The New Unending Flyers thread

Yeah I am certainly glad they didn't try to do more as deadline buyers and it will help if Seeler comes back. But losing both Drysdale and Risto while also trading Walker may still prove fatal. I do think it's too bad they couldn't find another goalie. The fact that they gave up something for Johnson instead of that I guess says how much they knew the d-man weren't coming back. And while Drysdale is not a finished product he theoretically would be helping the PP (while also being part of the really bad PP to this point)

Hey, if they actually fall out they will be in the lottery, albeit not with many shots.

I never know what you mean when you type "TDL" AF. Not really a thing (unless you're talking about Transportation, Distribution and Logistics or To-Do Lists) and should technically be "TD" if you must abbreviate).

There is concern right now that Johansen is injured, in which case he can't be bought out. Though that may also lead to the Flyers filing a grievance.

There was also chatter about this being connected to Gauthier since they have the same agent. Roundly denied, but they are probably not in love with each other.

Yeah, probably that. agreed, the space in '25-'26 is worth more.

I still have a hard time writing off Atkinson too (but if they do he could also be sent to AHL).

I'm sure Briere will be busy. There are scenarios where he could also take a usable body on a bad contract in exchange for one of these guys. Or where Johansen is a usable body for another team if the Flyers take something back (and add a pick).

It will be a busy draft night.

Had been reading about this earlier, that he was on practice line with Atkinson and Gurianov

I mean, you could make the case that it's kind of awesome, why should anyone be immune from it? I think the bigger issue is that it's not necessarily deserved. And it is rather curious and weird timing given he only just got it. It is certainly a message, but also feels a little panicky. Obviously a lot of tension between the fact that it would be fine if they didn't make the playoffs and the fact that it would still feel bad to squander a pretty solid playoff position.

Torts is a genius!

Pretty different from the NBA huh?

It's a dumb narrative. But Aqua is right. In baseball you'd always see Charlie and Girardi and Thomson talk about just wanting to give someone a "blow," even when they aren't slumping (but when they are slumping they still don't spin it as punitive). And when Torts actually benches someone for something specific he usually isn't shy about it (or at least acknowledges a specific reason existed that he doesn't care to discuss).

The team's second-best paid forward after Couts is already a healthy scratch all the time!

Probably true about riding him too hard though I doubt Couturier would have liked it if he'd only played 16 minutes a night (and doesn't like how little he's playing now). Never mind the motivation, he's been playing poorly enough that for one night maybe the line-up actually was better without him. I also think it's totally okay to bench the captain - everyone is equal, letter or not. It's just funny that he only just got made captain, and during a stretch where he already wasn't playing well.

The center is sixth on the Flyers with 36 points (11 goals, 25 assists) in 64 games. However, he has one goal in his past 27 games, and his ice time has dipped to 14:10 per game in his past 10, down from 19:25 in his first 54.

I think that also might be a false narrative (even though it's one I also would believe). Torts coached Tampa for seven years, NYR for five years, Columbus for six years. It was only Vancouver that went bad immediately, and they've had four coaches in 10 years since.

I guess I didn't even see it as the team rallying around their captain, more just a wake-up call for everyone to be more focused and committed again. Of course the "win one to stick it to the coach" dynamic is nothing new (see also, 1980 Phillies).

This article specifically says Couts is unhappy with his reduced ice time, since Torts hasn't talked to him about it. That's bad, but also shows he would not have been happy to play less in the first place.

(I gotta say, reading it, in full that Couts' agent doesn't come off any better than Torts, especially by going to the media.)