Postives of 2016/2017 season
- Thread starter phil162888
- Start date
Appleyard
Registered User
The last 15 games with Giroux and Ghost now looking close to back to their selves has been pretty nice.
WIP CALLER
Registered User
- Aug 18, 2016
- 2,475
- 2,540
positives:
provorov emerging as the top defenseman on the team. Looks likely we ve found our franchise defenseman.
Simmonds becoming more than a pp specialist. he's been much more consistent this year at es and has not had a cold streak. even when not scoring he has looked good all year long. thought it was his best season to date overall.
Konecny looking like he will be the next top scorer on the team. already our top es scorer despite being jersey around up and down the line up by the coach. will be interesting to see him in a consistent top 6 role as well as getting pp time.
Gudas becoming the most reliable vet on the defense. proved his last season was no fluke and has really scaled back the dangerous hits but hasn't lost his physicality one bit. will be an important part of the d as a reliable vet for the kids to look up to. his passing has improved as well this year. this is in spite of the coaches switching his partners on and off throughout the year.
farm system in general. future looks incredibly bright and it was good to see almost all of our prospects take a step forward this year. none of our top picks look to be on the bust path as of now. next year we should begin to see the results of being patient.
negatives.. many to list but going to keep it to a few main points.
coaching... where to start. i dont believe there was a single aspect of coaching at the nhl level that was handled well this year besides provorovs development. the coaching strategy killed our es scoring and both the pp and pk took steps backwards. the team wasn't the most talented but coaching routinely did not put the players given in the best possible position to win the game. too many times leads were given up in the 3rd as well due to the horrible strategy of sitting back. some of the match ups coach decided to play late in games was baffling as well. too many times the 4th line was purposely matched with the oppositions top line late in a game. too many times the team would be trailing under 3 minutes and the 4th line would get a shift despite being the lowest scoring line in the league. these are just common sense moves the coaching staff ****ed up routinely this year. it was also disheartening to see a large number of players regress in the second year under the current coach. whether it's the head coach or assistants, hopefully something changes next year as the coaching staff as a whole was pathetic this year and cost the team points.
top scorers: while giroux was definitely recovering part of the year, both he and Voracek both took steps backwards this year. they are getting paid ppg money and neither performed close to that level. also neither stepped up to put the team on their backs when the team was struggling to score. they went into a slump at the same time and extended the flyers scoring woes instead of helping. they were both top 10 in scoring at a point and both fell out of that during their horrible slump. had they not started so hot,they both would have struggled to 50 points. even strength play for both players was very concening. both struggled to produce at es and we're out produced by a 19 year old. Jakes consistency was very frustrating this year as well. he either played great and was one of the best players on the ice or he was horrible and his play brought down his entire line. he needs to find consistency in his game if he is to come close to living up to his contract. g i thought played well mostly but his shot was just off all year. there were times he dogged it defensively too which is out of character. while the coaches strategy didn't help either player(everyone's scoring is down save for simmer), both guys need to play like they did in the first 30 games and need to limit how long those cold streaks last. their play and the teams success directly tied into their production. making a combined almost 17 million a year, i expect more from both. 70 points should be their minimum at their money at least for the next few years. the team desperately needs them to bounce back next year and drive scoring again.
goaltending: while I expected them to decline, I don't think anyone expected the **** show these two produced this year. neuvirth played awful all year while mason had a few stretches of dominant play. with neuvirth getting the extension, we need to hope he is no given significant starting time next year. the future here looks bright but next year could be just as bad as this year or worse if neuvirth is back and mason leaves.
provorov emerging as the top defenseman on the team. Looks likely we ve found our franchise defenseman.
Simmonds becoming more than a pp specialist. he's been much more consistent this year at es and has not had a cold streak. even when not scoring he has looked good all year long. thought it was his best season to date overall.
Konecny looking like he will be the next top scorer on the team. already our top es scorer despite being jersey around up and down the line up by the coach. will be interesting to see him in a consistent top 6 role as well as getting pp time.
Gudas becoming the most reliable vet on the defense. proved his last season was no fluke and has really scaled back the dangerous hits but hasn't lost his physicality one bit. will be an important part of the d as a reliable vet for the kids to look up to. his passing has improved as well this year. this is in spite of the coaches switching his partners on and off throughout the year.
farm system in general. future looks incredibly bright and it was good to see almost all of our prospects take a step forward this year. none of our top picks look to be on the bust path as of now. next year we should begin to see the results of being patient.
negatives.. many to list but going to keep it to a few main points.
coaching... where to start. i dont believe there was a single aspect of coaching at the nhl level that was handled well this year besides provorovs development. the coaching strategy killed our es scoring and both the pp and pk took steps backwards. the team wasn't the most talented but coaching routinely did not put the players given in the best possible position to win the game. too many times leads were given up in the 3rd as well due to the horrible strategy of sitting back. some of the match ups coach decided to play late in games was baffling as well. too many times the 4th line was purposely matched with the oppositions top line late in a game. too many times the team would be trailing under 3 minutes and the 4th line would get a shift despite being the lowest scoring line in the league. these are just common sense moves the coaching staff ****ed up routinely this year. it was also disheartening to see a large number of players regress in the second year under the current coach. whether it's the head coach or assistants, hopefully something changes next year as the coaching staff as a whole was pathetic this year and cost the team points.
top scorers: while giroux was definitely recovering part of the year, both he and Voracek both took steps backwards this year. they are getting paid ppg money and neither performed close to that level. also neither stepped up to put the team on their backs when the team was struggling to score. they went into a slump at the same time and extended the flyers scoring woes instead of helping. they were both top 10 in scoring at a point and both fell out of that during their horrible slump. had they not started so hot,they both would have struggled to 50 points. even strength play for both players was very concening. both struggled to produce at es and we're out produced by a 19 year old. Jakes consistency was very frustrating this year as well. he either played great and was one of the best players on the ice or he was horrible and his play brought down his entire line. he needs to find consistency in his game if he is to come close to living up to his contract. g i thought played well mostly but his shot was just off all year. there were times he dogged it defensively too which is out of character. while the coaches strategy didn't help either player(everyone's scoring is down save for simmer), both guys need to play like they did in the first 30 games and need to limit how long those cold streaks last. their play and the teams success directly tied into their production. making a combined almost 17 million a year, i expect more from both. 70 points should be their minimum at their money at least for the next few years. the team desperately needs them to bounce back next year and drive scoring again.
goaltending: while I expected them to decline, I don't think anyone expected the **** show these two produced this year. neuvirth played awful all year while mason had a few stretches of dominant play. with neuvirth getting the extension, we need to hope he is no given significant starting time next year. the future here looks bright but next year could be just as bad as this year or worse if neuvirth is back and mason leaves.
deadhead
Registered User
- Feb 26, 2014
- 49,215
- 21,617
I think a lot of the "coaching struggles" were simply roster problems.
Schenn at C, Hakstol tried Weal and Cousins, but both are relatively "slow" and undersized (that is, they lack the speed to attack the middle and the size to either bull their way through or matchup against big centers), Laughton was exiled to LHV for good reason - what options did they have until Flip was acquired (and that explains why Hextall was happy to overpay for a year and a third).
Lines - until they got Flip, Hakstol struggled to find combos that made sense, made worse by Raffl's injury and Weise's off season. G and V simply didn't work together or apart. With Flip, Couts and Schenn could be paired, Simmons with Flip, and G&V back together. Still need the right LW for G&V (Raffl? Lindblom), Weal with F&S may be temporary, Weise looks like a good fit for Couts for now. But it showed that it's not just having 9 solid forwards, but the right 9 that fit together.
Defensemen - Provorov, Ghost (the last month), and Gudas. MDZ is Dr Playgood and Mr. Hide 'Em. Manning, MacDonald, Schultz (and Streit), does it matter? What coach could make this group work?
The Goalies - can't blame this on the coach, same goalies, same system, horrible results.
Schenn at C, Hakstol tried Weal and Cousins, but both are relatively "slow" and undersized (that is, they lack the speed to attack the middle and the size to either bull their way through or matchup against big centers), Laughton was exiled to LHV for good reason - what options did they have until Flip was acquired (and that explains why Hextall was happy to overpay for a year and a third).
Lines - until they got Flip, Hakstol struggled to find combos that made sense, made worse by Raffl's injury and Weise's off season. G and V simply didn't work together or apart. With Flip, Couts and Schenn could be paired, Simmons with Flip, and G&V back together. Still need the right LW for G&V (Raffl? Lindblom), Weal with F&S may be temporary, Weise looks like a good fit for Couts for now. But it showed that it's not just having 9 solid forwards, but the right 9 that fit together.
Defensemen - Provorov, Ghost (the last month), and Gudas. MDZ is Dr Playgood and Mr. Hide 'Em. Manning, MacDonald, Schultz (and Streit), does it matter? What coach could make this group work?
The Goalies - can't blame this on the coach, same goalies, same system, horrible results.
Main positive for me is Provorov. He looks like a legit #1 d-man. And is the foundation guy that Flyers have needed on the blue line for a long time to draft and develop. Excited to see him progress.
Biggest disappointment is Jake Voracek. Two straight OK years from him. After his contract year; the Flyers really needed him to play near superstar level & paid him as such. I am now convinced that this is; what he is. A good NHL winger but not the game changer that we were all hoping for two years ago.
Biggest disappointment is Jake Voracek. Two straight OK years from him. After his contract year; the Flyers really needed him to play near superstar level & paid him as such. I am now convinced that this is; what he is. A good NHL winger but not the game changer that we were all hoping for two years ago.
WIP CALLER
Registered User
- Aug 18, 2016
- 2,475
- 2,540
matching the 4th line against the opposing teams 1st line at the end of a game holding a lead is not a roster problem. routinely giving the 4th line a shift with under 3 minutes in game while trailing is not a roster problem. having your team quit attacking after going ahead by 1 in the 3rd is not a roster problem. continuing to dress the worst forward in the nhl statistically over other options is not a roster problem. putting your leading even strength scorer on the 4th line is not a roster problem. the team regressed to the bottom of the league in even strength scoring despite having the same roster as last year. could keep going on but many of these "roster problems" were a result of the coaches **** poor decisions.
Captain Dave Poulin
Imaginary Cat
FlyTimmo
pit <3
- Jul 10, 2013
- 12,430
- 10,461
+:
Provorov: Our future #1 franchise D
Konecny: Solid rookie year
Ghost: In his last ~25 games he looks the Ghost we know. That injury definitely affected him and our stupid coach.
Simmonds: Becoming an all-around player
Couturier: Last 15 games has been fantastic, and I am not a Couturier fanboy.
-:
Our coach
- Our system
- VdV and Bellemare
- Our 2nd powerplay unit
- Treatment of Rookies/young players
- Terrible lineup decisions
- Playing VdV and Bellemare with 2 minutes left in a game down by 1
- AND MANY MORE
Injuries to several prospects (Laberge, Myers, Rubstov, etc)
Inconsistent offense
Del Zotto
The decline of Matt Read
Disappointing development of Laughton (was hoping for him to be our 3rd line center this year, Couts 2nd)
Provorov: Our future #1 franchise D
Konecny: Solid rookie year
Ghost: In his last ~25 games he looks the Ghost we know. That injury definitely affected him and our stupid coach.
Simmonds: Becoming an all-around player
Couturier: Last 15 games has been fantastic, and I am not a Couturier fanboy.
-:
Our coach
- Our system
- VdV and Bellemare
- Our 2nd powerplay unit
- Treatment of Rookies/young players
- Terrible lineup decisions
- Playing VdV and Bellemare with 2 minutes left in a game down by 1
- AND MANY MORE
Injuries to several prospects (Laberge, Myers, Rubstov, etc)
Inconsistent offense
Del Zotto
The decline of Matt Read
Disappointing development of Laughton (was hoping for him to be our 3rd line center this year, Couts 2nd)
BillDineen
Former Flyer / Extinct Dinosaur Advisor
- Aug 9, 2009
- 9,375
- 8,101
VdV-PEB-Voracek when trailing in the 3rd (multiple games) is my favorite example of Hakslogic.
Striiker
Earthquake Survivor
He's going to ignore all of these since his duty to defend Hakstol is more important than reality or common sense.
The most obvious takeaway from this season (on a positive note) is Provolone. The guy is looking like a stud. The Neck also looked like a legit top sixer. Very little else to really be happy about this season. They kept it close, but I think the team really underperformed on a lot of levels. The only guys that really lived up to expectations or exceeded them (other than the two rookies I mentioned) are Gudas, Simmer, Schenn, and Voracek. Everyone else I think took a step back or just didn't look like the player we want them to look like. Coots, Ghost, and Giroux didn't have awful seasons, just not the seasons we wanted.
Striiker
Earthquake Survivor
Hurricane28
Angry Flyers STH/Weather Guy
We're like the Eagles. We have our franchise player, or D-man in this case, just need to build around him
-Provorov and Konecny
-No major injuries to our NHL players...prospects got pretty injured though so this might be a wash in that regard
-Gained draft assets while bringing in Filp and ditching Streit
-One less year on the Mac contract, can throw Weiss in there too
We'll see what the draft and ED bring. Otherwise, yeah, that's all I got.
-No major injuries to our NHL players...prospects got pretty injured though so this might be a wash in that regard
-Gained draft assets while bringing in Filp and ditching Streit
-One less year on the Mac contract, can throw Weiss in there too
We'll see what the draft and ED bring. Otherwise, yeah, that's all I got.
- Sep 28, 2014
- 76,697
- 123,241
kelmitchell
Registered User
kelmitchell
Registered User
I like that G and especially Ghost are finishing this season strong and healthy. Gives me hope that both players will be strong and poised for big seasons next year.
kudymen
Hakstok was a fascist clique hiver lickballs.gif
Positive:
who could not be recognized as ignore list-worthy before sure is recognized after this season
who could not be recognized as ignore list-worthy before sure is recognized after this season
joez86
Registered User
- Jan 20, 2006
- 1,103
- 74
Do dissenting opinions really harm your browsing/posting experience that much?
What does it say about how you feel about your own opinion if merely seeing somebody else express a different one is too much to handle?
Anyway, the biggest positive of this season, to me, is that neither Hextall nor Hakstol has shown any signs of changing their course. The team, as a whole, has performed exactly as they were expected to by most reasonable fans (which is as a "bubble" team). IMO, a different coach makes very little difference when the roster itself is not good enough, and only patience can properly fix that, which Hextall seems to understand.
BobbyClarkeFan16
Registered User
A couple of things I can think of
1) Provorov and Konecny. The youngsters from the 2015 draft are alright. Provorov looks to be a legitimate number one defenseman and Konecny might be that elusive top line left winger this club has been needing.
2) Gudas. I really thought that Del Zotto was going to be the guy, but Gudas has really grown into reliable defenseman who can play upwards of 20 minutes a night. There's veteran leadership and he's looking like he's going to be a great mentor for all the young defensemen breaking through.
3) Front Office didn't panic. The easiest thing to do this year would have been panic and start making deal after deal just to try to make the playoffs. Hextall hasn't panicked and has let things fall where they may. The Flyers won't make the post season this year, but they should be in a good spot to compete next season.
4) Financial flexibility. The Flyers could have upwards of $17 million available in cap space this offseason. That should be more than enough money to either lure a free agent or do the Arizona thing and take on a bad contract, but get an elite prospect or pick packaged with said player.
5) Jordan Weal. All what he needed was a chance. Here was a guy who didn't complain when he was sent to Lehigh Valley. He worked his backside off and now he's playing in the top six in Philadelphia. Is that due to a lack of talent? Maybe, but he's showing he belongs and he's fitting in. He's earned a spot and is an example to others about working hard and not complaining about the hand he was dealt.
6) The prospect pipeline. Hextall and the scouting staff really deserve a mention about how they've replenished the system in just over three years. I know that the Flyers could use another center or two to really fill out the pipeline, but this is a good system that's deep in defensemen, goalies, and wingers. There's size, speed, skill and hockey IQ at all positions.
7) The expansion draft. Hextall has done a magnificent job of positioning the team to not lose a highly skilled player for the upcoming expansion draft. Once again, Ron has shown that asset management is one of his strong suits.
This club should be considerably improved when the 2017-2018 season rolls around. There's no reason to believe that Hextall can't add an impact player or prospect if he plays his cards right. The biggest question going into the off season will be the coaching staff and if any significant changes are made there.
1) Provorov and Konecny. The youngsters from the 2015 draft are alright. Provorov looks to be a legitimate number one defenseman and Konecny might be that elusive top line left winger this club has been needing.
2) Gudas. I really thought that Del Zotto was going to be the guy, but Gudas has really grown into reliable defenseman who can play upwards of 20 minutes a night. There's veteran leadership and he's looking like he's going to be a great mentor for all the young defensemen breaking through.
3) Front Office didn't panic. The easiest thing to do this year would have been panic and start making deal after deal just to try to make the playoffs. Hextall hasn't panicked and has let things fall where they may. The Flyers won't make the post season this year, but they should be in a good spot to compete next season.
4) Financial flexibility. The Flyers could have upwards of $17 million available in cap space this offseason. That should be more than enough money to either lure a free agent or do the Arizona thing and take on a bad contract, but get an elite prospect or pick packaged with said player.
5) Jordan Weal. All what he needed was a chance. Here was a guy who didn't complain when he was sent to Lehigh Valley. He worked his backside off and now he's playing in the top six in Philadelphia. Is that due to a lack of talent? Maybe, but he's showing he belongs and he's fitting in. He's earned a spot and is an example to others about working hard and not complaining about the hand he was dealt.
6) The prospect pipeline. Hextall and the scouting staff really deserve a mention about how they've replenished the system in just over three years. I know that the Flyers could use another center or two to really fill out the pipeline, but this is a good system that's deep in defensemen, goalies, and wingers. There's size, speed, skill and hockey IQ at all positions.
7) The expansion draft. Hextall has done a magnificent job of positioning the team to not lose a highly skilled player for the upcoming expansion draft. Once again, Ron has shown that asset management is one of his strong suits.
This club should be considerably improved when the 2017-2018 season rolls around. There's no reason to believe that Hextall can't add an impact player or prospect if he plays his cards right. The biggest question going into the off season will be the coaching staff and if any significant changes are made there.
kudymen
Hakstok was a fascist clique hiver lickballs.gif
I hardly ever do it (ignore list) but over the last few weeks there was a guy who kept spouting personal abuses at quite a few posters who had different idea of why we dont do well - so yes, that harmed my experience. What does it say about me that a guy shouting "you idiot" 20 times a minute is too much to handle? dunno
- Sep 28, 2014
- 76,697
- 123,241
Ignore List exists for a good reason and he is not the only member of HF Boards to utilize it.
FlyTimmo
pit <3
- Jul 10, 2013
- 12,430
- 10,461
Yeah. But why is he posting about this in "positives of the 2016/2017 season"?
Adding nothing to the conversation other than trashing another poster.
Voracek lived up to expectations?
Pretty much. He had essentially the same year he had last year. He didn't live up to his contract and I would have liked him to throw up big numbers, but with the way the rest of the team played I think he did as well as we could expect. I guess though before the season I did have higher hopes so maybe I can take him out of that category.
