Post-Game Talk: #71| Hurricanes 3 at FLYERS 4 (OT) | Sun., March 19, 2017

[Cyborg LeClair]

I'd really like to keep Weal and Lube and run this next year:

Weal-G-Simmer
TK-Flip-Jake
Lindblom-Couts-Schenn
Raffl-PEB-Lube

I think that's our best combination - that "3rd" line will give teams nightmares.

You dont want Cousins drawing 10 penalties per game?

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

You dont want Cousins drawing 10 penalties per game?

I wouldn't mind, but I don't think he's one of our 12 best forwards next season (now that we have re-signed PEB and definitely have to prepare ourselves for him definitely playing every game). I doubt we'll bring Lube back though, unfortunately, and maybe not Weal. That throws it up in the air for Cousins, Laughton and Leier - but none of those guys really thrills me. I mean, none of them plus Lube plus Weal are world-beaters anyway, so I'm not too worried about what we do down there. Provided we jettison VdV, and hopefully to the Moon if not the Sun.

 

[Rebels57]

I wouldn't mind, but I don't think he's one of our 12 best forwards next season (now that we have re-signed PEB and definitely have to prepare ourselves for him definitely playing every game). I doubt we'll bring Lube back though, unfortunately, and maybe not Weal. That throws it up in the air for Cousins, Laughton and Leier - but none of those guys really thrills me. I mean, none of them plus Lube plus Weal are world-beaters anyway, so I'm not too worried about what we do down there. Provided we jettison VdV, and hopefully to the Moon if not the Sun.

If Weal has a strong finish I think he gets a 1 year deal. I agree about Lube, although I do think he has the skill and tenacity to be a quality 4th liner.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

If Weal has a strong finish I think he gets a 1 year deal. I agree about Lube, although I do think he has the skill and tenacity to be a quality 4th liner.

Even Lube's mom is not as big a fan of Lube as I am (phrasing) and I am going to be irked as **** when we let him walk. It's stupid.

 

[kelmitchell]

It really doesnt matter where we pick in the draft. Sanheim at 17, Rubstov at 22, Konecny at 24. Flyers have proven they draft well in the mid first round.

Those were much better drafts......

 

[kelmitchell]

Voracek is not a great player, the whole is less than the sum of his parts (skills).

And no, Voracek is not physical, he has 15 blocks and 28 hits in 71 games.
Giroux, who isn't a physical center, has 24 blocks and 60 hits.
Konecny has 25 blocks and 82 hits.
Read, 26 and 89.

The only one with similar numbers to Voracek is Couts with 31 and 34.
The only other player who doesn't hit people is Ghost with 82 and 29.

Now I don't expect Voracek to play like Simmonds or Schenn, but if you're backchecking consistently you should be separating opposing players from the puck by using your body to stop their rush, and on the forecheck, hitting people in the corners to freeze the puck so you can steal it.

Oh my lanta..... You're just trying to get a rise out of people at this point

 

[kelmitchell]

I'm still working out which one is the top line. Stick him on any line, although next to Giroux he'd be especially nice (for Claude's sake more than anyone's). Just don't use him on the Bellemare line. That's the one line we KNOW is not the top line.

Its haks top line

 

[Winston Wolf]

Even Lube's mom is not as big a fan of Lube as I am (phrasing) and I am going to be irked as **** when we let him walk. It's stupid.

I agree. He's a good forechecker and has the body for it, unlike Hakstol's two favorite forwards. He's had a few really fantastic games this year where he had multiple shifts with great plays, I think the Calgary game specifically. I'm not saying he has great upside or anything, but he at least has passable NHL talent with the puck, unlike Bellemare or Vandevelde. He's been invisible most of the year, but he gets garbage minutes playing with by every objective measure, two of the worst forwards in the NHL for several seasons running. I'm not saying he'll be a big loss or hard to replace, but I think the guy can play in the NHL if given a chance in the proper role.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

I agree. He's a good forechecker and has the body for it, unlike Hakstol's two favorite forwards. He's had a few really fantastic games this year where he had multiple shifts with great plays, I think the Calgary game specifically. I'm not saying he has great upside or anything, but he at least has passable NHL talent with the puck, unlike Bellemare or Vandevelde. He's been invisible most of the year, but he gets garbage minutes playing with by every objective measure, two of the worst forwards in the NHL for several seasons running. I'm not saying he'll be a big loss or hard to replace, but I think the guy can play in the NHL if given a chance in the proper role.

Exactly. The fact that he has been noticeably good out there, considering the lack of playing time overall, and the utter gunk he has been saddled with, is kind of amazing. I'm not exaggerating what he can do or what he can be - I just am 100% positive that he can be a player, and we got him for "free," and there's no reason to let him go. Deadhead has been trotting out some ... I don't want to say "drivel," but if it quacks like a duck and floats like a duck, it's a duck ... about why Diamond Dave hasn't been playing him ("maybe he doesn't understand the system" "he has no offense because I looked at the numbers and I see no offense" etc.), but it's just stupid to have not played him as much as he has not played him. Really ****ing stupid. OK, 4th liners have a limited effect on the outcome of games, yada yada yada - it's still ****ing stupid and gets on my nerves.

 

[renberg]

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/20170322_Flyers__road_woes_continue_in_loss_to_Jets.html
Mason is no one to open his mouth about weak performances on this team.

 

[Rebels57]

Those were much better drafts......

Was 2014 really that much better than 2017?

Doesn't feel like it was that hyped of a draft class and looking back on it, it pales in comparison to 2015 and 2016.

 

[Rebels57]

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/20170322_Flyers__road_woes_continue_in_loss_to_Jets.html
Mason is no one to open his mouth about weak performances on this team.

I have no problem with him calling out the effort last night. It was abysmal. A lot of them have given up and are going through the motions but Mason has continued to show up. Also, he said "we need a better effort," not "the guys in front of me need a better effort." He included himself in that group.

The Jets were missing 4 of their regular defensemen and were facing a goaltender that hadn't started in 2 ****ing months.

Last night is a perfect example of just one of Hakstols major flaws as a coach, he can't motivate for ****.

 

[deadhead]

It's hard to motivate a veteran team on a long road trip when they know they're out of the playoffs. Guess you could scream at the top of your lungs, but it's not like they haven't seen it before.

The bigger issue is the team has flatlined over five years with three coaches with a core of G, V, Simmons, Schenn, Couts and Raffl. They're not good enough - not bad - but not enough to make this team a winner.

 

[renberg]

I have no problem with him calling out the effort last night. It was abysmal. A lot of them have given up and are going through the motions but Mason has continued to show up. Also, he said "we need a better effort," not "the guys in front of me need a better effort." He included himself in that group.

The Jets were missing 4 of their regular defensemen and were facing a goaltender that hadn't started in 2 ****ing months.

Last night's game isn't the point. Just how many times this season did he wet the bed one way or another? No one called him out about it in the press or in the locker room that we know of. The team was silent when he let in a beauty in the POs last season. There is a time to just be quiet.
As for the "we need a better effort" comment, of course he's talking about the guys in front of him. If he wanted to say anything, he would have said, "I need to make a better effort." It might just have been that another goalie would have stopped the three shots that went in. If I were one of the other Flyers, I might just pop him in the mouth for this.
That locker room must be a ship wreck. That I put on Hextall. He never should have allowed it to be full of so many UFAs. Then there is the mystery of who is going to get exposed in the ED. That's not a recipe for camaraderie.

 

[Curufinwe]

The Flyers have 5 UFAs on the roster. That's not a large number. Washington also have five.

Pittsburgh have eight.

 

[renberg]

The Flyers have 5 UFAs on the roster. That's not a large number. Washington also have five.

Pittsburgh have eight.

At one time it was eight if you add in Gordon before he was demoted; Streit before he was traded and Neuvirth before he was resigned. On a good team, the UFAs aren't that much of an issue since they're going for the POs. On a bad team, it matters.

 

[Curufinwe]

Every team has multiple UFAs. It has nothing to do with a team being good or bad.

 

[Beef Invictus]

That's nothing more than that detrimental sub-human scum Carchidi doing his best to invent drama because he thinks that's what sports journalism is. The fool should be covering soap operas instead of actively seeking to damage the team by inventing these acidic distractions. He dissects quotes and assigns non-existent meaning with all the wisdom and subtlety of a brain damaged ape on bath salts. I advise ignoring everything he writes or says.

 

[renberg]

Every team has multiple UFAs. It has nothing to do with a team being good or bad.

Have you ever coached a team? Having players on it that are not going to be around after one season is hardly an ideal situation. It breeds malcontentment and disgruntled players. Especially when you have told everyone, including them, that this is part of a rebuilding situation.

 

[Curufinwe]

Every team in the league has players who won't be back next season.

 

[Striiker]

It's hard to motivate a veteran team on a long road trip when they know they're out of the playoffs. Guess you could scream at the top of your lungs, but it's not like they haven't seen it before.

The bigger issue is the team has flatlined over five years with three coaches with a core of G, V, Simmons, Schenn, Couts and Raffl. They're not good enough - not bad - but not enough to make this team a winner.

Yeah, they're not good enough. Sure. Yep. That makes sense.

Ignoring that they always had issues with either defense or goaltending (or both). But yeah it's the fault of the only guys who did perform. Not the fact that the rest of the roster was never close to good enough to contend.

Another well thought out post from you.

 

[deadhead]

If you have to add an allstar goalie and 2 or 3 top defensemen to make this a good team, then the core just isn't that good - what defines top players is their ability to carry mediocre teammates - because under the cap no team can be composed of all top players.

It doesn't mean the core players are bad players, it just means they're not elite players, and that shuffling players through trades for a better fit shouldn't be unthinkable. For Hextall, it comes down to whom he thinks should be on the team 2-3 years from now, not what they did 2-3 years ago.

 

[BringBackHakstol]

Have you ever coached a team? Having players on it that are not going to be around after one season is hardly an ideal situation. It breeds malcontentment and disgruntled players. Especially when you have told everyone, including them, that this is part of a rebuilding situation.

Doesn't make sense. At the minimum the players are playing to earn a contract for next season.

 

[deadhead]

The Flyers are facing the problems that all mediocre teams face, at their best they can be competitive with most teams, but that is usually at home with something at stake. On the road, out of the playoffs, it's not that they're gonna dog, they're just not going to bring their "A" game, and they're not good enough to win games playing at an average effort level.

You know teams are dogging when you start seeing players not bother to skate full speed to get back on defense or go into corners or . . . When you see a team play a step slow, it's usually not that they're dogging, there's just not the fire to play at a high level. Pro sports are physically and mentally grueling over a long season.

What makes team a top team is being able to beat mediocre teams with their "C" game, where they turn in on in spurts and do just enough to steal a win.

 

[hatcher]

The Flyers are facing the problems that all mediocre teams face, at their best they can be competitive with most teams, but that is usually at home with something at stake. On the road, out of the playoffs, it's not that they're gonna dog, they're just not going to bring their "A" game, and they're not good enough to win games playing at an average effort level.

You know teams are dogging when you start seeing players not bother to skate full speed to get back on defense or go into corners or . . . When you see a team play a step slow, it's usually not that they're dogging, there's just not the fire to play at a high level. Pro sports are physically and mentally grueling over a long season.

What makes team a top team is being able to beat mediocre teams with their "C" game, where they turn in on in spurts and do just enough to steal a win.

Nice post.