The New New Unending Flyers thread

[zambonir]

I think things really just came to a head with the quote, and he may or may not have known it was going to when he said it. Sometimes he really doesn't realize what he's saying of course.

But the other thing that changed is he's not ready to stop coaching. There was a lot of talk that this would be his last job as well as the talk that he'd just move into the Clarke role as an advisor when it was time to leave the bench, but this year he scofffed at those notions. Really, he knew he was a lame duck in his own head before anyone else did.

I'd say the timing was also deliberate with the baseball game but only Flyers die-hards care either way right now.

[Docs]

The new era is off to a hot start, michkov scores two minutes into the game flyers lead 1-0. They hired the wrong interim coach for the tank!

[bkeich]

The new era is off to a hot start, michkov scores two minutes into the game flyers lead 1-0. They hired the wrong interim coach for the tank!

I am available. Trust me, I have no idea to coach Hockey

[phillychuck]

3-1 Flyers after 1 period. Solid offensive effort. Now let's back off a bit...

[bigegypt0417]

Buffalo up 7-1 on the pens.

[phillychuck]

Flyers up 5-2 after Foerster scores and Couts on the PP after a failed challenge.

[Docs]

Will the biggest mistake in franchise history be bailing on the right coach for the tank with 9 games remaining? The only way to salvage this draft pick is to hire Nick Nurse for the last 8 games

[jimbomill]

Torts was a disaster, between him taking his player complaints to the media and his obvious disinterest in his job his failures greatly exceed any good he did

I can't disagree. I'm glad the 'experiment' with Torts is over.

[zambonir]

Haha. Most teams usually get a bump with a coaching change. But it doesn't matter that much if they finish 6th or 7th instead of 4th or 5th. No more than a percentage point drop each slot as far as the lottery, and the front office still has to get it right right not matter where they pick.The Sixers situation is very different, both in terms of their pick and in terms of their roster.

If the Flyers win a few more games but also see TK and Michkov and a few other guys (including the goaltenders) finish their season on a high note instead of in the toilet that's probably not a bad thing. Shaw is probably still going to be here next year too (just not as head coach).

The Sixers have had the "luxury" of truly having a ton of injured players. The Flyers are w/o Risto and benched York (for disciplinary reasons) last night. A few strategic omissions might still be called for. Can Cal Petersen play goal against the Sabres?

[VoteForKalas]

What is their issue with York? Did he do something off the ice or ?

[Austinfan]

It does matter in that there is a general consensus of a dropoff in talent tiers around pick 5-6.
But the real key will be picking well with all 8 picks in the top 70, this could be a franchise making draft if done right.

The extra 1st and 3rd in 2027 (and additional picks added in trade over the next year or so) will probably be used to package with a prospect or two to garner a key player or two.

[phillychuck]

According to rumors York aggressively confronted Tortorella after being benched in Toronto and "crossed the line." He will be back next game.

[zambonir]

Yeah I assumed it was still a lingering issue from the benching, but the coach is still the coach.

It does matter in that there is a general consensus of a dropoff in talent tiers around pick 5-6.

Yeah, but that's still just the general consensus. There doesn't seem to be a clear number 1 and in the long run whether a #7 pick works out better than a #5 is part luck and part good scouting and development too. I know 2017 is an extreme axample (especially for us) and also in some ways still proves your point, but #10 Tippett has turned out to be better than Patrick (even if he's not a star) and 5 turned out to be just as good as 1 (not to mention the Dmen at 3-4).

Of course you want the best pick and most lottery chance no matter what, and if you don't win the lottery the spot also matters more.

I'm still pretty confident you will see 2-3 of those 8 picks traded for a player or players. Briere already made another firm statement about it being a priority to add guys right away this off-season. But, younger guys.

[Docs]

There is a clear top 4 this year, there is a drop off in talent/potential after the 4th pick. No need to generalize draft patterns.

Schaefer - LD
Misa - C
Martone - RW
Hagens - C

Consensus all over that these should be the first four players drafted. Can someone else in the draft end up having the best career, of course. But that's why the final position matters. Also, wherever they end up, there is a possibility that they drop two spots if someone with a better record wins the lottery. The second tier in this class is 5-8, so finishing 7th could actually end up being 9th.

If they finish 4th, and 2 teams in front of them win the lottery, they can still get one of the top players. If they finish outside of the top 4, they can only get one of the top players through the lottery.

[flyers19rw]

League rules indicated that the Flyers had to dress twenty healthy players for the game. York could not be sent to the press box since he was not sick or injured. So he dressed and sat it out.

[zambonir]

Well, I guess it would indeed be ironic if the Flyers fired Torts because he wasn't happy to be tanking and wasn't handling the struggles well, and then Shaw handles the struggles well and they win. But it's just so hard to control either way. Until things started spiraling they seemed pretty locked into 6 or 7 to me, and they are only where they are now because Buffalo started winning. I am not debating the better spot matters either way but does it matter enough to, for instance, find an excuse to scratch Michkov, or play Fedotov more?

[VoteForKalas]

According to rumors York aggressively confronted Tortorella after being benched in Toronto and "crossed the line." He will be back next game.

Had not heard that, thanks PC. Wonder if that factored into the Torts decision.

[zambonir]

Told from a team source that "it's fair to say" something happened between Cam York and John Tortorella in Toronto, that contributed to the coach's dismissal on Thursday morning. Was put to me that "they probably both crossed the line."

— Kevin Kurz ( @KKurzNHL ) March 28, 2025

[Docs]

Now i want to know more!

[zambonir]

That certainly implies "came to blows' (or close).