Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 
Forums :: Blog World :: Bill Meltzer: Quick Hits: Sandin, Tortorella, TIFH
Author Message
THE BLACK HAND
Joined: 06.09.2021

May 25 @ 12:04 AM ET
Mike Smith

Hesh_
Philadelphia Flyers
Joined: 07.29.2013

May 25 @ 12:05 AM ET
no...stop
- THE BLACK HAND

Agreed, ofc. Just see my posts.

Do you not feel that out look is one of the most recognizable in the game?

It’s strong. Don’t mess with something good.

Of the few teams who employ orange as a dominant color, nobody else does it like the Flyers.

Orange is easy to mess up. Denver is too weak. The O’s are 2nd best, but they’re a team who can’t pay their way out of trouble. We’re not good. The O’s are bad. Bucs ew.

Orange is tough. The flyers nailed it.
Bill Meltzer
Editor
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Joined: 07.13.2006

May 25 @ 12:18 AM ET
Steve Mason says, "Thank you, Mike Smith."
- Bendecko


Happened to Tony Esposito in a Stanley Cup Final game against Montreal. Jacques Lemaire from the red line. I know this one was from his own zone but the Esposito gaffe was in the deciding game of the Cup Final.

Martin Brodeur had an awful long distance misplay in a Cup Final game. Bernie Parent allowed a 3/4 ice goal to Barry Gibbs that resulted in the Flyers missing the playoffs.

There are others.
Hesh_
Philadelphia Flyers
Joined: 07.29.2013

May 25 @ 12:24 AM ET
Frankly, if there are two things Philadelphia teams have been blessed with, it’s solid aesthetics, and fantastic announcers/play-by-play personnel.

I mean, everybody agrees on Kalas and Merrill Reese, right? Right. Ofc. Those go without question. And for Phillies radio, Larry Andersen and Scott Franzeke are killing it. As for their uni’s? Classic.

Zumoff. Gone, but not forgotten. 76ers look? sometimes classic, but when it changes, it embraces the city.

Flyers. I mean, I just said it in several posts. As for Jackson, he’s biased, but fun. Shout out to the legend Gene Hart.

The only look in question could be the Eagles, and at least their green is original. I think we’d all love to see them go back to Kelly, but you won’t find Midnight Green anywhere else in sports. It’s still decent. It’s just not Kelly.
Hesh_
Philadelphia Flyers
Joined: 07.29.2013

May 25 @ 12:34 AM ET
Happened to Tony Esposito in a Stanley Cup Final game against Montreal. Jacques Lemaire from the red line. I know this one was from his own zone but the Esposito gaffe was in the deciding game of the Cup Final.

Martin Brodeur had an awful long distance misplay in a Cup Final game. Bernie Parent allowed a 3/4 ice goal to Barry Gibbs that resulted in the Flyers missing the playoffs.

There are others.

- bmeltzer


Bill, when you consider improving this team, who would you be looking to draft?

Personally, it appears when I look at what winning teams do, they will often draft towards the best player available, and any needs are instead dealt with in free agency.

Maybe that’s me, but I have a feeling I’m not alone.


Nemec is a big name here, and understandably so. People want a solid blue line. That being said, I’m not even sure he’d be the first defenseman taken it Jiricek didn’t have an injury concern. That seems to be the guy with the higher ceiling (if you put a lot of stock into scouts). Frankly, I doubt Nemec falls to us, but he’s on on the menu all the same.

Wright is a non factor. He won’t slide.

So could you rank your top 3 hopes?

Speaking as a realist, ofc.
Bendecko
Location: Cave Putorium
Joined: 02.29.2020

May 25 @ 12:43 AM ET
Bernie Parent allowed a 3/4 ice goal to Barry Gibbs that resulted in the Flyers missing the playoffs.
- bmeltzer


Yup, no



that year either!

(PS: Sincere thanks for the quick history lesson anyway.)
Hesh_
Philadelphia Flyers
Joined: 07.29.2013

May 25 @ 1:27 AM ET
Yup, no



that year either!

(PS: Sincere thanks for the quick history lesson anyway.)

- Bendecko


No. Please, no. So much legendary music during that era, and we suffer with them being huge.
Bendecko
Location: Cave Putorium
Joined: 02.29.2020

May 25 @ 1:42 AM ET
No. Please, no. So much legendary music during that era, and we suffer with them being huge.
- Hesh_

Now you're just:

Hesh_
Philadelphia Flyers
Joined: 07.29.2013

May 25 @ 2:04 AM ET
Now you're just:


- Bendecko


You stop that.
Bendecko
Location: Cave Putorium
Joined: 02.29.2020

May 25 @ 3:33 AM ET
You stop that.
- Hesh_

I can't!

'Cause now I got the:



(🎶🎵🎶 Here I am 🎶🎵🎶 Prayin' for this moment to last 🎶🎵🎶
🎶🎵🎶 Livin' on the music so fine 🎶🎵🎶
🎶🎵🎶 Borne on the wind 🎶🎵🎶 Makin' it MIIIIIIIIIIINE!!!!!!!!! 🎶🎵🎶)

Even the Foo Fighters have the (Saturday) Night Fever... "Hail Satin"!:
https://www.youtube.com/p...1gfnVsvX4OdZApPcY5N0wSlag

Anyway, blame it all on Bill. He's the one who mentioned Barry Gibb in the first place—Not me.
Hesh_
Philadelphia Flyers
Joined: 07.29.2013

May 25 @ 4:35 AM ET
Ugh. Gonna have to cleanse my palate with some true blue-eyed 70s soul.

https://youtu.be/R8P5u2fVwNA

Pay no attention to his 80s pop contributions…

With a lil help from Allen Toussaint, The Meters, and Lowell George of Little Feat, respectively
Tomahawk
Location: Driver's Seat: Mitch Marner bandwagon. Grab 'em by the Corsi.
Joined: 02.04.2009

May 25 @ 6:40 AM ET
I get a feeling the Flyers are very high on Cam Atkinson. He’s 32, he went from having a pretty strong first half, to his production jumping off a cliff, even before injury. I look at his career stats and this season. One season was all I needed from Cam Atkinson. Unless you have Hall of fame numbers, I wanna go young. I would trade Atkinson while he has any value.
- SuperSchennBros


He was not good after G got traded, while TK ramped it up.

Cam's gonna be 33 before the season starts. His contract ends at age 36. He's probably not gonna age well. Danny B was twice the player that Cam is and he started going downhill fast at 33-34.
Phillywhiteout
Philadelphia Flyers
Location: West Chester, PA
Joined: 08.11.2020

May 25 @ 6:58 AM ET
Johnny Hockey disappearing just when his team needs him the most. We've seen this act before. At one point he went into the corner to compete for a puck last night and he looked like he was a bull fighter doing the old ole with the red blanket. When the going gets tough he gets going....out the the door! Don't sign this guy even if you somehow find away to afford his demands! Thanks!
NC Flyers Fan
Philadelphia Flyers
Joined: 07.19.2018

May 25 @ 7:28 AM ET
I think you did a very good job of giving an example of what culture is on a team. I’m not at with the team on a daily basis but I haven’t read anything about those winning traits with this Flyers team in a long while. I hope they have a few young players that are still willing to buy into to a winning culture from some new veteran players this team acquires this off season.

This team fired their coach in November 2021 I can’t comprehend them saying they need TIME to build a coaches profile they are looking for.
What were they working of all that time?
How do other teams build coaches profiles?
How long does that take?
What has changed in hockey that needs this prolonged time to figure out what type of coach is needed. ( good communicator, develops talent, hold everyone accountable)

I would love to hear a behind closed doors conversations from other teams in the NHL about the Flyers coach selection process. I bet the other teams who are looking for a new coach appreciate the Flyers giving them to time to select who they want before the Flyers figure things out.

It’s depressing being a fan of this team.

- Hosher12


The first time as a manager I was given the opportunity to hire my own personnel, the HR director came into my office and closed the door. I was immediately asked what I was looking for in my first hire. I answered, and was immediately told I would not find that. I was then told that I would be sent the three best available candidates. I was to interview them with two of the other department managers and then we would talk again about what I was looking to find in a hire before a second round of interviews. The fact that all the managers were nearly twice my age was a little intimidating.

At this point, I was wondering things like—was this going to be my choice at all? Of course weeks later after this hire, when I started receiving requests from other managers to sit in their hiring interviews, I realized this was just company policy. You sit in and give input and your impressions when asked. What I learned from the whole first experience is no doubt very different from hiring a hockey coach. However, the most important thing I learned was the value of the process, the value of listening to others experiences and being flexible to change my mind. I hired someone totally different than who I asked for originally, but the HR director was so right, I found what I really needed.

By the way, all of that occurred in a two week timeframe. As soon as Fletcher said they would be making a candidate profile and so on many people said—what took so long? AV was let go months ago. Yet others said that they no doubt already had a short list of candidates and the talk was all fluff. I think they waited until Yeo was told he would not be given the HC position. I personally like that they are giving appearance of a thoughtful hiring process and there has been rumors of a few candidates.

You have to admit, coaching hasn’t exactly panned out for any stretch of years recently for the Flyers. I get particularly annoyed when time and again, the answer I get about why they hired AV with no apparent process was because FL signed Quenneville. Next best PR splash! I’m not interested in that part. I want the right coach for this team. Sure, any hire has PR implications, but it is background noise to the goal of putting the best team possible on the ice. Do make sure the background isn’t nails on the chalkboard though.
hello it's me 2050
Location: AR
Joined: 05.14.2021

May 25 @ 8:04 AM ET
Johnny Hockey disappearing just when his team needs him the most. We've seen this act before. At one point he went into the corner to compete for a puck last night and he looked like he was a bull fighter doing the old ole with the red blanket. When the going gets tough he gets going....out the the door! Don't sign this guy even if you somehow find away to afford his demands! Thanks!
- Phillywhiteout

Thing is he wont have to worry about the playoffs on the flyers......

He isn't coming here anyway.
landros 2
Season Ticket Holder
Philadelphia Flyers
Location: Centre of universe
Joined: 02.07.2007

May 25 @ 8:07 AM ET
The first time as a manager I was given the opportunity to hire my own personnel, the HR director came into my office and closed the door. I was immediately asked what I was looking for in my first hire. I answered, and was immediately told I would not find that. I was then told that I would be sent the three best available candidates. I was to interview them with two of the other department managers and then we would talk again about what I was looking to find in a hire before a second round of interviews. The fact that all the managers were nearly twice my age was a little intimidating.

At this point, I was wondering things like—was this going to be my choice at all? Of course weeks later after this hire, when I started receiving requests from other managers to sit in their hiring interviews, I realized this was just company policy. You sit in and give input and your impressions when asked. What I learned from the whole first experience is no doubt very different from hiring a hockey coach. However, the most important thing I learned was the value of the process, the value of listening to others experiences and being flexible to change my mind. I hired someone totally different than who I asked for originally, but the HR director was so right, I found what I really needed.

By the way, all of that occurred in a two week timeframe. As soon as Fletcher said they would be making a candidate profile and so on many people said—what took so long? AV was let go months ago. Yet others said that they no doubt already had a short list of candidates and the talk was all fluff. I think they waited until Yeo was told he would not be given the HC position. I personally like that they are giving appearance of a thoughtful hiring process and there has been rumors of a few candidates.

You have to admit, coaching hasn’t exactly panned out for any stretch of years recently for the Flyers. I get particularly annoyed when time and again, the answer I get about why they hired AV with no apparent process was because FL signed Quenneville. Next best PR splash! I’m not interested in that part. I want the right coach for this team. Sure, any hire has PR implications, but it is background noise to the goal of putting the best team possible on the ice. Do make sure the background isn’t nails on the chalkboard though.

- NC Flyers Fan


I think the AV hiring had a lot to do with what Hakstol was….a guy without a track record.. so Fletch went the total opposite hiring a head coach and two assistants that all had a lot of head coaching experience. I do not think AV was a bad coach, I think the group seemed to tune him out. I think Fletchers biggest mistake to date was over valuing what he inherited from Hextall, player and prospect wise. But it’s his team now and like when you became manager the next coaching pick will reflect on the guy doing the hiring.
jd250
Philadelphia Flyers
Joined: 01.12.2018

May 25 @ 8:08 AM ET
And as I predicted the Rangers won again last night to tie the series 2-2. For Carolina that is their 5th road playoff loss in a row, and once again they got themselves into penalty trouble, got behind in the game and did not have the ability to come back.
jd250
Philadelphia Flyers
Joined: 01.12.2018

May 25 @ 8:14 AM ET
I think the AV hiring had a lot to do with what Hakstol was….a guy without a track record.. so Fletch went the total opposite hiring a head coach and two assistants that all had a lot of head coaching experience. I do think AV was a bad coach, I think the group seemed to tune him out. I think Fletchers biggest mistake to date was over valuing what he inherited from Hextall, player and prospect wise. But it’s his team now and like when you became manager the next coaching pick will reflect on the guy doing the hiring.
- landros 2

No one, and I mean, no one thought at the time of the hiring that AV was the wrong choice. AV had been to the cup finals for 2 different franchises and had won over 600 NHL games at the time of his hiring. He provided instant credibility to the Flyers who had a college coach the previous 4 seasons. In the end it was a bad decision, AV's ego got the best of him and the team turned against him.

I agree with you that Fletcher over-valued the players that were here at the time, and coming up in the system. However Fletcher's biggest mistake IMO was catering to AV's desire to bring back players he had coached in the past, like Hayes, Yandle and Brassard.
MJL
Philadelphia Flyers
Location: Candyland, PA
Joined: 09.20.2007

May 25 @ 8:15 AM ET
And as I predicted the Rangers won again last night to tie the series 2-2. For Carolina that is their 5th road playoff loss in a row, and once again they got themselves into penalty trouble, got behind in the game and did not have the ability to come back.
- jd250


Where were you after game 1 when Carolina came from behind to win the game?

Where is your prediction that the Rangers would win last night's game?
hello it's me 2050
Location: AR
Joined: 05.14.2021

May 25 @ 8:16 AM ET
I think the AV hiring had a lot to do with what Hakstol was….a guy without a track record.. so Fletch went the total opposite hiring a head coach and two assistants that all had a lot of head coaching experience. I do not think AV was a bad coach, I think the group seemed to tune him out. I think Fletchers biggest mistake to date was over valuing what he inherited from Hextall, player and prospect wise. But it’s his team now and like when you became manager the next coaching pick will reflect on the guy doing the hiring.
- landros 2

This is whay I want to move on from this group. How many coaches is it now?

He def over valued the roster and prospects
jd250
Philadelphia Flyers
Joined: 01.12.2018

May 25 @ 8:17 AM ET
Connor McDavid has 25 points and is a +17 in 11 games. Leon Draisaitl has 22 points and a +5 in 11 games. It's nice when your top players show up like this in the playoffs. Wow!
MJL
Philadelphia Flyers
Location: Candyland, PA
Joined: 09.20.2007

May 25 @ 8:17 AM ET
No one, and I mean, no one thought at the time of the hiring that AV was the wrong choice. AV had been to the cup finals for 2 different franchises and had won over 600 NHL games at the time of his hiring. He provided instant credibility to the Flyers who had a college coach the previous 4 seasons. In the end it was a bad decision, AV's ego got the best of him and the team turned against him.

I agree with you that Fletcher over-valued the players that were here at the time, and coming up in the system. However Fletcher's biggest mistake IMO was catering to AV's desire to bring back players he had coached in the past, like Hayes, Yandle and Brassard.

- jd250



No, Fletcher's biggest mistake was overvaluing the players he traded for. Fletcher is the GM. He made those personel decisions, not Vigneault.
jd250
Philadelphia Flyers
Joined: 01.12.2018

May 25 @ 8:18 AM ET
This is why I want to move on from this group. How many coaches is it now?

He def over valued the roster and prospects

- hello it's me 2050

Who is left from "this group" to move on from?
jd250
Philadelphia Flyers
Joined: 01.12.2018

May 25 @ 8:19 AM ET
No, Fletcher's biggest mistake was overvaluing the players he traded for. Fletcher is the GM. He made those personel decisions, not Vigneault.
- MJL

Yes, ultimately the buck stops with Fletcher, but don't you think AV had influence into these decisions?
jd250
Philadelphia Flyers
Joined: 01.12.2018

May 25 @ 8:20 AM ET
Where were you after game 1 when Carolina came from behind to win the game?

Where is your prediction that the Rangers would win last night's game?

- MJL

I posted it on Monday after the Rangers won game 3 on Sunday.
Page: Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11  Next