It's amusing that for the most part, the Flyers are relatively in the same position this year, as they were last year, with the exception Hart has conceivably resolved the most pressing of goalie issues (still need to find a quality back-up.) The major moves of the year tended to be the hivemind's commonsense moves, and the young players have not yet ascended to a next level tier most were hoping they'd achieve.
Major differences, uncertainty over Fletcher, versus uncertainty over Hextall, what each GM is planning to do.
Have cap space last year and this. Have prospects folks want on the main roster, not yet a given it'll happen. There is top-end talent available (fewer people are arguing over if Panarin is an obvious add than Tavares, or I'm not seeing the contra-arguments), there are 1 or 2 undesirable defenseman on the roster and a prospect not yet given a chance to shine, I'm sure there are a few others as well. And while not the same point totals, the three best forwards are still Giroux, Coots, Voracek- all just another year older, no closer to a meaningful playoff performance as of yet.
This season's highlight was the firing of the GM and HC, followed by the call-up of a rookie goalie during a season in which the team used 8 different individuals in net, from a guy who was quoted as saying in the preceding offseason
Between the AHL and the NHL with the goaltender situation, some decisions to be made there. Any clarity in terms of what you are going to do with personnel or anything?
No clarity at this point. If we have too many goalies, we have too many goalies. I’d rather have too many than not enough. If you don’t have enough, you got a problem. If you have too many, you have a problem. I’d rather deal with that than with not enough. What looks like or feels like one too many then. We’ll deal with it.
HockeyBuzz.com - Bill Meltzer - Hextall on 2018 Draft
