Who expected to make the playoffs in September? 'Fess up.
So the complaint is basically we're an inconsistent, marginal playoff contender.
In other words, a tad better than most of us expected.
I thought they could contend for the playoffs (i.e. 92-95 points) if they got above average goaltending, which they haven't.
So they're actually playing a bit above my expectations.
What I expected was for the team to be competitive and I expected an infusion of youth, especially when Hakstol and Hextall both mentioned they were going to work more young players into the lineup. I expected more than Leier, Laughton and Hagg. They both said that this was going to be a development year. That hasn't been the case. I expected more. They basically forced an unhealthy Nolan Patrick into the lineup because he was the 2nd overall choice. They sent down Lindblom because he didn't 'perform' well in the preseason (and honestly, Lindblom didn't have the opportunity to play with a Giroux or Couturier or Voracek or anyone of that ilk).
Brian Elliott started off the year slowly, but he hit a groove and then Hakstol went into Hakstol mode and ran the guy into the ground. He wouldn't use his others goaltenders available to him. On top of it, if Hak didn't know what Neuvy was capable of, he should have told Hextall not to re-sign him. And before anyone says "well the coach doesn't have a say who the GM signs or trades for", that's a load of crap. Hak knew full well what he was getting with Neuvy. All what Hak needed to do was give him a break every now and then and he wouldn't even do that. His mismanagement of the goaltending is a farce. Elliott was supposed to be here to be a stop gap, but Hak rode him hard like he was the second coming of Brodeur. Do you know of any other goaltender this year that started the number of games in a row that Elliott did? Exactly. It simply doesn't happen anymore and yet there's Hak basically thumbing his nose to everything and doing EXACTLY what he did last year with Mason when he rode Mason into the ground.
At some point Hextall is going to take the training wheels off and let the kids ride their bikes down the streets.
And a couple will fall down.
But next year is going to be a deeper, more talented team.
However, we all know a serious cup run won't occur until Hart/Sandstrom/Ustimenko take over in goal.
You're simply not going to get above 95 points or into the second round with Elliott/Neuvirth/Lyon in goal.
Hextall won't don't that. He already said he wouldn't do that. He's not going to foster a lineup of young players that we all hope he would. Those 'veterans' that he and Hakstol love are going to remain here. Do you honestly think he's going to move Manning and MacDonald so that Hakstol will develop Morin and Sanheim? Not happening. How is next year going to be a deeper team? That would mean having to work in the previously mentioned Morin and Sanheim, plus Lindblom and Vecchione, and one of Martel/NAK/Vorobyov. That's five rookies that they'll need to work in. There's ZERO chance of that happening. Just look at this year. This was the time to work in the five rookies and Hak and Hextall couldn't bring themselves to do that.
As for Hart/Sandstrom/Ustimenko, do you not think they're going to the 'Flyers' treatment of playing at least two, maybe three seasons in the AHL before they're given a shot? Of course they are.
Fact is, this WAS the year to work all those young guys into the lineup. They failed. I get your going to defend them to the end and I can respect that. At the same time, I'm not giving them the benefit of the doubt anymore. What was the one thing Hextall said when he brought Hak on board? He was a great coach to work with young players. When I see Sanheim fail as bad as he has, when I see Morin only gets one game and then gets shipped out, when I see Hak give more of an opportunity to Goulbourne than he did Martel, then I need to question what kind of culture is being run. And I get you're going to say Provorov and Konecny, but Provorov was already a great defenseman when he arrived and Konecny got the Hakstol treatment before he put Konecny with capable players.
When I see a team like Toronto work in young defensemen with no problems, I seriously question what's happening in Philadelphia, especially when you consider the prospect defensemen we have. I wonder if it's a Hakstol thing or a Gord Murphy thing (and just to note, the Flyers defense is the 12th worst in the league). I also question Hakstol's reputation when Gostisbehere has flat out stated that he has basically ignored Hak and is playing his game. We also know that Hakstol has communication issues with players and how much of that has played into Sanheim's lack of development. Those are legitimate questions that need to be answered. Until they are, there will always be people questioning what's going on.
