Post-Game Talk: #3 | FLYERS 3 at Ducks 2 (OT) | Sat. Oct. 7, 10:00 pm ET

[AdamParrot]

By the way; Provorov is a f***ing beast. We don't need Doughty in his age. Our core is young (Provy, Ghost, Couts, Konecny, Patrick, Lindblom, Myers, Morin, Sanheim, Vorobyov, Hart, Stolarz.. oh, shit, so much players) and in 2020 probably we will be a contender team with these players and we can be for many years.

So, please, don't trade anyone from these young players for 30 years Dman.

 

[Hockeypete49]

Patrick and TK looked good together. Nolan played his best game and impressed me with his play behind the goal. Couts on the top line is outstanding, While he never will be a great skater his offensive abilities are coming out. Provorov sometimes tries to do to much but he might be our future Captain. I can just watch him play all day, the little things he does that go un-noticed just shows what a talent he is. His stick work is deadly. Another player who looks like he will be a solid pro is Hagg. He is not a killer but he is more physical than I thought and his positional play is very good. Ghost needs just to let the game come to him and he will be fine. I really think Sanheim needs more time in the AHL, it worked for Hagg so why not? His positional play was lacking big time, this is no knock on him because he has the talent just not the experience. I want to see big Sammy in games, sure he has no offense but it looks to me we have four lines that can chip in now. The 4th line is rock solid. I have been very critical of both Leier and Raffl, but my hat's off to Hakstol for putting them together with Scott. Raffl looks like he played with the other two last year in LV! Our team speed is off the charts, they were putting a lot of pressure on the ducks who were missing key players but tough cookies. To many stretch passes for me on the PP. Elliott looked good and after Mason play for a couple games I sure as heck feel better about our goalies. Four out of six points on the road is fine by me, sweet.

 

[Curufinwe]

I think the Flyers will make a big trade next summer but I think Doughty will be the target. Hextall has been rumored to want a big time right hander since he got to Philly.

The Flyers already have a lot of money tied up in veteran forwards with the possibility of Simmonds being added to that mix and very little in defense. Looking at 2nd contracts for defensemen, Hextall could keep the rest of the defense corp cheap for the foreseeable future. The young forwards will also be cheap because without PP1 time, I doubt any would put up huge numbers enough to justify giant 2nd contracts.

Replacing Read and Filppula with Lindblom and Vecchione, the total cap hit is about $65 million if Hagg and Morin get bridge deals. So that would at least mean $10m in cap space for 18-19.

https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/489483

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

I think the switch between Patrick and Filp has done the team good. Much more balanced and also puts players together that work well together. Technically, each line had a goal/point. Couts got a goal (1st line), Simmonds got a goal (2nd line) and Provy got a goal (Patrick getting an assist, so 3rd line). And of course, our 4th line doing some damn good work.

I really do feel bad that Morin isn't playing yet. We have Sanheim in while he's not even on the PP, which is more confusing. Don't get me wrong, I love Sanheim, but if you aren't going to play him on the PP, I'd play Morin instead.

 

[Curufinwe]

I don't think they want to play Morin with Gudas.

 

[achdumeingute]

Really? I'm convinced some people would still say this even if we had the roster of the 2010 Blackhawks. "Well, we're more than a Duncan Keith away, so it's not worth talking about".

If adding a 30-minute Norris-contending Drew Doughty to our 2018-19 roster wouldn't make us a Cup contender, then you're implicitly suggesting the Flyers will never be contenders with this core. If our "window" isn't going to be open for another four years as you suggest, then something will have gone terribly wrong. Our forward group is strong and we already have a #1 defender in Provorov and a 40+ point defenseman in Gostisbehere. If you add Drew Doughty to that group and still can't contend, then the rest of your team must be hot garbage, and that's not the case.

We need a goal scoring winger IMO. James Neal (if i didn't hate him) would be a nice target. Hope its Patrick, hope its TK, hope its Lindblom, realistically we are 2 years from finding that out if the cream rises. As an example, we kept kicking the can on Schenn for 3 seasons before he showed consistency. Jeff Carter was doing it by year two. In the offseason, the Lindblom hype machine had him on the first line putting up 20 as a rook...well, obviously the franchise has a different take, and that's not going to happen.

Brian Elliot has historically been playoff shaky. These are some of the reasons I don't think THIS is the year to start cashing in.

 

[Stizzle]

I really do feel bad that Morin isn't playing yet. We have Sanheim in while he's not even on the PP, which is more confusing. Don't get me wrong, I love Sanheim, but if you aren't going to play him on the PP, I'd play Morin instead.

Are you insinuating that Morin is a better 5v5 defenseman than Sanheim? Not one person who watched these two last year in LV would agree with that.

Sanheim will find his way on to a PP unit soon. It's just Haks way that he's eased in.

 

[achdumeingute]

I think the switch between Patrick and Filp has done the team good. Much more balanced and also puts players together that work well together.

Yes, definitely a better combination.

 

[Rebels57]

Neal in the slot on our PP would be insanely deadly.

 

[Stizzle]

WTF is with this thread? All the sudden people want to make crazy trades? Everyone relax. We are finally built to be self sufficient for many years. The last thing we need to do is ruin our depth and blow up our salary cap. Maybe we'll make a trade when we are truly ready to make a run. That's still a few years away.

 

[Random Forest]

We need a goal scoring winger IMO. James Neal (if i didn't hate him) would be a nice target. Hope is Patrick, hope its TK, hope its Lindblom, realistically we are 2 years from finding that out if the cream rises. As an example, we kept kicking the can on Schenn for 3 seasons before he showed consistency. Jeff Carter was doing it by year two.

Brian Elliot has historically been playoff shaky. These are some of the reasons I don't think THIS is the year to start cashing in.

We have a pretty good goal scoring winger. He has four goals in three games so far and he wears a letter on his jersey. Yeah, it'd be nice to have another, but this is not the difference between a contender and a non-contender when we're talking about adding someone like Doughty.

The Penguins just won the Cup with no #1 defender. Clearly there is no formula for winning a Cup that requires some supposedly perfect mix of goal scoring wingers, two way centers, puck moving defenders, etc. It's not coherent to say we won't be a Cup contender until we add another goal scoring winger, especially when the premise of this hypothetical is that we'd be adding a Norris defender to the lineup.

 

[TCTC]

Sucks for Morin, but he's just not a good fit on this team right now. We already have 3 complementary defensemen in MacDonald, Hagg and Gudas and all of them will stay in the lineup, so much is obvious.

So, it looks like for Morin it's either #7 or the AHL again. I'm not sure what's the better option because he really doesn't have anything left to prove or learn in the minors.

 

[achdumeingute]

Neal in the slot on our PP would be insanely deadly.

He will be moved this trade deadline for a ransom more than likely too. I don't want to pay that ransom.

Maybe in 2-3 years we can get whomever is traded from the Seattle expansion team

 

[tymed]

Really guys? f*** James Neal. I can't even pick him in fantasy after the 2012 playoffs.

He can redeem himself to me only by standing at center ice, blindfolded with ear plugs, and allowing Coots to to choose any time and angle to drop him into a lower dimension.

 

[explosive skating]

Great game by NP!
BTW he was robbed of a three point night by Gibson

 

[Rebels57]

I

WTF is with this thread? All the sudden people want to make crazy trades? Everyone relax. We are finally built to be self sufficient for many years. The last thing we need to do is ruin our depth and blow up our salary cap. Maybe we'll make a trade when we are truly ready to make a run. That's still a few years away.

Like, relax man.

 

[TCTC]

Really guys? **** James Neal. I can't even pick him in fantasy after the 2012 playoffs.

I can't stand him either, but he seems to be liked by his teammates wherever he plays. So it's not like he's a complete douchebag.
I'd prefer him over E. Kane, that's for sure.

 

[HokieDude17]

Really guys? **** James Neal. I can't even pick him in fantasy after the 2012 playoffs.

I hate the douchenozzle as much as anybody, but there's no denying he would be a good fit on this team. He brings exactly the elements that we need, but as mentioned above there's no way we're ponying up whatever GMGM is gonna ask for him at the deadline. We're probably a year or two away from making a deal like that.

 

[achdumeingute]

We have a pretty good goal scoring winger. He has four goals in three games so far and he wears a letter on his jersey. Yeah, it'd be nice to have another, but this is not the difference between a contender and a non-contender when we're talking about adding someone like Doughty.

The Penguins just won the Cup with no #1 defender. Clearly there is no formula for winning a Cup that requires some supposedly perfect mix of goal scoring wingers, two way centers, puck moving defenders, etc. It's not coherent to say we won't be a Cup contender until we add another goal scoring winger, especially when the premise of this hypothetical is that we'd be adding a Norris defender to the lineup.

Simmonds scoring goals like his 4th goal is the exception, not the norm. He's a fluky scorer, who is an ELITE net front presence/shot tipper. ES, he's not very reliable. "All goals count", but what I am talking about is someone who has a RELIABLE accurate wrist shot.

How many breakaways do we put right in the goalies emblem. Why are we SO bad at shootouts, with all these "goal scorers", because 1v1, these guys are just not great with the puck.

Giroux and Ghost are. TK and Patrick maybe, juries out, lets hope so.

 

[BillDineen]

Big no from me on any Neal suggestion. Chances are he would be no better than Schenn.

 

[achdumeingute]

Big no from me on any Neal suggestion. Chances are he would be no better than Schenn.

He's better as a "scorer" than Schenn, who didn't demonstrate that talent here. Schenn was always a grinder/physical forward, here.

 

[Random Forest]

Simmonds scoring goals like his 4th goal is the exception, not the norm. He's a fluky scorer, who is an ELITE net front presence/shot tipper. ES, he's not very reliable. "All goals count", but what I am talking about is someone who has a RELIABLE accurate wrist shot.

How many breakaways do we put right in the goalies emblem. Why are we SO bad at shootouts, with all these "goal scorers", because 1v1, these guys are just not great with the puck.

Giroux and Ghost are. TK and Patrick maybe, juries out, lets hope so.

Again, even if I grant you that this is a major need (and I don't), this is not the difference between a Cup contender and a noncontender when our top four on D would consist of Doughty, Provorov, Gostisbehere, and Gudas. A goal scoring winger is such a marginal add in that context.

Also, in no way, shape, or form is Simmonds a "fluky scorer". In fact, there are few who are more reliable than Simmonds over the last several years. Just because he doesn't score goals like a true sniper does not make him any less valuable. So much of the "we need a goal scorer" hysteria is just that people want a guy who can snipe the puck. I care more about scoring goals, not how those goals are scored, and we have a reasonable amount of firepower as it is, even if we don't have a Carter or Kessel or Ovechkin type guy. But few teams do. And that's why it's not a prerequisite for being a contender.

 

[whitstifier]

A few years from now:

"Relax, guys, the Flyers are still a few years from contending."

 

[achdumeingute]

Again, even if I grant you that this is a major need (and I don't), this is not the difference between a Cup contender and a noncontender when our top four on D would consist of Doughty, Provorov, Gostisbehere, and Gudas. A goal scoring winger is such a marginal add in that context.

Also, in no way, shape, or form is Simmonds a "fluky scorer". In fact, there are few who are more reliable than Simmonds over the last several years. Just because he doesn't score goals like a true sniper does not make him any less valuable. So much of the "we need a goal scorer" hysteria is just that people want a guy who can snipe the puck. I care more about scoring goals, not how those goals are scored, and we have a reasonable amount of firepower as it is, even if we don't have a Carter or Kessel or Ovechkin type guy. But few teams do. And that's why it's not a prerequisite for being a contender.

I also do not care how goals are scored, just that they ARE. We don't have guys that put the puck in at even strength, and have not for 3+ seasons. Wayne Simmonds is certainly fluky as a "sniper" at even strength. He's generally a dirty goal scorer.

With the makeup of the team, and how money has been spent, its a roster "hole". We have major $$ put into pass first poor goal scorers, we just do. 14 and 93 are both exceptional playmaking players, but NOBODY cashes these attempts in. We are seeing this right now with our top line...multiple exceptional chances without goal scored. There have been plays where its been there, its been open...and we chest snipe the goalie.

OV as an example is an ELITE talent, I'm not saying we need that...just a BETTER 5v5 goal scoring option than we have now.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

I still don’t think this is a very good team this year. I’m thinking they’re one of the last team’s out again.

But if we’re talking 3-4 years from now Hextall should be rightfully fired if it takes that long to put together a consistently (from year to year) good team.

Eventually results need to be taken into consideration. They don’t hand out awards for having good drafts.