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82 game avg: 21 G, 49 P. Played 400+ NHL games. Seems like a good add. Team better today on paper than yesterday. A little surprising he was available.
Bunting is a reasonable one year add, especially under the circumstances.
Flyers sent Bump to the Phantoms.
It’s great to have some size and physicality on defense along with some good puck movers, but it’s too early to see who makes the cut. I’m looking forward to following Soko’s development. I’m not expecting him to become another Pronger or Chara at 6’7″, but having a tall rangy Defenseman that can shut things down would be a nice luxury.
Chara at 18, even 20 or 21, skated like a baby giraffe and was not good with the puck. Pronger had all the tools but some off ice issues early in his career. What will Sokolovskii (or Amico or Gill) become I don’t know. But big and athletic is a risk worth taking for a D man.
Bill, what are your thoughts on Dom Luszczyszyn and Scott Wheeler of the Athletic saying the Flyers contention window is already closed? Seems a bit harsh, but their reasoning echoes what many in the fan base have been saying about the lack of high end talent, especially down the middle.
I think the combo of being a relatively young team with a deep farm system, having cap space and a good stockpile of upcoming picks puts them closer to the middle.
It’s funny, it feels like this kid has been around forever but he actually just turned 20 like a week and a half ago, he’s so young. Very talented kid, too much pressure way too early. He’ll find his place and be an NHL’er at some point but it won’t be as a number one center like most people had hoped for, he was just never that good or he would’ve been drafted a lot higher than he was.
My forecast, with a few years, is a solid #3 center at 5-on-5. If he turns into a reasonable #2, that would be great. But top nine forward is my estimate. As you said, being drafted as high as he was — and making the opening NHL roster a month past his 18th birthday — kind of set him up to be a scapegoat. Way too soon for that.
It’s going to take him a few months to come back fully from the core muscle surgery. That’s the norm, and not the exception. Add into it the normal adjustments to the pro levels. I suspect a rather modest beginning to his first pro season, unfortunately.
Watching his podcast today was a gutpunch. I don’t know him at all but I feel like I do, from watching him almost daily. When he started talking about wanting to see the Flyers win before he leaves was almost too much. Fight hard Myrt.
Jason off-mic is exactly the same as he is on the program. Just himself.
“Two weeks ago, after my serious discussion with Jason, we took a few deep breaths and went into the program recording. If a viewer had no idea what Jason is going through, they’d never be able to tell. He shifted immediately. That’s because Jason is a pro’s pro.”—-
—As we say of the greatest of fighters; “That’s because he’s a HOCKEY PLAYER!”
I write this with the hope it is received as intended, but I have a personal anecdote regarding the cruel “C”, hockey, and humanity.
In 2012 my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer with bone mets. Obviously not great news. One of my best friends, Chris Becker, had worked in the Flyers sales department for many years and retained some great friendships. Upon hearing of mom’s plight, he remembered that her all-time favorite athlete was Mr. Bill Barber. After an untold number of calls and favors– mom got a call one afternoon. It was Bill Barber. He spent every bit of 15 -20 minutes chatting and laughing with her, not just a quick hello, a human conversation.
She was over the moon. Mr. Barber was gracious and kind and human, and my friend Chris showed why he is so important to me.I’ve barely had a handful of stat-related back-and-forth tweets with Jason, but he’s always been generous and friendly and notably knowledgeable. This note is my comical effort at returning the Flyers good Karma of Billy calling mom. So this is me wishing Jason well and telling him to keep fighting. And reporting, because we need him.
Godspeed good sir. Godspeed indeed.
Thank you for sharing this.
I think the Zegras side left some money on the table. He got paid four years out for the player he is right now, not the player with some upside I think he is. I don’t have a problem with a prove it deal based on past performance but the term is a year too long. A lot of guys are getting paid on potential and not results.
Even with the cap inflation, Zegras got a very good deal for himself. He wasn’t going to get the Aho deal, but he got more than 9 million and will still be in his prime when he’s a UFA. GOod deal for both sides.
