2024-25 Roster Thread #1: The Beginninging

[Beef Invictus]

They had their best season since 2011-12.
So mission accomplished.
With better luck, they might have repeated that performance for a season or two.
But it wasn't sustainable.

Making the playoffs once was not the mission. Come on. This is ridiculous.

This is the opposite of defending Flyers management. This would make them look even worse.

 

[Beef Invictus]

I mean, let's really reflect on how sad the state of Zealous Flyers Defense is.

"The Flyers only wanted to be average, once. They're too inept to sustain that, so it is fine that they couldn't sustain even basic mediocrity. Being this bad was the plan, and they were bad, so they actually did a good job."

That's maniacal

 

[freakydallas13]

I mean, let's really reflect on how sad the state of Zealous Flyers Defense is.

"The Flyers only wanted to be average, once. They're too inept to sustain that, so it is fine that they couldn't sustain even basic mediocrity. Being this bad was the plan, and they were bad, so they actually did a good job."

That's maniacal

Mission accomplished.

 

[deadhead]

I mean, let's really reflect on how sad the state of Zealous Flyers Defense is.

"The Flyers only wanted to be average, once. They're too inept to sustain that, so it is fine that they couldn't sustain even basic mediocrity. Being this bad was the plan, and they were bad, so they actually did a good job."

That's maniacal

Holmgren wanted them to be competitive, he probably expected a 2-3 year run (which might have happened with a healthy Patrick and Lindblom on the 2nd line). Since he was heading into retirement, he really didn't care about 5 years down the road when he'd be golfing with Clarke in Florida.

 

[HeadLiceHatty]

sameasiteverwas

If anything at all, I'm #BuckledIN

 

[Kelmitchell2]

Or the opposite, multiple strategies have succeeded, therefore, there is no 'right" strategy (there are wrong ones).

The reason most strategies fail:
1) lack of managerial talent, bad implementation
2) lack of patience, changing strategies in mid-stream
3) lack of luck, pick #2 or #3 instead of #1, injuries, etc.?

Well we have 1 and 2 down to a science and have had 3 happen numerous times as well

 

[Beef Invictus]

Holmgren wanted them to be competitive, he probably expected a 2-3 year run (which might have happened with a healthy Patrick and Lindblom on the 2nd line). Since he was heading into retirement, he really didn't care about 5 years down the road when he'd be golfing with Clarke in Florida.

Ok, "being competitive" is a very fair thing to expect after the base Hextall had been working on. They didn't come close to that, ever. That's a failure. There is no way to paint that as a success in any way that doesn't sound ridiculous.


Holmgren is not retired.

 

[BiggE]

Ok, "being competitive" is a very fair thing to expect after the base Hextall had been working on. They didn't come close to that, ever. That's a failure. There is no way to paint that as a success in any way that doesn't sound ridiculous.


Holmgren is not retired.

What’s really sad is that Holmgren is the best GM they’ve had this century. He turned the disaster that he inherited from Clarke in 2006 to a conference finalist in 2008 and a Cup finalist in 2010 and his teams made the playoffs for 5 consecutive years. He’s also responsible for drafting Carter, Richards, Giroux and Couturier.

Hextall was a bad GM, a control freak who tried to stay competitive while building a team which is nearly always a recipe for failure. Fletcher was worse, Kevin Hayes, AV and Risto are just some of his debacles. And Briere might be the worst of bunch. Other than lucking into Michkov, it’s been one blunder after another and the continuing deification of the God Emperor Tortorella.

The Flyers organization has been a complete disaster since 2014 and there is no end in sight.

 

[Striiker]

Took 5 shots
Only 2 on net

“HES LEARNED TO HIT THE NET!”

https://x.com/i/web/status/1855417538051482083

 

[kudymen]

Took 5 shots
Only 2 on net

“HES LEARNED TO HIT THE NET!”

https://x.com/i/web/status/1855417538051482083

5 shots on goal
2 shots hit the net
...
...
...
Aaaand...
...
...
...
0 goals

How will the league survive this?

 

[Flyerfan4life]

5 shots on goal
2 shots hit the net
...
...
...
Aaaand...
...
...
...
0 goals

How will the league survive this?

such a peak Flyers fansite peice.. get excited about a guy doing the most basic of hockey skills..

this fanbase deserves this Org.

 

[ellja3]

5 shots on goal
2 shots hit the net
...
...
...
Aaaand...
...
...
...
0 goals

How will the league survive this?

Seriously, Michkov debacle, now this. The lengths some writers go to defend PHI dumbf*** management/decisions is baffling.

 

[kudymen]

Seriously, Michkov debacle, now this. The lengths some writers go to defend PHI dumbf*** management/decisions is baffling.

Nowadays the only thing left I admire about the Flyers is how they can still surprise me

 

[usahockey22flyers]

I’m really concerned about Drysdale. I don’t like how he can’t escape on regroups and reentries after we lose the zone.

Almost cost them a goal last night.

He’s not doing anything great. Maybe nothing that’s even good.

Worrying.

 

[VladDrag]

I’m really concerned about Drysdale. I don’t like how he can’t escape on regroups and reentries after we lose the zone.

Almost cost them a goal last night.

He’s not doing anything great. Maybe nothing that’s even good.

Worrying.

Drysdale has sucked, and I don’t use that term frequently. He’s been the worst Flyers this season, and I worry he won’t be in the NHL in a few seasons… maybe he turns it around, and becomes valuable, but he hasn’t shown anything in his professional career.

 

[Curufinwe]

I’m really concerned about Drysdale. I don’t like how he can’t escape on regroups and reentries after we lose the zone.

Almost cost them a goal last night.

He’s not doing anything great. Maybe nothing that’s even good.

Worrying.

I posted this in the GDT but after he was a big part of the 1st unit wasting the first minute of the first PP, he threw a lazy pass into the boards that the 2nd unit had to recover before they could get going. And then they managed to hit the post in their 50ish seconds.

Zamula, York, Sanheim and even Risto would be better running the point than Drysdale at the moment.

 

[Flyerfan4life]

Torts said he doesnt know how to play in the NHL.

good thing we traded for him..

 

[FLYguy3911]

We should be well past the concerned stage at this point. He's flat out bad and you know it because even when he has a "good" game by his standards it's more of a "well he wasn't awful" type game. What is he good at? He's our PP1 QB yet he has he has two 5v5 points as a Flyer. He was once thought of as an "Elite" skater. That doesn't seem like the case anymore. He plays like he has absolutely no confidence in his game. Ideally he could probably use an extended stay in the AHL, but when management values players on bridge deals and they don't know how to play the game according to the coach, you end up in no man's land. It's not an option.

Torts seems to have a new favorite pet in Andrae so it will be interesting to see what happens when York comes back.

 

[deadhead]

Drysdale is a very good skater, real nice balance and agility.

Which is part of his problem, he relies on his skating too much instead of anticipating and moving the puck forward, and NHL forecheckers don't give you that kind of time.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

If Drysdale is a bust so be it. Just admit the mistake and don’t double down. If I was Briere I’d be playing the long game thinking that outside of Michkov, the core of the future team isn’t here yet. I was optimistic about Drysdale at first but I’d be surprised if he turns into a core player. I don’t think Gauthier was going to move the needle a ton either, and he’d be more of a supporting cast who can get 30 goals and 60 points, maybe. The Flyers need elite game-breaking talent. Even without selling off they are close enough to the bottom with no help coming from the prospect pool for a few years. Perfect time to drag the bottom for a few years and get high end talent. Forget guys like Gauthier and Drysdale, and get guys like Hagens, Martone, Misa, or Schaefer. Most of the roster right now is just placeholders in my vision

 

[deadhead]

Most of the roster right now is just placeholders in my vision

By your standard, outside of 3 or 4 players, most of any championship team is just placeholders.
Except as Toronto shows, you can have those high pick impact players (Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares, Reilly) but you ain't doing shit if your "placeholders" aren't a quality group.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

By your standard, outside of 3 or 4 players, most of any championship team is just placeholders.
Except as Toronto shows, you can have those high pick impact players (Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares, Reilly) but you ain't doing shit if your "placeholders" aren't a quality group.

Yeah. I just don’t think it’s worth worrying about the supporting cast that deeply till you got the main actors in place. There’s really no one on the Flyers besides TK and, hopefully, eventually Michkov that pretty much every team in the NHL doesn’t have.

At the beginning of the season I was hoping that the first half of last season was a sign of life but it was just an anomaly. The past few seasons the Flyers have drafted 5th, 7th, 12th( a tale of 2 halves), and they are at the bottom so far this season. They just aren’t good. Even if Luchanko and Bonk are home runs they are still like 4 years away from being differences makers.

The positive in my eyes is that even if they don’t sell off they are right there at the bottom. Whether Briere is successful or not they’ll likely be in a position to draft blue chip talent. I am all for roughing out the next 3-4 years. No Kevin Hayes like stopgaps, no trading 1sts (depending, of course). The worst thing you can be in hockey is mediocre and thankfully it looks like the Flyers are out of that purgatory. Briere just can’t put us back there. It’s inferno or Paradiso, for me

 

[CanadianFlyer88]

Took 5 shots
Only 2 on net

“HES LEARNED TO HIT THE NET!”

https://x.com/i/web/status/1855417538051482083

That summary meant he had 8 shot attempts at the time. Five on net, two misses, and one blocked.

The tweet is still embarrassing.

 

[deadhead]

The positive in my eyes is that even if they don’t sell off they are right there at the bottom. Whether Briere is successful or not they’ll likely be in a position to draft blue chip talent. I am all for roughing out the next 3-4 years. No Kevin Hayes like stopgaps, no trading 1sts (depending, of course). The worst thing you can be in hockey is mediocre and thankfully it looks like the Flyers are out of that purgatory. Briere just can’t put us back there. It’s inferno or Paradiso, for me

Briere has shown no sign he has any interest in Hayes/JVR signings, Niskanen type trades, etc.
They've built forward depth, one reason Lycksell is in LHV is he can't break into the top 9 right now, and they don't want him playing 8 minutes a night on the 4th line (Cates, Poehling, Hathaway all play on the PK as well).

What they need is more top 6/top 4 talent.

 

[GapToothedWonder]

If Drysdale is a bust so be it. Just admit the mistake and don’t double down. If I was Briere I’d be playing the long game thinking that outside of Michkov, the core of the future team isn’t here yet. I was optimistic about Drysdale at first but I’d be surprised if he turns into a core player. I don’t think Gauthier was going to move the needle a ton either, and he’d be more of a supporting cast who can get 30 goals and 60 points, maybe. The Flyers need elite game-breaking talent. Even without selling off they are close enough to the bottom with no help coming from the prospect pool for a few years. Perfect time to drag the bottom for a few years and get high end talent. Forget guys like Gauthier and Drysdale, and get guys like Hagens, Martone, Misa, or Schaefer. Most of the roster right now is just placeholders in my vision

Lotta place holders on 8 year deals.