Dumpster Fire or Pot Hole? It is getting hard to tell

[wbon22]

This 10 game stretch has been really really hard to read.

As Hextall pointed out correctly, the Flyers have played much better than the record. You could say that they could be 5-5 or 6-4 based on the vast majority of the play. They have shot themselves in skate too often. Too many careless mistakes. Too little back pressure from the forwards, bad gap management by the forwards, and the lack of leadership or settling influences on the blueline...

The blame for how this can happen ... there is plenty to go around.

Hextall: This is his team. It's that simple. The players who sound like the right fit on paper that don't work...that is him.

Hakstol: This is his team too. There have been too many simple brain cramps when it comes to shortening the bench, mixing/not mixing lines. There have been too many players getting playing time who have screwed up while those who are at least trying get to sit.

The Players: Yup...all of them. The kids have to just relax and play. Ghost has to stop reverting to the selfish brat penalty magnet he was for a period in college. Jake has to remember how to play D. Simmonds has to score... Frankly, anyone not on the top line has to score.

 

[Maverick426h]

Somewhere in the middle.

A giant pit that the whole team has fallen into. Will take many weeks for everyone to get out.

 

[Maverick426h]

Somewhere in the middle.

A giant pit that the whole team has fallen into. Will take many weeks for everyone to get out.

Nevermind on this. Nobody can really figure this team out, but I think it's fair to say that we were a much better team than the losing streak indicated and perhaps now we're not quite as good as the winning streak might indicate. It's just very difficult to say right now.

We probably also missed guys like MacDonald and Gudas more than anyone could've imagined. That and suddenly there is stability in net too and it's come via riding Elliott.

 

[FlyerFinFan]

Nevermind on this. Nobody can really figure this team out, but I think it's fair to say that we were a much better team than the losing streak indicated and perhaps now we're not quite as good as the winning streak might indicate. It's just very difficult to say right now.

We probably also missed guys like MacDonald and Gudas more than anyone could've imagined. That and suddenly there is stability in net too and it's come via riding Elliott.

I mentioned that it's not that AMac or Gudas are the best dmen but when you have a young team every vet helps. When out they became younger and young guys have various issues mainly confidence. Over the season we should start seeing growth from the young guys but this happened early and they couldn't handle it.

 

[Yam]

Amac isn't as bad as everyone likes to make him, gudas isn't as good as some people like to think.

Next year is the year they should be making their push. Carter should be up and sanheim/hagg will have a season under their belts.

Between now and opening night next season the following need to happen.

- Carter Hart needs to come up (at least as a backup next year)
- weise needs to hit the bricks, he is garbage
- fippula needs to go. He's clearly not part of any rebuild so he needs to GTFO
- as much as it pains me to say, either voracek or giroux need to go. Neither will be here long time (and worth their pay) imo

 

[EVille3]

Amac isn't as bad as everyone likes to make him, gudas isn't as good as some people like to think.

Next year is the year they should be making their push. Carter should be up and sanheim/hagg will have a season under their belts.

Between now and opening night next season the following need to happen.

- Carter Hart needs to come up (at least as a backup next year)
- weise needs to hit the bricks, he is garbage
- fippula needs to go. He's clearly not part of any rebuild so he needs to GTFO
- as much as it pains me to say, either voracek or giroux need to go. Neither will be here long time (and worth their pay) imo

Hart will spend next year in AHL with both Elliott and neuvirth still under contract.
Fippula’s contract is up at the end of the year

 

[Yam]

Hart will spend next year in AHL with both Elliott and neuvirth still under contract.
Fippula’s contract is up at the end of the year

Damm I thought neuvirth was up at the end of the year.

I thought fippula was up after this year. Good. Let him walk and bring up the kid tearing it up in juniors (drawing a blank on his name right now).

It would be nice to see Nolan take a step in the right direction too next year. He's been decent for a rookie but I'm hasn't lived up to the #2 overall billing yet.

 

[Maverick426h]

Damm I thought neuvirth was up at the end of the year.

I thought fippula was up after this year. Good. Let him walk and bring up the kid tearing it up in juniors (drawing a blank on his name right now).

It would be nice to see Nolan take a step in the right direction too next year. He's been decent for a rookie but I'm hasn't lived up to the #2 overall billing yet.

Both of our goalies have one more season. Carter Hart could battle for the starting job in the Ahl next season as he'll be 20. Morgan Frost is the kid tearing up the OHL. He will only be 19 though, so he either has to make the Flyers in camp or go back to Juniors for one more season.

Patrick is probably just experiencing a down year much like G and Ghost did last season after recovery from recent surgeries. We can evaluate him a little better next season when he is at full speed.

Filppula, Read and Umberger all come off the books for next season, which leaves us over $16 million in cap space with really only 4 roster positions to fill. 2 forwards and 2 defenders. Hagg will be one of those when we re-sign him.

This leaves us room to sign a veteran free agent or two, for sure, and start to make real playoff pushes.

 

[Yam]

Oh man, forgot about umberger being on the books. Gross.

I hope Nolan has a nice second half and makes the decision to use him this year look good, so they will be open to giving frost a shot next year.
Salary wise, not sure who they can go out and get bc eventually these kids will need to get paid. That cap space will be a nice relief to see though.

Biggest problem with this team is consistency. One day they beat a tb team in their house, the next they are losing to just bad teams.

 

[Maverick426h]

Oh man, forgot about umberger being on the books. Gross.

I hope Nolan has a nice second half and makes the decision to use him this year look good, so they will be open to giving frost a shot next year.
Salary wise, not sure who they can go out and get bc eventually these kids will need to get paid. That cap space will be a nice relief to see though.

Biggest problem with this team is consistency. One day they beat a tb team in their house, the next they are losing to just bad teams.

I would imagine we don't sign anyone long term unless it is a younger player or a franchise guy. Either way, by the time most of our prospects are making big money, Lehtera, Elliott, Neuvirth, Simmonds, Raffl, Gudas and MacDonald could all be gone (if none are re-signed). Then there's all of that extra money to pay our prospects when they've earned a new contract.

Even still, probably most of these guys will sign bridge deals that won't be costing us huge dollars in only their first contracts after their ELC.