Here is one thing I thought Hextall should have done. If the true plan was to draft and build from that.....he needed to do whatever he could to have a bottom team for the 2015 draft. That would have been your chance to get a franchise changing player.
- J35Bacher

Hextall was never going to tank. I personally would never support that.

To me, the NP pick reeks of bad luck. You can argue Makar/Miro would be better. But the fact that NP seems to be just completely flaming out... that is essentially unforeseeable.

Hextall to me seems to be a guy who was waiting for the correct time to make his moves. Not just coasting on the status quo. He hired a docile coach, who was known for player development. He was holding onto his picks. He was shedding salary on average.

Would he have delivered? I dunno. But funny thing is, those who objected to the "2 more years" mantra got their wish. It's now 6 more years.
- PT21

Hey, we're on the same page. It's a miracle.

That's really the point. Nobody can say with any certainty that Hextall's plan would've worked out. I personally believe that his approach is the correct approach to take. What I know and it's not about what I believe but what I know. Is that the Flyers are in the worst position a team can be in. I also know that a team with failed prospects and a rebuild that hasn't worked, is also in a better position than the Flyers are in today. I also know that this team isn't going to make a complete u turn. They're going to keep on making moves to try and win now. Holmgren never learned and adjusted to the salary cap environment and his influence on that and on Scott, is why the team is where it is today. That and Fletcher's miscalculations.
- MJL

Really? How long have the Coyotes been rebuilding? Are they in better position?

I wonder if Debs would have rather taken Miro too, in restrospect. Not too bad if their 1st pairing is Miro-Dougie.
- PT21

I can't recall anybody ranking any of the dmen above Nico or Nolan predraft, and I can't recall any teams saying afterwards that they would have picked a dman in the top-2.

Really? How long have the Coyotes been rebuilding? Are they in better position?
- J35Bacher

Yes, they are!

Patrick was #1 going into the year, but then he missed a lot of games and Hischier basically went ape poop in Halifax, so by draft day, Hischier was topping a lot of lists.
- Tomahawk

There was a bunch of questions about NP that year…. Health, plateau in his play….He was better as a 16 ear old. He was a beast in the WHL playoffs the one year, he may have won the mvp of the playoffs that year…..as an underage, which is epic. Most pundits had those guys as top two, but all 5 that went weren’t very far apart…unfortunately the Flyers picked, what turned out to be, the wrong guy.

Hextall was never going to tank. I personally would never support that.
- MJL

Support it or not. That draft had a franchise changing player. With Hextall taking over in the 2014 season, a forward thinking guy would have looked to that draft as a place to get a game changer.

I don't support tanking either but at that time it was the equivalent of the Pens getting Crosby. I could live with the tanking if by chance they got McDavid.

Hey, we're on the same page. It's a miracle.
- MJL

I don't like your spelling of unfortunate.

I don't like your spelling of unfortunate.
- PT21

Only you PT

Why is it that all the Hextall apologists glaze over all his glaring mistakes with the excuse that his hands we forced?
1) drafted Patrick 2nd over all….‘wasn’t his fault, all the pundits had Patrick rated that high’
2) signed JVR to a deal for too much and too long, which flew in the face of what many now see as Hextall’s master plan. ‘ wasn’t his fault, done to appease management.
3) retool was not what Hextall wanted…”he wanted to do a rebuild but ownership wouldn’t let him”…he wasn’t given enough time to complete his master plan ….this is new…lol
Pretty sure when a GM is hired this would have been the main point of his job interview ….what’s the plan going forward? How are you going to get there? How long will it take ? To now suggest this plan that was a failure was not what Hextall actually wanted to do is laughable….

Maybe just maybe he just made some dumb decisions and had to own them…thus he was fired.

- landros 2

Except we don't do that because the guy who extended then traded Jeff Carter, traded several guys for a 35 year old d-man who played one year, traded away Bob, signed Bryz, drafted Morin and extended Pronger because he misunderstood the salary cap implications is still working. You want to be an organization that fires people for making mistakes, I am good with that. Hexy had some drafting mistakes but he cleaned up a lot of messes and drafted some great players. He did not hit on all but we got more from him in 5 years than in the prior 15 combined. His FA signings were a mixed bag but he did sign the BA goalie FA (Moose), so give him some credit for that.

Or... the Devils took the consensus #1 player in Hischier, who rocketed up the draft rankings that year. The Flyers would probably have taken Hischier #1, too.
- Tomahawk

no the flyers probably would have taken patrick cause they suck at drafting

Hi Don and welcome. Are you using your real name here?
- Minnyhock

Thanks and no, that's not my real name.

Yes, they are!

- MJL

But they aren't. You don't seem to take into account that Philadelphia is a major market. If the Flyers made some solid moves they could fix things. And no matter your thoughts they would still attract free agents above AZ if money is the same.

With CC, ex selke, Bobby Abreau, Simmonds, and Schenn (Ghost and Ivan as well) already in house Saint Ronnie should have traded the pick for players to help build around this core.

I can't recall anybody ranking any of the dmen above Nico or Nolan predraft, and I can't recall any teams saying afterwards that they would have picked a dman in the top-2.
- Tomahawk

A lot of scouts were very high on them. It would not have been outlandish to take one of them ahead of NP or NH. But, NP and NH were the consensus BPAs. No doubt about that.

Don Nachbaur, hello!

Quite an interesting point in time to for you to sign-up, but I reckon that makes you a fan through thick and thin.
- Bendecko

Thanks! Yes, I've always wanted to join but don't have a lot of time to post. I keep trying to be optimistic despite the rough times for our team.

Except we don't do that because the guy who extended then traded Jeff Carter, traded several guys for a 35 year old d-man who played one year, traded away Bob, signed Bryz, drafted Morin and extended Pronger because he misunderstood the salary cap implications is still working. You want to be an organization that fires people for making mistakes, I am good with that. Hexy had some drafting mistakes but he cleaned up a lot of messes and drafted some great players. He did not hit on all but we got more from him in 5 years than in the prior 15 combined. His FA signings were a mixed bag but he did sign the BA goalie FA (Moose), so give him some credit for that.
- iamscore2day

Enlighten me on what we got in his 5 years?

Don Nachbaur
I've enjoyed reading the commentary for here for many years so figured I should join in the fun. Tonight's loss was disappointing and it's all because of Chris Vandevelde, Brandon Manning, Chris Stewart, Nate Thompson, and Risto's bad play the other night. That said, let's hope Farabee's injury isn't too serous and so looking forward to seeing what Allison can do if/when healthy. Go Flyers!

You have forgotten Michael Raffl
- goenzoy

Lol yes! I'm sure a few others as well! It cracks me up all reading all the posts about certain players. They can't all be stars.

Only you PT
- MJL

... It's a miracle.
- MJL

If that's the answer, is the question, "How did the Flyers ever win 8 games this season?"

Welcome Don. Have we met before?
- hello it's me 2050

Thanks! No we have not met. Just felt like finally joining and will pop in from time to time. Just enjoy Bill's blogs and seeing what you guys have to say!

There was a bunch of questions about NP that year…. Health, plateau in his play….He was better as a 16 ear old. He was a beast in the WHL playoffs the one year, he may have won the mvp of the playoffs that year…..as an underage, which is epic. Most pundits had those guys as top two, but all 5 that went weren’t very far apart…unfortunately the Flyers picked, what turned out to be, the wrong guy.
- landros 2

There were some questions but he never dropped further than #2, so apparently they weren't serious enough to knock him down any further than #2.

The Flyers had pretty much no choice but to pick him and really had no reason to trade out of the pick.

Enlighten me on what we got in his 5 years?
- landros 2

Edit: you can start with all that playoff success we’ve since 2015.

There were some questions but he never dropped further than #2, so apparently they weren't serious enough to knock him down any further than #2.

The Flyers had pretty much no choice but to pick him and really had no reason to trade out of the pick.
- Tomahawk

I don't know if you can say they had no choice. Look back at the 2012 draft. Wasn't Seth Jones projected to be the number two pick and Florida decided to go with Barkov.

I always hear defenseman are hard to find, so i just wonder what put Patrick ahead of Maker and Hiskenan.

Edit: you can start with all that playoff success we’ve since 2015.
- landros 2

Let's see. Hmmm. How about Hart, Sanheim, Konecny, Provorov, and Farabee? Frost and Big Red look like they can play. If you need help, that makes 7. Lindblom would be 8. Also, we are out of salary-cap hell. It was pretty broke when he got it. That goes a long way towards fixing it.