I don't remember when people were saying they are dead in the water. They have had decent success intermittently ever since the cup. The years you speak of were Marchand coming into his prime, and Bergeron in perpetual Selke contention.

But I disagree they are legit contenders now. They are essentially a one line team, as the last round of their last playoffs starkly proved.

I think the difference between you and me is that you are content to sort of keep the fire burning, the way you phrase "still standing and competitive," while I want more.
- PT21

You're wrong on two accounts here. How you can say that people haven't been saying they're dead in the water, is puzzling. Not in those exact terms but pretty much that. You're also wrong to suggest that as a fan that Tomahawk doesn't want more than to be still standing and competitive. That's simply illogical on your part.

Exactly. The Flyers have a strong prospect base. They have a good number of really talented young players. They'll be drafting more players. This year sucks but I am not concerned about the long term future. As long as Dave Scott doesn't wreck it.
- MJL

Thats pretty much where I'm at. My biggest near term concern is how the suits at Comcast are going to react.


My biggest long term concern is how much will Couturier be asking for when his contract comes up, and what will they have to do to fit it in.

Totally shocked a top 4 dman on a cost controlled contract wasn't claimed. Teams always need D help. Don't want to hear the cap nonsense as that's why he wasn't claimed. If any team thought he was a top 4 dman they would have claimed him and found a way; being only 27 and all in his prime.

We shall see now if the Flyers perspective changes and they move him while eating $$ or take back an equally overpaid contract.

If you do half-assed rebuilds and keep a whole bunch of good but not great players on your roster for a long period of time, this is what happens.

I have been screaming about this for 8 years now. For the life of me I will never understand why fans who suffer through spells like this every few years forever cannot accept that in a salary cap age with so many teams, the most likely way to the top is through ruthlessly cutting ties and picking high.
- PT21

The common thread is it's the same core. Coaches and GM's are shuffled in and out and the results do not change. And the results will not change with Fletcher as the GM. You can take that to the bank.

Totally shocked a top 4 dman on a cost controlled contract wasn't claimed. Teams always need D help. Don't want to hear the cap nonsense as that's why he wasn't claimed. If any team thought he was a top 4 dman they would have claimed him and found a way; being only 27 and all in his prime.

We shall see now if the Flyers perspective changes and they move him while eating $$ or take back an equally overpaid contract.
- login

At the time that contract was signed, before COVID and a flat cap you loved it. You don’t have to be afraid to admit it.

People here think a lot more than other boards, and people on the Flyers blog seem to think more than others.
- PT21

We have linked to the best blogger. Great minds?

Pardon me, I have to go stroke my ego. AHHHH!

The common thread is it's the same core. Coaches and GM's are shuffled in and out and the results do not change. And the results will not change with Fletcher as the GM. You can take that to the bank.
- PLindbergh31

Yup, something’s in the water with this entire organization as constructed. No backbone whatsoever.

At the time that contract was signed, before COVID and a flat cap you loved it. You don’t have to be afraid to admit it.
- Sinisalo4vr

wrong.

Anyone seen an updated prognosis on Hedman's injury from last night?

It looked pretty bad so he's out for awhile...just wondered if word came down on if it is season ending.
- juiced

didn't he return to play shortly after leaving the ice?

Accomplished absolutely nothing (re: putting Ghost on waivers).
- BroadSTmayhem

Anticlimactic for sure.

I expect the players have received the message and will promptly lose 9-0 to the Buffa slugs.

Looking forward to the next time Ghost scores a goal and the flood of people screaming "Yeah baby, Ghost is back!". Then I'll see them next year....
- Glak18

He'll probably score tonight.

Exactly. The Flyers have a strong prospect base. They have a good number of really talented young players. They'll be drafting more players. This year sucks but I am not concerned about the long term future. As long as Dave Scott doesn't wreck it.
- MJL

That's my biggest concern.

didn't he return to play shortly after leaving the ice?
- Scoob

Didn't know he came back, I was flipping from game to game on Center Ice. I saw him go down and he was crawling, dragging his leg behind him and not putting any weight on it. He looked to be in a ton of pain and then got helped off the ice. Im shocked as hell if he got back on the ice after that.....unless you can get a form of a stinger in your leg/hip.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egQgeqAR5Jw

Yeah if waiving Ghost was a "message" in any form, we know 100% where the problem lies in the organization.

If Ghost is unclaimed and plays tonight...the only thought is 30 teams in the NHL could have you for FREE and passed. There is no it's more complicated...they said NO THANK YOU.
- Glak18

That’s not exactly accurate. He would probably pick interest, but At current cap, only few teams can fit his salary. Additionally, they may fill that he is overpaid for what he brings, but that’s not Ghost’s fault- the management negotiated his salary.

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
- wcorvette

Im sorry but Vatanen is terrible.

Anticlimactic for sure.

I expect the players have received the message and will promptly lose 9-0 to the Buffa slugs.
- Hextall271

If there's one team that the Flyers can play 20-30 minutes of decent hockey against and still win, its Buffalo.

I mean, Buffalo is so bad that their beat writer for The Athletic was asking (rhetorically, I assume) if they'd even win another game this year.

So, yeah.. Buffalo wins tonight, right? Do the Sabres have anyone they can put in the lineup who hasnt scored in a couple years? Because I feel like that would seal the deal.

I remember when everybody thought Boston was dead in the water about 5-6 years ago. Sunsetting veteran core, looked like no standout kids in the pipeline. They had just traded Hamilton because they didn't have enough cap space to sign him, giving them three shots at Barzal, Connor, Chabot, Boeser and TK and somehow they missed them all.

Yet here they are, still standing and competitive. Pasta turned out to be a LOT LOT better than expected. They found McAvoy with a middle-round pick. Their vets still had plenty left to give. That mountain of non-elite depth prospects they were sitting on all broke into the league.

So yeah... what's the opposite of counting chickens before they're hatched? Because that's where the Flyers fanbase is right now. Absolutely zero clue as to what's on the horizon, yet somehow convinced that the team is hopeless.
- Tomahawk

Please do not apply reason and logic around here

Im sorry but Vatanen is terrible.
- Pelle31Forever

I think he just misspelled Rantanen.

He'll probably score tonight.
- Scoob

It'll be interesting to see how he'll react. He's still better than the other two options on D.

Didn't know he came back, I was flipping from game to game on Center Ice. I saw him go down and he was crawling, dragging his leg behind him and not putting any weight on it. He looked to be in a ton of pain and then got helped off the ice. Im shocked as hell if he got back on the ice after that.....unless you can get a form of a stinger in your leg/hip.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egQgeqAR5Jw
- juiced

Definitely looked bad but he did come back to the game and I haven't seen anything indicating he'll miss any time.

Fun fact of the day: St Louis is only one point ahead of Arizona for the final playoff spot in their division.

So we should have tanked? Should we have not tanked? What is the definition of tank? Did Tampa tank to get where they are? I think we agree Pitt did. Did the Capitals? Did Chicago? Did the Bruins? Did St. Louis? Did Vegas tank to get picks to become competitive? Did the AV's tank?


Where is the line between tanking and just rebuilding? While Pitt tanked I would say they are now riding their group as far as they can before they rebuild, not tanking.

Who thinks players have gotten better and better, drafts are better and better, when did that happen? Does the quality of prospects in the draft change the timeline to rebuild? Should tanking take less time now? If so, what draft did the talent get so much better that rebuilding became quicker? Lets say 2015, does that mean any team that could have tanked not tanked prior to 2015? Wait, unless their was a generational talent in the draft. Did the Flyers have a chance to tank when there was a generational talent? G 3 years ago had a MVP season, was that when we should have tanked?

Does luck of the draft matter? What are the good ones and which ones are not as good? When did your team get a high pick? Was it a top end draft or a weaker draft?

How does one plan to tank? I guess Scouts but I guess you also have to wait until the draft has the prospects you want before you give away good players for picks. Because if you miss the fans will roast you.

Could we look at the last 10-15 Cup champs and prove tanking is the way to go? I won't but I assume some will, let me know how it goes.

I remember when everybody thought Boston was dead in the water about 5-6 years ago. Sunsetting veteran core, looked like no standout kids in the pipeline. They had just traded Hamilton because they didn't have enough cap space to sign him, giving them three shots at Barzal, Connor, Chabot, Boeser and TK and somehow they missed them all.

Yet here they are, still standing and competitive. Pasta turned out to be a LOT LOT better than expected. They found McAvoy with a middle-round pick. Their vets still had plenty left to give. That mountain of non-elite depth prospects they were sitting on all broke into the league.

So yeah... what's the opposite of counting chickens before they're hatched? Because that's where the Flyers fanbase is right now. Absolutely zero clue as to what's on the horizon, yet somehow convinced that the team is hopeless.
- Tomahawk

Good post and observations. My personal take is that we’ve got to ride it out longer to see what the kids are about. For a lot of them, they have shown flashes but then regressed. Hart tk patrick Provy Sanheim and Myers come to mind and even bee has slowed down this year.

This bouncy path is normal for all young players. We’ve subtracted vets that supplemented them last year in hopes the young guys could take the next step. They haven’t, but doesn’t mean they won’t. It’s going to take more time as much as that frustrates me. What’s worse? giving up On the solid foundation only to see the kids end up flourishing somewhere else because we tried to make a short term run. Stay the course.

Im sorry but Vatanen is terrible.
- Pelle31Forever

2 mil hit plays right side, moves the puck well. I've watched him play lately, not bad but then again I am comparing him to our D. He is on an expiring contract and he is a fit for right D and he plays actual D. I prefer Ghost plays and our D magically plays up to their potential.

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.
- PT21

Bolded text is why people here mostly despise you. It's also a repetitive strategy of yours that is a classic hallmark of a person with an inferiority complex. You're arrogance is a psychological cover for that inferiority.

PT, you've been waived. Hockey's Future picked you up. The deadline has passed. Take your keyboard and go report to their GM. Good luck with your new comment board.