Flyers own St Louis' 1st round pick in 2018, 14th overall

[klutch]

Jett Woo

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

Jett Woo

He's going to be someone too low for both of the Flyers picks.

 

[Tripod]

Just wanted to post how grateful I am to have the Blues pick at #14

#14 and #19 look a hell of a lot better than #19 and #25~

Don't think anyone would have predicted the Blues to be worse than half the league this year

Yeah most of us expected it to be in that 25-31 range, but boy are we happy to be wrong!

The move was for short term pain, long term gain. And the pick being this good is a cherry on the top. Now we just need the scouts to pick the right guy.

 

[Ruck Over]

What the hell happened to Gudas this year.

Suspension for the lumberjack chop in the 1st San Jose game.

After he was sat down (maybe phone...) and talked to, he completely took out the predatory aspects out of his game. Which is unfortunate because intimidation, and the early challenges at the blue line/zone entries, were the few things that made him good(ish). After the suspension, skaters did not hesitate to rush him combined with him playing a more sagging style ala MacDonald resulted in a really bad performance. His puck moving and offensive awareness were always mediocre to be kind.

If he develops a way to play edgier, like a Byfuglien, maybe he can become better than serviceable. I'll give him the first 15 games of next season before he's written off, but the uselife is in serious question.

So much so, that although personally horrible for his pocketbook, I'd rather he play that edgy game and just get fined suspended, have the Flyers rotate in one of the kids to take his spot. As he finished the year (before the last two games of the Pens series), he's not really worth keeping around.

 

[1865]

This appears to be a forum who expects their third pairing defensemen to be excellent at all areas of the game.

Hagg is a fine third pairing guy. Not everyone is going to be Ghost. If we can get someone of his level who can properly skate too then that's a good third pairing for a while.

 

[hatcher]

This appears to be a forum who expects their third pairing defensemen to be excellent at all areas of the game.

Hagg is a fine third pairing guy. Not everyone is going to be Ghost. If we can get someone of his level who can properly skate too then that's a good third pairing for a while.

Hagg could cut in the series going on right now. He is a keeper.

 

[gertbfrobe16]

hagg looks like the new theiren to me not all that great but the coach and gm think he is a good player

 

[Rebels57]

What the hell happened to Gudas this year.

10 game Suspension + Brandon Manning.

 

[Striiker]

This appears to be a forum who expects their third pairing defensemen to be excellent at all areas of the game.

Hagg is a fine third pairing guy. Not everyone is going to be Ghost. If we can get someone of his level who can properly skate too then that's a good third pairing for a while.

Our standards aren’t too high, yours are too low.

Bottom pair defensemen don’t need to be stars, but there’s a base level of skill/competence required that Hagg simply doesn’t have. You don’t have to be a scorer, but you do have to be a capable puck mover... and Hagg isn’t.

 

[The Madrigal]

This appears to be a forum who expects their third pairing defensemen to be excellent at all areas of the game.

Hagg is a fine third pairing guy. Not everyone is going to be Ghost. If we can get someone of his level who can properly skate too then that's a good third pairing for a while.

Yep. This is the same group of people who obsessed over Bellemare all year last season and were too foolish and stubborn to realize he was a good 4th line player in the NHL.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

Not sure why people would expect Hagg to turn into something he has never shown any signs of being (i.e. capable of moving the puck like it is anything other than a hot potato). He's no good, really (I'm sorry Miss Jackson, WOOF WOOF WOOF! I am for real - never meant to make your husband cry, I have shat on Hagg a thousand times), but at least he's not Andrew MacDonald. That's ... something.

 

[GapToothedWonder]

Our standards aren’t too high, yours are too low.

Bottom pair defensemen don’t need to be stars, but there’s a base level of skill/competence required that Hagg simply doesn’t have. You don’t have to be a scorer, but you do have to be a capable puck mover... and Hagg isn’t.

What drives me bonkers about people saying "he is a 3rd pairing guy what do you expect". Is that there is a huge difference between 3rd pairing d men on contending teams and bad teams. If you want to be a contending team then you need to expect your d men to be good. Look at the contenders this year and tell me how many are on Hagg or especially Mannings level. Your 3rd pairing needs to be able to play actual hockey not just scramble around in your own zone trying to hold on if you want to win cups.

 

[Magua]

You can still be a Cup-caliber team with mediocre third pair d-men, provided your top 4 is bonkers. It's certainly not easier, and the defense pool we're building should make it 100% avoidable. But you just know to play them 10-12 sheltered minutes. Not play them 20+ minutes willfully and the better talent less.

 

[Psuhockey]

Hagg was a rookie and is probably not on the Flyers long term so I don’t see the point in complaining about him with so many other problems with the team.

 

[The Madrigal]

Hagg was a rookie and is probably not on the Flyers long term so I don’t see the point in complaining about him with so many other problems with the team.

Bingo. Just like last year with Bellemare, the Flyers have far greater problems than their 4th line and number 6 D.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Hagg was a rookie and is probably not on the Flyers long term so I don’t see the point in complaining about him with so many other problems with the team.

Not sure what gives you confidence in saying that.

Bingo. Just like last year with Bellemare, the Flyers have far greater problems than their 4th line and number 6 D.

#6 D? Hagg was a legitimate top 4 D for this team prior to his injury. He was playing over Shayne Gostisbehere late in games unless they were trailing. If he was playing 12 minutes a game like another defeneseman on the team, the chatter wouldn't be nearly as loud.

 

[Rebels57]

Robert Hagg was 4th in average time-on-ice for Flyers defensemen this season. He also played a prominent PK role and was leaned on heavily when protecting a lead.

2017-18 Philadelphia Flyers Roster and Statistics | Hockey-Reference.com

This notion that he was their #6 is factually incorrect.

I WISH Sanheim got his icetime when he replaced Hagg for those dozens games or so. Instead, Manning got more ice time and Sanheim got Mannings ice time.

 

[Curufinwe]

I think Hagg can be better than he was as a rookie.

 

[deadhead]

I think Hagg can be better than he was as a rookie.

Probably not, it's pretty rare for 22 year old rookies to improve.

 

[Ruck Over]

Yep. This is the same group of people who obsessed over Bellemare all year last season and were too foolish and stubborn to realize he was a good 4th line player in the NHL.

I partially agree with this comment, I too was a Belle fan. That's more so because I'm a francophone fan. Any blow back Belle got was tangential to VdV, justifiably so.

But yeah, there are some unrealistic expectations of the lower level players, but they also don't have to be straight trash. VdV played 81 games (healthy scratch game 82) and a year later he's out of the NHL. So while not every lower level player will be "good", they should at least be NHL level. After the 2018-19 season, if Lehtera continues to have an NHL job, the histrionics displayed here were likely overplayed. Ditto for a guy like AMac, if he after this current contract is paid in the $3.5+ million/yr range and plays more than 16 minutes a night, as a fan base our critiques were misplaced. I'm willing to reckon Lehtera will be out of the league, and AMac will make less than $3.25m and average less than 15 minutes a night on his next team (unless Hakstol is named the coach of that team, but then I won't really care because I'm dancing on sunshine.)

 

[Rebels57]

A lot of people thought Bellemare would be effective away from VandeVelde.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

A lot of people thought Bellemare would be effective away from VandeVelde.

He had a big enough sample away from VandeVelde here & it was pretty bad as well. His year in Vegas probably speaks more to how garbage Hakstol’s system is if anything.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

He had a big enough sample away from VandeVelde here & it was pretty bad as well. His year in Vegas probably speaks more to how garbage Hakstol’s system is if anything.

I'd struggle to think of anything going wrong in the world, much less hockey, that we couldn't lay at Hakstok's feet. You know, "Six Degrees of Craparation" and all that. He sucks. Not only does he suck, like the proverbial fart vacuum of lore, he also sucks the life and the joy out of everything he touches. Yep, now that Kim Jung Un is talking to South Korea, it's safe to say that Big Dan Hacksaw is the worst person in the entire world - I think that's a perfectly logical conclusion to draw.

P.S. Fire Hakstok

 

[Deadpool8812]

See this is where I disagree. Yes Hagg will be a bottom pairing guy. But I think after some experience and training, he can be a good bottom pairing guy, who can help you win battles, and be a key role on a winning team. Not every player has to be a superstar top 2 D. Hagg is what he is, and I think he shouldn't be moved.

I think that's the problem with a lot of people here when it comes to expectations from a 3rd defensive pair. They expect all 6 of their defenseman to be top pairing defenseman.

 

[Deadpool8812]

What the hell happened to Gudas this year.

Honestly, he just looks scared to play physical likely because they told him he has to watch the suspensions. Before he didn't give a shit and played on the edge, and sometimes crossed it but he was a much more effective defenseman when he played like that.