Hart.

The rest are just varying degrees of reluctance.
- Tomahawk

Huh. You like TK more than Provorov? Couturier on his deal? I don't

Huh. You like TK more than Provorov? Couturier on his deal? I don't
- AllInForFlyers

I me some TK.

(and I might be 99% reluctant to move Prov and Coots, but it's not 100%)

Brian Smith? He works for the Flyers as director of media services. My co-host on FlyerBuzz.
- bmeltzer

Ahhuh. Guess I should finally stop putting off Flyers buzz. 👍

I don't think there is any doubt about that. I agree it's a major issue but really good goaltending would just be masking a lot of issues. So I don't quite agree that it's the number one issue. Repeated and correctable mistakes in both coverage and puck management to me, is the single biggest issue with this team. Far less talented teams have played a stronger team game.
- MJL

This is all true, but a few big, timely saves can often get a team going. When things start going bad, it often becomes a snowball rolling down a hill. A few early season wins could have gone a long way to snapping the team out of its funk and gotten them to play consistently better hockey.

This team is so fragile and lacking confidence right now. Their mindset seems to be: what the hell else is going to go wrong. All of this probably gets alleviated if they had just won a few more games early in the season and good goaltending might have allowed that to happen. To paraphrase Mike Keenan: the cure to whatever ails a team is winning. Until the Flyers can come together as a team and put together a couple of wins, they will continue to struggle and wilt under pressure.

I me some TK.
- Tomahawk

Ha! I trust him a bit less, though I acknowledge he has good qualities

Ek has us tied to Duncan Keith now.

Not sure I like that...

I agree but I think poor goaltending was the first domino to fall which led to all the others falling. We look so apathetic after a bad goal. Add our power play performance and we're lucky to have the points we do.
- cdearth23

Good goaltending masks a lot of teams short comings. If they had above average goaltending they would be a bubble team for sure. But every time the d (frank)s up the puck ends up in the net. It also makes the team in front of you skittish, which this team is. They need to address the goaltending....like now.

Ek has us tied to Duncan Keith now.

Not sure I like that...
- hereticpride

Yeah, too much term left on that deal for my liking.

Agreed. If they had been getting quality goaltending from the start of the season, they’d likely be quite a bit higher in the standings right now.
- BiggE

It is impossible to go into the past to fix the present, I won’t argue that things wouldn’t be very different now if we had started the season with “you-name-him great acquisition goalie” and “reliable backup”.

Even if you argue that it is the first thing that needs to be changed, that does have merit. I may argue about who and term, but okay.

Go ahead, but don’t be surprised if we still don’t score on consistent basis, if the PK is still getting us buried, if the PP continues to look lost in the woods, if energy levels vary along with concentration shift to shift, and if confidence and chemistry are still spotty.

This is all true, but a few big, timely saves can often get a team going. When things start going bad, it often becomes a snowball rolling down a hill. A few early season wins could have gone a long way to snapping the team out of its funk and gotten them to play consistently better hockey.

This team is so fragile and lacking confidence right now. Their mindset seems to be: what the hell else is going to go wrong. All of this probably gets alleviated if they had just won a few more games early in the season and good goaltending might have allowed that to happen. To paraphrase Mike Keenan: the cure to whatever ails a team is winning. Until the Flyers can come together as a team and put together a couple of wins, they will continue to struggle and wilt under pressure.
- BiggE

I believe a quality goaltender can make a team more confident and play looser and more aggressive. I just think limiting the number of chances can make mediocre goaltending better. For example, Stolarz seems able to make himself big in the net and take away angles. Play tighter defense in front of him and he becomes a better goalie. I just can stand seeing the same kind of mistakes made over and over. Attention to detail costs this team on a nightly basis.

Ek has us tied to Duncan Keith now.

Not sure I like that...
- hereticpride

With the recent events, Flyers are going to be tied to a lot of players.

It is impossible to go into the past to fix the present, I won’t argue that things wouldn’t be very different now if we had started the season with “you-name-him great acquisition goalie” and “reliable backup”.

Even if you argue that it is the first thing that needs to be changed, that does have merit. I may argue about who and term, but okay.

Go ahead, but don’t be surprised if we still don’t score on consistent basis, if the PK is still getting us buried, if the PP continues to look lost in the woods, if energy levels vary along with concentration shift to shift, and if confidence and chemistry are still spotty.
- NC Flyers Fan

I think the PP is the easiest to fix. I just don't understand it.

Bill Meltzer: Flyers Gameday: 12/15/18 @ VAN
- bmeltzer

How many times have they enjoyed wings after a game since last saturday? Maybe a pre game meal of pizza will get them going

Completely disagree.... unless the return is a proven and still young NHL impact player. And what team is trading that?
- bmeltzer

Bill,

Thoughts on the mumblings that people thought Hextall over reached on Frost?

With the recent events, Flyers are going to be tied to a lot of players.
- MJL

True.

Keith is just a little too long in the tooth for my liking. Though I do think he'd make a pretty positive impact on the ice. I just can't come up with a return for Chicago that makes sense for both teams.

I think the PP is the easiest to fix. I just don't understand it.
- MJL

They're screwed with it because the coaches don't know who to put out now

They tried it with Voracek and Simmonds again last night on PP1, after trying TK and JVR. It's gotta be brutal, because it feeds on itself -- the coaches can't keep putting the same unit out there that isn't scoring, but the changes aren't working either

IMHO if they lose tonight, Hakstol is gone!
- DraftandDestroy

if they lose tonight i dunno what to say vancouver sucks

if they lose tonight i dunno what to say vancouver sucks
- 2Real

Del Zotto gonna rip us a new one