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i don’t know if i ever told you this story but when joe (fucking) carter hit that home run i was watching at my friend’s house with a bunch of people and i don’t know what happened but one second i was watching the game and then that happened and the next second everybody was gone, all the food was put away, and i was still sitting in the same spot. i have no idea what happened there for that period of time.
Similar deal with me… nice to see I wasn’t the only one.
When the Flyers have been a relevant contender, the blueline usually was built thru draft picks and savvy trades. I’ll start with ’96-’97 blueline- Desjardins (trade), Therien (draft pick), Niinimaa (draft pick), Svoboda (trade), Dykhuis (trade), Coffey (trade), Samuelsson (free agent signing). ’10-’11 blueline – Kimmo (trade), Coburn (trade), Pronger (trade), Carle (trade), Meszaros (trade), O’Donnell (free agent signing).
There are plenty of lean years with brutal bluelines, no doubt. However, building a top tier blueline can be built thru using all assets available to the GM. It is up to the GM not to over value his talent level found within the organization during his tenure. At the present time even with every Dman healthy currently in the organization, this blueline cannot be built into a top tier level. It is not all bad, but needs upgrades. It will be imperative for Briere to be savvy in the trade market. With the cap rising, the free agent market will have very few difference making options over the next few summers.
Indeed, it can be. But…
Other than the trade for Niskanen (oddly enough, a Fletcher move), when was the last time a Flyers GM pulled off a move that actually improved the blue line? It’s been well over a decade, and to this point, the only significant moves Briere has made is salary cap dumps for very late first round picks.
Always love how these writers throw the “rebuilding” word in every article. There was and never has been a rebuild. This guy in every paragraph talks about the “rebuild”. Must be on the payroll
Anyway. No, they don’t have the players to fix the defense. Even healthy it is a bottom 10 unit easily. They have no real help anytime soon outside of bonk and who knows how far away before he can help. Any real help will have to come via a trade. Which means you will have to give to get. Danny doesn’t seem inclined yet to do that as he “loves” his team. Who is even available at this stage that can help now and in the future. Then who do the flyers have with value that they will move?
Right now, the flyers have 2 guys they can move forward with on D (maybe 3 if you want to include JD) if they want to contend at some point. The rest are fodder. Maybe Andrae can be a 3rd pair guy. Either way they have a lot to do in terms of addressing and fixing the defense. Then add in Sanheim will continue to age and his play will start to naturally drop. Pretty bleak on the blueline to me. Which tells me they will overpay in free agency for secondary pieces who they will prop up as top end pieces. Like Trouba.
He really didn’t offer any solutions to fix the problem.
The solution is the same solution they’ve used for years… overspend on free agents and kick the can down the road another year or two. And with nothing of quality in the system, it’s pretty much the only path they can take.
What I also like is constantly seeing when Ristolainen is healthy, that seemingly changes everything. At this point in his career, he’s a bottom-pairing defenseman (and that’s only if his body doesn’t have its annual breakdown), yet his name is spoken in such reverent tones, you’d think he was destined for the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Yes, you are correct. I keep getting the reason for his college ineligibility wrong. Good catch. I’m just glad Martone can play in college this year.
Sadly, this egregious lack of vision (and the reason behind it) seems to go unnoticed by a rather large portion of the fan base.
The Jett hype is turning into vaporware. First last year and now this year. Every time he hit the NHL ice in 2024 he made the brain trust look bad but if he doesn’t play all you have is the hype. The main purpose seems to be DB and Jonesy patting themselves on the back. Play the kid or send him back. He can’t go the college route? It’s your own damn fault for trying to force him onto the roster last year.
ND should never play against Greb or Jett if they are available. This old school crap from a franchise that hasn’t been relevant in 15 years and needs to develop these kids is ridiculous.
At least in Tocchet they have a coach that hasn’t quit on his team in the middle of the season or abused his players. Sadly that’s a low bar to clear from DB’s best bud who he still preferred over Tocchet.
Maybe just maybe the Flyers should stop trying to shoehorn a piss poor team into the playoffs and start a rebuild?
Not sure how it works, but wasn’t he ineligible for college a week after the draft when, in a panic move after the Gauthier fiasco, Briere signed him to his ELC?
Flyers GMs seem to have a thing for compounding their mistakes.
jake is/was a loser. every wonder why no contending teams never had any interest in him despite the numbers he put up?
there is no plan, no path to contention, nothing but hope and luck.
Nothing but “the Flyers way.”
there was never a rebuild therefore the flyers “had” to keep him. key core player. true flyer.
this is just another wasted year spinning their wheels. until the dumb ass flyers fans wake up and stop going to the games, nothing will change
Said this about the Voracek extension a decade ago. Not that I had a problem with the player, but we were fed the rebuild line at that time as well, and he seemed like an unneeded luxury that could have brought a decent return to help that supposed rebuild along.
Funny thing… the “culture” is there. Problem is, it’s a culture of questionable decisions that really never play out in the Flyers favor.
Congrats to Bob for the win last night and i hope he has another great season. Rarely has the shortsightedness of the Flyers over time been shown so clearly. We are here almost 15 years later and has anything really changed for the Flyers? Is the team in front of the goalie any better? There is no hope of stabilizing the Flyers defense short of trading for a #1 dman because they sure as hell aren’t trying to draft one. The Flyers defense is “thin” even when healthy.
ND really made a difference out there last night playing the least amount of minutes of all skaters. He fought how many times? The Flyers much hyped “rookie” in his second year of making the big club learned a lot from the press box about how not to fight i guess from ND. ND looking ok in 1 preseason game almost a month ago was really the right take away from the preseason.
This isn’t a knock on ND. He is who he is and is performing as expected, at least outside the Flyers brain trust. If the Flyers had no better options on the bench and it wasn’t a rebuilding year then i would get it but if Jett isn’t a better option than a mid 30s slow footed over the hill fighter, what is he doing on the team? He’s had more games in the press box than on the ice over the last 2 years.
But i guess the rebuild is over, they are in the mix for the playoffs and are going to fight their way in.
Another flat start (or so I read)… guys not bothering to show up until late in the second period. Gee, where have we heard that before?
It does feel like the Flyers plan, if you can call it that, is to keep doing this. The Flyers are pinning their hopes on a franchise center and a franchise dman hitting UFA and then being able to outbid everyone for them.
It’s why I hold little to no hope this franchise will ever progress… just doesn’t seem like there’s anyone in the organizaiton in touch with reality.
I blame Lavi more for the way he handled Bob which brought about the crisis. Snider never looked beyond the current season and it never mattered until the salary cap. For better or worse the Flyers were always in the mix for every free agent. Snider was just being himself given how Lavi handled the goalies the previous year. The move was bold even for Snider though with that 9 year contract but old rich guys near the end tend to ignore any and all red flags to get what they want.
Sadly, the Flyers still have yet to accept the reality that is the salary cap, and current state of free agency where top-end talent rarely (if ever) makes it to the market.
Even over 13 years later, the Flyers are feeling the double whammy of it all. First, Bobrovsky is chasing his third consecutive championship ring with the Florida Panthers. Second, Bryzgalov is still receiving checks from Philadelphia to not play for their team—the buyout penalty runs through 2027. Finally, last season, the Flyers posted the NHL’s worst team save percentage of the 21st century: .879, according to QuantHockey.
Who do you blame more, Snider or Laviolette?
What’s funny is DB was on the roster for the trade and he is the lead architect of NHL’s worst team save percentage of the 21st century. I guess the Flyers aren’t just setting records with their league worst power play. I hope DB puts both accomplishments on his resume.
While Ed Snider went full Jerry Jones, both he and Laviolette deserve blame as both made panic moves that led to Bobrovsky wanting out.
https://x.com/justingiam/status/1975970406067757490
There’s ugly, then there’s this.
After Shesterkin, who is absolutely better than either Flyer goalie, Fox and Gavrikov on D and Penarin, they have nothing. Literally nothing. They can’t draft. It’s killing them.
Seeing a lot of the pundits have a three-way battle between the Flyers, Penguins, and Rangers as to who finished at the bottom of the Metro.
ohhhh. i googled vonzipper and just came up with a company that makes sunglasses and i knew that wasn’t it! 🤣
Been meaning to ask… are you the KickSave from back in the old Philly.com days?
