I don’t think I’m willing to include Frost , not sure how to make it happen but a first and idk
- ClaudeFather

Why not? What has Frost shown you to believe he is not worth trading for a top pairing D like Ekholm? This is a perfect example of falling in love with your own players, even if they haven't done anything yet. Frost may turn out to be very good, then again he may not. However, finding a top paring D is rare compared to finding a decent center. Frost can be replaced!

So O’Brien finishes his season with just 11 games played. Since he’s already 21 years old I’d like to see him sign an ELC and give the Phantoms a shot this season. With all of their injured forwards I’m sure he could get some decent minutes. But I also think this has almost 0 chance of happening.

There was an article by LeBrun that had Boston,Jets, Caps, and Flyers as serious traders for Ekhlom. He’s a good fit with a workable salary but the expansion draft really complicates things.
- Djapana

If the Flyers somehow got Ekholm, they would have to protect any 8 skaters versus 3 D and 7 forwards. The Flyers could protect Ekholm, Provorov, Sanheim and Myers, TK, Couturier, Hayes & Giroux (latter two both have NM clauses). They don't have to protect Laughton because he is a FA, nor Farabee, Frost or Bunnaman because they are 1st or 2nd year players. The Flyers would then be exposing Ghost, Braun, Haag, NAK, Patrick, Jake, JVR, Lindblom, Andreoff, Friedman & Elliott. They only can lose one of these players, any of which I can live with losing.

Why in the world would Freidman be taking shifts on the wing?

If the Flyers somehow got Ekholm, they would have to protect any 8 skaters versus 3 D and 7 forwards. The Flyers could protect Ekholm, Provorov, Sanheim and Myers, TK, Couturier, Hayes & Giroux (latter two both have NM clauses). They don't have to protect Laughton because he is a FA, nor Farabee, Frost or Bunnaman because they are 1st or 2nd year players. The Flyers would then be exposing Ghost, Braun, Haag, NAK, Patrick, Jake, JVR, Lindblom, Andreoff, Friedman & Elliott. They only can lose one of these players, any of which I can live with losing.
- jd250

iDk if I can deal with Patrick going somewhere else and becoming a top 6 center. Let’s pray we never draft #2 again, miss out on Kane and then the whole Patrick debacle

So O’Brien finishes his season with just 11 games played. Since he’s already 21 years old I’d like to see him sign an ELC and give the Phantoms a shot this season. With all of their injured forwards I’m sure he could get some decent minutes. But I also think this has almost 0 chance of happening.
- Djapana

This season has been a nice step forward for O'Brien, 2nd on the team in scoring and what I really like, 3rd on the team in shots. However, I don't think he is ready for the Phantoms yet, would like to see him play one more season for BU and then see if he can make the Flyers straight from there.

If the Flyers somehow got Ekholm, they would have to protect any 8 skaters versus 3 D and 7 forwards. The Flyers could protect Ekholm, Provorov, Sanheim and Myers, TK, Couturier, Hayes & Giroux (latter two both have NM clauses). They don't have to protect Laughton because he is a FA, nor Farabee, Frost or Bunnaman because they are 1st or 2nd year players. The Flyers would then be exposing Ghost, Braun, Haag, NAK, Patrick, Jake, JVR, Lindblom, Andreoff, Friedman & Elliott. They only can lose one of these players, any of which I can live with losing.
- jd250

Not true. There are many options.

iDk if I can deal with Patrick going somewhere else and becoming a top 6 center. Let’s pray we never draft #2 again, miss out on Kane and then the whole Patrick debacle
- ClaudeFather

I personally don't see Patrick becoming a top 6 forward, but even if he does, I would trade him in a heartbeat for a top pairing defenseman like Ekholm. You can essentially trip over a good 3rd line center, but top pairing Dman are hard to obtain.

Not true. There are many options.
- Peter Richards

There are NOT many options; you have only two options: protect 3D&7F or protect 8 skaters. If the Flyers choose the 3D&7F option, the Flyers will have to expose either Myers or Sanheim, and I personally would not do it!

When do you honestly expect York and Zamula to make an impact on this team?
- ClaudeFather

I look at can they win it all now and where will the prospects be in the next 24 months. I do think we’ll see both York and Zamula by then. I don’t think provy is a pure #1 but get the right partner and it will be a really good first pair. I think having zamula and York could help slot the D right and make a real good 6.

So, if a trade gives them odds on a cup go for it, if not, hold up and wait

Tahoe?

Why?

Has a team ever missed the playoffs due to some environment-related mishap during one of these gimmick games?

Howz about making the non-gimmick games more exciting?

There are NOT many options; you have only two options: protect 3D&7F or protect 8 skaters. If the Flyers choose the 3D&7F option, the Flyers will have to expose either Myers or Sanheim, and I personally would not do it!
- jd250

Fletcher has other ways to protect players.

This season has been a nice step forward for O'Brien, 2nd on the team in scoring and what I really like, 3rd on the team in shots. However, I don't think he is ready for the Phantoms yet, would like to see him play one more season for BU and then see if he can make the Flyers straight from there.
- jd250

I agree he stays at BU because throughout his career so far he has always chosen the most conservative development path against the least competition. Chosen only 5 picks after his younger WJC teammate Farabee, it’s telling how different their paths to the NHL have been to date.

Wait. Do we want Ekholm?

What would that look like?
- DrMidnite

I’m all in his he can play the right side

I agree he stays at BU because throughout his career so far he has always chosen the most conservative development path against the least competition. Chosen only 5 picks after his younger WJC teammate Farabee, it’s telling how different their paths to the NHL have been to date.
- Djapana

1) Different players have different development paths. It took Kevin Hayes until his junior and especially senior year at BC -- and playing with Gaudreau -- to start to look like a guy who was a first-round pick.

2) The year in the BCHL was due to the NCAA transfer protocol. The other option was USHL. It's looking like a good decision because O'Brien was oft-injured, unhappy (despite being a very early commitment player) and correspondingly unproductive at Providence.

3) Farabee is all of three months younger than O'Brien (Nov. 1999 vs. Feb. 2000). The only meaningful thing about that is the NHL late birthday Draft eligibility year and the birthday cut off for an extra year of WJC eligibility.

Of course I hope the Flyers can somehow manage to get points out of tonight's game, but what I hope even more is Morin plants Marchand so hard that Marchand ends up as a permanent fixture of the 18th green!
- jd250

I hope Morin isn’t anywhere near the ice when Marchand is on it.

I like the skill set O’Brien has, it fits the Flyers. I think a skill forward with speed is something the Flyers need, I think we all hope he continues his current development path.

I didn’t stay up to watch the end of the game last night (this morning?). Was the ice still bad?
- Dkos

No, ice looked good or at least a gigantic improvement from earlier in the day.

Does anyone know what the story is with Ekholm’s injury? I see that he is on IR now.

So I may be light but I just saw that friedman is a winger now?! Wtf is this??!
They remove kaae and put a defenseman in his place??

I'm at a loss for words with this poop

Why not? What has Frost shown you to believe he is not worth trading for a top pairing D like Ekholm? This is a perfect example of falling in love with your own players, even if they haven't done anything yet. Frost may turn out to be very good, then again he may not. However, finding a top paring D is rare compared to finding a decent center. Frost can be replaced!
- jd250

Top pairing young stud dmen are worth their weight in gold. I like frost but if there’s a deal to be had that works to solidify our top 4, do it. It’s that d Corp and goaltending that will get us the cup.

And to make matters worse it’s such a short runway here that by the time we know if this team is worth adding a big piece to take a shot it might be too late. As of now I would say we should not make the move, strictly due to Seattle, this team has not played well enough to warrant it and if we lose a bigger piece in expansion it would be foolish.
- ClaudeFather

I lean heavily towards agreeing with you.

I like frost and want to keep him. If I’m Nashville and know what a top d is worth in the league the conversation starts there. Have to give to get. As much as I like frost I’d rather part with him than York. O’Brien sure..etc. Farabee is a non starter for me.
- Hextall271

Ekholm is a good solid player but he is not a stud top pairing defenseman.

For once something Ek reports actually makes sense, at least to me. The Predators are having a rough year so far, and have no cap space. They need to rebuild, maybe not a full tear it all down rebuild, but a rebuild on the fly. Ekholm is one of their best trade assets presently in that he a solid defenseman with good size and a very reasonable contract. The Flyers should have the ability to give Nashville what they want, i.e. picks and prospects. If I was Fletcher, this is a trade worthy of giving up prospects and picks for! With Ekholm, this would give the Flyers that top D-pair they desperately need to become true contenders.
- jd250

Just adding Ekholm improves the Flyers but it does not elevate the Flyers to true contender status just from that move in my opinion.

So I may be light but I just saw that friedman is a winger now?! Wtf is this??!
They remove kaae and put a defenseman in his place??

I'm at a loss for words with this poop
- Bob Habib

There could be many reasons for this change. Most of which are slightly bad news. In the end, I just don’t think it’s a big deal and the full why isn’t clear.

For example...are some d-men banged up so that they might be lost in game? Likewise, does Kase have some minor ailment, not enough to normally miss but due to circumstances? Will that line not see very many even strength minutes anyway? Size line matchup needed?