The New Unending Flyers thread

[LegoDoom]

Michkov is the best Flyer since Lindross, Forsberg, and G. Forsberg only because of his age.

[Aquapong]

Kolosov recalled and supposed to start tonight. This is a pretty clear message for Errson and Fedotov. York to the IL and Andre up.

[zambonir]

Mostly Fedotov I would say.

[bkeich]

Mostly Fedotov I would say.

Yea, odd to have 3 goalies this early in the season. I wonder if Fedotov might be heading to LHV soon. He might need a little consistent playing time and coaching. He still has very little time in Norrh America, maybe some coaching is warranted.

[zambonir]

It is just a quirk of the Luchanko roster spot (and cap space) for now. And, perhaps, an easy way to make Kolosov happy. He is certainly not supposed to be more ready than Fedotov (our oldest and highest-paid goaltender). We shall see how it plays out

[bigegypt0417]

At least this coming draft may be a little stronger on goalies...

This team may end up unwatchable but we can start the draft position watch early.

[Docs]

This team may end up unwatchable but we can start the draft position watch early

Already guilty

[xogfog]

I suspect the team will be better once they suss out where everybody needs to be playing and they get used to each other. Kolosov might be an improvement on the backup goalie situation, but I wouldn't give up on Fedetov, I would send him down and play him as much as possible to see if he can retain his form. It's too early to pronounce him a failure.

[Austinfan]

They may have that goalie already, keep an eye on Zavragin, starting in the KHL at 19, putting up spectacular numbers so far,
12g .936% Sv.
First year of a three year deal, so he'd be 22 if he comes over in 2027-28, just when the team has been rebuilt.

[xogfog]

Well, Michkov had a 3 year deal too, maybe if he is that spectacular, he might want to be in the NHL sooner and now that the Flyers have Russian speaking players on the team, he could acclimate quickly.

[flyers19rw]

It doesn’t matter who is on the roster, the Flyers aren’t going anywhere until a change is made behind the bench. Tortorella’s SC win is over twenty years old. The game has passed him by strategically. Then there’s the old fashioned way that he deals with the players that doesn’t work with the guys of the modern era. Insults and harassment are not successful motivators today.

[Docs]

19 year old Carson Bjaranson in Brandon looks good too, so between Zavragin, Bjarnason & Kolosov the Flyers have some good young prospects between the pipes for their current timeline. They do have extra picks so if someone stands out I wouldn't be shocked if they draft another goaltender in the second round, but its not as pressing of a need.

[Austinfan]

Have you listened to his press conferences this season?
Couldn't be more measured and reasonable and patient.
He's serious about the rebuild, said so in TC and now that the season has started.

What he doesn't do is throw cliches around, praise players in public then rip them in private.
His honesty is unusual to fans used to "coach speak," but he's not brutal.
For example, with Farabee he admits being frustrated with his struggles, but also admits maybe the player needs to PT to work through it. So he's trying to balance helping players and helping the team.

Everyone has access to film and metrics these days, so pretending a player isn't struggling when it's obvious to fans that he is just makes a HC look foolish.

But when Zamula came off the ice resulting in the empty net goal that ended the game, Torts was emphatic that it was his fault.

Compare to the Sphinx (Hakstol) and the Asshole (throw everyone under the bus and admit no fault AV).

[zambonir]

Yeah I don't see how you can actually watch this team or Tortorella's tenure and think he's the same guy he was at previous jobs, and he had plenty of good teams besides Tampa (not many coaches actually get to win the Cup repeatedly). If the game passed him by why did he coach a massively overachieving team last year that might have even won a playoff round if their goaltender wasn't an alleged sex offender and the rebuild wasn't a priority?

He was also the main person responsible for making sure the Flyers actually did start rebuilding, and has Hilferty's ear (as well as Briere and Jones). Nobody - least of all him - expects the rebuild to end with Torts behind the bench but he's not going anywhere. If the season does go completely south and they feel the players aren't hearing him. he'll move into that advisor role, but I'd rather see that happen in the off-season than have the team get handed over to an interim or the current assistants (or AHL coach).

By no means is Fedotov a bust or a failure but in hindsight they might have done just as well to let him go (he was a free agent and they had to overpay a bit to keep him and not lose him for nothing after all the drama). Kolosov probably isn't ready for this job either but they could have used a more solid cheap veteran back-up to mentor everyone. Next year Peterson will be gone and they will probably trade either Kolosov or Fedotov at some point. Or Ersson for that matter but that's a longer horizon presumably.

[flyers19rw]

Benching players when the Flyers play in their hometowns; belittling injured players in the press; talking about players being toilet seats; and more. That’s not acceptable today. There are more effective ways to interact with players than the way that Tortorella does in order to get accountability. It’s 2024 not two generations ago when his schtick went by unopposed.

[jimbomill]

That’s not acceptable today.

I could see past that if the team is playing well, chalking it up to a personal style that resonates with the players resulting in good performance. After all, many a sporting team's locker room has that type of "discussion".
Sadly, the team is not responding and not playing well.

[zambonir]

I certainly don't condone the worst of Torts' style, though I'm not convinced there's any evidence it doesn't work in the today's NHL, or that it hasn't worked for the Flyers (or Sanheim and Couturier specifically). And he has still mellowed. One thing I do know is that the Flyers firing their coach at the first sign of trouble has never worked, and since this ownership and front office is on the same page as Tortorella nothing has really changed.

More cynically, they may have left Tortorella in this job precisely because the team wasn't supposed to succeed. He is the Pete Mackanin of this rebuild. If Briere had put his own guy in before last season that guy wouldn't have survived the rebuild either (never mind the Phillies analogy is not otherwise promising). Having the fans be upset with Torts instead of the players or the GM probably suits the situation.

But I don't see where Tortorella's style or tactical approach is the reason for this poor start. It's just a poor start, by a not-great team.

[Austinfan]

All you have to do is listen to Torts to see how much he's evolved.
Look how patient he is with Michkov's mistakes, or TK's for that matter.

The problem is some fan favorites are under performing, and blaming the HC is an easy way to deflect blame, instead of recognizing it's up to players to perform and earn PT.

The team is rebuilding, 4th youngest in the league, with 2 1st rd picks in the CHL and 3 1st rd picks this summer.
And young teams are notoriously inconsistent in any sport, mistake prone, apt to go into funks, etc.
And the goaltending has been terrible.

Yet, Torts hasn't blown up, slammed his players or otherwise acted like a HC who is desperate to win.
He said two years ago the rebuild will probably take at least five years (longer than his 4 year contract).
He knows that building this team will be his final legacy, and that another HC will win with it.

I'm betting that when Sullivan gets canned in Pittsburgh, he'll come here as a special advisor and position himself as Tort's successor. He's a Torts protege and can wait out the rest of his contract (and offer a settlement so Flyers don't have to trade for him) observing the team.

[zambonir]

He is hardly Tortorella's protege, he had already coached the Bruins before he ever worked as one of Torts' assistants. But they are close. Torts is actually his assistant coach this year on the national team (and Sullivan has already been named 2026 Olympics coach).

I hope that's not the case however. Heir apparents and successors in waiting are rarely a good look, even if it's the Flyers Way. Plus I'm sure Torts would sooner hand the job to Shaw.

[Austinfan]

Given Torts age and the rebuild schedule, it wouldn't be the uncomfortable situation you normally see with a successor in place. Sullivan has 3 years left on his extension after this season, and I doubt the Flyers want to give up assets, so he could enjoy a year off then negotiate a buyout when Torts is ready to step down (Pens would love to get out of the deal if they fire him).

Shaw probably deserves a shot, but sometimes assist coaches age out or just aren't considered HC material or don't want the hassles.