Wooooooo the Philadelphia Flyers are finally back. They are back to their winning ways after a funk in a half with a ten game losing streak. Eminem once sang, “Shady’s back, back again.” Well, the Flyers are back….finally.
Looking into a magic eight ball, the Flyers were just hoping to have a decent road trip through Western Canada. Three games later and three wins later…waboom the Flyers have finally started a good streak. Before this good streak started, Head Coach Dave Hakstol was on the verge of losing his job if the Flyers didn’t perform well on this trip. This streak has saved Hakstol’s job for now. Without further delay here are our answers to your questions.
William Baylor- What changes i.e. a trade do you foresee that are realistic
Awesome question William. I love your thinking in the question you asked. Realistic and logical…that’s what we strive for here at phillysportsnetwork.com. I’m not a fan of click bait stuff. With that being said the Flyers are currently active on the market for a second or third line forward. If we would like an impact player, you have to give up a budding prospect. Maybe a Travis Sanheim, Samuel Morin, Philippe Myers, or German Rubtsov.
Hopefully, a team is desperate enough with injuries to take a Brandon Manning or Radko Gudas off our hands. That would be nice right. However, I have also been hearing Michal Neuvirth in a trade to the Edmonton Oilers, as they are in need of a solid goaltender. This one seems unlikely, at least until he’s healthy. The Flyers will not mortgage the house at this point, as the playoffs are within striking distance. We can revisit this around the trade deadline. So, to answer your question no direct confirmation on any particular players. Just Hextall searching the market for more secondary scoring depth.
Brian Geese- Other then Giroux, Voracek, Couturier and Simmonds, which forward on the secondary lines do the Flyers need to start really producing on the stat sheet in order to give the offense a huge lift? Who do you think has the most potential to be that guy?
Brian fantastic question coming from a dedicated fan like yourself. Travis Konecny needs to get moving here. He has been better in terms of how he has played earlier in the week. On Saturday, he was benched in the third period, but he was one of the better Flyer forwards in that game. Konecny is still young, and it appears a year with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season would have done him justice.
I think a guy with a ton of potential to be an impact player is Michael Raffl. The new reformed second line with Raffl, Valtteri Filppula, and Jakub Voracek has just been on a tear, registering 15 points in the three games they have played together. With two great passers, Raffl is definitely benefitting by being a natural goal scorer.
Brian Geese- Why has Overtime been such a death sentence for this team? Just consider what the standings would look like if the Flyers played .500 hockey in games decided in OT.
Brian again your very knowledgeable. I love how you use stats and standings to prove your point. One of the biggest things I have noticed is why Dave Hakstol broke up a successful 3v3 overtime unit in Claude Giroux, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Voracek. This old pairing were a thing of beauty in 3v3 overtime in prior years. If nothing is working, then why not go back to a line that was working. It’s that simple. The lines look out of sync with one another, and for that matter they have had horrendous results in 3v3 overtime this season.
If you would like to see your questions submitted in our weekly mailbag. Just submit your question on our facebook page or on Twitter using the #Flyersmail. Thanks to all the fans for another great mailbag. Have a great and happy holiday season.
Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
