The Ended Flyers Thread

[zambonir]

Well, he is not tanking, in any way. In fact, he is probably going to have to give away more future picks or a young player in order to move JVR or someone else. Then they will use that cap space to sign a free agent (Gaudreau being the fantasy).

I don't think this is a bad move in and of itself, Lindblom only had one year left on his deal anyway. But the need for the cap space has been created by using it poorly on other players (including D'Angelo).

[Aquapong]

I didn’t think Lindblom was playing all that well and from a purely sports standpoint, his good will from his cancer battle was over. While it’s minor cap savings may allow us to sign someone else and his roster spot can hopefully go to a prospect.

[bkeich]

Well, he is not tanking, in any way

Just because he doesnt think he is tanking doesnt mean he isnt doing it accidentally. We have one of the worst teams in the league, a team that was at or near the bottom of the standings when the injuries hit (Coots, etc.), traded away our best and franchise player and now we are signing a defenseman that can't play defense and is a locker room cancer who is just as likely to fight his teammates as he is the opponents.

Just because he thinks he is re-tooling (laughable) doesnt mean he isnt tanking without knowing it. There is basically no chance this team makes the playoffs, there is nothing to indicate that they have improved that much and we are mortgaging parts of the future to maintain this level of terrible.

This reminds me of the movie Major League where the owner was doing everything she could to lose.

[zambonir]

Well, yeah. He should be doing it on purpose. But you can't expect him to see it your way, and Comcast doesn't either. Plus of course when his moves fail, he'll be gone, and it will be left to some other GM to trade away Couts and whatever is left of Hayes and Ellis.

I'm not prepared to say they can't make the playoffs. But far too much has to go well for it to happen, in addition to adding one big-ticket forward still.

[bkeich]

I'm not prepared to say they can't make the playoffs.

On the upside, that means you will have hope further into the season and enjoy what is going on. Not bad, sadly I think I will be looking at this like I did the Phillies in the mid-teens, there really just isnt any hope. Hope I am wrong, feel free to laugh at me if I am, I hope you get to.

[Dirk41]

Going to compete just enough to not get the first pick and in next year's draft, this is inexcusable

[zambonir]

Heh, well, I consider myself a pretty big hockey fan but other than maybe seeing one game in person and a few on TV I still don't really pay attention to the NHL between the baseball playoffs and the college football playoffs. So they'll either be something by then or it will already be over.

The health of the players and the questions about both Risto and D'Angelo are the two big x factors to me. But I don't think the team will be as bad as it was last year. And I do think Torts will have a short-term impact. I see them as being more like the 2018 or even current Phillies.

And that's not good - the fencesitting results in neither championships nor high draft picks. But it won't be unwatchable. And it is what the owner wants.

[Florida_Sunshine]

I’m trying to figure out what you are calling three high draft picks? And then I’m trying to figure out why you would want to use a roster spot on a guy that is a shell of himself. And money that could be used for an asset? And how the Flyers are doing him wrong? And then why you think it would have been a smart move to pick up DeAngelo prior to this past season when he established his value on a cheap deal with the Canes. I am honestly not following your conclusions.

[bkeich]

Well, they traded 3 picks for him, a 2nd, 3rd and 4th (different years). The point of saying they could have had him for nothing was the widely reported thought that they overpaid in the trade, I believe that is the universal opinion. Deangelo is a guy you pick up to get you over the hump, not a guy to build around as he is a FA before this team will be competitive. It also seems really stupid to pick up an extreme low character guy on a team in leadership transition. On a strong locker room team his brainless actions can be compensated for, here it is going to be a huge problem and I wouldn't be surprised if we don't do what the Rangers were forced to do (cut bait).

Actually, there is nothing to like about this trade, we have a good offense, no defense defenseman that we gave up way too much to get, if that made sense they could have kept Ghost and we would have a slew of picks still that we don't now.

[zambonir]

There is certainly nobody who likes the Flyers moves in the media (Broad Street Hockey, Athletic, Inquirer). And I don't either. I'm just resigned to the organizational direction.

[Aquapong]

Ottawa supposedly the front runners for Giroux. Interesting choice. I guess he wants to go home.

[flyers19rw]

TDA has been a jerk and a bad teammate in the past. However last year in Carolina, he seemed to be able to tame down his antics. He's a RHD with offensive talent. Philly had a need for a player such as him and so do many other clubs. Ellis is probably through so the need here is more glaring. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th round picks are the cost of doing business. Keep in mind that the club has an extra 3rd and 4th in next year's draft from the Rags (Braun) and Edmonton (Brassard). Whether or not the trade works will totally depend on TDA's ability to keep his act together and Tortorello's being able to keep him on course. It's only a two year deal for TDA. If he screws up, he'll be gone with a relatively manageable cost to the club.

[Aquapong]

I suppose Fletcher is trying to find a team to drop JVR on so he can go after Gaudreau. I saw one press talking head say the Flyers are the top choice for Johnny, but cap space is in the way.

Personally, I’d rather dabble in the second tier of Palat, Burakovsky, etc if we ditch JVR. We have enough long term guys…we need some kids to step up.

[zambonir]

I'm just not sure D'Angelo actually does help the Flyers fill a need, or is really good. He thrived in Carolina paired with a top defensive defenseman. The Flyers don't have one of those (and have also overpaid to retain a poor one). Also, Carolina has a real whiff of being the Tampa Rays of hockey - if they decide to move on from someone it's not just because they're cheap.

Yes, he'll take some of Ellis's minutes (and cap space) but he's also not Ellis (unfortunately neither is Ellis anymore).

Chuck Fletcher’s offseason moves are setting the Flyers franchise back

So, in total over the past 12 months of offseason trades, Fletcher traded a first-round pick (14th overall), three second-round picks, a third-round pick, and a fourth-round pick, for three right-handed defensemen: Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Tony DeAngelo. Ellis ($6.25 M), Ristolainen ($5.1 M), and DeAngelo ($5 M) combine to make $16.35 million, or 19.9% of the salary cap.

[bigegypt0417]

Sounds like it's the Islanders or the Flyers...

Gaudreau says goodbye to Flames; one insider says Flyers are his 'top choice'

[zambonir]

The Devils too, according to that story.

His friendship with Hayes might be a better chip than it being his hometown team.

I'll say this, if they're not rebuilding they may as well go all-in, which, maybe it works (long shot though that might be). And if not, the rebuild happens anyway, because they will be drafting high and desperate to unload old players (or stuck with them).

[Aquapong]

Gaudreau allegedly turned down 7 years at $10 mil per year from the Devils.

In other news, the next Flyers captain speculation can officially begin. I imagine odds are it’s Coots.

[zambonir]

TSN confirms that the Johnny Gaudreau sweepstakes are down to the #NJDevils and #NYIslanders .

— Kyle Cannillo ( @KyleCannillo ) July 13, 2022

(Not a primary source)

[zambonir]

Some tweets suggesting it is Isles for sure, in part because the Flyers can't offload JVR (teams asking for a first-round pick).

[bigegypt0417]

This team is impossible to root for.

https://twitter.com/ARHockeyStats/status/1547287529728122883?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet