Who should stay, who should go.

Select each person you want to remain on the roster next year.


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    209

DrinkFightFlyers

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Not worth sinking another asset into Mrazek at this point.
In defense of Mrazek, he has put up solid numbers throughout his career. It was only when his team went downhill around him did he really fall off the map. Just a year or two ago he put up .921/2.33 line and the year before that it was .918/2.38. Yeah he put up butt numbers this year and last year, but the two years before that he was inarguably putting up better numbers than what we currently have (compared to this year, not at that time...I don't know what Neuvirth or Elliot put up at the time).
 

FlyersMania2

#FireHakstol
Jul 4, 2007
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Mrazek is just not a good fit here. Granted I am not impressed by him anyway and never was but I think he's not designed to play in our division.
 

Guy Gadowsky

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May 10, 2017
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0% chance MacDonald gets moved, so slot in him the empty D spot. Everyone else seems feasible. prob gonna have to buy in FA. Or hope Frost or whoever markedly exceeds expectations.
 

deadhead

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Feb 26, 2014
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Barring trades, we start with:

Giroux - Couts - Voracek
Lindblom - Patrick - TK
Laughton - ??? - Simmonds
Raffl - ??? - NAK
Knight, Bardreau, MV
Vorobyev and Frost are unknowns at this point

Provorov - Ghost
Sanheim - Gudas
Morin - Hagg/MacDonald
this is totally up in the air on the right side, but I think this will be the left side

I don't see Weal, Leier, Manning, Lehtera, Weise and Read returning next year.
The one obvious move will be to pick up a 3C if Ron feels Frost isn't ready.
Simmonds/Voracek trades would either include a forward in return, or be combined with another draft of draft pick for a forward.
 
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The Madrigal

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Apr 26, 2016
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In a simulation



0% chance MacDonald gets moved, so slot in him the empty D spot. Everyone else seems feasible. prob gonna have to buy in FA. Or hope Frost or whoever markedly exceeds expectations.

I agree with O'Conner that the Flyers need a top 6 LW, and a 3rd line center. That being said, it's time to move on from Simmonds and I am as big of a Simmonds fan as there is. Also, his picture of the defense next season makes me sick. You essentially bring back the same defense next year which wasn't nearly good enough this year. If the Flyers are serious about getting better and being a legit playoff team next season they need to make some major changes.
 

deadhead

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Feb 26, 2014
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Lindblom will be fine, people are going to extremes both ways, most prospects need a couple years to adjust to NHL play, immediately projecting them to be major contributors is often the triumph of hope over experience, conversely, many prospects struggle at first, then the light goes on and they start ramming.

Lindblom was just a notch off when he came up, a smart grinder, then was overwhelmed in the playoffs. Next year he'll start with the team and has a much better idea of what to expect. And he seems to have great chemistry with Patrick.
 
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Ghosts Beer

I saw Goody Fletcher with the Devil!
Feb 10, 2014
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If we're keeping goalies, which I assume we are, I think we should trade one of Elliot or Neuvirth for literally anything and re-sign Mrazek. In a perfect world we trade both Elliot and Neuvirth, re-sign Mrazek to like two years and have Stolie as backup
I disagree with you on Mrazek.

He was an utter sieve in 17 games with the Flyers -- an .891 save percentage is utterly unacceptable. Hell, Lyon put up a .905 in 11 games during the same time period.

Mrazek lost his starting job in Detroit for a reason.

Frankly, I don't think he's an NHL goalie and should go back to Europe. He's too small for an NHL goalie these days, and it's clear teams have a book on him. He leaves tons of net to shoot at due to his utterly horrendous positioning and lack of size, and if he hasn't fixed his positional issues by now -- forget it, he never will. It's just the way he plays.

There is absolutely no chance I'd give up another 3rd round pick to re-sign the goalie who put up the worst stats of any of the 4 lousy goalies who played for the Flyers this season.
 

deadhead

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Feb 26, 2014
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Weal and Cousins are both limited players, Weal has better offensive skills, Cousins is stouter and feistier, both are undersized and average skaters. They're not bad players, they're meh players, upgrades over VdV on offense, not as good on the PK, all the kind of players that good teams don't carry but bad teams use to fill out their rosters (which is why they're bad teams).

Raffl scores as much as Weal, but is much better in every other aspect of the game, he's the kind of player good teams carry in their bottom six for depth.
Laughton is a better winger than Weal with more upside.

All these players illustrate the lack of depth that has plagued this team since Hextall took over.
Filppula and Laughton would have been far better at LW than center this year, but that would have required breaking up a top 1st line and still finding a 4C.
Weal, Cousins are marginal 3rd line guys who are bad fits on a 4th line and don't contribute on the PK.
Read was a good PK guy but below average at ES.
So we had players out of position, and players with limited skills asked to do too much.
 
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Ghosts Beer

I saw Goody Fletcher with the Devil!
Feb 10, 2014
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I so much miss Cousins. Underrated bottom-six forward.
Eh, fans tend to fall in love with a handful of bottom-six players when, in reality, they are easily replaceable by minor leaguers. If you are easily replaceable by a minor leaguer, you aren't good.

Cousins, Laughton, Weal (I was wrong on him being more than one of these fungible fringe NHLers), Boyd Gordon, for a while Read, even Raffl -- all overrated by many fans and easily replaceable. The NHL and AHL are loaded with players who can do the same or better. Dale Weise (whom Hextall fell in love with) is rightfully hated because of the stupid contract, but if you insert him for any of these guys, it makes no difference to the team. That showed in the playoffs.

In baseball, there are always backup utility players fans fall in love with and get mad the manager doesn't make him a regular. It's a similar phenomenon. The reality is he's a backup for a reason and easily replaceable by about a zillion other guys who are fringe major leaguers.

This is why I hate giving multi-million contracts to guys like Weise and Raffl. Save your cap space for true impact players -- they are the ones who matter. You can always find 4th liners.
 

DrinkFightFlyers

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I disagree with you on Mrazek.

He was an utter sieve in 17 games with the Flyers -- an .891 save percentage is utterly unacceptable. Hell, Lyon put up a .905 in 11 games during the same time period.

Mrazek lost his starting job in Detroit for a reason.

Frankly, I don't think he's an NHL goalie and should go back to Europe. He's too small for an NHL goalie these days, and it's clear teams have a book on him. He leaves tons of net to shoot at due to his utterly horrendous positioning and lack of size, and if he hasn't fixed his positional issues by now -- forget it, he never will. It's just the way he plays.

There is absolutely no chance I'd give up another 3rd round pick to re-sign the goalie who put up the worst stats of any of the 4 lousy goalies who played for the Flyers this season.
I don't know how you can say that given his past success. I know he had a bad year or two, but that happens (especially when the team you're on isn't exactly a defensive juggernaut). He's not a superstar and I don't think he is the answer to our long-term goalie situation, but I do think he's a better option that Elliot and Neuvirth. It is bizarre to me that a goalie that can't stay healthy (and also recently put up a season of .891 save percentage) is an option along with another goalie that has at best been inconsistently mediocre over the course of his career, but Mrazek is not an option because in 17 games he played poorly on a team with a defense that everyone agrees is not good. You don't want to give up the third to sign him...that's an understandable position. You think Mrazek isn't an NHL goalie despite the fact that his career numbers are comparable to the other two goalie options (almost identical SV% to both, better GAA than Neuvirth) doesn't really make sense to me, unless you are also saying that the other two are not NHL goalies, in which case I would still disagree but at least your position would be more defensible.
 

deadhead

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Feb 26, 2014
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I'd say Raffl is a cut above those other guys, he fell off last year due to injury, otherwise 25, 29, 21 at ES in 3 of 4 seasons.
He's a solid forechecker and contributes on the PK.
Like a lot of solid bottom six guys he's worth a Weise contract (he's what Ron thought he was buying with Weise).

Problem with guys like Read and Raffl is they tend to have short NHL lives, they take a few years to develop and are usually finished by age 30.
Talbot was another player like this.
So you need to constantly replenish your supply of these players by hitting on one or two a year in the middle rounds of the draft.
Your top six players are more talented and should have longer careers, and at the end can slip down to the 3rd line (Simmonds).
 

Redpath

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Sep 30, 2011
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Even before Simmonds' demise in the 2nd half of the season it was becoming clear he needs to be moved. Injured or not, it makes no sense for us to pay a 30 year old a big contract when he very well already has his best days behind him. Everyday closer to July 1st, 2019 his value is dropping. Unlikely he is the basis of a trade returning a noteworthy roster player to the Flyers, so picks will have to do. Please promote his forward spot from within the organization.
 
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Ghosts Beer

I saw Goody Fletcher with the Devil!
Feb 10, 2014
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I don't know how you can say that given his past success. I know he had a bad year or two, but that happens (especially when the team you're on isn't exactly a defensive juggernaut). He's not a superstar and I don't think he is the answer to our long-term goalie situation, but I do think he's a better option that Elliot and Neuvirth. It is bizarre to me that a goalie that can't stay healthy (and also recently put up a season of .891 save percentage) is an option along with another goalie that has at best been inconsistently mediocre over the course of his career, but Mrazek is not an option because in 17 games he played poorly on a team with a defense that everyone agrees is not good. You don't want to give up the third to sign him...that's an understandable position. You think Mrazek isn't an NHL goalie despite the fact that his career numbers are comparable to the other two goalie options (almost identical SV% to both, better GAA than Neuvirth) doesn't really make sense to me, unless you are also saying that the other two are not NHL goalies, in which case I would still disagree but at least your position would be more defensible.

Elliott and Neuvirth are fringe NHL goalies at this point. I'd be ok with Elliott as my backup; Neuvirth is too unreliable.

But the fact is that Mrazek put up an .891 save percentage in the exact same environment that AHLer Alex Lyon put up a .905.

Mrazek lost his starting job in Detroit for a reason. His last two seasons have stunk. I mean, at least Neuvirth rebounded from one bad season. But when your last two you are near the league bottom in save percentage, it's a lot harder to consider it an outlier. He was .901 and .902 total the last two years, .891 with the Flyers, and he even stunk in 10 games of international play last year, with an .894.

There's no indication he's going to rebound after his last two seasons -- certainly not enough to give up another 3rd. Like I said, he has tons of flaws in his game, and most likely the NHL has figured him out. And his small size and all-over-the place style simply don't jive with today's NHL.

How many major league pitchers have you seen have you seen have a good season and a half after a call-up, but by their third season the league has a book on them, or they lose a MPH off their fastball, and they're never good again? Tons.

I think it's a fool's errand to blindly hope Mrazek puts up similar stats as 3 seasons ago, when his numbers have been bad the last two seasons and just by looking at him you can see all the flaws in his game.
 

deadhead

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Feb 26, 2014
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I'd rather gamble on Stolarz getting healthy than give a 3rd to retain Mrazek.
And Hart will be on the Phantoms next year, so we have an "in emergency, break glass" option.
 

DrinkFightFlyers

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Elliott and Neuvirth are fringe NHL goalies at this point. I'd be ok with Elliott as my backup; Neuvirth is too unreliable.

But the fact is that Mrazek put up an .891 save percentage in the exact same environment that AHLer Alex Lyon put up a .905.

Mrazek lost his starting job in Detroit for a reason. His last two seasons have stunk. I mean, at least Neuvirth rebounded from one bad season. But when your last two you are near the league bottom in save percentage, it's a lot harder to consider it an outlier. He was .901 and .902 total the last two years, .891 with the Flyers, and he even stunk in 10 games of international play last year, with an .894.

There's no indication he's going to rebound after his last two seasons -- certainly not enough to give up another 3rd. Like I said, he has tons of flaws in his game, and most likely the NHL has figured him out. And his small size and all-over-the place style simply don't jive with today's NHL.

How many major league pitchers have you seen have you seen have a good season and a half after a call-up, but by their third season the league has a book on them, or they lose a MPH off their fastball, and they're never good again? Tons.

I think it's a fool's errand to blindly hope Mrazek puts up similar stats as 3 seasons ago, when his numbers have been bad the last two seasons and just by looking at him you can see all the flaws in his game.
Agree to disagree. I doubt they re-sign him anyway but that's what I would do.
 

Deadpool8812

Registered User
Feb 10, 2018
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He is when used properly.
Weal controls the puck and has wheels and well as vision. He needs a line to succeed on. I do not see him as the driver of any line but def an upgrade over others we currently ice.
He's not good enough to play top 6 or bottom 6. KHL bound IMO
 

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