Post-Game Talk: #42 | Capitals at Flyers | January 11, 2023

[Beef Invictus]

This is fantasy. There are plenty of big hits, just no more head hunting. Guys like NAK get suspended for throwing elbows.

What benefited smaller players wasn't eliminating fighting, but cutting down on grabbing, hooking, slashing and interference.
That let them skate unimpeded (or at least with less contact than before).

In response the league has gotten faster (and slightly lighter, by about 5 lbs), which means the windows are smaller, forecheckers are faster so D-men have less time and have to win board battles to maintain possession. Checking lines have fewer 220 lb forwards, but more 200 lb players with above average speed.

In the future, as overall speed increases, skilled smurfs will have less of a competitive advantage as bigger players can still check them and lean on them, but there will be less room to skate. Bigger players also have a wider stick radius to break up plays with the speed to get to spots where they can block and harass smurfs.

Eventually, like all evolutionary battles, the league will come to a new equilibrium.

"This is fantasy. Let me show you how it is true."


Like your Tortorella fluffing post, this is another pile of nonsense that doesn't work according to your own prior reasoning. All you've done here, in your quest to defend the Deslauriers signing, is further explain other ways it's a fantastically stupid signing.

 

[Hollywood Cannon]

Deslauriers and goons in general do not protect nor prevent anything.

Now THAT is a fantasy.

 

[Rich Nixon]

Desluariers should have been a one year deal to add some grit to a soft team and protect a bunch of kids.
In that context it made sense for a rebuilding team.
Maybe even move him at the TDL for a team that wants some toughness going into the playoffs.

Briere can appreciate the value of a "bodyguard." Even in today's NHL.

Like I said at the time, the 4 year deal made no sense. But it's not that hard to bury.

So rather than learning from a guy like TK, himself small and skilled but also a voracious forechecker who is unafraid of dirty areas and physical battles (GRIT), the solution to GRITTIN' UP the young skill guys was to add a GRIT guy with no experience playing a skill game?

 

[Beef Invictus]

Deslauriers and goons in general do not protect nor prevent anything.

Now THAT is a fantasy.

Somehow the presence of Deslauriers did absolutely nothing to deter Hathaway from being a prick all night. Weird.

Bodyguards are fake. They're ineffective and inefficient against the cap. They can be ignored and laughed off. It's typical the Flyers fetishize them still, and become worse for it.

 

[kudymen]

Deslauriers and goons in general do not protect nor prevent anything.

Now THAT is a fantasy.

That f*** didn’t even prevent his own teammate concussing Hart eh

*with a really hard play tho

 

[Ghosts Beer]

if you're going to build a team, you want the HC and the GM on the same page.

Torts seems to prefer Briere (probably b/c Briere is more realistic, having spent time away from the echo chamber), and hasn't exactly embraced Fletcher's moves (Hayes from 2C to 3LW, Risto to 5D, MacEwen 4RW, Deslauriers 10 minutes a night). The only Fletcher pickups that have gotten PT are Tippett, TDA and York, partially out of necessity. But notice all three are mobile and have offensive skills.

Where are you getting “Torts seems to prefer Briere”?

I see no evidence of a Torts rift with Fletcher or preference for Briere as GM.

Perhaps both are true, but where’s the evidence aside from extreme speculation?

 

[deadhead]

Torts went out of his way to praise Briere as "brilliant."
Torts has demoted Hayes and Risto, basically slamming Fletcher's two big moves.

 

[Hollywood Cannon]

Where are you getting “Torts seems to prefer Briere”?

I see no evidence of a Torts rift with Fletcher or preference for Briere as GM.

Perhaps both are true, but where’s the evidence aside from extreme speculation?

It's fantasy and an attempted pivot to hitching a wagon to Briere as the savior as the Fletcher ship sinks.

No more, no less.

 

[blackjackmulligan]

Where are you getting “Torts seems to prefer Briere”?

I see no evidence of a Torts rift with Fletcher or preference for Briere as GM.

Perhaps both are true, but where’s the evidence aside from extreme speculation?

its out there, coach and GM are not on the same page.

 

[Rich Nixon]

its out there, coach and GM are not on the same page.

Yeah, I don't think it takes too much tea-leaf reading when you look at how differently the two of them speak about the team's current situation, or how frequently Tortorella goes out of his way to praise Briere's hockey acumen (which he did again in his presser last night, at length).

 

[blackjackmulligan]

Yeah, I don't think it takes too much tea-leaf reading when you look at how differently the two of them speak about the team's current situation, or how frequently Tortorella goes out of his way to praise Briere's hockey acumen (which he did again in his presser last night, at length).

One thing Torts fails to realize is Chuck will still be President more than likely!!!

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

I forgot to mention that somewhere I have a version in which he attempts to play a sitar.....said fk it......I will make my guitar sound like one.....creative......however Jeff disowned the Yardbirds because they fired him.......besides they had another guitarist......oh his name.......Jimmy Page......the Yardbirds broke up in 1967 or early 68......Jimmy wanted the drummer and bass player to form a new band called Yardbirds II or the New Yardbirds, in the end they did not join........Jimmy invited some guys named Bonham, Plante, and Jones to play a gig to comply to a contract.......and the new manager named them Led Zeppelin. Jones was a session bass player and actually played on a few Yardbirds songs......attached is one of the last recorded Yardbird's songs......Page did not want this to see the light of day......it took 20 or so years before he would let it be released.

Kieth Moon said that band will burn like a Led Zeppelin. The name stuck. Eric Clapton replaced Jeff Beck. One guitar God replacing another

 

[Ghosts Beer]

its out there, coach and GM are not on the same page.

Out there where?

 

[Striiker]

There’s real people on this planet who would rather have Deslauriers than NAK on a hockey team

 

[macleish1974]

Kieth Moon said that band will burn like a Led Zeppelin. The name stuck. Eric Clapton replaced Jeff Beck. One guitar God replacing another

Sorry but Jeff replaced Eric. Jimmy Page was originally offered the spot after Clapton left but he recommended Jeff instead as Page was making good money doing sessions. After bassist Paul Samwell-Smith left the band Jimmy was again approached and this time he joined, on bass. When it became obvious he was better than Chris Dreja on guitar, Chris switched to bass and for about 6 months or so it was dual lead guitar with Jimmy and Jeff. Unfortunately there is very little audio or video of those 2 playing together, except in the movie Blow Up, they appear together, and made the song together. Pretty funny segment in the movie.

 

[Chicken N Raffls]

Actually, the league isn't steering toward offense, that trend has probably peaked,

If you've seen the new "Next generation" commercial that's out now, it would seem the league certainly doesn't want you to believe that. The 2015 class and guys younger are the new stars of the NHL. Michigan goals and pretty passing plays are what the league wants to promote, and rightly so. Offense sells in any sport.

As for posts about how losing for higher picks being no guarantee, first off, a better chance is a better chance. Period. 2% better, 5% better, whatever. Better is better. Vegas has made how many Billions off of games where the house doesn't have some massive edge.

That being said, I'm aware this is the Flyers. They could easily finish dead last and still miss out on Bedard. I know there is no mathematical logic to that, but I've been conditioned to believe that that is likely. But, as has been alluded to by others, it goes deeper than just getting a high draft pick. I want this management group gone first and foremost, and I don't see that happening without at least a bottom 5 finish. That matters to me even more than Bedard or whoever we pick, because even with Bedard I don't think those guys know what they're doing in this day and age. All you have to do is look at the clusterf*** of the last few years. Trying to "compete" and failing miserably, resisting a rebuild at all costs when it's blatantly obvious they need one. I want them gone, and without total embarrassment it's not going to happen. I enjoy watching our young players starting to excel as much as anyone, but nothing will change the overarching stench on this team if they claw their way into 10-15 range.

 

[deadhead]

I think we all agree that Fletcher and the advisors have to go.

I don't think a rebuild requires a "tank," it simply requires a shift in focus from "win now" to "win then."
That is, focus on adding young assets, shedding salary, increasing your flexibility in terms of trades and "bottom feeding."

Don't make winning your goal, it should be the outcome of the process of building a good, deep team. And don't fool yourself into thinking a winning season means the job is finished.

But also don't make losing and drafting high your goal, you don't want to become a perpetual loser and hope you get lucky and land the next McDavid instead of the next Patrick. Because if you don't get lucky, you can suck for a long, long time. Could you watch last season for a decade?

 

[DancingPanther]

Winning 5-7 more games ain't the difference between getting a house cleaning or not . I'm not happy with management either but I don't get worked up about it . The young guys look good and I mean all of them . Frost Tipper York Allison Hart Cates Ersson all look like keepers and do believe Laczynski will replace Brown once he is back but do expect him to be sent down first to regain conditioning since with lower body injury he will have to start from zero again .

I'm being entertained a lot more this year than last so at least there is that .

Every win sets this team back that much more

 

[Chicken N Raffls]

I think we all agree that Fletcher and the advisors have to go.

I don't think a rebuild requires a "tank," it simply requires a shift in focus from "win now" to "win then."
That is, focus on adding young assets, shedding salary, increasing your flexibility in terms of trades and "bottom feeding."

Don't make winning your goal, it should be the outcome of the process of building a good, deep team. And don't fool yourself into thinking a winning season means the job is finished.

But also don't make losing and drafting high your goal, you don't want to become a perpetual loser and hope you get lucky and land the next McDavid instead of the next Patrick. Because if you don't get lucky, you can suck for a long, long time. Could you watch last season for a decade?

That's the point. I don't want them to lose for the pipe dream of landing Bedard. I want thm to lose to get rid on the Ancients. Because until they're gone, it's all moot regardless of who we draft. And that's not going to happen if they have even the tiniest shot at trying to spin this season into a "success" or "step forward" or whatever they come up with. Hell, they might even call it a rebuild and say it's working. Then they will do the opposite of all those things you listed for a successful rebuild.

 

[blackjackmulligan]

There’s real people on this planet who would rather have Deslauriers than NAK on a hockey team

NAK rules

 

[dragonoffrost]

It's called a salary cap , have you heard of it ?

And why is there an issue with their cap situation?

Hint it's not the players fault.

Again this team could be in a good cap situation and be a destination for players to want to be here.

 

[wasup]

And why is there an issue with their cap situation?

Hint it's not the players fault.

Again this team could be in a good cap situation and be a destination for players to want to be here.

So yeah we don't have JVR or Laughton then we sign Jonny Hockey does that make us a cup contender . No , Columbus got him and how the F are they doing .

Also desitnation players ( UFA's) are usually overpaid and not worth their cap hit down the road .

 

[Ironmanrulez]

I don't know Jojo.....last night's game was fun to watch against a fairly decent team. Sure the intensity would increase when, some day, they are in game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. And the glow would last a week or so;
but it ain't going to change my life in anyway.

This is my 40th year as a Flyer's fan. Yes I have been, too, hostile to the current set of executives in charge but in the end I am still watching them play. Win or lose........I am still going to make my stupid comments, invest in time searching the internet to post a cool song for GDT on this site. Why? This is MY community in which I invested time and thoughts with like minded people. I have learned a lot from you guys. And not just hockey.......

I would quit hockey complete without you nerds in here! Love ya