GKJ
Global Moderator
- Feb 27, 2002
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Can I have an opinion on this?
What are your thoughts on hot dogs being sandwiches?
STOP DEFLECTINGAs you well know, I have to check with the pug before I'm allowed to have opinions. She's currently asleep. And snoring.
So if we go by that, the kid didn’t want to be part of the Flyers development machine, and a questionable FO.
Shocking
Sounds like he viewed the Fletcher/Briere/Jonesy Flyers as dysfunctional.
STOP DEFLECTING
ANSWER THE QUESTION AND ACCEPT YOUR PUNISHMENT
10+ years and 50 year cup drought hasn't been enough apparently. This hole the team keeps digging is big enough to provide geothermal energy for all of the tri-state area.See? This is a positive good. This is the kind of humiliation needed.
Hell yesI am a sandwich radical. Everything from a sushi roll to fried chicken is a sandwich.
it is a sandwich the same way a square is a rectangleHell yes
I knew I could count on you to be reasonable
dumplings are sandwiches. As are chicken nuggets.Hell yes
I knew I could count on you to be reasonable
We got a #6 and a probable #40 or so for #5.
I'd say Drysdale has a higher ceiling than Gauthier just based on position played, but more risk (I'll trade a 1LW for a 1st pair D-man any day of the week if the 1LW isn't elite, anyone ever thought Gauthier was going to be elite?).
And I'd rather have the player who wants to be here. Given Drysdale is 21 and Gauthier is 20 (and D-men tend to have longer careers), age is irrelevant.
They absolutely are.dumplings are sandwiches. As are chicken nuggets.
It's 2 years by age, not by games. The concerns around injury are valid and whether he can recover - but to say that he's stalled development (Drysdale) in terms of potential or progress is pretty disingenous.It’s almost two full years of age difference without significant progress. Hand-waving that is a fool’s errand.
That’s not to say he can’t recover. Nor am I the biggest Gauthier fan. We’re just talking about the probability.
But surely you understand that not every opportunity is equal. Sure, you can say look, Frost is getting games, Brink, Foerster, they are all getting games and time, but it doesn't mean that their development is prioritized.Again, you’re doing exactly what I’m describing here — contorting the circumstances to fit our particular grievances as Flyers fans; in this case, Morgan Frost’s treatment in the lineup.
Trevor Zegras (9th overall, 2019) and Mason McTavish (3rd overall, 2021) are totally different players and situations than Morgan Frost (27th overall, 2017). Much, much better players, at that. And they proved it and forced their roles in the Ducks’ lineup right off the bat. Why not cite Sam Steel (30th overall, 2016) who flamed out in Anaheim?
The Flyers afforded every opportunity to their top-of-the-draft prospects (eg, Provorov, Patrick). Konecny hasn’t exactly been put in a position to fail, either. Of course there are frustrations you can point to (valid ones!), but there are plenty of kids getting their opportunities. Notwithstanding the odd lineup decision here and there, Foerster & Brink are not exactly being starved for opportunity. Gauthier almost certainly would have been gifted a major opportunity on the Flyers before proving that he’s earned it (and that would have been the proper decision). Michkov will be too.
Or when they didn’t do it in March, he decided to go back.Briere saying on the Jeff Marek Show that Gauthier had wanted to return to college. When his agent requested a Zoom call post-Worlds, they expected it was for him to be changing his mind and saying he was ready to go pro.
So that makes the timeline even more confusing. If, March-ish (post-BC season, pre-Worlds), Gauthier wasn't even looking to go pro, could deliberation over an ELC/burning a year/cap overages really have been the cause for him to change his mind by May?
At least 2 other teams had serious offers.
I said more risk.It’s almost two full years of age difference without significant progress. Plus a wildly different contract dynamic. Hand-waving that is a fool’s errand.
That’s not to say he can’t recover. Nor am I the biggest Gauthier fan. We’re just talking about the probability.
It's 2 years by age, not by games. The concerns around injury are valid and whether he can recover - but to say that he's stalled development in terms of potential or progress is pretty disingenous.
If Gauthier was worried about usage under Torts, it would only be b/c he knew he'd be pushed to be defensively responsible - if he wanted to go to a team where he could stat pad for his next contract Anaheim is probably a better place. But in that case why would you want him? As a top draft pick with obvious talent, he would have played regularly in the top 9 unless he simply ignored his defensive responsibilities, like back checking.But surely you understand that not every opportunity is equal. Sure, you can say look, Frost is getting games, Brink, Foerster, they are all getting games and time, but it doesn't mean that their development is prioritized.
Last year, the GM had to tell the coach to play Frost with offensive players because he refused to. This is when they didn't have a 1C. When he finally did, Frost went on a 60 point pace over the last 50 games. Then, 2 games into the season this year, he was benched for 2 or 3 straight weeks. It got so unusual that the national media picked up on it (You think Cutter saw that?). Anytime the team isn't playing well, Frost is the one who gets benched. And yet, his underlying metrics are phenomenal; he's tilting the ice in the flyers favor every time he steps on the ice. I do recognize he's underperforming in the raw points totals and I would love for him to have 4 or 5 more points right now because I think he's capable of it, but still he's proven that he's a legitimate NHL center with top-6 upside.
Bobby Brink, who has been very good offensively, is getting put on the 4th line. Scott Laughton is currently seeing power play time over Brink, an area where Brink has shined his entire career. His average icetime has dropped somewhat consistently from about 15 to about 13 min/game.
I could continue (and have in other threads), but I'll just stop there.
My point being that these are not contorted circumstances. These are real grievances. Development isn't just put them out there, and if they are good enough, they will succeed. It's about putting them in a position to be successful.