Fletch is in a no-win situation, for sure. If he does nothing to improve the current roster, he’ll get fried by many. Same thing will happen if he’s active on or before the deadline and they don’t make the playoffs. There’s no quick fix, especially for an organization that severely overrated the roster coming into this season.
- BroadSTmayhem

I think the simple guide Fletcher should use is to ask if he would make a proposed trade if the team was playing well. If the answer is yes, make the trade. If he's thinking about making a trade just because the team is playing like crap, for a shakeup, then he should pass. Make a good hockey trade for the right reasons. Not to appease upper management because they want action.

Flyers are the 8th youngest team in the NHL, with more in the pipeline...

What does all that mean?

Their young players will get better

It showed in the 3rd period of the last game, they need to lean more on their experienced players. Coots, G, Jake, Hayes and JVR all have more to give, keep them in the front seat. Best case they play really well and take pressure off the youngens. Worse case they show its time to move on. My guess is G and Jake specifically, will be better knowing they are the go to.


Playoffs or not, all the young players should grow this season.

LHV, keep Tanner, Wade and the gang playing together, the growth in the AHL will be huge next season.

If both the NHL and AHL progress for the rest of this season, it will bode well for next season. With all the talent on both a good GM should be able to re-shape the Flyers, get the mix right and make them contenders in short order.

Fletch is in a no-win situation, for sure. If he does nothing to improve the current roster, he’ll get fried by many. Same thing will happen if he’s active on or before the deadline and they don’t make the playoffs. There’s no quick fix, especially for an organization that severely overrated the roster coming into this season.
- BroadSTmayhem

The rebuild started when Hextall was hired in May of 2014. That season ended with no playoffs. Here we are 7 years later and the team is still a dumpster fire.

Quick fix? Where are the results?

They don't want that for shall we say not so good players!!!

I wonder if he clears to they try to move him by eating money or taking back an equal contract for another teams Ghost type player.
- login

I think Ghost adds value and if not the Covid world he would have been taken. I cam see them eating 1/2 salary and moving him but only if they can fill the hole, he is the best option on D right now.

Flyers are the 8th youngest team in the NHL, with more in the pipeline...

What does all that mean?

Their young players will get better

It showed in the 3rd period of the last game, they need to lean more on their experienced players. Coots, G, Jake, Hayes and JVR all have more to give, keep them in the front seat. Best case they play really well and take pressure off the youngens. Worse case they show its time to move on. My guess is G and Jake specifically, will be better knowing they are the go to.


Playoffs or not, all the young players should grow this season.

LHV, keep Tanner, Wade and the gang playing together, the growth in the AHL will be huge next season.

If both the NHL and AHL progress for the rest of this season, it will bode well for next season. With all the talent on both a good GM should be able to re-shape the Flyers, get the mix right and make them contenders in short order.
- wcorvette

I think last year we got a taste of what the team could be and I believe they played above their heads. Whether it was Lindblom's cancer diagnosis and treatment that galvanized the team, coupled with a new coach or other factors, they overachieved. This year, they're underachieving and it's mostly due to the play/inconsistency of the younger guys. Many were expecting the young players to take the next step and they simply haven't. Add the "Rona" into the mix and this is where we are. It's sucks and I've never turned so many games off because they're unwatchable.

I think the simple guide Fletcher should use is to ask if he would make a proposed trade if the team was playing well. If the answer is yes, make the trade. If he's thinking about making a trade just because the team is playing like crap, for a shakeup, then he should pass. Make a good hockey trade for the right reasons. Not to appease upper management because they want action.
- MJL

He literally said the other day he will only make a trade that fits long term. Now, if he finds a short term rental to push this season I can see him doing that and I think he should. I would go after Vatanen, plays a solid game and the right side. Then if you want to sell low on Ghost, go ahead. That said, I am a bigger fan of Ghost than most. I think with the right mix of D he is a valuable piece. If Sanhein and Myers were having good seasons Ghost would be less of an issue for all

LOL, you truly are a generous and giving person.
- wcorvette

I'm here to help!

Nobody is claiming ghost. He blows. Everyone in league knows it except the flyers

I think Ghost adds value and if not the Covid world he would have been taken. I cam see them eating 1/2 salary and moving him but only if they can fill the hole, he is the best option on D right now.
- wcorvette

The team thinks diff about his value; right or wrong. That is what people cant grasp. Best option doesn't mean much when the D is this bad. Every team has a best option for something; doesn't mean it is a good option.

Nobody is claiming ghost. He blows. Everyone in league knows it except the flyers
- SMS4016

the alternatives on the roster blow more.

Nobody is claiming ghost. He blows. Everyone in league knows it except the flyers
- SMS4016

*Flyers fans

I think last year we got a taste of what the team could be and I believe they played above their heads. Whether it was Lindblom's cancer diagnosis and treatment that galvanized the team, coupled with a new coach or other factors, they overachieved. This year, they're underachieving and it's mostly due to the play/inconsistency of the younger guys. Many were expecting the young players to take the next step and they simply haven't. Add the "Rona" into the mix and this is where we are. It's sucks and I've never turned so many games off because they're unwatchable.

- aantny88

tough to watch right now but we could look back as the turning point for this team. I think Myers and Sanheim figure it out and Provy plays better. I think the one thing that flies under the radar that is really important is the progress of the players in the AHL. We now have real talent down there, if they can stay healthy and keep playing well it really opens up options for the big club and trades. In a market that is so dollar conscience I think teams will look at Tanner, Allsison, Zamula as targets.

The team thinks diff about his value; right or wrong. That is what people cant grasp. Best option doesn't mean much when the D is this bad. Every team has a best option for something; doesn't mean it is a good option.
- login

that we can all debate but as far as icing a team here and now it is what it is. They have to balance winning now with what to do next

no morning skate so we can't see the lineup, this team finds ways to torture their fanbase

no morning skate so we can't see the lineup, this team finds ways to torture their fanbase
- wcorvette

I don't care about that stuff. The only way that I hate being tortured is with the wildly inferior product they've put on the ice for the past month. Aantny said it above: I've never turned off more games halfway through than I have this month.

tough to watch right now but we could look back as the turning point for this team. I think Myers and Sanheim figure it out and Provy plays better. I think the one thing that flies under the radar that is really important is the progress of the players in the AHL. We now have real talent down there, if they can stay healthy and keep playing well it really opens up options for the big club and trades. In a market that is so dollar conscience I think teams will look at Tanner, Allsison, Zamula as targets.
- wcorvette

I sure hope so! I just love watching hockey, especially the Flyers and right now, it's not even mildly enjoyable. The pipeline certainly looks promising, but I'm not sure how much patience/goodwill people still have when it's been 45 years since they raised the Cup

no morning skate so we can't see the lineup, this team finds ways to torture their fanbase
- wcorvette

If Gostisbehere gets claimed Gustafsson will play. What other lineup changes would there be?

Flyers are the 8th youngest team in the NHL, with more in the pipeline...

What does all that mean?

Their young players will get better

It showed in the 3rd period of the last game, they need to lean more on their experienced players. Coots, G, Jake, Hayes and JVR all have more to give, keep them in the front seat. Best case they play really well and take pressure off the youngens. Worse case they show its time to move on. My guess is G and Jake specifically, will be better knowing they are the go to.


Playoffs or not, all the young players should grow this season.

LHV, keep Tanner, Wade and the gang playing together, the growth in the AHL will be huge next season.

If both the NHL and AHL progress for the rest of this season, it will bode well for next season. With all the talent on both a good GM should be able to re-shape the Flyers, get the mix right and make them contenders in short order.
- wcorvette

Keep it mind it was the Sabres and these vets go through just as long pointless droughts as the kids. They also don’t come out ready to play time and time again.

Flyers have some good kids coming along but no game changers. This isn’t an issue of just waiting for kids to develop.

ouch not even florida wants ghost

Keep it mind it was the Sabres and these vets go through just as long pointless droughts as the kids. They also don’t come out ready to play time and time again.

Flyers have some good kids coming along but no game changers. This isn’t an issue of just waiting for kids to develop.
- hereticpride

I don't think it is, they don't have game changers coming but if they hit their ceiling they would help the big club. If they hit their ceiling they get more on trade. It opens up options to reshape the mix on the big club. I think we all agree the mix isn't right.

Keep it mind it was the Sabres and these vets go through just as long pointless droughts as the kids. They also don’t come out ready to play time and time again.

Flyers have some good kids coming along but no game changers. This isn’t an issue of just waiting for kids to develop.
- hereticpride

To an extent. I disagree that there are no game changers but I guess that depends on the definition you have of that. The Flyers have a number of young player that if they develop and reach their potential, have the potential to significantly change the dynamics of this team. I keep hearing that the core has to change. Well how do you change it? You aren't going to trade your way to changing it. The Flyers can't even move Gostisbehere. Do you think they're going to be able to move Voracek without taking a similar player and contract back? You change the core by bringing up young players and altering the make up of the team. They've put too much on some of the young players too early. The play on the ice has affected Carter Hart to where his mechanics have suffered. The vets and the coaching staff have not done a good job. Don't let that fool you about the Flyers young players. It is a amateur fan mistake to devalue the quality of the Flyers young players due to this season.

From the Athletic


But what if a team does put in a claim? Well, to be blunt, it would hurt the 2020-21 Flyers.

Gostisbehere is absolutely in the midst of a bounce-back season. No, he hasn’t come close to bouncing back to where he was in 2015-16 or 2017-18. But he’s still been a useful player for the Flyers. He ranks third on the Philadelphia defense in even-strength impact on expected goal differential (plus-0.012), second in raw xG differential at five-on-five, per Evolving-Hockey’s model (50.81 percent), and is second only to Sean Couturier in power-play points per 60 minutes.

Has he been great, especially relative to leaguewide blueliner performance? Nah. Has he been one of the Flyers’ four best defensemen? By the numbers, yes.

Losing Ghost in the here and now and replacing him with one of Erik Gustafsson or Nate Prosser would make the team measurably less likely to win games, and any prospects called up to replace him would be total unknowns.

ouch not even florida wants ghost
- 2Real

Lets face it. He's not worth two more years at 4.5M per in a flat cap world.

To anybody.

Oddly enough, I think if the Flyers had put Gustafsson on waivers, he would have had a better* shot of being claimed by a team in the position to put one of their D-men on LTIR, and then simply let Gustafsson walk at the end of the season.

By any measure, Gustafsson is worse than Ghost, but he's cheaper and his contract vanishes at the end of the season.


*Better does not necessarily = good.

A few more minutes and we find out the future of ghost bear

We should put PT21 on waivers so one of the other boards can claim him. After all, those boards could use an arrogant windbag with an inferiority complex like him on their team to stir the pot. Why do we have to be the only ones that suffer through it?
- Letterkenney

PT21 generates more hockey content here on any given day here than your bovine brain has produced in a lifetime. However, he is teaching this semester and cannot continue to have the fun he does here.

So, he will be claimed by life for a few days soon. But fear not, both he and his persona will be back, and will stay unchanged.

In the meantime, I suggest you take lessons about dealing with people with inferiority complexes from your family members. They should be experts by now.