It's possible. Especially if the goaltending is still crap. See Nolan Patrick's -30.
- Tomahawk

Well Patrick isn’t an NHL’er. The Vegas experiment will be short lived. York is an NHL’er. Top 4? Top 6? That is still TBD but you saw last year he is more than capable.

Well Patrick isn’t an NHL’er. The Vegas experiment will be short lived. York is an NHL’er. Top 4? Top 6? That is still TBD but you saw last year he is more than capable.
- Fopa21

The 45 minutes he played in the NHL proves he is capable of being a regular player.

Well Patrick isn’t an NHL’er. The Vegas experiment will be short lived. York is an NHL’er. Top 4? Top 6? That is still TBD but you saw last year he is more than capable.
- Fopa21

Great scouting huh?

Montreal didn't give up a 1st, a 2nd and an NHL roster player for Savard. I would've taken signing Savard over the Risto deal all day and twice on Sunday.
- MJL

I agree with this, especially at the price Savard signed for. Fletcher and his staff must have really, really liked Risto over everyone else and maybe they already have a handshake deal with him, who knows really.

Montreal didn't give up a 1st, a 2nd and an NHL roster player for Savard. I would've taken signing Savard over the Risto deal all day and twice on Sunday.
- MJL

He was signed as a free agent. Who says he had interest in coming here?

The 45 minutes he played in the NHL proves he is capable of being a regular player.
- mickel25

Short sample size I agree. But there was more positive than negative.

According to people that report on this league there were 7 teams bidding for Risto and all were willing to anti up more than a 1st rd pick. I agree. It would have been nice to get a mill or two in relief, but there was another team that did not ask for that and would have won the deal. Otherwise we would have.

Still nothing wrong with criticizing how much we gave up, but top 4 d guys are incredibly valuable and ones that actually hit people and do so effectively while playing 22 plus mins a night are incredibly valuable. We were so soft on d last year it was a disgrace.

Hopefully getting him out of Buff will get his career back on track to where he was 4 years ago.

We spent 5 years w a GM that had 0 interest in winning. Just building and leaving spots open for young guys which never ever works.

Young players need to take spots not inherit them.
- Joe Nardone

My only problem with this trade was the 2023 2nd round pick. I think giving up the 13th pick and Hagg should have been good enough to get Risto at his full price and the risk of him walking at the end of this year. Unless as I suspect the Sabres did not want a marginal defenseman like Hagg and the 2nd round pick was the cost of the Sabres taking Hagg back in the deal.

Sorry if pointing out the very obvious problems w/ your "Sanheim is expendable" plan causes you discomfort.

And Doughty's been -64 over the past 3-seasons. MINUS SIXTY FOUR. They should just retroactively strip him of his Norris Trophy. Or could it be that minuses can't be strictly pinned on a single player?
- Tomahawk

It doesn't cause me discomfort, but I'm glad you're not the GM.

Great scouting huh?
- PLindbergh31

Patrick’s scouting notes should say: plagued by injuries and the Three S’s. Slow, soft, sucky.

Sanheim can walk for all I care. He's worth $2/$2+ some change at best.

Any more than that, and we can find someone else....

San Morin is a veteran role player? Huh?
- Nh_kong

Just hoping they don’t give him a ghost like deal. Not saying he’s bad but don’t want to be handcuffed by the deal. For how some love what ghost “may or could or did one season” we all saw how desired around the league he was.

Just hoping they don’t give him a ghost like deal. Not saying he’s bad but don’t want to be handcuffed by the deal. For how some love what ghost “may or could or did one season” we all saw how desired around the league he was.
- Peter Richards

This.
Exactly this.

The insane thing about Patrick being a -30 is he was generally last among forwards in ice time, and was usually skating against other teams 3rd and 4th lines. Not sure how you could quantify this, but he was about the worst player in the NHL. That is what the second pick in the draft gets you. Absurd.
- PLindbergh31

There were guys who were worse defensively (Laine) and guys who were more futile offensively (Eric Staal), but as a combination of both? Nolan Patrick wins that one easily. The biggest stinkin' turd skater in the NHL last year for sure.

David Savard was almost as bad as Patrick btw. On the ice for 17 goals for, 51 against. Dang. Biggest turd defenseman award goes to him. Montreal is in for a real treat.

Worst goalie in the league also goes easily to another Flyer: Carter Hart.

My only problem with this trade was the 2023 2nd round pick. I think giving up the 13th pick and Hagg should have been good enough to get Risto at his full price and the risk of him walking at the end of this year. Unless as I suspect the Sabres did not want a marginal defenseman like Hagg and the 2nd round pick was the cost of the Sabres taking Hagg back in the deal.
- jd250

Don’t disagree with this. Who knows. Sounded like there was a little bidding war happening.

There were guys who were worse defensively (Laine) and guys who were more futile offensively (Eric Staal), but as a combination of both? Nolan Patrick wins that one easily. The biggest stinkin' turd skater in the NHL last year for sure.

David Savard was almost as bad as Patrick btw. On the ice for 17 goals for, 51 against. Dang. Biggest turd defenseman award goes to him. Montreal is in for a real treat.

Worst goalie in the league also goes easily to another Flyer: Carter Hart.
- Tomahawk

Hart being the worst goalie in the league is mystifying, but coming off back to back very good seasons, hopefully just chalk it up to playing behind a dreadful team that lacked any defensive structure.

The fact Patrick was the second pick in a loaded draft really makes you wonder. And I don't give a rats ass about mock drafts, or Button, or any publication putting grades on players. Those guys aren't being paid by NHL teams.

Just hoping they don’t give him a ghost like deal. Not saying he’s bad but don’t want to be handcuffed by the deal. For how some love what ghost “may or could or did one season” we all saw how desired around the league he was.
- Peter Richards

Sanheim really has no leverage. He has had two subpar seasons in a row and his best season was really nothing great. At least Ghost scored 61 points in a season. I personally don't think Sanheim deserves a raise and I would play hardball with him, make him sign a 2 year deal at this current rate and see what he becomes.

Sanheim really has no leverage. He has had two subpar seasons in a row and his best season was really nothing great. At least Ghost scored 61 points in a season. I personally don't think Sanheim deserves a raise and I would play hardball with him, make him sign a 2 year deal at this current rate and see what he becomes.
- jd250

Exactly.

Sanheim really has no leverage. He has had two subpar seasons in a row and his best season was really nothing great. At least Ghost scored 61 points in a season. I personally don't think Sanheim deserves a raise and I would play hardball with him, make him sign a 2 year deal at this current rate and see what he becomes.
- jd250

I thought his last deal was the prove it and you can get the big contract. But agree. We shall see. Wouldn’t do more than three years. Will make trading him easier if need be.

Sanheim really has no leverage. He has had two subpar seasons in a row and his best season was really nothing great. At least Ghost scored 61 points in a season. I personally don't think Sanheim deserves a raise and I would play hardball with him, make him sign a 2 year deal at this current rate and see what he becomes.
- jd250

Actually he does have some leverage. But the Flyers are banking that they have more.

Sanheim's leverage:

Sanheim was the Flyers’ best defenseman by a significant margin by even-strength advanced metrics. His closest comparable in terms of impact on xG differential in 2020-21 was Jared Spurgeon, and his closest comp by impact on shot attempt differential was Mattias Ekholm. Those are pretty good defensemen! Plus he was a staple in the Flyers’ top four all season; at one point, Vigneault referred to him as one of the team’s three rocks on defense (with Provorov and Braun) who were essentially immune from the possibility of a scratch. Sanheim did earn the trust of his coaches and ended up averaging a career-high 21:53 minutes per game.

The Flyers leverage:

But then there were the breakdowns. And hoo boy, a lot of them ended up in the back of the net.

Sanheim’s on-ice save percentage at five-on-five was .8856 — seventh-worst among full-time NHL blueliners. And considering the gigantic discrepancy between his expected goals per 60 minutes rate (2.07) and his actual goals against per 60 (3.22), there are really only two possible explanations. Either Sanheim had himself one of the unluckiest years a defenseman could possibly have, with almost every mistake of his being punished, or public xG models don’t quite grasp just how weak Sanheim was defensively. Let’s split the difference between the two possibilities and give him a C.

Is Matt Murray still in the league? What does it say about a goalie when the team he won the cups w quickly jettisoned him for nothing?
- Joe Nardone

Howz that working for the Pens? I think right now they'd prefer Murray to Jarry.

Just leaving this here for now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb_F2V_6rPw

Chucky gonna Chucky. I really thought he had a good start to the off season although he probably paid an extra draft pick for Risto. Should have been either just the 1st or just the second, but not both. Really like the guys that he brought in and shipped out, but then he petered out. Jones may be a downgrade over Elliot and bringing Thompson back really makes no sense. This forward group as a whole still isn't fast or physical enough. Help!!
- Phillywhiteout

I don’t mind Thompson for his face-offs but I’m bummed about Jones. Would much rather have Craig Anderson

Just leaving this here for now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb_F2V_6rPw
- backfire

He’s had some serious goals, the one on Brent burns comes to mind. I brought up his streak of 40+ points and folks on here and folks try to shoot it down saying it’s half PP. yea he’s capable of doing that though, whether he plays on it or not he’s got some skill. I’m excited to see him get going, especially the physicality.

I don’t mind Thompson for his face-offs but I’m bummed about Jones. Would much rather have Craig Anderson
- black_francis

Much rather have 40 year old Craig Anderson, no thanks.

Howz that working for the Pens? I think right now they'd prefer Murray to Jarry.
- backfire

Nah. First round exits are better than Stanley Cups.

Much rather have 40 year old Craig Anderson, no thanks.
- ClaudeFather

Jones is a gamble for sure. But he is only 31, coming in to a new role where he wont be playing 60 games, has a new (old) goalie coach he was successful with before.

If he is playing a ton of games we have bigger issues to deal with.