Easy to admit the truth I guess. Fletcher and Flahr have drafted some decent players but that’s only part of his job. He needs to do a much better job over all if he is to be successful here and keep his job.
- landros 2

Until the players start making an impact, it's not much different than the previous GM.

Guys that don’t buy in will be miserable. That’s the Tort’s legacy he leaves every where he goes. Guys that work hard and play to his system love the guy because he holds the ones that don’t accountable.
- landros 2

good - it'll be easy to identify the ones to be moved

Historically, forwards develop faster than defenseman and make an impact sooner. The fact that York has developed quickly and is making an impact in the NHL already means something. Now York is not Makar (though I wish he was), but I can see York becoming a Brian Leetch type player, which would be very, very nice!
- jd250

Bryan Leetch would be fantastic…lol. But I don’t quite see that. I’m hoping for a Charlie Mcavoy type.

almost 4 years into his job he admits he has a problem. What does that tell you?
- rayc16

Fletcher didn't create the problems with the player development or the medical staff, they were there well before he joined. The fact that he has come in, realized them and has addressed them is a good thing, not a bad thing. It takes time to see the fruits of this work, it does not show itself over night.

Fletcher didn't create the problems with the player development or the medical staff, they were there well before he joined. The fact that he has come in, realized them and has addressed them is a good thing, not a bad thing. It takes time to see the fruits of this work, it does not show itself over night.
- jd250

and he didn't identify them until now either. Now he has a plan to save this organization from itself?

Bryan Leetch would be fantastic…lol. But I don’t quite see that. I’m hoping for a Charlie Mcavoy type.
- landros 2

That would be good also. Yes, I don't expect 100 point seasons from York as Leetch did, but its a different game now so I would be happy with 50-60 points. I think York can do that, especially QBing the powerplay as Leetch did.

Until the players start making an impact, it's not much different than the previous GM.
- rayc16

True. It’s great to have the top rated prospect pool like they did a few years back, but they are still only prospects. If that same analysis was done today when talking about the group that was rated so highly I would venture to guess we’d be closer to the bottom when considering how those “prospects” have aged.

and he didn't identify them until now either. Now he has a plan to save this organization from itself?
- rayc16

Not true, Fletcher did identify them well before this season and has been working to address over the past few seasons. He just publicly and candidly stated it for the first time this season.

Historically, forwards develop faster than defenseman and make an impact sooner. The fact that York has developed quickly and is making an impact in the NHL already means something. Now York is not Makar (though I wish he was), but I can see York becoming a Brian Leetch type player, which would be very, very nice!
- jd250

Just curious as to what impact has York made?

Fletcher didn't create the problems with the player development or the medical staff, they were there well before he joined. The fact that he has come in, realized them and has addressed them is a good thing, not a bad thing. It takes time to see the fruits of this work, it does not show itself over night.
- jd250

What has he addressed? Hiring Lappy to oversee all the AHL prospects. You think that is a good move?

He hasn't corrected anything. He has done noting differently that I can see.

Not true, Fletcher did identify them well before this season and has been working to address over the past few seasons. He just publicly and candidly stated it for the first time this season.
- jd250

He has failed miserably. That is a stone cold fact.

Not true, Fletcher did identify them well before this season and has been working to address over the past few seasons. He just publicly and candidly stated it for the first time this season.
- jd250

Oh joy, he added 2 people to the analytics department an then didnt "listen" to them when it came to resigning RISTO

Some idle speculation here: What connects these dots?

Rage Room (gimmick)
Millennial Lounge (another gimmick, where many of the seats are away from a view of the game)
Gritty (another gimmick)
RR signing (the trade away of 1st rounder and the "physicality" - directed to an old school section of fan base)
Torts (again, old school, drama)

Currently, the franchise operates pretty much like the WWF. Short term entertainment is the only goal. They don't even pretend to try and build a contender.

This combined with the comments of Scott some years back (that the fan base is old: median age then was 49, probably in 50s now), makes me suspect that Comcast sees the Flyers as a business with a short shelf life. With things like Covid and other infectious diseases etc, older people will take the biggest hit in attendance. Already, soccer has overtaken the NHL in popularity in the US and that base is very young.

Bottom line: I think Comcast might sell in 10 years time. They are not operating in a way that suggests they are committed to a long view. Either because they don't think there is a viable future there or because they don't want to go that route.

They will max out the $ from the older fans. Then they expect the bottom will start to fall out, and that is when the team will be on the market.

Just curious as to what impact has York made?
- hello it's me 2050

For a young defenseman last season I thought York was steady and showed good promise. He even played on the right side which is not his natural position, and did a decent job QBing the PP.

Oh joy, he added 2 people to the analytics department an then didnt "listen" to them when it came to resigning RISTO


- THE BLACK HAND

And you know this how exactly? Can you point me to your source that stated his analytics department were dead set against signing Risto?

Risto is like a bad car loan. You might think you had to sign that contract but everyday and month you make that payment you get sicker and sicker that you made that deal. 5 years is a longggggg time when you’re in it.
- Stayin alive

I can say with quite a bit of certainty he won't play to the end of that deal.

Now what the Flyers will get for him his another topic.

The thing with RR is that he’s not that bad. I do think he can be more consistent and I also think he can provide more offence, (As he has 4 -40 plus point seasons already) then he did last year. This notion that he didn’t create any meaningful results with his physical play is a complete fallacy. Some posters want to point to all his faults but not acknowledge his many above average qualities. I could talk about every Flyers d man and their weaknesses but that’s just a waist of time for the most part…we know Sanheim is not physical enough, we know Provy had issues last year, we know Yandle was not anywhere close to being good enough to play every night.
Did Flyers over pay for RR ? Ya maybe, but that’s more on Fletcher the RR. At his current salary I will let him play this year and see if he earns it. Bottom line is RR has been in the top 4 of his teams d core every single year he’s played in the NHL…warts and all.
- landros 2

I’m indifferent with Ristolainen. I was interested in him before we traded for him. This was a bad season for the entire team so I wanna see more. I don’t think he’s as bad as he’s made out to be either.

Oh joy, he added 2 people to the analytics department an then didnt "listen" to them when it came to resigning RISTO


- THE BLACK HAND

That was the most puzzling part. Wasn't it the very first transaction they did once they bought them in?
Go and extend the analytics nightmare.

And if Fletcher does something dumb like this I will be the first to post it. I wonder if you will be the first to compliment Fletcher if he doesn't do something dumb?
- jd250

Yes, we should all hail the gm when he doesn't do dumb sh!t

That’s a little extreme, Risto has had some good games
- ClaudeFather

He has but I'm not talking about just good games. There were a handful of games each season where Schenn would be dominant defensively and you'd wonder where that was all this time. I don't see that in Ristolainen.

So what exactly would you want the Flyers to do? Are you saying you want them to tank, sell off everyone they have, and be Buffalo and Edmonton for the next 5 years picking at the top of the draft? The Flyers are trying to rebuild on the fly. That is why you hire a coach like Torts and why you have Fletcher as a GM, because that is his specialty. This is what the Flyers tried to do with Hextall also, so its not like the Flyers have changed their philosophy over the past decade or so.


- jd250

I'm on the record that I don't like tanking. I'm also on the record that I want the Flyers to focus on drafting and developing and to stop trying to make moves to win now. You know all this.

The Flyers are not in cap jail as you have stated. They do not have tons of space but they have space and they have the ability this off season to create more space if they want to. The Flyers also have a good and promising young core of players coming up and plan on adding to that core with the #5 pick. Torts will teach these young core the right way to play and thus the foundation will be built. I do not see Fletcher doing too much this off season, one because he does not have the space and two, because he really does not have the assets to pull off a hockey trade that would make any sense. I see the Flyers next season picking in the top 15 in a deep draft, so they will get another good player, at least that is what I am looking forward to.
- jd250

Do you realize that you contradicted yourself AGAIN here? They're not in cap jail but you don't expect Fletcher to do much because they don't have the space. Can't make it up.

You also contradict yourself in terms of the young core. With your repeated shouting from the mountain tops that you need top 5 picks and elite players. Who are the future elite players that make up the Flyers future core? Now all of a sudden you're excited for a top 15 pick. The lengths of the inconsistency and contradictions in your posting is staggering.

but the change was at least if not more dysfunctional than prior. RR has issues, not as little as his supporters say and not as much as his haters say.

IF, Torts can get them to play a better team D, Flyers are in the middle of the pack, RR is solid, he could be moved at the deadline, if they choose. I do think there was truth when Bill said Flyers had to beat offers to get him, I don't think one shxt show year will completely change that, now another shxt show year might. The cost was to much but the player still has a story to write.
- wcorvette

It wasn't one poop show with Ristolainen. It was the same as he has been every year in the league. Mediocre.

Over the weekend I researched the types of defensive and fore checking systems Torts has used over his coaching career. I think Risto will benefit greatly from being coached by Torts. He will be fine next season.
- jd250

What are the systems that Tortorellas uses?

I'm not sold on Caufield but he has shown promise with the coaching change so we will see how it goes for him. I was not expecting York to be a top pairing defenseman when he was drafted either, but after watching him this past season, my expectations for him have increased. I get to see McAvoy play a lot in Boston since I live here, and he is a good all around defenseman, but not worth the contract he just signed. I think after watching York that he can also be as good as McAvoy, which is why I think York can be top pairing in this league.
- jd250

The fact that you see MacAvoy play a lot and fail to recognize how good he actually is is not a surprise. McAvoy is one of the top 10 defenseman in the league and is worth every penny of his contract. I would be extremely shocked if York turns out to be that good. Make no mistake about it. MacAvoy is really, really good. However you think Ristolainen is the best Flyers defenseman and one of the best in the league.

Wouldve been fun to see how torts wouldve handled yandle last year. Pretty sure chuck and him wouldnt have seen eye to eye on that one.
- bradster

Yandle was charmed, sitting him would have been easier if the Flyers weren't so bad, turns out playing him was the best thing for the team