How about those red-hot Philadelphia Flyers. They are just “Smokin.” It’s a breath of fresh air these days around the Wells Fargo Center. Gone are the days of the inconsistent Flyers. It’s a new era of Flyers hockey it appears, as Alain Vigneault and his experienced coaching staff has this team on a seven game point streak. Without further delay, here are the answers to your questions.
Sean Couturier is playing through a shoulder strain. His hands are fine, but the trainers want him to skip the faceoffs, with the hopes of it getting better on the fly. Couturier does not want to miss any time, especially with the Flyers shuffling back and forth through the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for a cpable fourth line Center. Fortunately, Michael Raffl has been playing well lately in that role, until Scott Laughton returns. Laughton is planning on returning to the lineup on November 23, when he is eligible to come off of LTIR.
Shayne Gostisbehere could very well be a trade chip at the trade deadline. With the way Philippe Myers is currently playing, absolutely Ghost could be dealt. I don’t believe the Flyers would make a trade until the deadline, especially with the injury news to Samuel Morin.
The thing is Fletcher has to start thinking ahead to the expansion draft that will take place after next season. As it stands right now, the Flyers would protect three defencemen, and they would be Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, and Philippe Myers. This would leave Ghost unprotected, and Seattle could very well scoop him up. It would be tough to see Ghost get dealt, but it sure is a possibility.
When Scott Laughton returns look for Chuck Fletcher to make more moves for cap flexibility. Andy Andreoff and Chris Stewart could be shipped to the Phantoms, and Samuel Morin could go to LTIR for cap relief, as well. Of course, this is to fit in Laughton’s cap hit of $2.3 million. The Flyers would be charged the cap hit of Morin’s next season by placing him on LTIR this season.
Philippe Myers is here to stay for good, he’s just been to darn good to send back to the Phantoms, even though he is waiver exempt. It will be interesting to see, but I do not foresee Fletcher waiving Robert Hagg for cap relief, given the injury news to Morin last week.
James Van Riemsdyk has a total of 9 points (4g, 5a) on the season thus far. He has one goal, and two assists in the past seven games played. Moreover, JVR is also a plus two on the season. JVR is not holding back Claude Giroux or Joel Farabee, rather they are still trying to find some chemistry together as a unit. This line has looked good the past few games, so let’s how this line does this weekend.
JVR is a Power Play specialist, so it’s more disappointing to see him only having one power play goal thus far on the season. However, JVR had a great second half of the season last year, so he may just be a slow starter. Let’s revisit this question at the holiday break in December.
The more Oskar Lindblom produces, the more money he could receive. Lindblom could get a Travis Konecny type deal, 6-years $5.5 million per year. I’ve been saying this for a few weeks now that I would like Fletcher to lock Lindblom up ASAP. If Lindblom pots 30-35 goals this season, he could very well ask for money than Konecny received. Lindblom is a top 6 player in this league, and he will be paid as such.
At some point in three to four years, Hayes could very well find himself as the fourth line Center. The Flyers have the likes of German Rubtsov, and Frost waiting in the Wings. However, Frost could play both Center and Wing, so it will depend on need at that point. This is a good question to ask, especially with the expansion draft on the horizon after next season. It will be interesting to say the least.
Hard to say. Fletcher does not know the answer either, as he could not give an answer to this exact question a few weeks ago. Either way it’s a tough pill to swallow for this franchise. I could very well see Patrick out for the remainder of the season.
If you would like to see your questions submitted in our weekly mailbag. Just submit your question on our Twitter page @flyersknitty using #Flyersmail, or @JameyBaskow. Thanks to all the fans for another great mailbag, and Let’s go Flyers.
Jamie, when Chuck Fletcher gave Kevin Hayes a no trade claus this past summer, it pretty much meant the Flyers could only protect three defensemen in the 2021 Seattle expansion draft. Gostisbehere will be traded, but if history is any kind of indicator, Fletcher will not get much in return, as we saw with the Wayne Simmonds disastrous trade with Nashville. (Simmonds was traded for Ryan Hartman and a 4th round draft pick and Fletcher didn’t even resign Hartman. A horrible return for Simmonds). I dread to think of what Fletcher will give Gostisbehere away for.
Another problem the Flyers now have is a lack of cap space. Ron Hextall did a masterful job of creating cap space ang in a few short months, Chuck Fletcher wiped out that space. There is no extra cash for the Flyers to go out and sign that much needed defenseman they still need so badly. Sam Morin is out, there are no NHL types on the Phantoms and the draft picks are 2-4 years away. Yegor Zamula looks like he will be a good player, but he’s 3/3 years out. Cam York May be too small to ever make it in the NHL and Adam Ginning seems to have lost his way for some reason. So, without cap space and without depth on defense, the Flyers will be hurt if Gostisbehere is taken by Seattle or is traded. He may be small, but he fills a crucial need. He is a quick, puck moving defenseman and those players are rare. Gostisbehere May have some defensive liabilities, but he is an asset when the Flyers need to generate offense. When he goes, he will be misses, both by the fans and the Flyers.
Gregg,
Thanks for the read as always. I love Ghost, and still believe in him. He has played better as of late, maybe that’s a sign of good things to come. I know the lack of Cap hurts, but fortunately the majority of every team I the NHL is in the same predicament. Let’s see how this goes
Yes, Gostisbehere is going to be gone by 2021. He cannot be protected on the 2021 Seattle draft. Chuck Fletcher screwed up.
Ghost is going to be gone, most knowledgeable Flyer fans know that, but it’s time to find a way to get rid of Giroux, Voracek, JVR and Braun. They are all led weight dragging the Flyers down.
Giroux will remain the Captain of the Flyers until he retires. That’s a fact. Ghost might very well be gone, but this tram is far better than last year. Thanks for the read