2024-25 Roster Thread #1: The Beginninging

[deadhead]

Stop with the fn excuses. A good GM would have set a diff course and laid out a differetn vision to his bosses. Or said fire me. He was a flat out bad GM. End of story.

Really? Give me examples of GMs who gave up their million plus salaries!
There's only 32 of these jobs, walk out and what are the odds you ever get hired to be a GM again?
He got hired because he did what Holmgren wanted.
If when interviewed, he said the team needed to be rebuilt, would he have been hired?

Could he have done better? Sure.
Could another GM made the Flyers into a SC contender? Only if you believe in miracles.

 

[Beef Invictus]

Oh Holmgren is to blame for everything. Well at least that's behind us then.

Good thing Clarke is never around either, right? right??

 

[Beef Invictus]

It's been twenty-one seasons since Tortorella won the SC with TB. He's coached seventeen seasons since then. He's missed the PO on seven of those seasons; been bounced out of the POs in seven more after round one. Only twice has his team made it to the second round and once to the third. Actually that's not exactly a glowing resume of success.
There are very few players who speak highly of him as a person after either being a part of or having witnessed the way that he mistreated them. His team in TB had reunion last year and chose not to include him. His year in Vancouver ended quickly with a lot of anger towards him in the locker room. The time with NYR was not a happy camp ground. In CBJ the GM refused to fire him and at the same time refused to extend him since he'd made a mess with the way that he used the roster. We've seen his mind games played on various players during his time here.
If you think that this guy is up to dealing with today's hockey both on and off the ice, you are simply wrong. He has become a loser of his own making.

NYR were on the verge of a player revolt if he wasn't fired.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

Tort’s Cup win was a fluke, Philadelphia beats Tampa if they weren’t decimated with injuries on the blue line. Then in the Cup Final a missed call on a Calgary goal in game 6 saved them from losing game 6. The guy had 3 HOF goalies in his other stops.
Dude is a fraud.
Fight me.

 

[pit]

No, he killed the depth that would push players down.
And Fletcher trading away a 2nd (2019), 3rd & 4th (2020), 1st (2021), 2nd & 4th (2022), 3rd (2023), 2nd (2024).
Though at the end he did add a (2) 3rds, 4th & 6th (2023), 1st & 5th (2024).
From 2017-2022 bad picks under Hextall and trading picks by CF decimated the talent pipeline.

Go look at the 2017 and 2018 drafts, tell me who reasonably should have been picked instead and which waiver eligible player gets pushed down to the Phantoms. Draft Makar over Patrick? That's still not pushing Zamula to the Phantoms unless he clears waivers. K'Andre Miller or Rasmus Sandin over Jay O'Brien? Again, waivers doesn't let you push anyone down. And this is with the benefit of hindsight and KNOWING which players have hit.

Again, Hextall had drafting issues. Absolutely. Does it alter the state of the NHL team? Yes.

Is Hextall the cause of the Phantoms lack of skill this season? Absolutely not.

 

[Hextallent63]

View attachment 903708

I read an article about a week ago and it mentioned Sergeant Mertaughs' age, and I got pissed off because I'm older than him.

 

[Hextallent63]

Drysdale wasn't taken 6th by accident, he has a lot of talent, but injuries have stunted his development.
Shaw is the perfect coach for him, b/c he needs to master defensive fundamentals.
But the key will be whether he can stay healthy, add some strength while maintaining his elite speed.

At the time of the trade:

Wheeler: I do wonder if the Flyers start to look a little small. Matvei Michkov, Bobby Brink, Travis Konecny, Morgan Frost up front. Drysdale and Cam York, two like-minded and built players on the backend (though Drysdale’s skating is certainly a cut above York’s, which can help compensate when you’re in that 5-foot-11/6-feet range). Even a cut below that with names like Emil Andrae and Denver Barkey. Suddenly, there are a lot of littler guys (relatively speaking) either established in that group or coming, especially with Sean Couturier on the wrong side of 30. Gauthier and Tyson Foerster were set to give them a bit of a different dimension.

Drysdale can certainly help in the short, medium and long term though. With his mobility and head for the game, he’s going to be an impact guy if he can stay healthy. Make good on that second-rounder and there’s an outcome in which Flyers fans feel good about this all things considered, even if Gauthier becomes an important piece with the Ducks.

The problem I have with Drysdale, which isn't necessarily a problem yet, is that when he returned last year I saw him trying to level up his play and be productive and be assertive with the park but unfortunately 90% of the time it didn't happen. That along with his defensive shortcomings has me worried but I still think there's time for him to develop and be a good defenseman.

 

[blackjackmulligan]

Really? Give me examples of GMs who gave up their million plus salaries!
There's only 32 of these jobs, walk out and what are the odds you ever get hired to be a GM again?
He got hired because he did what Holmgren wanted.
If when interviewed, he said the team needed to be rebuilt, would he have been hired?

Could he have done better? Sure.
Could another GM made the Flyers into a SC contender? Only if you believe in miracles.

Chuck sucked. Accept it, get over it, and move on. Chuck is a chump and looks like Danny is one also.

What are the odds he gets hired again after his latest GM job? He would have had a better chance had he took a stand instead of the job he ended up doing in Philly.

Has nothing to do with when he was hired. When he seen it wasn't working and no shot to contend he needed to take a stand reverse course. Always an excuse.

Are you sure he wasn't fine because he was told to win?


Someone remind me, did the team win?

Given a "mandate" and made the team worse.

 

[Hextallent63]

With one game they had to win -- and had to score a goal, Ryan Poehling played more minutes than any other center, Garnet Hathaway played 17 minutes. When the chips are on the table, he reverts to what he feels is safe -- there's nothing aggressive about that.

Please point to any game in the playoffs where Staal played more than Aho... Honestly I didn't check, there might be a game, but I doubt it.

The aforementioned here is what bothers me. I really don't think I think the flyers are better than they are but I truly think that torts and a stupid decision making cost the flyers of playoff spot last season.

 

[Beef Invictus]

For those unaware:

Rookie Series against NYR:

September 13, 7:05 PM
September 14, 5:05 PM

Both are at PPL center in Allentown if you want to attend with your flesh. Friday and Saturday games.

Preseason:

Begins Sunday September 22 vs Capitals in DC, 3:05 PM. Fifth and final preseason game is September 30.

It doesn't look like we have any of those goofy split-squad games, but I could also be stupid.

 

[Larry44]

The problem I have with Drysdale, which isn't necessarily a problem yet, is that when he returned last year I saw him trying to level up his play and be productive and be assertive with the park but unfortunately 90% of the time it didn't happen. That along with his defensive shortcomings has me worried but I still think there's time for him to develop and be a good defenseman.

Drysdale needs to be able to play at a high level, using his superior speed, without getting injured for an entire year. Last year after he came back, a guy stood him up with a solid but not spectacular hit and broke him. If he can't take a hit, he can't be a top 4 D. Period. I'm worried they bought damaged goods and he'll never recover.

 

[Flyerfan4life]

Drysdale needs to be able to play at a high level, using his superior speed, without getting injured for an entire year. Last year after he came back, a guy stood him up with a solid but not spectacular hit and broke him. If he can't take a hit, he can't be a top 4 D. Period. I'm worried they bought damaged goods and he'll never recover.

R. Ellis says hello....

 

[Fire Tortorella]

I still can't believe we're going into year 2 of this "rebuild" with zero roster spots up for grab.

 

[Hextallent63]

Drysdale needs to be able to play at a high level, using his superior speed, without getting injured for an entire year. Last year after he came back, a guy stood him up with a solid but not spectacular hit and broke him. If he can't take a hit, he can't be a top 4 D. Period. I'm worried they bought damaged goods and he'll never recover.

I hear you and I agree. Although he's not too much smaller than York, maybe he should start working out with York.

 

[Tripod]

I still can't believe we're going into year 2 of this "rebuild" with zero roster spots up for grab.

"If ???? can't beat out ??? then he doesn't belong in the NHL anyway"

-Signed, Some guy who defends everything the Flyers do.

 

[trostol]

"If ???? can't beat out ??? then he doesn't belong in the NHL anyway"

-Signed, Some guy who defends everything the Flyers do.

all the while never getting a proper chance to beat anyone out

 

[Chicken N Raffls]

I still can't believe we're going into year 2 of this "rebuild" with zero roster spots up for grab.

That's because it's year 3 silly goose. Feel better now?

--Flyers

 

[Flyerfan4life]

That's because it's year 3 silly goose. Feel better now?

--Flyers

#facts check out

 

[Larry44]

I hear you and I agree. Although he's not too much smaller than York, maybe he should start working out with York.

Yeah, hopefully he’s stronger…

 

[Fight4yourRight]

For those unaware:

Rookie Series against NYR:

September 13, 7:05 PM
September 14, 5:05 PM

Both are at PPL center in Allentown if you want to attend with your flesh. Friday and Saturday games.

Preseason:

Begins Sunday September 22 vs Capitals in DC, 3:05 PM. Fifth and final preseason game is September 30.

It doesn't look like we have any of those goofy split-squad games, but I could also be stupid.

I don’t know these things off hand… is Michkov participating in the Rookie Series?

 

[FLYguy3911]

I don’t know these things off hand… is Michkov participating in the Rookie Series?

I'd guess they'd give him at least one of the games.

 

[deadhead]

We don't have roster spots up for grabs because other than Michkov, our top prospects are in the CHL, college or SHL/KHL. So unless they really stand out in TC, most are 1-3 years away.
Abols and Eklind are two veterans who have a shot at winning jobs in camp.

Andrae the top prospect in the AHL, followed by Lycksell, Tuomaala, Rizzo, Avon, Desnoyers, Gendron, McDonald, Attard, Ginning, Grans, Samson. None of these players are likely top 6/top 4. They'll have to play their way onto the roster.

Luchanko, Barkey, Bonk, Sotheran, Mills, Bjarnason in the CHL
Berglund, Zavragin, Pautov in SHL/KHL
Bump, Kaplan, Powell, Knuble in NCAA
Ruohonen in the USHL (on his way to Harvard)

 

[Beef Invictus]

We don't have roster spots up for grabs because other than Michkov, our top prospects are in the CHL, college or SHL/KHL. So unless they really stand out in TC, most are 1-3 years away.
Abols and Eklind are two veterans who have a shot at winning jobs in camp.

Andrae the top prospect in the AHL, followed by Lycksell, Tuomaala, Rizzo, Avon, Desnoyers, Gendron, McDonald, Attard, Ginning, Grans, Samson. None of these players are likely top 6/top 4. They'll have to play their way onto the roster.

Luchanko, Barkey, Bonk, Sotheran, Mills, Bjarnason in the CHL
Berglund, Zavragin, Pautov in SHL/KHL
Bump, Kaplan, Powell, Knuble in NCAA
Ruohonen in the USHL (on his way to Harvard)

We don't have roster spots up for grabs because the franchise never has them up for grabs. We go through this every year. You insist they are, you make up lineups with prospects in them, we laugh, your rosters never come close to happening even when youth are good enough to deserve it, you insist after the deadline they'll all play (revolving door!) and then that never happens either. You're reasoning the whole time has been "it'll happen because they are rebuilding" but they never have been.

 

[blackjackmulligan]

We don't have roster spots up for grabs because other than Michkov, our top prospects are in the CHL, college or SHL/KHL. So unless they really stand out in TC, most are 1-3 years away.
Abols and Eklind are two veterans who have a shot at winning jobs in camp.

Andrae the top prospect in the AHL, followed by Lycksell, Tuomaala, Rizzo, Avon, Desnoyers, Gendron, McDonald, Attard, Ginning, Grans, Samson. None of these players are likely top 6/top 4. They'll have to play their way onto the roster.

Luchanko, Barkey, Bonk, Sotheran, Mills, Bjarnason in the CHL
Berglund, Zavragin, Pautov in SHL/KHL
Bump, Kaplan, Powell, Knuble in NCAA
Ruohonen in the USHL (on his way to Harvard)

What an average prospect pool. The future looks great. How is it that bad for a team that is rebuilding? No matter what they do they can't play their way onto the roster as their is no room. Why can't you acknowledge this fact? On is all healthy who will get waived for Ginning/Attard? Who up front for say Ollie?

They have no shot. Who are they going to waive/cut to create a spot?

 

[deadhead]

Funny, they had no problem finding a spot for Michkov.

Players can win spots in TC, but it shouldn't be easy, there's no reason to play a marginal prospect over a proven player unless the prospect jumps out at you.

Farabee - Couts - Michkov
Tippett - Frost - TK
Foerster - Laughton - Brink
Cates - Poehling - Hathaway

If there was a NHL ready center in the system, he'd should be able to beat out Laughton at 3C.
Lycksell is the only prospect with a real shot at cracking this lineup.
The others are going to get more seasoning.

York - Sanheim
Seeler - Drysdale
Zamula - Risto

Zamula is the most vulnerable starter, they're not pairing Andrae with Drysdale (blind leading the blind). They want to showcase Risto, his defensive improvement and size might make him moveable next summer.

The inevitable injuries will create opportunities for prospects to show they're deserving of a promotion, but once a prospect gets a shot at PT, it's up to him to "Wally Pipp" the player he replaced.