GM Chuck Fletcher

[Ghosts Beer]

I care bc I hate not watching playoff hockey although I am getting used to it. But 100% agree I just want to have fun watching games again. This team has a lot of dynamic players. It should be fun. This isn’t just boring, it’s frustrating and enfuriating to watch.

Who are dynamic? Giroux, Konecny, Voracek, and Ghost? And even some of those are stretching it. This team does not have much in the way of dynamism.

 

[Beef Invictus]

It takes two to tango. Also need a proper dance partner. Fans are generally fairly naive when it comes to understanding that.

Nah, you only need one person. Fletcher. He says "you are fired" and then Hakstol is fired. Hak doesn't really get to have a say.

 

[Striiker]

People suggesting this team lacks talent are the ones who lack hockey knowledge.

But we already knew that.

 

[Prongo]

Always come back to that stupid saying. Bad teams blame the best players. Like the bad fans. Blame the people running the team not the guys out there putting up excellent numbers for their usage.

 

[Domino666]

You missed the question.


Under Babcock, JVR turned into a really effective player who went to the hard areas for goals. Under Hakstol, JVR is once again a perimeter floater. He has regressed massively, as have numerous other players. With that stark reality in mind, what is your judgement of Hakstol's usage of these players? Do you think it is ideal?

Dawg it’s the players ONLY, well except Hexy it’s all his fault too

 

[TheKingPin]

Who are dynamic? Giroux, Konecny, Voracek, and Ghost? And even some of those are stretching it. This team does not have much in the way of dynamism.

Well yes they are dynamic. So is Lindblom and Patrick with Lindblom. And Provy and Sanheim. The coach has drained the creativity and effectiveness from the team.

I don't know how they could possibly make the playoffs with their current state of goaltending. And it's not the coach making the goalies bad.

How is it not? You play amac so much and he directly leads to goals. According to Appleyard and the facts he does that to an elite level. That’s coaching. So is poor system that leads to turnovers. So is playing a goalie until their hip breaks. We don’t have to win games 2-1. We can still win them 4-3 or 6-5. And like I said, take a look at the schedule. A lot of the hard matchups have been played.

 

[Adam Warlock]

EKLUND now reporting Quenneville to the Flyers is happening.

I guess it's not happening.

He just makes educated guesses. It obviously makes sense that Hak will be fired today or tomorrow, and it has been widely speculated that the Flyers are after Q. So he can put that out there knowing there's a good chance itll play out that way and he can take credit for it. If not, he brushes it off.

 

[Toonces]

He just makes educated guesses. It obviously makes sense that Hak will be fired today or tomorrow, and it has been widely speculated that the Flyers are after Q. So he can put that out there knowing there's a good chance itll play out that way and he can take credit for it. If not, he brushes it off.

Eklund is still a thing???

I missed the good comedy from him on these boards

 

[Adam Warlock]

Eklund is still a thing???

I missed the good comedy from him on these boards

It is funny. He got the forsberg signing right like 13 years ago and has been riding that wave ever since. I cant recall another story he successfully broke in that time frame.

 

[baudib1]

The Flyers still have Cup equity.

This is a playoff calibre roster. It was a playoff team last year while Hakstol pissed away 8-12 points during the year with his ridiculous strategy, roster management and ludicrous matchups (remember Filp on Crosby, Lehtera on Barzal?). By all rights, it should be much improved this year -- the young nucleus should be improving not regressing. Get any half-intelligent person behind the bench and make all the obvious moves and we'll be fine.

 

[Beef Invictus]

It is funny. He got the forsberg signing right like 13 years ago and has been riding that wave ever since. I cant recall another story he successfully broke in that time frame.

Pretty sure Timmeh was his "in" with the NHL. So, that explains the dreadful accuracy rate.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

Well yes they are dynamic. So is Lindblom and Patrick with Lindblom. And Provy and Sanheim. The coach has drained the creativity and effectiveness from the team.

You have a much different definition of “dynamic” than I do. Patrick & Lindblom look like they’re skating in mud compared to most of the league. Both had lengthy chances to play together on the 2nd line with the team’s 2nd best scorer, and except for a couple games the line stunk as a 2nd line. I don’t consider Provorov dynamic either; he’s not particularly fast & he stinks on the PP. Sanheim shows flashes of dynamic ability, but they’ve been few & far between.

 

[duffy9748]

The team has talented players, they just need to add 1 or 2 top end skaters and a goalie to become an elite team.

It’s still early enough to make a run, but it’s getting close to the point where Fletcher should sell Simmonds, Gudas, Raffl, etc. at the deadline. Also try to shed one of MacDonald or Weise to open up some more cap space and a roster spot. Hopefully they’re both off the team next year.

No one expected it, but another top 14 pick this year could pay huge dividends immediately. It’s likely the pick would be available and is a very valuable asset. You could also just keep the pick and move other prospects/picks.

I think it’s wise to just wait on trading for any goalie with term right now. I do like Quick, but there’s no sense in making that deal until the summer. Let’s see if he can remain healthy for the next couple of months first. There will be other options out there in June/July if he’s moved elsewhere. He could be a great bridge to Hart though if he was able to stay healthy. I could see Hart being beneficial for Quick long term as well. It would allow him to rest during the regular season. It’d be interesting to see how long it takes for Hart to take over the starting role.

The rosters aren’t really comparable, but this upcoming trade deadline/offseason could be very reminiscent of 2007. That team went from the bottom of the standings to the final four and added Biron, Coburn, Upshall, Briere, Timonen, Hartnell, Lupul, and Smith all in a span of 4-5 months. Fletcher has a lot more in place already and way more resources at his disposal than Holmgren did that year.

 

[Adam Warlock]

One thing that Fletcher said at his presser which I liked is that he makes himself available. He said the players and press get sick of him because he is always around. I like that in a GM, one who isnt afraid to address the shortcomings of the team as they happen (Hextall was a coward about it).

Needless to say I am disappointed to read he was not available for comment after the game.

I get the professionalism aspect. Theyre traveling today and I am sure if theyre gonna fire him they want to do it properly and blah blah. But this has gotten so unprecedentedly bad they need to forgo the kindness here. This man has destroyed a franchise, the fans are sick of him, and something needs to be said ASAP. Just send a simple press release saying hes gone. Give us peace of mind!

 

[Redpath]

If Quenneville is coming I've got to wonder if we go with an interim briefly. Q likely calls the shots and I can't imagine wanting to start a new gig immediately before Christmas

 

[Euforic]

For Philly, the season is over.... Make a change behind the bench.... and we'll see, how that workin

 

[Danko]

For Philly, the season is over.... Make a change behind the bench.... and we'll see, how that workin

Lot of games left to play.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

One thing that Fletcher said at his presser which I liked is that he makes himself available. He said the players and press get sick of him because he is always around. I like that in a GM, one who isnt afraid to address the shortcomings of the team as they happen (Hextall was a coward about it).

Needless to say I am disappointed to read he was not available for comment after the game.

I get the professionalism aspect. Theyre traveling today and I am sure if theyre gonna fire him they want to do it properly and blah blah. But this has gotten so unprecedentedly bad they need to forgo the kindness here. This man has destroyed a franchise, the fans are sick of him, and something needs to be said ASAP. Just send a simple press release saying hes gone. Give us peace of mind!

Can’t blame Fletcher for being unavailable to the press last night. Obviously every question is going to be about Hakstol, & it seems pretty likely he’s getting fired. So either Fletcher tells the truth, & it’s all over the media before they get home & before he can even talk to Hakstol, or he lies to the media & does an about face the next day.

 

[Adam Warlock]

Can’t blame Fletcher for being unavailable to the press last night. Obviously every question is going to be about Hakstol, & it seems pretty likely he’s getting fired. So either Fletcher tells the truth, & it’s all over the media before they get home & before he can even talk to Hakstol, or he lies to the media & does an about face the next day.

That is my point. He should have forgone formality and basically given the fans a something to hang their hats on. Say something like, "We are disappointed in the road trip and will be making decisions in the coming days to help right the ship of this franchise".

Hakstol deserves zero respect. The guy gets a chance and the asshole puts out the worst possible line up he can think of. Either he was being spiteful or he really is that dumb and thought he was coaching well. Either way he doesnt deserve the courtesy of a proper firing. Finding out from Fletcher in the media is just fine by me.

Bottom line is everyone knows fans are frantically refreshing twitter all day today waiting for the news. Giving us nothing is just cruel.

 

[Euforic]

Lot of games left to play.

It makes no sense, without the quality on ice and behind the bench reachin the playoffs and retire in the 1st rnd, just ya can say.... Yeeeah, we reachin the playoffs..

 

[renberg]

I think that the coaching change will be made tonight and announced tomorrow morning. The trip out west bought TPTB some time to do some further evaluation. However the current clown car blew its engine before the road trip. The Flyers can't put this bunch back on the ice for Tuesday night's game with the Wings. Hardly anyone would show up to attend the game and a lot of them would be wearing bags over their heads and booing heavily. It would be the most embarrassing moment in the history of the franchise.
The Flyers have around 17 games in a month coming at them. If they go on a winning streak right now, they have a shot of wiggling back into the PO hunt. A change behind the bench and some roster moves and they might be able to get it going. Its my sense that Scott, Holmgren and Fletcher understand that this is the breaking point of the season.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

It takes two to tango. Also need a proper dance partner. Fans are generally fairly naive when it comes to understanding that.

Right, fans on here are naive about the fact that a coach needs to want to come to a new job lol

 

[magnumpi]

I think that the coaching change will be made tonight and announced tomorrow morning. The trip out west bought TPTB some time to do some further evaluation. However the current clown car blew its engine before the road trip. The Flyers can't put this bunch back on the ice for Tuesday night's game with the Wings. Hardly anyone would show up to attend the game and a lot of them would be wearing bags over their heads and booing heavily. It would be the most embarrassing moment in the history of the franchise.
The Flyers have around 17 games in a month coming at them. If they go on a winning streak right now, they have a shot of wiggling back into the PO hunt. A change behind the bench and some roster moves and they might be able to get it going. Its my sense that Scott, Holmgren and Fletcher understand that this is the breaking point of the season.

rather it be the break
and just begin preparing for next season.

If they were smart they could field a good team next season.

Worst case scenario will be several quick fixes that lead to a best case scenario of losing to Washington in the first round.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

Hakstol deserves zero respect. T

You’re letting your personal hatred of Hakstol get in the way. If you’re general manager of a huge organization, you don’t treat your employees like that.

Saying to the press, “We’re disappointed & will be making a decision on that” is the same thing as saying “we’re firing him, just haven’t made it official yet.”

There’s nothing wrong with not speaking to the press for a day or two. Fans are just bloodthirsty for any anti-Hakstol news.

 

[deadhead]

This team isn't that talented, that's a myth, since 2012-13 the core players have aged out of their prime years (Giroux can still score, but he's not a 1C anymore, can't match up against top centers like Couts), and the young players are, well, young, and none are elite. Couts and Ghost are the only players in their peak years. The team is more talented than it's been since 2011-12, but not nearly talented enough to overcome putrid goaltenders.

And the goalies have been putrid since last January.

There is some talent, there is more on the way, but they're still a marginal playoff team with average to below average goal tending, and a 85 point team with bad goal tending.

A miracle coach isn't going to turn this around, he may get a bounce back, but Berube did following Lavi, and Hakstol did following Berube - what we want is sustained success. And that requires reshaping the roster and working in the talent that's coming up through the system the next three years.

Fill out and revamp the roster, improve the goal tending, and the right coach could contend for a Cup by 2021-22. If it's done right, they should improve every season from marginal playoff team, to solid playoff team to SC favorite.