Season predictions, how bad will it get?

[Gregor Samsa]

How many teams are worse on paper than the Flyers? They should be picking in the top 5 unless a younger player or two really break out way passed hopeful expectations, which wouldn’t be the worse thing in world, but won’t happen

 

[trostol]

Tank for Celebrimbor or whatever his name is

The elf smith? Not sure even he would help

 

[blackjackmulligan]

i feel like laughton only gets traded if they plan on shipping all of the older core out, hes too much a part of the team and even at his worst would be one of the best 4th line players in the league, the teams struggles have never been caused by scott laughton. and I think thats always been the plan for laughton, hes played played all the way up the lineup and by the time hes done playing he'll still be an effective player who can shoot. let him retire here because the return will never be worth the loss from a purely human perspective and I know people hate decisions based on silly things like feelings but sometimes you do that for guys that have done everything youve asked for a decade+ maybe im a crazy liberal though but this is how I see the laughton situation. if you move laughton i bet people demand trades thats how important he is.

no offense that is laughable. He is important to show how to continue the losing ways.

 

[bennysflyers16]

Hot Rod being extended is like 99% happening.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

We never can know the influence a player has in the locker room, but unless Laughton is the Julius Caesar of leading the team, which the results make me doubt, he should absolutely be expendable. He is the type of versatile player that a winning team would love, which isn’t the Flyers. Given his age when the Flyers are aiming to be competitive, best to get a 1st for him and give him a chance of winning in his prime

 

[deadhead]

I think Briere will wait and see what happens with Foerster and Brink, if they both play well, Laughton is history, if both fall on their faces, he'll wait until summer to deal him. With Gauthier coming next year, it'll get crowded in the top 9.

 

[Philly Fanatik]

Hope the Flyers win the Skunk Trophy this year and draft between #1 - #3 overall…
Trade Atkinson,Laughton,Hart, Konecny and see if Couturier wants to vamoose as well!
Hit on the draft picks from that haul and hopefully…yes hopefully we can brick by brick it back to respectability.

 

[blackjackmulligan]

I think Briere will wait and see what happens with Foerster and Brink, if they both play well, Laughton is history, if both fall on their faces, he'll wait until summer to deal him. With Gauthier coming next year, it'll get crowded in the top 9.

if they both play well more inclined to keep him as they will "close" to contending with scotty on board.

He should be expendable regardless how they play

 

[Flyerfan4life]

Hope the Flyers win the Skunk Trophy this year and draft between #1 - #3 overall…
Trade Atkinson,Laughton,Hart, Konecny and see if Couturier wants to vamoose as well!
Hit on the draft picks from that haul and hopefully…yes hopefully we can brick by brick it back to respectability.

your forgetting the real fix... and it begins in the offices.

until every person thats part of the old bois regime is gone, no nhl players can right this ship

 

[TheKingPin]

This will win too many games with Couts and Hart here.

 

[Tripod]

We are going to be great.

Added Couts and Atkinson to the top 9.
Plus have the young legs of Brink and Foerster.
And now the best 4th line in hockey.
Plus an on ice coach in Staal.

100+ point team if Torts ices 2 F in OT.

 

[tnfrs]

me anytime the flyers front office does anything

 

[trostol]

NHL season preview: Power Rankings, best- and worst-case scenarios for all 32 teams

Will Vegas win it all again? Which are the top teams in the East? Get all of the key intel you need on every club.

www.espn.com

 

[BernieParent]

My bold prediction is that the Flyers finish 6th worst but draft 7th. They still get a solid but not top-pairing RHD, and they reach with the Florida pick (24th) for a centre. Konecny and Frost struggle with injuries. Hart is cleared of the Team Canada scandal but has a mediocre season and a .903 SV%. Hathaway is moved at the TDL for a 2nd and Walker goes for a 3rd, but none of the big names are traded.

 

[freakydallas13]

My bold prediction is that the Flyers finish 6th worst but draft 7th. They still get a solid but not top-pairing RHD, and they reach with the Florida pick (24th) for a centre. Konecny and Frost struggle with injuries. Hart is cleared of the Team Canada scandal but has a mediocre season and a .903 SV%. Hathaway is moved at the TDL for a 2nd and Walker goes for a 3rd, but none of the big names are traded.

Can't wait until 7 years from now, when the second round pick we got for Hathaway is being sent back the the AHL in his D+4 season because the team won't take a 36 year old Laughton off the 4th line.

 

[Flyerfan4life]

Can't wait until 7 years from now, when the second round pick we got for Hathaway is being sent back the the AHL in his D+4 season because the team won't take a 36 year old Laughton off the 4th line.

forever 3 years away from 3 years away...

 

[DutchDennis]

They'll surprise us, wheter positive or negative. but they'll surprise us.!

 

[blackjackmulligan]

We are going to be great.

Added Couts and Atkinson to the top 9.
Plus have the young legs of Brink and Foerster.
And now the best 4th line in hockey.
Plus an on ice coach in Staal.

100+ point team if Torts ices 2 F in OT.

this is def how they view tings to a certain extent.

 

[Danko]

They are going to have a good start. Then they are going to hit a wall and tire out and then suck pretty much the rest of the way until the allstar break, then turn it back on.

 

[deadhead]

We are going to be great.

Added Couts and Atkinson to the top 9.
Plus have the young legs of Brink and Foerster.
And now the best 4th line in hockey.
Plus an on ice coach in Staal.

100+ point team if Torts ices 2 F in OT.

2015-16 CBJ - 76 points
2016-17 CBJ - 108 points
Now a lot of the improvement was Bob going from meh to all pro goalie, but some of that was Torts' emphasis on back checking and shot blocking.
2015-16: xGF/60: 2.52 (3), xGA/60: 2.42 (27), 214 - 231 (normalized for goalie %), ST -15
2016-17: xGF/60: 2.44 (3), xGF/60: 2.35 (22), 247 - 223 (normalized for goalie %), ST +11

The "real" improvement (sustainable) was less than 32 points, the 2016-17 team was probably more of a 95 to 100 point team.
Bob would play better than before Torts but never that good again. Bob 38g .908 to 63g .931
They had better puck luck on offense as well.
Special teams (ST) improvement was primarily a much better PK and cutting back on SH goals allowed on the PP.

Only FA addition of merit was Gagner, who stunk out the joint the previous season in Philly
Rookies:
Marcus Nutivara D (22) #189, was 6th D-man
Lukas Sedlak F (23), #158, 4th line
Werenski D (19), #8 top 4 D-man
Anderson F (22) #95, 3rd line
Carlsson (20) #29 - started in playoffs

Weenberg (22) C #14, 40 to 59 points
Saad LW (24) #43, same points but 31 to 24 goals
Jenner (23) C #37, 49 to 34 points
Karlsson (24) C #53 20 to 25 points, -9 to +10
Savard (26), #94, -7 to +33

Only older veterans were Foligno (29), Dubinsky (30), Hartnell (34), J Johnson (30).
Only top ten picks were Werenski (8), Murray (2) and Seth Jones (4), obtained in a trade

Is he going to perform a similar miracle here?
Nah, but I expect a team near the top in xGF/60, a better PK, improved goalie play, and some young players getting bigger roles.

 

[renberg]

This club will be bad-third to fourth worst in the league. The fatal flaw is the defense. It's comprised of rookies, second pair players and stiffs. No amount of bandaids is going to cover that mess.
Then there are the issues in the goal. Hart doesn't make it for me. He plays well enough to lose close games or else get blown out. Sure the guys in front of him on defense aren't the best but he has flaws that show way too often. Softies and mishandled pucks haunt his game way too often. It's probably why Torts likes Ersson so much. By the end of the season Ersson and Sandstrom could be the goaltending tandem.
If this club is serious about doing a rebuild, when players start to show good performance, they should be moved out. Clubs that see themselves in contention could use an Atkinson, TK, Hart or a Laughton. They will come calling and Briere needs total advantage of that. (Can't see Couturier and Sanheim being dealt due to their contracts.) These deals will keep the Flyers from moving too high in the standings.

 

[deadhead]

I don't think they can sniff the bottom five without totally decimating the roster.
There are some terrible teams out there, Anaheim, San Jose, Arizona, Montreal, Chicago, even with Bedard . . .

It all comes down to young players, and you just don't know.

Brink took a couple seasons, but was the top scorer by a 7 point margin int he NCAA at 20 years old.
If he's for real, you have an elite playmaker on a top six line and the PP. If not, you have an undersized forward who lacks the speed to get back on defense and gets pushed around in the dirty areas.

Foerster is more depth in the top 9, a solid player but remains to be seen if he's more than that.

Andrae showed flashes, but is still adjusting to NHL speed and NA rinks. But like York, forget size, he plays with leverage, high IQ, and all around skill. But is he ready for top 4 duty?

Zamula has flashed, and now has a NHL body, has to take the next step and turn those flashes into consistent play. He has no special skill other than length and IQ, but that fits a lot of solid top 4 D-men, for every D-man with jets, there are two consistent guys who build ten year careers out of being in the right place. Is he one of those guys?

Cates, Frost, Tippett, Farabee - young enough to improve further, but that's no guarantee. They could regress, flatline or take a step up. Only Farabee has a track record.

Ersson - not as flashy as Hart, but seems to be more fundamentally sound. But he was bounced around last season and overworked in LHV, how good is he?

IF these players are for real, AND a couple players in LHV take a step forward, the rebuild will be accelerated with (2) 1st rd picks and Gauthier, Bonk and Michkov in the pipeline. They'll be on a 3 year schedule. If a bunch of these young players fall flat, then it's fire sale time and a five year schedule.

As usual, decisions are generally made by the players on the ice.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

28-45-9
Book it

 

[blackjackmulligan]

I don't think they can sniff the bottom five without totally decimating the roster.
There are some terrible teams out there, Anaheim, San Jose, Arizona, Montreal, Chicago, even with Bedard . . .

It all comes down to young players, and you just don't know.

Brink took a couple seasons, but was the top scorer by a 7 point margin int he NCAA at 20 years old.
If he's for real, you have an elite playmaker on a top six line and the PP. If not, you have an undersized forward who lacks the speed to get back on defense and gets pushed around in the dirty areas.

Foerster is more depth in the top 9, a solid player but remains to be seen if he's more than that.

Andrae showed flashes, but is still adjusting to NHL speed and NA rinks. But like York, forget size, he plays with leverage, high IQ, and all around skill. But is he ready for top 4 duty?

Zamula has flashed, and now has a NHL body, has to take the next step and turn those flashes into consistent play. He has no special skill other than length and IQ, but that fits a lot of solid top 4 D-men, for every D-man with jets, there are two consistent guys who build ten year careers out of being in the right place. Is he one of those guys?

Cates, Frost, Tippett, Farabee - young enough to improve further, but that's no guarantee. They could regress, flatline or take a step up. Only Farabee has a track record.

Ersson - not as flashy as Hart, but seems to be more fundamentally sound. But he was bounced around last season and overworked in LHV, how good is he?

IF these players are for real, AND a couple players in LHV take a step forward, the rebuild will be accelerated with (2) 1st rd picks and Gauthier, Bonk and Michkov in the pipeline. They'll be on a 3 year schedule. If a bunch of these young players fall flat, then it's fire sale time and a five year schedule.

As usual, decisions are generally made by the players on the ice.

How can you have any faith that this team can be turned into a cup contender at any point within the next 5 years?

I myself have zero. They are rudderless. Their really is no set plane imo at all. Just some buzzwords.
Their drafting, development, and management leave a lot to be desired.

Do they ever have any coaches or potential GM's being groomed for the NHL level that you have even a smidgen of confidence in at all?

But hey they have a flyers type 4th line.

 

[Chuck Downie]

Bad and Torts will hurt feelings