2018-19 Regular Season Thread

[Striiker]

20 games into the season and this current line-up is about as good as we could have hoped for a couple of months ago. But the team is still struggling badly.

(9 - 9 - 2)

LW	C	RW
Claude Giroux	Sean Couturier	Travis Konecny
Oskar Lindblom	Nolan Patrick	Jakub Voráček
James van Riemsdyk	Jordan Weal	Wayne Simmonds
Dale Weise	Scott Laughton	Nicolas Aube-Kubel

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Injured: Michael Raffl

LD	RD
Ivan Provorov	Robert Hägg
Andrew MacDonald	Shayne Gostisbehere
Travis Sanheim	Radko Gudas

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Hagg and MacDonald being in the lineup is a massive problem, let alone one of them being on the top pair. Especially when they’re supposed to be a big part of the offense in his system.

The forward lines are close to as good as they could be though, if the icetime was appropriate.

 

[Prongo]

Weal as the third line center is a huge hole.

 

[Striiker]

Yeah, Laughton > Weal

 

[Prongo]

I think the 3c needs to be upgraded for this and next season. That line isn’t going to survive doing heavy lifting against other teams top lines.

We see how Hakstol plays young players who aren’t high picks. Frost will come in and bounce between the press and 4th line 6 minute duties. That’s a huge hole. Along with another top 4 defenseman instead of Macdonald and as always a goalie.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Well hopefully Hakstol is not here so we don’t have to worry about it. It’s hard to find an upgrade over Laughton/Weal without blocking Frost, Vorobyev, JOB, etc.

 

[Rebels57]

Hagg and MacDonald in top 4 and Weal as 3C is just about the furthest thing I was hoping for.

 

[Beef Invictus]

I think the 3c needs to be upgraded for this and next season. That line isn’t going to survive doing heavy lifting against other teams top lines.

We see how Hakstol plays young players who aren’t high picks. Frost will come in and bounce between the press and 4th line 6 minute duties. That’s a huge hole. Along with another top 4 defenseman instead of Macdonald and as always a goalie.

There's a reason Hakstol/Hextall can't seem to fill much of the bottom 6 with homegrown talent and have to keep relying on dregs like VDV, Lehtorgo, Weise, etc, which is pretty absurd given the heavy drafting emphasis for multiple seasons.

 

[deadhead]

The reason they haven't been able to fill the 4th line is Hextall traded players for picks (Rinaldo, McGinn), not the other way around.
Nothing complex, if you don't overpay for 4th line guys (see last offseason) or have depth in your organization (see draft picks from 2004 to 2013), then you have to fill out the roster with scrubs.

This year we have Laughton, Raffl, Weise, and NAK on the 4th line.

Weal has earned a shot at 3C: Weal, Weise and Lindblom have the highest xGFrel on the team by a huge margin, followed by TK and Patrick.
I don't think Weal is a long-term answer, but can't complain how he's played this year as a short-term patch.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

 

[FLYguy3911]

Cuz no one fights anymore.

 

[Curufinwe]

I think the 3c needs to be upgraded for this and next season. That line isn’t going to survive doing heavy lifting against other teams top lines.

We see how Hakstol plays young players who aren’t high picks.

Hagg and NAK were picked at about the same spot.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

Don't worry, I'm thinking they don't give a shit at this point as nothing has been done so far.

 

[deadhead]

Even if Hextall decided he wanted to blow it up:

1) he wouldn't telegraph his intent
2) it would take time to line up deals
3) it would take time to line up an interim coach (Gordon) and then a new coach for LHV.

From Hextall's vantage point, there is no reason to rush, either Hakstol turns it around or he conducts a fire sale in January.
It's hard to sell before then b/c many teams don't want to commit until they're halfway through the season, one way or the other.
But he can signal that he's receptive for offers without specifying players. Then see what proposals come his way.

 

[Tripod]

Yup...no reason to rush. It's only been 5 years.

 

[deadhead]

It's called a REBUILD.
Don't care what Hextall said, just look at his trades.

Next year, if Simmonds and Weal aren't resigned, we'll have three players 30 or older, Giroux, JVR, and Voracek.
Gudas at 29 will be the oldest D-man.
Weise and AMac are unlikely to be here - simply no room on the roster.

 

[Beef Invictus]

Yup...no reason to rush. It's only been 5 years.

Really, it begins in 2011. The "running rebuild" turned into an endless one. We're like a Jamaican house that is eternally under construction as a tax loophole.

 

[Tripod]

At least we agree...Hextall is a liar.

 

[Rebels57]

At least we agree...Hextall is a liar.

I think the most depressing thing about Hextall in 2018 is that I don't even see 1% of the "fire" that defined him as a player. He's like post-hypnosis Peter in Office Space. Doesn't seem like anything bothers him, even the things that should. WTF happened to him in LA?

 

[Prongo]

How much do we expect varlomov to get if he does indeed hit the open market?

 

[Adam Warlock]

So I have been thinking of potential shake up trades the Flyers could make to add some excitement around here. There didnt seem to be many good options but I think I found a potential target.

Alex Pietrangelo.

The Blues are under achieving again and are probably desperate to make a move. It sounds like he has been struggling and could fall into "needs a change of scenery" category. He would fit our top 4 perfectly and take pressure off of provy. Hes got this year and next at 6.5 mil, so the Flyers have some flexability there.

No idea what it would take...but Id start the package with Simmonds and maybe Myers plus something else.

Yeah none of this will happen and I am sure people wont like the idea but hey I had fun thinking about something other than Hak still being our coach!

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

How much do we expect varlomov to get if he does indeed hit the open market?

 

[deadhead]

No, 2012-13 was the last hurrah of that team, when Lavi couldn't get them to the playoffs Holmgren should have blown it up.
Instead he hires Berube, sneaks into the playoffs on the back of Mason
4/3/13 Mason for Leighton & 3rd rd 2015
6/12/13 Streit for 4th rd 2014
3/4/14 MacDonald for 3rd 2014, 2nd 2015 then resigns him that summer to 6yr/$30M deal
3/5/14 3rd rd 2014 for Meszaros (got a pick back)

So the rebuild didn't start until the summer of 2014 after Hextall took over:
6/23/14 Hartnell for Umberger and 4th rd 2015
7/2/14 McGinn for 3rd rd 2015
2/17/15 Kimmo for 2nd 2015, 4th 2016
3/2/15 Coburn for 1st, 3rd 2015 and Gudas
6/27/15 Grossman & Pronger's contract for 3rd 2017 & Gagner
6/29/15 Rinaldo for 3rd 2017
1/6/16 Vinnie & L Schenn for 3rd rd 2016 & Weal

 

[Danko]

I’ve been offered free tickets to a few games this year and have turned them down, that’s how bad this team is.

 

[deadhead]

So I have been thinking of potential shake up trades the Flyers could make to add some excitement around here. There didnt seem to be many good options but I think I found a potential target.

Alex Pietrangelo.

The Blues are under achieving again and are probably desperate to make a move. It sounds like he has been struggling and could fall into "needs a change of scenery" category. He would fit our top 4 perfectly and take pressure off of provy. Hes got this year and next at 6.5 mil, so the Flyers have some flexability there.

No idea what it would take...but Id start the package with Simmonds and maybe Myers plus something else.

Yeah none of this will happen and I am sure people wont like the idea but hey I had fun thinking about something other than Hak still being our coach!

Hate the idea, Myers? No way.
Plus, St Louis could only to that sort of deal if they were conceding the season, he plays 25 minutes a night on a thin defensive core.

St Louis could use Weise and Hagg, too bad Morin is still 3 months away.

 

[Rebels57]

I’ve been offered free tickets to a few games this year and have turned them down, that’s how bad this team is.

Likewise. I most recently turned down last Thursdays Devils game because I knew it would be a terrible viewing experience, which it of course was.