Do the Flyers Make the Playoffs Next Year?

[briererocks]

I voted Yes.

I think the team will take a huge step forward next year with the addition of Sanheim and Morin. The D group will likely be

Provorov - Gudas
Morin - Ghost
MacDonald - Sanheim
Manning

The forward group should also be stronger with a full year of Fillipula and Lindblom.

Konency - Giroux - Simmonds
Lindblom - Couturier - Voracek
Read - Fillipula - Schenn
Raffl - Cousins - Laughton
Bellemare

On paper, I think we are as good as any team in the Metro except Washington and Pitt. I think we are as good as the Rangers and Columbus, and better than the Islanders.

Crazy thing as our prospect pool should still be very deep next year with Myers, Hagg, Rubtsov, 2017 1st rounder, Allison, Carter, ....

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[WIP CALLER]

if the coach is kept all next year, then no. if he's replaced at some point then maybe. with the way goaltending is shaping up as well, its looking like next year will be pretty unlikely for playoffs. unless some pretty major changes are made in the offseason id say playoffs are doubtful next year.

 

[briererocks]

if the coach is kept all next year, then no. if he's replaced at some point then maybe. with the way goaltending is shaping up as well, its looking like next year will be pretty unlikely for playoffs. unless some pretty major changes are made in the offseason id say playoffs are doubtful next year.

I agree they are definitely in with Hakstoll gone. But I still like their chances despite Hakstoll.

I think Columbus shows what a difference the addition of good dmen can do. Manning and MacDonald have cost us a ton of points. Replacing them with good players like Sanheim and Morin should make a huge difference.

I also don't think Neuvirth will be this bad next year. Giroux should bounce back. Lindblom should also help. Getting rid of VdV should help. Bellemare should be the 13th forward but who knows. There is reason to be optimistic even with Hakstoll behind the bench,

 

[Rebels57]

Agree with Umphreys..

If coach is changed early enough, they will.

If Hextall is too stubborn then we will miss.

 

[WIP CALLER]

not to mention every team in our division seems to be progressing except nj while our group has mostly regressed. i don't see any of them being significantly worse than this year. Carolina looks in better shape than us for next year too. nyi has played great since firing their coach. it's looking more likely we are the 7th best team in the division than being a playoff team especially if the coaching staff is brought back. the east in general is looking real tough next year. Detroit and nj are the only teams I'd say are in bad shape.

 

[YEM]

not to memtion every team in our division seems to be progressing except nj while our group has mostly regressed

this is the problem w/ the Metro
if we get in next yr it will be the WC or bust most likely

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

You have to imagine that the defense and goaltending will be better, even if only by a little bit. I also think Giroux will have a nice bounce-back year maybe see him back in the high 60s low 70s. The problem I see isn't necessarily that they won't improve it's more that the competition is going to go up possibly by a larger margin. Florida and Tampa I think will both be better teams next year, as will the Isles. Pens, Bruins, and Rangers (hopefully) will regress, but will still probably be better than the Flyers. The Caps will probably still be the team to beat. CBJ has some youth that should improve. Toronto is probably going to see a bump as well. The Sens I'm not real sure about and the Habs will be in the mix at the top of the conference too. The Hurricanes could take a big step forward as well, or take a step back, same thing with the Sabres. Really the only two teams I'm not worried about are NJ and DET.

 

[briererocks]

not to mention every team in our division seems to be progressing except nj while our group has mostly regressed. i don't see any of them being significantly worse than this year. Carolina looks in better shape than us for next year too. nyi has played great since firing their coach. it's looking more likely we are the 7th best team in the division than being a playoff team especially if the coaching staff is brought back. the east in general is looking real tough next year. Detroit and nj are the only teams I'd say are in bad shape.

I don't know.

Coaches have a shelf life and Vigenault may be approaching his with the Rangers. I also think the Rangers will likely lose Holden, which would be very probelmatic since it would leave them with only 2 good dmen in McDonaugh and Skjei. Staal will get worse and Girardi is bad. Klein is not good. I see Brandon Smith getting a good contract somewhere else.

Thus, I really think the Flyers on paper are a top 3 team in the metro next year. Hakstoll will make them a wildcard team but there is only much he do to screw them up. The Flyers next year will be a very talented team. If they had a good coach, I would say they could be very dangerous.

 

[Curufinwe]

 

[sflomenb]

Not if Hakstol is here.

 

[deadhead]

Maybe. They'll be more talented but with a lot of rookies they'll also make mistakes. One reason to keep Hakstol is he's comfortable with young players and has the patience to live with growing pains.

Now two years from now, yes, they should be a 100 point team.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

Maybe. They'll be more talented but with a lot of rookies they'll also make mistakes. One reason to keep Hakstol is he's comfortable with young players and has the patience to live with growing pains.

Now two years from now, yes, they should be a 100 point team.

If he's comfortable with young players, but grossly overmatched as a coach at the professional level, do those things wash out and end up even? And while he is comfortable with young players, can he get 22-23-year-olds cruising into their 24th and 25th years with significant improvement? Can he change the things he did for a decade in college that don't work in the NHL, or is he a one-trick pony? For example, his usage of goaltenders is amateurish - I don't think that's a controversial statement to make and I think most of us would agree with it. Can he adapt? I think the answers to these questions are very much up in the air right now. At best, I am dubious about him necessarily being better with young players than several other good coaches would be (I'm not talking about anyone specifically here, just speaking in general) just because he spent a lot of time in college. Virtually all of these coaches around have done that in the minor leagues at some point.

Color me baffled and skeptical, and consider my support for his tenure very much in limbo and leaning heavily toward dismissal.

 

[Striiker]

They have an every-other-year system going right now so they're scheduled to be in the playoffs next year.

 

[Flyerfan13]

I voted maybe this poll should be will the flyers gave a new coach nex year?

 

[AaronTrieu]

100% they don't make the playoffs. I want to say they even get worse.

 

[Curufinwe]

They already have near the worst PDO and 5 on 5 SV% in the league. It'll be hard to get worse.

 

[flyersjim73]

They already have near the worst PDO and 5 on 5 SV% in the league. It'll be hard to get worse.

PDO is obviously known as a stat that measures luck... but it's not all that way. We're probably pretty unlucky on the shooting percentage but certainly some of that is because we tend to take a lot of point shots and less high percentage shots. The save percentages are also way lower than should be. While some of that is luck/bounces, some of it is a combination of bad goaltending and the defense giving up higher percentage chances than the average team.

I actually agree with you that it's likely to normalize next year but I think that's about 50% luck and 50% a combination of a young defense being better than this years and slightly improved play by the goalies.

 

[Curufinwe]

I agree, PDO is definitely not all luck.

 

[whitstifier]

Heads should roll if they don't. There's no excuse for the team to not be a contender next season.

 

[MacDonald4MVP]

I have no clue, but I guess it depends on who is our starting goalie. Remember beginning of the year when Hak would have PEB as third line center? We finally get three legit centers and goes out of his way to double shift him on the top line. There's just no saying what damage can be done when Hak, Lappy and Mullen get together.

 

[Adam Warlock]

Its hard to say without knowing what the team will look like next year...but my expectation is that they should.

Ive grown sour on Hextall this year, but this offseason will defenitely make or break him for me. Here is what I would like to see:

VV not resigned: This is a big one. I dont like the PEB deal, but to waste another roster spot on a charity case like VV would be inexcusable. Not resigning him will definitely ease some of my worries about Hexy.

Coaching: Hakstol isnt going anywhere...but its clear coaching is an issue. The middle ground is to clean house with the rest of the staff and put better people around Hak. Special teams were a disater the last two years...so its time to see some new blood behind the bench. I can live with hak if he gets smart people around him to help him adjust better as an NHL coach.

Offseason moves: Would like to see an effort to upgrade the current team without jeopardizing the future. Getting Filpulla is a good start.

Let the kids play: Lindblom, Myers, Morin, Sanheim, Hagg, etc should all get shots to make the team. Not all will, but the majority of that group should be.

Hextall Magic: like the pronger and vinny deals, im hopeful hes got a plan up his sleeve for Amac. This one would be more of a bonus.

If he does those things I think we see a much better team. Hexy has such a good poker face tho, hard to know what he wants.

 

[YEM]

There's no excuse for the team to not be a contender next season.

there seems to be a mistake, I think you are posting on the wrong team's forum here

 

[Rebels57]

Its hard to say without knowing what the team will look like next year...but my expectation is that they should.

Ive grown sour on Hextall this year, but this offseason will defenitely make or break him for me. Here is what I would like to see:

VV not resigned: This is a big one. I dont like the PEB deal, but to waste another roster spot on a charity case like VV would be inexcusable. Not resigning him will definitely ease some of my worries about Hexy.

Coaching: Hakstol isnt going anywhere...but its clear coaching is an issue. The middle ground is to clean house with the rest of the staff and put better people around Hak. Special teams were a disater the last two years...so its time to see some new blood behind the bench. I can live with hak if he gets smart people around him to help him adjust better as an NHL coach.

Offseason moves: Would like to see an effort to upgrade the current team without jeopardizing the future. Getting Filpulla is a good start.

Let the kids play: Lindblom, Myers, Morin, Sanheim, Hagg, etc should all get shots to make the team. Not all will, but the majority of that group should be.

Hextall Magic: like the pronger and vinny deals, im hopeful hes got a plan up his sleeve for Amac. This one would be more of a bonus.

If he does those things I think we see a much better team. Hexy has such a good poker face tho, hard to know what he wants.

Well said. Agree with all of this.

An extension for VdV is a major red flag to me..especially with Laughton and Leier no longer waiver exempt and Lindblom likely able to contribute in the NHL right away.

I have already resigned myself to the fact that we will start next season with Hakstol. There is no excuse for starting next season with Mullen and Lappy too. The former has no more tricks up his sleave and the latter just doesn't have what it takes. Murphy is hard to read because the team has had some awful dmen the last few years. Question is, how much input does Murphy have in decisison like pairing MacDonald with Provorov? If he has a lot, he can go too.

 

[Adam Warlock]

Well said. Agree with all of this.

An extension for VdV is a major red flag to me..especially with Laughton and Leier no longer waiver exempt and Lindblom likely able to contribute in the NHL right away.

I have already resigned myself to the fact that we will start next season with Hakstol. There is no excuse for starting next season with Mullen and Lappy too. The former has no more tricks up his sleave and the latter just doesn't have what it takes. Murphy is hard to read because the team has had some awful dmen the last few years. Question is, how much input does Murphy have in decisison like pairing MacDonald with Provorov? If he has a lot, he can go too.

I feel like they are all yes men to Hak which is probably why he kept them around. They need someone smart/experienced and willing to disagree with Hak.

 

[Hurricane28]

If Vandevelde is re-signed especially with kids coming, i will have serious lack of faith in this management group. And I know Vandevelde is only a fourth liner, but it shows that there are serious deficiencies in player evaluation with a too big of emphasis on character.